The end of was also a beginning for thousands of people: of recovery after four days of live music, sunshine and beer; of a renewed appreciation for the joys of live music; of marriage.
On that last note, Tyler Hayden, lead singer of the Royal, proposed to his girlfriend after opening up the Main Stage of the festival at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday. The band’s impressive energy, which saw Hayden pacing the wide outdoor area dressed in black, occasionally atop the amps, helped the sparse, hungover crowd triple in size by mid-set.
See our full coverage of UMS 2014 here
Backed by 16th-noted high-hat drum beats and employing lyrics like “We are the creatures of the night!” — a bold statement at 3:30 on a Sunday — Hayden’s Killersesque vocals were smooth and emotive. Soon they’d be proposing to his girlfriend after the set (off-stage and un-miked; she accepted). The summery sounds of L.A. indie rock band filled the Hi-Dive a half-hour and a half-block away at the official Reverb day party, the singer joking that it was Day 3 of the band’s Hi-Dive tour, having gamely played there three out of the last four days of the festival. Their sound wasn’t all that original or bracing, a mix of hip, white-dude guitar-rock trends of the past few years that owes a large debt to Vampire Weekend. But soft-rock is cool, no?
Ned Garthe, lead singer of the garage quartet Ned Garthe Explosion, had promised at Adam Cayton-Holland’s comedy podcast taping earlier in the fest that his band was a mythical experience, a “blink-184,” even. His set Sunday afternoon at 3 Kings Tavern didn’t disappoint. Covered in glittering confetti and lording over a room full of unfurled toilet paper rolls and colorful streamers, Garthe (whose band contained members of the Knew and the dearly-departed Hindershot) highlighted his “shrimp dancer” back-up entertainment and called for band sponsorship from “a shrimp company. We would have real weird bowel movements after a month” of an all-shrimp diet, he made sure to mention. Ew. At least the music, which didn’t lack for volume or energy, was not-gross.
Following their raucous set, the Ween-meets-Extreme (as my friend Paul called it) antics of took to the stage. Featuring members of Denver bands Petals of Spain and Eldren, LSD Bags was a trio of similar-looking, long-haired, shirtless dudes who would have looked completely at home in an ’80s butt-rock video. “They’re all Ted Nugent!” my buddy Jim also joked at one point. Fortunately, their melodic, falsetto-heavy tunes were also the real deal with flame-thrower riffs and fancy fills, which were applied late-set to a laser-precise cover of the Flaming Lips’ “She Don’t Use Jelly.” So many bands struggle to do their obvious influences proud. These guys improved upon them.
Across South Broadway back at the Main Stage, Denver psych-rock outfit played an agreeable and tight set that often betrayed its Brit-pop influences. I would say more about the set, but I was distracted by the enormous beach ball that hit me in the head several times without warning, prompting me to wish for a pitchfork, knife or candle to pop that infuriatingly distracting fixture at outdoor concerts. the dozen-plus toddlers scattered near the back of parking lot at the Security Service Federal Credit Union, at least, didn’t seem to mind.
Snake Rattle Rattle Snake packed ’em at the backyard of the Centennial house party, their sound a bit drowned near the back by the stoned, drunk party kids.The two-day event came to a close with a surprise reunion of Denver indie titans Nathan and Stephen (later Hearts of Palm), which I unfortunately skipped out on to catch Main Stage headliners . There, the New York trio alternated between hypnotic grooves, keyboard flourishes and avant-pop guitar songs, lead singer Kazu Makino conquering her asthma at altitude to deliver a sultry performance that massaged the crowd into a dream-like state.
Just before that, the Skylark hosted spy-rock quintet Codename: Carter a few minutes later, the band playing to a sparsely-populated but appreciative room. Singer Marc Hobelman and drummer Michael Behrenhausen (full disclosure: both Reverb contributors) traded vocals, keys and horn flashes for crisp drum beats, providing an appropriately exotic, retro soundtrack to the waning night. Harpsichord and two bass guitars? Yes, please.
Ben Roy, it must be said, lives one of the more exciting lives in Denver. The lead singer of punk band Spells played the second of two sets later that night at the Skylark, crowd-surfing his way to a sweaty and triumphant finale. This was just a few hours after playing the Mile High Parley at Munity Information Cafe, and a few more hours after Roy had returned from a packed solo show at the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal, where (as in Denver, and plenty of other places) he’s an acclaimed stand-up. Did we all have his insane, sober, CrossFit energy? No and no. I spied a dude malingering over a trash can on the way to the Hi-Diver after that, taking the sign of spittle coming off his lips far too slowly as a mark of extreme dehydration.
The ethereal vocals and soothing keys of Washington, D.C. duo felt like a fitting way to close out the night (for this reporter, anyway) at the Hi-Dive, an electro sigh that acknowledged the fatigue and satisfaction spreading throughout the fest at that moment. After four days, more than 400 performances and countless floods of emotion, it was both necessary and bittersweet to watch the gates close on another banner year of The Underground Music Showcase.
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John Wenzel is an A&E reporter and critic for The Denver Post. Follow him @johnwenzel.
Seth McConnell is a member of YourHub at The Denver Post and a regular contributor to Reverb.
