Gravy Train!!!!
With songs such as “Strip 4 Me,” “Hump Lites” and “You Made Me Gay,” it’s impossible to take San Francisco queertronica band Gravy Train!!!! seriously. The quartet’s philosophy is that life’s too short to be serious, and it’s an infectious outlook, witness its triumphant return to the Hi-Dive on Tuesday.
Leading the all-ages dance-fest was lead singer Chunx. Dressed like a tramp and exuberant as ever, she ruminated early on in her band’s short set: “They say that Nicole Ritchie might be pregnant, but I say she just swallowed an M&M.” She then announced a collection would be taken for the Nicole Ritchie Abortion Fund before laying into another song from the new record, “All the Sweet Stuff.”
“Ghost Boobs” was an obvious highlight with the sweaty, youthful crowd gyrating with the comedic synths, some of which were tracked, a few of which were actually played. But a Gravy Train!!!! show is more about the band’s sweet dance moves and nutty antics than the music, and they didn’t disappoint. |Ricardo Baca
Joshua Novak/Cat-A-Tac
Last Friday’s Hi-Dive lineup offered a sliver of the joy that is to come Aug. 11 when The Denver Post’s 7th annual Underground Music Showcase brings 70 local bands to 12 venues along South Broadway, including Joshua Novak (with band) and Cat-A-Tac lead singer Jim McTurnan (without). These are two bands sure to have rocketed up the annual “best of” poll to be published here Aug. 5.
I’ve seen Novak play a dozen times as he’s blossomed into a confident rocker, but stupid me: It was only Friday I realized the guitar this lefty has played all this time is simply a right-handed guitar turned upside down. “I know … I am a freak of nature when it comes to the guitar,” he said, “but my, um …nonconformity isn’t intentional.”
When Novak was 14, his dad delivered a shiny, black, right-handed Sears electric guitar for Christmas. He taught himself to play, never thinking it the “wrong” way until his first public gig left spectators dumbfounded. “If someone gave me a left-handed guitar now, I wouldn’t know what to do with it,” he said.
Well enough alone. As Friday’s set proved, Novak is again leaving spectators dumbfounded – in the good way.
He also attracted a small but hip crowd that reunited drummer Kit Peltzel with LIDA Project founder Brian Freeland, the guy who brought the former Space Team Electra drummer into the cast/band of Denver’s biggest theater phenomenon of 2002, “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.”
Cat-A-Tac followed fresh material from “Past Lies And Former Lives,” which drew a loving “we love the drone” call from the house. McTurnan’s reply: “So do we!” |John Moore
Monofog
When you think about how viscerally alive and sexual Monofog’s music is, you might picture a live show that combines slam dancing with the liberal exchange of bodily fluids complemented by the occasional accidental bloodletting.
That’s not quite how it usually goes down. When the Denver band took on an attentive house at Bender’s on July 3, it reminded the in-the-know crowd of its might. Singer Haley Helmericks was fearless in her channeling of the Punk Goddess (think Patti Smith, P.J. Harvey or Lesley Rankine), and her band backed her up with a strength that was as impressive as it was dumbfounding.
“Zombie Love Song” was a down-tempo statement of the band’s vitality, and “No Proper Nouns” was an orgy of mixed rhythms, bomb-blast drums and lyrics that left you wanting more. There was no moshing, and while there was a little movement toward the front, most people stood awestruck as the band again proved that it’s playing music for all the right reasons. |Ricardo Baca
