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.