Constellations
Sonic alchemists Constellations made good on published threats of bringing new material to their Dec. 30 Hi-Dive show, a dizzying array of analog and digital debris spewing from the stage like scraps from a wood chipper. They opened with what was likely the experimental “Love Level (Evolve),” though it was difficult to tell amid the stuttering percussion and ragged bursts of noise.
The excellent single “Necrogeister” followed, lead singer Zak Brown chanting with haunted focus from center stage. The ridiculous dancing of the keyboard player aside, it was a thrilling moment for both the audience and the band, which had toiled for months on the complex, dance-friendly track. The work paid off, by any standard.
The jaunty “Fettered While I Sleep” bore more than a passing resemblance to “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite.” Of course, the Beatles would have had to listen to Devo and Brian Eno in a bomb shelter for a couple years before recording it. That track rounded out songs from Constellations’ new single and, as promised, the new material flowed freely and quickly.
The tunes dripped engaging melodies, spiky chord changes and unique sonic textures from every pore. For a band that places a premium on instrumental tightness and challenging its audience, it sure was a lot of fun.|John Wenzel
Psychodelic Zombiez
The Blizzards of ’06 could only delay to Dec. 27 one of the most anticipated reunions in local rock annals: the ska party-band legends who call themselves “the rowdiest van band in Colorado history.”
The plan was for 14 of the seminal 1989-98 band’s rotating members to unite on the same stage at the Walnut Room, but “only” eight were able to make it in from points as wide as Honolulu and Los Angeles. Daren Hahn learned all of the drumming in two days. The Flobots lent equipment.
Throngs were being turned away long before the Zombiez began ripping through hits like “Babaganush,” “Day Job,” “Efedrin” and “Sleeping Bag Man,” each punctuated by bouncy funk/punk beats, syrup sweet harmonies, deep-knee bends – and oh, man, did those boys blow the rust right off those horns.
“Before last night, we hadn’t played a song in like eight years,” lead singer “Popo” (Mike Friesen) said. But the Zombiez played like a band making up for lost time, and their fervid fans made sure this nostalgic night would not pass quietly.|John Moore
Andrew Bird
Thank you, DeVotchKa.
Not only for bringing your Slavic/Mexican-inspired goodness home to Colorado for another New Year’s Eve, but for taking such great care in selecting openers Andrew Bird, Born in the Flood and David Eugene Edwards.
On Sunday night, New Year’s Eve, Andrew Bird presented the packed house with a set that was vividly subtle and eloquently nuanced. Bird’s hardly a showstopper, making him the ideal opener for a group wielding sousaphones, accordions, violins, theramins and ranchero guitars.
Sometimes Bird’s voice sounded like an American Thom York, airy, a tad lost and spaced out. Sometimes, as in “A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left,” he sounded like an indie rock-minded Dave Matthews with a penchant for whistling. While Bird’s music can be borderline-precious, his live show dodges that classification completely.
With a violin as his dagger, he cut small incisions into the thick air with songs such as “Fake Palindromes,” occasionally even silencing the champagne-happy crowd with his inspired playing and exuberant delivery.|Ricardo Baca
