Underground Music Showcase co-founders John Moore (left) and Ricardo Baca enjoy themselves at a UMS after-party.
A great music festival can usually be pared down down to a series of memorable moments, and The Denver Post’s annual has had no shortage of them over its 14 years and thousands of shows.
In advance of this year’s July 24-27 event, which features more than 400 performances at 20 venues along South Broadway, we polled musicians, writers, festival organizers and fans about their favorite memories from years past — the unexpected triumphs, the craziest live shows, and the flat-out bizarre surprises that make The UMS the reliable summer party that it is.
The first-ever UMS (2001)
John Moore, UMS co-founder: Four bands, five bucks. Nuff said.
Enter the Fray (2007)
John Wenzel, The Denver Post:The tiny art-supply shop off South Broadway and Ellsworth Street was already packed for an acoustic set concert by Patrick Meese, but when buddy — and lead singer of the Fray — Isaac Slade dropped in to help, the cascade of social media quickly drew a crowd dozens strong. “I’m the only performer… who had to buy a wristband,” Slade joked at the time. And, no doubt, the biggest.
Cops at the outdoor stage (2008)
Ricardo Baca, UMS co-founder and editor, The Cannabist: The UMS’ first-ever outdoor stage, which featured local legends such as Born in the Flood, Hot IQs and Bela Karoli playing on a stage behind the South Broadway Christian Church, was nearly shut down by Denver police after noise complaints from neighbors. Fortunately, the bands finished before that could happen — but just barely.
Planes Mistaken for Stars mistaken for traitors (2003)
John Moore: In my feature on (Denver Post music) poll winner Planes Mistaken for Stars, I quoted one band member describing what growing up in their hometown of Peoria, Ill., was like: “I had a gun in my mouth there more times than I’ve had sex.” Planes had a homecoming concert scheduled shortly after the story ran. A columnist in Peoria read the story and wrote a rabid column damning the band as disloyal and calling on picketers at the concert — which, the band happily reported afterward, was jam-packed.
See our full coverage of UMS 2014 here
Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats performing on the roof during the Meese day party (2013)
Julio Enriquez, heyreverb.com: I loved the spontaneity of multiple band players on the roof. It was an insurance company’s worst nightmare, and everything seemed to work itself out with a barn-burning performance by the Night Sweats.
John Hickenlooper, Denver music booster (2010)
Eric Eyl, DJ and former heyreverb.com contributor: Before I introduced then-Mayor Hickenlooper at a Flobots show on the main stage, he asked Andy Guerrero and me to give him a sense of what the UMS was all about. Andy said it’s a lot like SXSW in Austin, Texas. I interrupted and said we needed to stop comparing ourselves to Austin, Seattle, and Portland (Ore.), and embrace Denver’s unique awesomeness. Five minutes later, Hickenlooper (whom I introduced as “your next governor,” even though the election was a few months away) got on stage and said, “I’m tired of hearing about Austin and Seattle and Portland! It’s happening right here!” Made me smile.
Seeing Colfax Speed Queen for the first time (2010)
Eric Johnston, vocalist for the Outfit: I just remember drinking too much and enjoying the hell out of every song they played. I was excited that more people were digging out a place for rock n’ roll in Denver.
Getting reckless in shopping carts (2008)
Ben DeSoto, Hi-Dive talent buyer: It was a new festival and people were running to discover new bands and find venues they never heard of. On our way to Sobo 151, Aaron Collins (currently of A. Tom Collins) spotted a shopping cart on the east side of Broadway and decided that jumping in would speed up our trip. As I ran ahead Erin Roberts (Porlolo) began to push Aaron Collins in the cart. Halfway across South Broadway Erin dropped her shoulder bag. She let go of the cart and jogged back to collect her things. Aaron and the shopping cart slowly rolled across S. Broadway with Aaron unable to climb out of the cart on his own.
A flyer for a past UMS event shows how the event started small — with fewer than a half-dozen venues.
A hail of pizza and turkey legs (various years)
John Wenzel, The Denver Post: The members of Zebroids, arguably Denver’s most entertaining punk band, employed a 2011 set at 3 Kings Tavern — and a shirtless old man — to toss entire pies into the audience, as advertised around the fest. Last year, cross-dressing cowpunk band Dudebabes also fed the audience with turkey legs and a stationary-bike-powered margarita machine while taco-bikini-clad dancers (you read that correctly) looked on with amazement and glee, much like the entire audience.
Being a UMS virgin (2011)
Matt Miller, editor, heyreverb.com: It can only happen once, but there’s nothing like seeing The UMS for the first time. A punk band is playing in a book store, a guy in a monkey suit is handing out popsicles to promote his show, every possible building is filled with music, and it still spills onto the street. It’s overwhelming. It’s exhilarating.
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John Wenzel is an A&E reporter and critic for The Denver Post. Follow him @johnwenzel.
