The Kills Monolith 2008

I should have paid more attention to the music when The Kills played the secondary stage on top of Red Rocks. Instead I was mesmerized by frontwoman VV. I'm pretty sure they sounded awesome, though.

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings Monolith 2008

Sharon Jones came on the stage with style. Her Dap-Kings warmed up the crowd, then she strutted on to the mainstage, filling the amphitheater with presence despite being a diminutive 4'11". The backing band was tight and Sharon brought tons of personality to the party.

Avett Brothers Monolith 2008

Before arriving at Monolith, it seemed like people were coming out of the woodwork with exhortations to see the Avett Brothers. I went in with not much info, just a couple CDs borrowed from the library and trust in my friends' good taste. Turns out they were right!

The Avett Brothers brand of rocking hillbilly music hit the right spot, and their energetic stage show made the sunny boozy afternoon at Red Rocks come alive. I'll be playing their tunes for sure up in Laramie, where the indie rock fans are scarce but the whole town loves bluegrass and old timey music.

Devotchka at Monolith Festival 9-13-08

Devotchka have been on my life list of bands to see live for a long time now, so I was delighted to see them headline Monolith this year. I was not disappointed one bit in their beautifully stylized stage show and gorgeous sounds. It still startles me to realize that Devotchka is four people, rather than, say, 20. Of course they added a few more people with the Devotchka strings and horns for the home town performance, and the amphitheatre filled with their beautiful music.

And, it must be said, I have a wee girl crush on the sousaphone-ist and her beautiful t-strap shoes.

Silversun Pickups at Monolith Festival, 9-13-08

Our favorite Los Angelinos always seemed ready for a large scale stage and they proved themselves Saturday night. Filling the air with their brand of shoegaze noise coupled with blistering rock, Silversun Pickups seemed at home.

Holy Fuck at Monolith Festival, 9-13-08

The New Beligium stage for Holy Fuck was the. place. to. be. on Saturday. Wow these seeemingly quiet Canadians blew out our eardrums and set the whole place to dancing with their fierce and inscrutable beats. A dynamic stage presence and wicked awesome drummer kept the crowd firmly in Holy Fuck's hands for the whole set. The boys seemed overcome with happiness as more and more Monolith-ers joined the dance party.

They closed the set with a transcendent rendition of "Lovely Allen", which seemed to me like it was always meant to be played at Red Rocks. The crowd flew to another plane, causing the stage MC to call for an encore, in the middle of the day, at a secondary stage. That's what I'm talking about!

If you get the chance to see Holy Fuck, do so. And remember your earplugs.

Cut Copy at Monolith Festival 9-13-08

Cut Copy is great at what they do, which is perhaps not exactly my thing. They're a good looking group of talented folks though, so I need to share some photos.

Port O'Brien at Monolith Festival, 9-13-08

Port O'Brien was one act I wanted to catch live for sure. Having listened to their single "I Woke Up Today" regularly while sipping PBR in my back yard this summer, I couldn't wait to hear their other material and see them on stage.

They did not disappoint, bringing a fiery set and confrontational but oddly loveable energy to the stage. They closed with "I Woke Up Today", inviting fans to dig into a box of pots and pans and start banging them on the stage. Soon the whole room was screaming "Whoa whoaooooooawhoaaooo -oh!" and enjoying one of th esingle best moments of the whole day.

Lovelikefire at Monolith Festival 9-13-08

These San Franciscans started the day off right, plenty of energy and rock to get the crowd ready for the Festival.

Cloud Cult, Monolith Pre-Party

A double dip of Cloud Cult for my team, although I was an old lady who only made it to one of two back-to-back shows in the Rocky Mountain Empire.

Every time I see this band, I stand in amazement at the quality of their stage show and wonder why they don't have more fans. To college students I say "these guys blow Jack Johnson away! Try some Cloud Cult!"

Opener "Transistor Radio" set the stage for their quiet side, followed by a blistering "Intro" and "Tornado Lessons" and a hint of the rock to come. They played the song I most wanted to hear last night, "Pretty Voice" and it delivered, although I was left wanting "Please Remain Calm".

Ghost themes ruled the night, with some great tracks from their latest album Feel Good Ghosts including my favorites "No One Said it Would Be Easy" and "Journey of the Featherless" as well as crowd fave "Everybody Here is a Cloud". They also dug back to the Aurora Borealis album with "Alone at a Party in a Ghost Town".

The set closed with "Take Your Medicine" and a three song encore of "Mr. Tambourine Man" (shades of the live at kexp cd), "Happy Hippo" (in a sweetly described rebellion against Baca's protestations from the May performances), and "Love You All".






"Pork Pie" and "More Cowbell" delivering the art and the rock.


"Mr. Tambourine Man"

The Dutchess and the Duke, Monolith Pre-Party

On the last stop of their month-long tour, Seattle's The Dutchess and the Duke suffered from a few technical snafus. They made the most of the quiet sound and the noisy pre-party crowd by creating their own little take-away show in the pit in front of the stage.

Beautiful harmonies! Lovely songs! One day I will see them when conditions are perfect (i.e. I don't drink a Jamesons and get distracted by Fleet Foxes merch during their set as I did earlier this summer and they remember their pickups).

Young Coyotes, Monolith Pre-Party 9-12-09

These coyotes are young, just 4 months together as a band according to the singer. Their multi-percussionist sound reminded me a bit of the Annuals, and their footwear reminded me of Vampire Weekend (which in turn reminded me of high school).

Shoes aside, a nice introduction to Young Coyotes at the Monolith pre-party.

Cloud Cult - last night, tonight!

My friends who saw the show at the Aggie Theater in Ft. Collins last night report that Craig Minowa and company put on another excellent performance. Tonight, they bring it to the Bluebird - see you there!

Monolith treats for the Laramigos

Wyoming and Northern Colorado residents benefit from the Monolith influx of musicians this week.

First, Cloud Cult makes a Fort Collins appearance at the Aggie Theatre on Thursday September 11th. I'm so tempted to attend, because they put one of the best live shows around, but it seems a bit excessive as we'll be seeing them the next night at the Bluebird. If you've not seen Cloud Cult before this show is $8 (!) and so close to the Equality State that you can't go wrong.

On Saturday the 13th The Giraffes make their way through Laramie en route to their Sunday Red Rocks date. I'm new to this band but getting a national act at a bar like JJ's is totally worth checking out in my mind.

Obama mania

I don't really want to talk about politics on a music blog, but these were irresistible.
[via bb-blog]

TV on the Radio (monolith preview)

I've missed TVOTR their last couple trips through the mountain west, and I'm so pleased to correct that mistake this weekend! I predict the sound of "Staring at the Sun" oozing out over the rocks will be mind-blowing.

What I've heard from the new album is amazing, and the New York Times agrees. Be sure and check out the interviews with Dave Sitek. That man is a genius.

Monolith Lineup Grids for you!

Map Monolith by time and stage... These will probably be all over the place soon, but we were impatient and made our own. You can print them and work on choosing your own Monolith adventures for Saturday and Sundays lineups. I hope you don't find too many conflicts! Right now I'm a bit concerned about a couple tight spots and wondering how fast I can run up and down those stairs, especially on Sunday night.

Saturday!
Sunday!

Monolith is almost here!!