Beach House Brought Their Dream Pop Vibes To Mission Ballroom

Our favorite indie-chill band Beach House made a stop at Mission Ballroom on Wednesday night. In support of their latest 4 disc album Once Twice Melody. The first time playing the venue, the band glamoured at the amazing beauty of Denver’s still budding concert ballroom. If you’ve seen Beach House before you know that their production is minimal often syncing with their music, which has been described as chill, moody and dreamy. Flanked by nothing more than a back screen that displayed minimal images, the music still manages to come alive without all the theatrics. Led by Victoria Legrand on vocals and multi-instrumentalist Alex Scally, the band has been making music since 2004 and has evolved with each new record. On their latest the duo takes on a wave very similar to the last couple albums but a much more broader sense of the ability to convey a perfect album from beginning to end.

The band preaches minimal use of anything distracting that may hinder their live performance, in this case the use of phones in the audience. Honestly wish more bands did this. Visually the bands set coordinated perfectly into a dream-like experience. The band praised the new venue at one point stating “I feel like we are on a spaceship”, The band tore through various hits off all of their albums with a heavy dose of newer material that was well received.

Words and Images-Robert Castro

The National Showcase New Music During Back To Back Nights At Mission Ballroom

Matt Berninger of The National. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

The National has long been a band that has gotten better with time. Much of it doing with the amazing and talented band’s dedication to the art. With back to back nights at Denver’s newest venue Mission Ballroom, Denver had a chance to witness the bands glory. We got a chance to attend the second night and were welcomed with a warm and happy set from ALVVAYS (one of our favorites), Molly Rankin and company ripped through their set playing fan friendly hits such as “Dreams Tonite” and “In Undertow”.

We have had a chance to cover The National on many occasions and they have always delivered with an amazing production in the past. On this tour the stage was flanked by three large LED boards displaying various imagery including shots of the band backstage getting ready to take the stage.

The band played all new material with a few classics towards the end. Their latest album I Am Easy To Find has been getting rave reviews and fans got a chance to listen to those songs live for the first time. The reception was welcomed with cheers and applause as songs such as “Quiet Light”, “Oblivions” and “Hey Rosey” rang through the venue as the lighting gave life to each song.

Words and images: Robert Castro

The Lumineers Christen Denver's Newest Music Venue

The Lumineers kick off their tour at Mission Ballroom. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

Denver music lovers have a new playground. The Mission Ballroom officially opened its door last night for their first ever concert courtesy of hometown crooners The Lumineers. The venue itself is a spectacle and thing of beauty. We had a chance to check out the soft opening a few days ago, but this was our first time covering a show there. Amongst the many amenities of the venue include amazing sight lines (not a bad seat in the house), gorgeous murals adoring the walls throughout (sourced from some Denver’s best artist), relatively pain-free beer lines (they even have tall-boy White Claws).

The sold out crowd took to their seats as Irish country star Jade Bird kicked things off with her unique take on a genre which had her singing with no recourse and gaining new fans. We first saw Jade Bird about three years ago at SXSW and knew then she was going to be a star.

The venue is able to accommodate from 2,200 to 3,950. For The Lumineers it was a perfect way to introduce the venue as founding members Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites got their careers started right down the road at open mic nights at The Meadowlark. “If you built it, they will come” proclaimed Schultz in between songs. With a new album set to drop in September the crowd got a heavy dose of new material leading up to a few toe-tapping, tambourine shaking favorites such as “Opheia”, “Ho, Hey” and “Stubborn Love”.

We can sit here and blast you with praise about the venue(we would rather you check it out yourself), but it was The Lumineers that shined and what a better way to introduce to you the Mission Ballroom.

Jade Bird howling away. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

Words and photos: Robert Castro

The Night Running Tour feat. Beck, Cage The Elephant, Spoon and Starcrawler

The Night Running Tour came through Denver recently with a heavyweight lineup that included Star Crawler, Spoon, Cage The Elephant and Beck. Tours like this are a concertgoer’s dream as they get to see bands that would normally sell out headline shows all on one bill. We didn’t manage to catch openers Starcrawler but they will be back in Denver at Lost Lake on October 12th.

Brit Daniels of Spoon. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

We have been seeing Spoon for a number of years now including here in Denver and various festivals across the country. Brit Daniels and company always perform with an no holds barred right down to business approach. Nothing changed this time around, (only drawback of tours like this is late arrivals), right off the bat they demand your attention and are able to dig deep into their vast catalog to give you what you want. Consistency is synonymous with Spoon and that is what makes them a great band. Impressive performance nonetheless we hope they come back soon.

Next up was Cage The Elephant. We remember an interview back in 2013 that we did with the band and at that time they were opening for Muse. (Read interview here). We have always admired the approach they take into their live performances. Led by singer Matt Shultz, you never know what you are going to expect from their live performance. With a penchant for going all out crazy, nothing changed here, we figured the altitude would tame the frontman a bit, it wasn’t the case. Fully dressed in a subtle suit to begin with and left but nothing in his underwear to end the set, that basically defines the mayhem behind a Cage The Elephant show. Patrons truly got their money’s worth with this performance.

