Mile-Hi Monday Music Roundup (SXSW Party announcement!)

Something different for the Monday Music Roundup this week: Seven songs from the seven Colorado bands that we are presenting at SXSW for our first Mile-Hi Fidelity day party!

A bunch of my favorite Colorado people are getting together to throw y’all a nice little fiesta with some of the finest tunes being made in our state. We will also ply you with free drinks, and the famed Gigbot Photobooth will be there (free high-quality hipster Glamour Shots of you and all your friends!). We plan to rock it. Please do come by and say hello on Friday, and take a listen here today.

King Arthur – The Epilogues
Starting with a very enthusiastic countdown, this Epilogues track hints at the sound of the brother-fronted Denver band: dark but danceable, brooding but melodic.

Twice My Weight – Meese
Just saw the new Meese album performed live last week (my Denver Post photo essay here), and it sounds catchy as hell, all glitchy hooks and fraternal harmonies. As Julio says, “call me crazy, but I could see a number of songs off of their forthcoming album on one of those Gossip Girl (in a good way) type shows at the part when the main couple in the show are about to break things off, but they decide to give it another go by having an intense makeout sesh.”

Red Orange Yellow – The Photo Atlas
The Denver dance-punk phenoms The Photo Atlas released their debut album on the hip and happenin’ Stolen Transmission label, founded by the fascinating Sarah “Ultragrrl” Lewitinn. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen them live; I look forward to pogoing around a bit on a Friday afternoon.

When I Was In The Fire – Young Coyotes
I don’t even know what I need to say about Young Coyotes that hasn’t already been proclaimed from the rooftops. Despite a personnel change and a new coyote in the fold, they still have the shout-out-loud exuberance, shimmery songs, and heart-thumping percussion that made me want to run away with them the first time I saw them, back at the Underground Music Showcase last summer.

Anthem – Born In The Flood
I saw Born In The Flood open for Kings of Leon two years back, and I was mightily impressed. You can hear why they were such a good match to share the stage with KOL here on this song– an anthem worth blasting loud, indeed. They also won our Denver Post Underground Music Showcase that summer, and keep getting better. En fuego!

Who’d Stop The Rain – Dressy Bessy
Part of the Elephant Six Collective, Dressy Bessy is fronted by a ferocious guitar-wielding female who reminds me of quietly-foxy Daphne on Scooby Doo (it’s the boots?). A Dressy Bessy show is bold, hollering, snappy fun from start to finish.

Hey Hope – Overcasters
Formed from members of half-a-dozen other Denver bands, The Overcasters have an otherworldly grip on the stage when they play, all haunting echo, reverb, and an undercurrent of elegant melody. We’ll end the day with their set, which one Denver music fan wrote is all “volume and beauty … in equal parts, oil lamp projecting trippy colours behind them. Your clothes vibrated, the rest of the world melted away and you were immersed in pure sound, a make-you-smile-for-hours great sound.”

We hope to make you smile for hours. See you next Friday.

*****

Also… since we’re talking about my favorite Young Coyotes, tomorrow they have two new EPs for sale! On March 10th, you can get both five-song EPs for digital download on Brother Bear Records.

The Basement EP consists of five tracks previously recorded in the band’s basement. The Exhale EP contains all new material recorded at Coupe Studios in Boulder, CO. Both EPs will be available for sale at all major online retailers and Basement will also be available for free download (!) on the band’s website. Sounds like:

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[Mile-Hi Fidelity poster by “Denver icon of rock” Jonathan Till]

Kings of Leon make me taste blood

I saw Kings of Leon at a sold-out show last night at the Ogden, and it was possibly the best show I’ve seen so far this year.

In addition to a catalog of songs that grows and shimmers live, I was completely blown away and converted by the stage presence (and yes, swagger) of these brother/cousins who acted like they’d been doing this for decades. My pal in attendance pointed out the similar brooding demeanor of guitarist Matthew Followill to Keith Richards, and I have to say that I saw more than a little of Jagger’s panache in Caleb’s frontman posturing. This was very good. As a band they were tight, intense, and a real joy to witness doin’ their thing.

Although the show was short at 70 minutes (and left me with a strong hankering for more), the setlist was top-notch, heavy on the older stuff, with a crowd absolutely bursting with enthusiasm. This spilled over and manifested itself in shoving and attempts at moshing — leaving me with a head-butt to the mouth and the taste of my own blood.

But the ferocity of the music fully recharged my soul in that inarticulable way, and I cannot recommend this tour strongly enough. Any guys who are confident enough to write and sing a song like “Soft” deserve due notice in my book. Ha. This is a band that absolutely needs to be seen live to be fully appreciated. Sure, I’d heard their studio albums, but it really didn’t prepare me for the sheer . . . supernova of last night.

My Third House (b-side) – Kings of Leon

(A great recent b-side from the On Call CDS which actually has lyrics about Colorado so clearly there’s a theme here)

Opening band Snowden was . . . snowed in (and isn’t it ironic). They didn’t make it out of Wyoming, so local band Born In The Flood filled in and impressed me as well. All my Denver friends keep telling me to check them out, and their set last night convinced me to give their music a closer listen. Last night was time well-spent on all fronts.

KOL image credit