Among scattered rain showers, tens of thousands turned out to the 16th Street Mall for the fifth annual on Friday and Saturday. National acts like , and Black Joe Lewis anchored a crop of 25 bands on five stages.
The five stages were staggered between buildings along the 16th Street Mall plaza, and the sound was fairly good at each of the stages. It was carefully arranged so the noise coming from one stage did not bleed into the other stages, which was surprising for how tight the proximity was. Food and drink vendors lined the entrances to each of the stages, catering to big crowds of families and music fans.
On Saturday evening, the Hold Steady captivated the audience, pretty much filling up the lawn of Skyline Park and getting excited fans jumping and singing along up front. The always personal Craig Finn, bounded around the stage like an over-caffeinated storyteller. He threw his hands out wide in choruses, bounced and wove the Hold Steady’s tales of literary bar rock. The band brought tracks from its sixth studio album “Teeth Dreams” (2014), along with older cuts from “Boys and Girls in America.” Denver Day of Rock organizers would be smart to chase down more Brooklyn indie acts like this for future years. While the band holds a certain amount of indie credibility, it also has a approachable family-friendly sound that caters to all ages and most music preferences.
Surprisingly still driven by its big 2005 hit “Hey There Delilah,” the pop-punk act Plain White T’s brought the best turnout of the weekend. Singer Tom Higgenson knows how to play to the crowd, even among less-than-perfect conditions. As a light rain began to fall during the band’s first encore, Higgenson was on alone singing the band’s big hit “Hey There Delilah.” It was a magic moment for anyone who’s turned on the radio to hear the song in the last decade. The rest of the band joined him on stage to end the night with “Rhythm of Love.” While sappy lyrically, the band’s sound was tight and left the crowd satisfied.
By 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, Denver Day of Rock had wrapped things up — evidence that this is a family event and not Burning Man. But for its fifth year, Denver Day of Rock is coming into its own, showing better lineup planning this year with the addition of the Hold Steady and others.
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James Garcia is a community reporter at the Loveland Reporter-Herald and a new blogger at Reverb. Follow him on Twitter @JamesGarciaRH.
Seth McConnell is a member of YourHub at The Denver Post and a regular contributor to Reverb.