As the opening riffs of “Loser” were played, we were instantly taken back in time to what could easily be described as one of the best singles ever released. Albeit this was in 1993, the song has maintained its shine even throughout all these years and is still considered one of Beck’s best songs considering the amount of albums he has released since. His setlist was like a greatest hits album being played live as he pulled songs from eight different albums giving fans a dose of the different eras of Beck. He managed to hold some small stage banter (which may have cut into the venues curfew) but it was his showmanship that made it a worthy experience a fan of music.

Mission Ballroom Set For Takeoff With Initial Lineup Announcements

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AEG Presents is proud to announce a trio of concerts that will launch the opening of the highly anticipated Mission Ballroom in Denver, Colorado.

World-renowned hometown band The Lumineers officially open the venue on Wednesday, August 7. Trey Anastasio Band performs Friday, August 9 and Saturday, August 10. The celebration continues with co- headliners Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals and Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue on Monday, August 12.

"I love the idea of a venue being built from scratch by people who care so deeply about the live music experience. I'm honored and excited to be one of the first artists to break it in,” said Trey Anastasio.

“What an honor to be the very first band to be playing this beautiful new venue!” says The Lumineers.

The Mission Ballroom opening will be the culmination of years of strategic planning and effort by AEG Presents to bring Colorado one of the most unique live music experiences this town has ever seen.

“Mission Ballroom was designed with three core components that up to this point have not been fully integrated together in the club concert experience in the United States: flexibility in capacities, unrivaled sightlines and state-of-the-art in-house sound and lighting. Fans and the bands will love it,” says Chuck Morris, CEO of AEG Presents Rocky Mountains.

The 60,000 SF concert space uses mobile-stage technology to create intimate experiences for events of varying sizes. The venue can accommodate 2,200 to 3,950 guests, allowing at least half of the capacity to have access to seating.

Mission Ballroom will anchor North Wynkoop, a new 14-acre mixed-use project by Denver- developers Westfield Company, located at the north end of River North (RiNo) neighborhood between 40th and 43rd Streets along Brighton Boulevard, 4242 Wynkoop Street, Denver, CO 80216.

North Wynkoop is a five-minute walk to the 38th and Blake A-Line Station (one stop to Denver Union Station and 30 minutes to Denver International Airport) and just minutes from the

intersection of Denver’s largest vehicular arteries of I-25 and I-70. Parking options include an underground garage for 240 vehicles, as well as other nearby surface lots. In addition, The Mission Ballroom will provide a convenient and well-coordinated shared pick-up and drop-off area and abundant bike parking. For more information visit www.northwynkoop.com.

AEG Presents also announced a groundbreaking ticketing program: Mission Fair Ticketing. The innovative system is designed to give equal access for tickets to all fans. By utilizing a registration system, automated ticket-buying programs and ticket brokers will be unable to book blocks of tickets, which prevents individuals from their opportunity to purchase tickets at face value.

This cutting-edge method is accessible and straightforward, and more fair than traditional ticketing platforms. There is no specific time and place one must be to buy a ticket. Guests will not have to constantly refresh a web browser, nor stand in line. Everyone who wants a ticket has an equal chance of obtaining one, and the process is user-friendly.

For Opening Weekend and Select Shows:

  • Mission Fair Ticketing begins on Tuesday, March 19 at 8 a.m. MDT.

  • Fans have until Sunday, March 24 at noon MDT to request tickets.

  • Ticket requests are processed in random order, if a purchaser’s request is selected, the credit card is automatically charged for the ticket. Guests can request up to 4 tickets per show.

  • Purchasers will be notified by Thursday, March 28 if their orders can be processed.

  • Everyone has an equal chance of being selected.

  • There are no presales, 100 percent of the available tickets are offered through Mission Fair Ticketing.

  • Any tickets unsold/unrequested are put on to standard AXS ticketing page on Friday, March 29 at 10 a.m. MDT.

Not all events at Mission Ballroom will use the Mission Fair Ticketing System. Shows using it will be clearly noted.

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Courtney Barnett Kicks Off Tour In Denver With A Bang!

Denver got a double dose of Australian rocker Courtney Barnett this past weekend. Supporting her latest album Tell Me How You Really Feel, Barnett filled every nook of The Ogden Theatre for back to back nights. The start of tour shows can be either hit or miss, but for Barnett she was delivering on all cylinders with her customary gritty guitar play and recognizable drawl. Opening with “Hopefulness” off the new album, Barnett and company set the done for the rest of the night with all new material and a few carry overs from her first album. The voice remains the same and her sound has evolved, after all the last time Barnett was in Denver was election night 2016, while our political landscape changed dramatically that night, there is still hope that music lovers alike can still enjoy themselves at a good ole rock and roll show.

Words and Images: Robert Castro