Rilo Kiley
It makes sense that Rilo Kiley’s Tuesday-night performance at the Ogden was yawn-inducing. The band’s latest LP, “Under the Blacklight,” is a sleepy, lazy, ’70s-inspired jaunt that tries to be cute and retro-innovative … but falls flat.
Of the band’s new songs, “Silver Lining” was lush and warm, and “Close Call” was tolerable. Singer Jenny Lewis’ voice is addictive and lovable, although it’s more intentional than charming when heard live. The new “Dreamworld” and “Smoke Detector” could be trashed and never missed.
The older “With Arms Outstretched” was the night’s undeniable highlight, with Lewis giving an entire chorus to the crowd – thus emulating the recorded version, which is a big Saddle Creek Records singalong. |Ricardo Baca
Louis Vuitton Night
It’s always amusing to watch anarchists come together in organized events, but the Sept. 6 Louis Vuitton Night at Club 404 delivered an oddly coherent slate of entertainment. Between off-key folk songs and poetry-comedy readings, the best offerings were the subtler pleasures.
Nintendo Innuendo (a.k.a. Tyler Snell) brought his 8-bit video game samples to the party, green and orange Christmas lights sewn into his shirt. Keyboard-driven tunes like “Jonezin”‘ underscored the low-tech nature of the variety show, especially when Snell handed out a paper Louis Vuitton bag to the person who correctly answered a random Super Mario Bros. trivia question. |John Wenzel
Devendra Banhart
Looking like a mix between the Manson Family and the attendees of the Last Supper, Devendra Banhart’s band looks the part. Their job is to carry out the gospel of their bandleader, Banhart. And Monday’s show at the Ogden was a shining example of why their job is one of the most important outings in music.
Banhart’s music hardly walks a thin line. It straddles multiple subgenres like a game of Twister, and he switches effortlessly from Latin to anti-folk to straight-ahead pop to indie rock to hippie-jam. And it works.
Monday’s highlight was a poignant and lovable “At the Hop” and a righteous “Seahorse” that worked itself into a frenzy that sounded like Jim Morrison fronting Crazy Horse. |Ricardo Baca
Def Leppard
Bands take a risk when they play past their prime, exposing flaws formerly obscured by vigor, good looks or haircuts out of “Labyrinth.” Def Leppard’s set at Coors Amphitheatre on Sunday took that plunge and never quite resurfaced.
Despite the British hard-rock band’s kinship with its over-the-top peers, it wrote some seriously rockin’ songs like “Photograph,” “Love Bites” and “Pour Some Sugar on Me.” Each showed up Sunday, but they felt both bilious and withered, thanks alternately to indulgent soloing and Joe Elliott’s completely shot voice. The band should have taken a cue from openers Foreigner and replaced the weak members with clones of their glory-day selves. |John Wenzel
The Sugarhill Gang
The band started as a novelty act, and even now, nearly three decades after forming, it remains a novelty act.
The Sugarhill Gang played the Gothic Sept. 6, and while it was a fun, nostalgic show, it was hardly legitimate. It was difficult to discern if any of the original members – Master Gee and Wonder Mike included – are actually a part of this tour. The MCs’ talents were questionable, and the show was as bare-bones as it gets – even in hip-hop.
“Rappers Delight” was, of course, the big crowd pleaser. “Apache” was also a banger, but it was also a reminder that this group was more valid in the late ’70s. |Ricardo Baca
