Something Like Sound

I remember the first time I heard Hot IQs. I was in high school then and KCSU in Fort Collins wasn’t afraid to play “Firecracker” with it’s catchy beat and remember-able lyrics “Out of my gun, in to your burning heart.” I remember dragging my friends to see them play the night before the SAT tests. I remember winning tickets to their annual Christmas party and listening to my Houndstooth 7 inch too loudly on my turntable. I will never forget the amazing show they played one summer night at the Bluebird. It was their swan’s song. It was their last.

Upon arrival, the first band, FOMA (from San Fransisco), had already begun playing their mellow brand of avant-indie-pop. Their songs were enjoyable, but lacked the necessary energy to really get the crowd warmed up. As I watched the set I looked around to see many familiar faces from the Denver scene (even our pal Lance from the Flat Response was there, look for his quality recording soon).

Up next was local up-and-coming act Bad Weather California. Feeding on the energy building in the crowd, the Bad Weather guys used their reverb-laden guitars and vocals to kick things up. They have such an interesting sound, it is like a mix of surf records with oldschool punk undertones. Either way, their set was quite enjoyable and played well into the overall upbeat mood of the evening.

As with every Hot IQs show I’ve been to, there was dancing. However this show was perhaps a little more special. To get things heated up they had an exotic dancer do a fan-dance to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing,” it was quite the show. Then it was finally time for Hot IQs.

They began their set with a certain intensity (and Brian in a legitimate Cookie Monster costume), playing several of their stronger songs, including “Web In Front” (an Archers of Loaf cover) and “Houndstooth.” The gigposter described the show as a dance party, and the night certainly lived up to it. Playing though nearly their entire catalogue from the past 6 years Hot IQs kept the at-capacity crowd at the Bluebird moving to their 4-on-the-floor beats and catchy hooks. “We might talk a lot tonight,” remarked singer/guitarist Eli Mishkin, “We’ve been waxing poetic all week.” Throughout the night they thanked various people who had helped their career.

The normal set ended, although there was no way the night would end without an encore. Returning to the stage with a bag full of condoms, Eli tossed them to the crowd as they proceeded to play “Nightstand,” “Firecracker,” and finally ending with “Duck & Cover.”

I’ve already been too nostalgic, but I will end with this: Hot IQs, with their simple, catchy style and incredibly fun live set will always hold a special place in the hearts of Coloradoans and music fans. They will be missed.

Words by Tim Weilert, Photos by Kenton Larson

“Denver was our first home away from home” explained Lucero guitarist Brian Venable in our interview before the band took the stage at the Bluebird on a gorgeous Colorado Friday night. From the start, I could tell this was going to be an interesting night. First of all, we weren’t the only press/bloggers there (also folks from AmericanIndie.net, Colorado Tapers, Suburban Home Records, and the Westword Street Team, to name a few).The interesting thing about Lucero is that they’re never made it big, yet they play shows to sold out crowds of screaming fans just like any band you’d hear on mainstream radio. Well, it was one of those nights, a roudy, ramblin’ Memphis rock show made specially for the homegrown Denver fans.

Up first was Chuck Ragan, singer for punk outlet Hot Water Music. Ragan’s raspy vocals and intense demeanor got the crowd warmed up as Lucero’s Ben Nichols would occasionally wander on to the stage to sing along with Chuck. I think the best way to describe the set would be to call it a mix of oldschool Johnny Cash and the shear bad-ass-ery of Eastwood’s Dirty Harry. Ragan, along with various backups (including pedal steel, fiddle, and accordian), played through a handful of songs with dynamics changing from rousing, upbeat numbers to more contemplative slow songs.

As Lucero took the stage they didn’t immediately rip in to one of their more popular songs, but instead began slowly with a cut from their early days. “This was the third song I ever wrote for this band,” remarked Nichols. However, the slow start didn’t stop the crowd. Even after the first song, deafening applause and cheering erupted, allowing the band to segway into another song. The set really began to pick up when they played their cover version of Jawbreaker’s “Kiss the Bottle,” and from there on out it was like a runaway train. I think they started playing sometime around 11 pm, and definitely did not finish until 12:30 am.

Throughout the night Lucero played songs from their newest, recently recorded, yet-to-be-released album (which is still technically untitled). However, they remained true to their fans and played some of their all time greats, including “Sixteen,” “That Much Further West,” and my personal favorites “Here At The Starlight” and “Slow Dancing.” During the evening, Jon Snodgrass, of Drag The River, showed up to support Lucero. Most notably, Snodgrass sang along toward the end of the set during “Tears Don’t Matter Much,” wherein he and Nichols argued about who was going to play guitar.

Well, this has been a rather long review, but then again, this was one of the longest shows I’ve been to (in recent memory). After over a decade on the road, Lucero still knows how to put on a world-class show. Check back within the coming days (hopefully not weeks), to watch our interview with John and Brian from Lucero.

Words by Tim Weilert, Photos by Bengsoon Chuah