Lindsey Buckingham
Not everyone gets a standing ovation just by walking into a room, but that’s how Lindsey Buckingham was treated Monday night at the Paramount Theater.
The Fleetwood Mac singer-songwriter/ producer, known for his intricate guitar work, was smashing. He set the tone early with the opening trio of songs, played solo on acoustic guitar: the new “Not Too Late,” the older “Trouble” and the Fleetwood Mac staple “Never Going Back Again.”
Those songs alone showed the benefit of Buckingham playing an intimate solo show. There’s the early solo stuff and the Fleetwood Mac catalog – and then there are a few ringers from his new record, including “It Was You” and “Cast Away Dreams,” which were given loose and raw treatments on Monday. It was a nice alternative to Buckingham’s overproducing tendencies.
– Ricardo Baca
Brazilian Girls
Don’t invite the Boulder kids to dance naked with you onstage – not unless you mean it. Brazilian Girls’ lead singer Sabina Sciubba learned that lesson during her band’s Nov. 9 show at the Fox Theatre. All she had to do was ask and three dozen college types instantly stripped down and stepped up, jumping and gyrating in their bras and boxers as the band launched into some upbeat Cole Porter.
There was irony in the moment. Sciubba is the ultimate cover-up girl. Her shtick is to never expose her face and she spent the entire evening with a veil hiding her mug. Kind of a joke that she’d ask for maximum exposure from her fans.
But here’s why that gimmick – and the whole evening – worked: The Girls put on the most intimate of shows. Their music is easy to like, their lyrics self-deprecating. Sexy Sciubba cooed and crooned and flirted with the crowd from start to stop. When a band is that friendly, it’s easy to see why folks felt comfortable enough to lose the jeans and T’s and join the fun. There was plenty of it.
– Ray Mark Rinaldi
Pretenders
Wow. Chrissie Hynde may be 55 years old, but she sounded 30 years younger Tuesday night at the Pepsi Center.
The Pretenders are one of those rock bands that were always good but rarely great, but what has always made the band stand out is Hynde’s vocals, which are elegant and graceful amid the rock ‘n’ roll that has long defined her career.
In their 50-minute set opening for The Who on Tuesday, the band was spot-on and tight. Hynde led the way, not only sounding crystalline but looking great too. The overly sentimental “I’ll Stand by You” was there, but thankfully it was “Back on the Chain Gang” that left a more lasting impression.
– Ricardo Baca
Jamie Lidell
Jamie Lidell, without question, gets the award for the year’s most unpredictable dance party. Listen to any of the songs at myspace.com/jamielidell, and it’s easy to feel the groove. But that simple groove had grown into a gigantic wave Nov. 9 when Lidell took on an unexpectedly packed Larimer Lounge.
By the time Lidell worked his way to the funked-out “Multiply” – a neo-Motown rager that showcases Lidell’s gritty, white-soul vocals – the entire front end of the club was a sweaty backyard groove-out. It was the rare anachronistic vibe of another time, another place – perhaps Memphis in the late ’60s or London in the early ’90s.
Lidell’s influences are obvious, and there’s a lot of electronic programming in there too. The biggest difference between Lidell’s show last week and those of his inspirations: Lidell performs as a one-man show, wandering the stage and into the audience, triggering different loops and laying his thick vocals on top of it all.
– Ricardo Baca
