Uninspired, unoriginal and overdone.
That is, unfortunately, what comes to mind when thinking about performance at the last Thursday night. With clichéd lyrics and a sound that could have been carbon-copied from any number of jam bands, Sexton’s unimaginative music hardly seemed worth the price of admission.
However, the audience didn’t seem to share this assessment as the energy from them only grew as the night progressed. During “The Beast in Me,” Sexton crooned away as his band began the overhead clap to indicate it was time for them to follow along. They, unsurprisingly, took the not-so-subtle hint and wholeheartedly joined in.
During the middle of the set, the band left the stage leaving Sexton to do some songs solo — at which time he played “Hallelujah” and encouraged the audience to sing along during the chorus. At the conclusion of the song, Sexton commented, “Itap like the church of the Mile High angels choir.” That was an incredibly accurate statement since the crowd’s participation, not just on “Hallelujah” but throughout the evening, was soulful and (at times) better than the headliner’s own singing.
As Sexton performed “Things You Do to Me,” a middle-aged woman in a tie-dyed T-shirt (so obviously drunk that it was comical) attempted to sexily seduce her overly-tanned yuppie male counterpart while grabbing and shaking body parts in his and hers swimsuit areas. Girls in floor-length broomstick skirts broke out into a hippie hoedown of sorts as they swung around in circles with arms linked during the country-influenced “Station Man.”
While Sexton’s music was nothing more than standard and generic, the crowd treated it as anything but that. Their enthusiasm and passion during his set showed that Sexton’s fans, at least, find genuine solace and release in his work.
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Alli Sands is a Denver-based writer and new contributor to Reverb. Check out her .
Joshua Elioseff is a Boulder-based freelance photographer and regular Reverb contributor. Check out his .
