Something Like Sound

Pouring coffee on yourself is a very distressing occasion. Doing so will ruin both your shirt and your night. However, despite the vanilla latte my shirt was soaking up, my night was not all for loss as Andrea Ball and Trace Bundy filled the night with their relaxing melodies.

Filling Everyday Joe’s, a coffee shop in Fort Collins, to capacity, roughly 250 sat in eager silence as Andrea Ball picked up her guitar and started beating on it in a way somewhat musical. The song eventually took on more form as the drummer and bassist picked up the melody and continued along. Her set, simple in instrumentation and structure, progressed with Ball moving between piano and guitar regularly. Her voice led the way providing the varied strengths and weaknesses of the songs. Between songs, her dry sense of humor kept things going relating songs with influences and other random parts of her life. For more information on Andrea Ball, take a look at the album review we posted not too long ago.

Following up Andrea Ball’s hour-long set, Trace Bundy took the stage with little flair. No stranger to Everyday Joe’s, a sense of belonging aired about him as he adeptly picked up his guitar and beat it as percussion, starting quite similarly to Andrea Ball. Bundy’s extensive use of tapping, delay, and looping gave him a very unique sound that was as pleasurable to listen to as it was to watch. Between songs, stories about his travels around the world, learning how to text, and or the background for the next song filled the gaps, keeping people laughing as he tuned his guitars. For the most part, he played alone, only being joined occasionally by his violinist and, even rarer, his wife.

Bundy’s sense of humor matched his skill at the guitar. He revealed that the first song he learned on the guitar was “One” by Metallica. However, it’s become a bit too easy for him over the years. To keep the challenge fresh, he played the famous riff on his iPhone using a guitar app. His violinist also joined him with a violin app. The story behind his song “Dueling Ninjas” was equally entertaining with details about how ninjas dislike violins and were therefore angry at each other. Through the entirety of his two-hour set, the crowd sat laughing and amazed at the Colorado-native guitarist.

Words by Spencer Nelson, Photos by Tim Weilert

While the rest of the world was tucked away in blankets sipping hot chocolate, roughly 70 people trekked out to downtown Denver in the cold, dreary weather to see one of Denver’s most non-dreary bands. Headlining at the Hi Dive, the Photo Atlas, along with the openers 1090 Club and The Forecast, put on a show that made all the hassle of driving through the downpour worth it.

As I waited for the show to start, I struck up a conversation with one of the maybe 10 people there (the rest showed up after the concert started). He said he used to write for Chicago’s version of Westword, a newspaper that especially spotlights local music. He made it a point to get to this show specifically for the first opening band, The Forecast. Hailing from Peoria, Illinois, The Forecast could best be described as a Midwest punk band straight from the mid-90′s. With the volume cranked up (almost to the point of discomfort), The Forecast blazed through songs with considerable skill as they mixed the vocals of both male and female lead singers with the ever-driving guitar. Their sound rang quite familiar since they come out of a well-explored genre. However, the songs were still distinct and there were no dead points to the set.

Next up was a band quite familiar to this blog, 1090 Club. The first content we put up here was a review of The Appleseed Cast concert where 1090 Club opened, shortly followed by a review of the album Natural Selection, which has since been released. Starting strong, the band kept a steady pace with their heart-felt vocals. Their unconventional mix including a piano and a violin, but lacking a bass, worked nicely for them. Similar to The Forecast, 1090 Club had mixed vocals frequently through their music. The darker sound of 1090 Club transitioned perfectly from the upbeat riffs of The Forecast to the minor tone of The Photo Atlas.

No newcomer to the Denver music scene, The Photo Atlas has a unique sound that can best be described as “dance punk.” Even my friend from Chicago knew of The Photo Atlas’ reputation around Denver. With an invitation for the spread-out crowd to come in closer “so we can all dance together,” The Photo Atlas started with their typical rock sound that broke down into a dance beat for the chorus. The complex guitar riffs, often reminding me of Saosin, tied songs together from start till finish. Vocals, closer to melodic yelling than anything else, fit well with their style of music. It was rather strange the first time the dance beats came in since it’s not expected at a rock concert. However, as the set progressed, people started moving more and more. Old songs and new fell together, pulling music from throughout their career. Time flew as the band played, making the end of the 45-minute set seem like it was still the beginning.

I pity all who decided against this $8 show because of the weather. We’ll keep you informed of other chances to see these guys. Video interviews with all three of these bands to follow…

Words by Spencer Nelson, Photos by Patrick Beseda