On Wednesday we were treated to the magnificent, unique, mystifying sounds of Austin-natives The Bright Light Social Hour. Playing to a packed room at The Bluebird Theater with Denver sons Eldren, this was a night of psychedelic, musical bliss for anyone involved. Check out our amazing photo essay from photographer Andrew Rios below.
You all know that the team at Ultra5280 loves SXSW, so when we were told that SXSW awarded The Bright Light Social Hour six awards at the 2011 SXSW Austin Music Awards, you can bet your bottom dollar that it caught our attention. This band of long-haired, new-age, southern gentlemen have been slowly buzzing their way across the United States since 2010, collecting thoughts and feelings about the modern America they found themselves surrounded by. The band even kept a Tumblr during their tour entitled Future South, and used it to tell the stories of the people they stayed with while on the road. An amazing, deep, powerful collection of stories from 20-somethings smattered across the country, the Tumblr page’s description reads:
“We couldn't afford to stay in hotels most nights so we were staying with a lot of people. We got to see how average young Americans lived. We felt a lot of the struggle...We’re taking a lens to some of these gritty realities and espousing an optimistic, frontier-looking gaze into the future.”
These stirring realizations have been woven together into the band’s newest release, Space Is Still The Place - an eclectic rock/indie/funk/electronic blend of rhythms and sounds that breathe new life into the group’s “Future South” findings. From the biography on the band’s website, vocalist Curtis Roush explains “the South has great food, a relaxed pace, and sweet, well-mannered folk. However, a lot of issues aren’t going away. ‘Future South’ is both an aesthetic and political statement. We’re taking forms and influences from soul, blues, and gritty southern music and ushering them forward. ‘Future South’ evinces the south can be a vibrant egalitarian place. You can love barbecue and not be racist.”
Curious yet? We certainly are, and lucky for all of us, The Bright Light Social Hour arrive in Denver this Wednesday, May 13th, sharing the stage at The Bluebird with Talk In Tounges and local favorites Eldren. Tickets are $12 in advance, but if you’re feeling lucky, Ultra5280 will be giving away a pair on Tuesday via our Facebook and Instagram pages. This show isn’t one to miss friends, so grab tickets now before it’s too late.
Last night we had the opportunity to join Eldren and Petals of Spain in their 3rd annual "The Dark Side of Abbey Road" mashup at the Oriental Theater. Over the years we have grown to love these two bands and the incredible shows they produce, but it's safe to say that they really outdid themselves this past weekend playing to a sold out crowd at this historic Oriental Theatre. Abbey Road was fantastic, and Dark Side of The Moon was memorizing courtesy of Tyler Imbrogno of Eldren crushing the high notes in "Great Gig In The Sky", even Mean Mr. Mustard made an appearance to douse the crowd in silly string. The bands took a short break after the first half of the set, and came back out to jam to some old classics like "Blackbird", "Going To California", "White Rabbit" and "Mr. Blue Sky". Everyone in the crowd clearly had a blast and you could tell how much fun all the band members were having playing these iconic songs. If you didn't get a chance to make it this time around, I'd highly suggest you mark your calendars for next year because this show is definitely worth the ticket.
Photos and review courtesy of Andrew Rios
