The Monolith Music Festival is a study in contrasts.
Day Two of the indie rock-centered party at Red Rocks Amphitheatre was drier, sunnier and overall friendlier than the Saturday installment, which found people fleeing inclement weather for packed, sweaty indoor areas.
The second day served up a more accessible blend of acts and, luckily, much better weather. Israeli rockers Monotonix presented perhaps the best and most energetic set of the day, starting their set from the front of the upstairs stage and working their way inexorably into the crowd.
Lead singer Ami Shalev writhed atop the audience’s hands as he pounded a similarly supported drum. It was nearly worth the admission price to watch fey hipsters in trendy sunglasses have deflated beach balls wrapped around their faces by Shalev as he bared his behind, cameras flashing.
The Thermals delivered a reliably energetic set propelled by the manic stage presence of singer-guitarist Hutch Harris. This pop-punk trio is tailor-made for festivals.
The Dandy Warhols followed on the main stage with a bass-heavy set that found lead singer Courtney Taylor-Taylor straining over the thumping drums and keyboards. A band of this caliber and notoriety deserved better, but the boozy masses didn’t seem to mind.
Fortunately, the indoor stages delivered succinct blasts of melody and noise. Bad Veins, a tape-loop-aided duo from Cincinnati, Ohio, rocked a packed stage with their pop-rock confections reminiscent of the Strokes. Hipster noise terrorists Health flattened a later stage with a wall of synths worthy of the soundtrack to “A Clockwork Orange.” However, the indoor stages were ridiculously packed, necessitating a one-in one-out policy.
The main stage filled up with nostalgic hip-hop from Method Man and Redman of Wu-Tang Clan. Phoenix, a French pop-rock band riding high on waves of critical praise, was moved to the main stage at the last minute (due to illness from scheduled performers MSTRKRFT).
The set was unexpected but triumphant. Phoenix not only knows how to write songs that stick in your brain, they back up their songcraft with an emotional component that resonates with a large crowd.
At press time Mars Volta were displaying their over-the-top guitar histrionics and big hair for the relatively packed main stage, bringing a weekend of mixed blessings to a satisfying close.
From a quality standpoint, Monolith continues to satisfy in its lineup, but tweaks in its format and timing could easily make it the sort of festival that lasts.
John Wenzel: 303-954-1642 or jwenzel@denverpost.com
See all of John Leyba’s Day 2 photographs.
To see our ace staff photographer’s take on Day 2 of the Monolith Festival (see sample above of headliner Mars Volta),
