Denver got a dose of ear and mind expanding music on Saturday night at the , hosted by the and the . The event featured 19 bands between the two venues, including some of Denver’s most innovative bands — , , , , and
The festival is the brainchild of Ray Koren (Thee Dang Dangs) and Robbie D. Love of the Austin psych outfit Deep Space. The two met playing a show in Austin and decided that Denver needed an opportunity to get psychedelicized. And the result is a lineup that is a solid representation of the burgeoning Denver psych scene. Colfax Speed Queen put in a high-energy set of straightforward garage rock, including an excellent cover of the Rolling Stones “Get Off of My Cloud.”
Blue Rider’s groovy ’60s keyboard-anchored dance party had the crowd on their feet and getting down in the tiny Meadowlark. The most interesting set of the night came courtesy of Kurt Ottaway’s new band, Emerald Siam. Ottaway, known for his work with quintessential Denver bands the Overcasters, the Tarmints and Twice Wilted, has gone in a darkly melodic direction with his new band. This project weaves psychedelic shoe-gaze rock around Ottaway’s guitar wizardry and a wicked rhythm section anchored by two drummers.
Austin’s Deep Space played a fun, spacey set of music of music that, according to front man Robbie D. Love is designed to “speak to the people.” And speaking of the people, Thee Dang Dangs celebrated the release of the new album, “For the People,” with a sweaty, upbeat set of surf-punk, garage-rock. Hearts in Space closed the Larimer with sweet, spacey psychedelia. The final mind-melting and eardrum blowing moments of the evening came from Tjutjuna’s ferocious and loud set at the Meadowlark, where the band’s innovative noise rock proved that psychedelic music isn’t just for hippies.
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Amy McGrath is a Denver-based writer and regular contributor to Reverb.
Michael McGrath is a Denver area photographer. His work is available at . Visit .
