The dual dose of songwriting at the Hi-Dive on Jan. 12 was subtle but potent: Matt Boyer, followed by The Triplights, may have been opening for The Last Seen, but their pensive blends of pop, folk and country stole the evening’s momentum.
Boyer’s songwriting is a graceful experiment in making the plainspoken melodic. His folk songs – “Slowing Down” and “You Can’t Take” included – are quiet meditations on life’s small details. The intimate portraits are intricately written character studies that dodge clichés and lay the paint on artfully thick.
The songs, including an inventive take on Neil Young’s “Cinnamon Girl,” showcased Boyer’s guitar work, which landed him a spot next to Mark Kozelek in Sun Kil Moon on several tours. Now it is Boyer’s voice that is out there, and like songwriters Roger Green and Erin Roberts, it’s a voice of reasoned passion. You hear echoes of Son Volt and The Lemonheads too.
Augmenting Boyer were Jeff Eliassen on keyboards and Dave Devine on lap steel, and the unique instrumentation was a powerful, moving combination. They didn’t need drums or a bass, although Boyer is considering a larger and louder band that would build off this trio.
The Triplights, meanwhile, is guitarist Andy Monley’s latest project. While their overall show is a bit rough around the edges, the music is spot on.
The band’s shtick is in the name. Throughout the show, Monley trips varying sets of Christmas/amber/strobe lights through a foot pedal cued to the music. It’s fun – and it never detracts from the music. Denver is familiar with Monley’s songwriting. A poet with a dark sense of humor, he’s performed solo and as part of The Czars.
While his pop is still bright, it doesn’t match the brilliant shine of his ’60s-influenced rock or his nostalgic whims, including a take on his ex-band Velveteen Monster’s “Dressed in Gasoline,” which he ended with a bit of a rock-star jump.
“That was my Chris Pearson jump,” Monley joked of his former bandmate, who was in the audience. “Only I didn’t fall on my (butt), that’s the only difference.”
– Ricardo Baca
Tributary
The only thing more depressing than an empty club is an empty club fronted by a good-natured jam band. Tributary, a Castle Rock-based quartet of middle-aged jam-metal aficionados, tried their best to rock the Larimer Lounge Wednesday night, but to no avail.
Calling the show “sparsely attended” would be a gross understatement. With their gleaming vintage guitars, expensive keyboard rig and stage-filling drum kit, the band looked ready for a European festival stage. Alas, no one materialized to appreciate their squirrely brand of noodle-rock, which nodded equally toward Queensryche and Phish with its extended guitar solos and technical drum fills.
Lead singer Dave Killian had the shaggy, cheerful demeanor of a guitar instructor as he meandered through forgettable, ’90s-tinged ballads like “Bridges.” But the half-dozen people in the room looked about as excited as flu patients, their beers and cigarettes seemingly more engaging than the band. Even the keyboard player, with his flashy silver-tooth necklace and high-energy style, seemed a bit defeated by the end.
At least the openers, a Lakewood-based hardcore outfit called Williamson, knew they were playing to an empty house. But somehow Tributary kept rocking like they were on national television. Whether it was professionalism or delusion is up for debate, but when you have $10,000 worth of musical equipment vs. six audience members, it isn’t a fair fight. – John Wenzel
