A head-banging good time was had by all at the White Rabbits show on Friday. Photos by .
The cover of White Rabbits’ new record, “Itap Frightening,” sports a picture of frantic, multi-instrumental motion in a pretty accurate portrayal of most of the record’s musical content. But what the band did in the studio only hints at what they’re doing in front of packed house after packed house on this year’s tour. Their show at Friday night added to their growing reputation for high-energy live performances, and then some.
Filling the stage with their four brilliantly talented cohorts, frontman and keyboardist Stephen Patterson and guitarist Gregory Roberts collaborated in well-matched harmonies, while guitarist Alex Even filled in between the pair. They belted out a set of songs that, when they were merely good, recalled some of the Fray’s best work. However, when they were great — as most of them were — the songs approached the pop-rock best of the Hives or the Strokes, while easily incorporating witty Beatles’ lyricism, Arcade Fire-style anthemic melodies and vibrant instrumental arrangements reminiscent of the Specials and English Beat.
Drummers Matthew Clark and Jamie Levinson supplied a constant, and constantly infectious, rhythm section along with bassist Brian Betancourt, particularly behind “Kid on My Shoulders,” “The Plot” and their first set closer, “Percussion Gun,” (with its strong Adam & the Ants vibe, I half expected to see Marco Pirroni charge onto the stage, frantically playing “Stand and Deliver,” for a second or two). Their hard work left them dripping in sweat, and had the crowds bouncing with such force that the venue floors were literally bowing on the downbeats.
Clark didn’t stop with the drums, either. He switched throughout the show to play at one time or another on just about every other instrument up there, as did the other band members. (The only member I didn’t see switch instruments multiple times was Betancourt.) Clark never stopped bouncing either, as his head bobbed and spine bowed constantly, up and down hypnotically — even between songs.
The band kept up a constant, beguiling vibe through their entire set, and the audience was only too happy to keep up, beat for beat, singing and laughing all the way through. At a few points, when the Rabbits slowed tempo a bit, Patterson’s vocals were close to sounding like a young David Bowie especially through songs like “Company I Keep” and “Midnight and I.” It was during the show’s closing encore, “The Salesman (Tramp Life),” that the vocals nearly emulated Bowie flawlessly, impassioned, almost in tribute.
When they left the stage, there seemed to be a giant exhale, or a sigh, as the energy from the stage dissipated through the crowd. Its momentum kept people swaying long after, too. You could see many of them bouncing long after the show’s end, grinning absentmindedly and humming between sentences, out on the street in front of the empty theater.
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Billy Thieme is a Denver-based writer, an old-school punk and a huge follower of Denver’s vibrant local music scene. Follow Billy’s giglist at
is a Boulder-based photographer and a regular contributor to Reverb.
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