Not many bands have covered seminal German electronic band Kraftwerk, but is not like many bands. The Portland five-piece’s cover of “Das Modell” on Saturday at the was the apex of a brilliant, way too short set that showed why this band should take off into indie stardom. They didn’t push the cover into the area of schtick – nor did they fall overboard with the rest of their 45-minute set. If anything, they made an impossibly timeless song feel suddenly refreshed – a good sign young, promising band.
The rest of the set was difficult to classify. Sometimes Wampire sounded of the early post punk of Magazine (“The Hearse”) with endless reverb and haunting keyboards behind Rocky Tinder and Eric Phipps’ two guitars. Other times they pulled off an almost Bowie feel (“Outta Money,” “Trains”). Other songs melded surf-synth with old-fashioned psychedelia (“Spirit Forest,” “Snacks”). The only real commonality was their mix of fuzz, shrill, reverb-drenched noise and nearly lost vocals. Tinder and Phipps traded chords and riffs masterfully, while their three-piece backup band filled in the rest with a sometimes smokey, sometimes chunky noise.
Wampire follows closely on the heels of indie juggernauts and , and should continue to build on an already strong musical pedigree from that association.
There did seem to be a downside to that chimeric musical personality, though, evident in a far too small audience. The Larimer was easily less than half full, which is disappointing, if only because this band is starting to appear on everyone’s “Bands to Watch” list. This was definitely a show that will live in the “you shoulda seen ‘em back then” category for many hipsters.
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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 explorations at , and his giglist at .
