With Continued Big Name Headliners, Kegs and Eggs Has Exceedingly Outgrown Blake Street Tavern
All photos credit to Bridget Burnette
Come one, come all, down to Denver's biggest St. Patty's day show of them all! Denver, how we feelin' after last Friday? We had a blast watching the artists at this years Kegs and Eggs! We gotta keep it real with you guys though, it was a lil bit of a mess although we had a killer time!
Luckily our staff was granted a few guaranteed admission passes. If you weren't so lucky, you were one of the champions who faced rain and whipping winds all night waiting in line. Kudos to you and your dedication! We arrived at Blake Street Tavern ready to tear it up with some awesome music and green brews in hand. We were stopped in our tracks as soon as we saw the crowd and set up indoors. Clearly over capacity, thousands of people filled up the main upstairs space of the restaurant leaving no room for new comers. The way the stage was set up at the southern main entrance of the building forced you to have to fight your way into the crowd as soon as you walked in the door. Not ideal. The room was entirely. Jam. Packed. Need to use the bathroom? Good luck. Wanna grab another beer? Good luck. Need to scratch your ankle? Good luck. We didn't have the energy to fight our way through the crowd so our team stuck to side stage.
AJR
We arrived after the first openers Bryce Fox and Locals Stelouse. After a few green beers during the set change, indie-pop party-starters AJR took the stage. With a blast of energy they took over Kegs and Eggs with hit "Come Hang Out". We weren't too familiar with AJR but they were definitely a good choice as the energy was always high and booming through the venue! They ended with their most popular "Sober Up" that you can hear again from time to time on 93.3.
With no photo pit it let the few photographers have to shove their way through the side of the crowd and stand on the barricade ledges to get a decent shot. Luckily, our photographer on site is a total pro and snagged some good shots!
There also seemed to be miscommunication with the Blake Street Tavern staff as we were let downstairs into the VIP space all day (we thought our guaranteed admission passes let us down there as the previous security guard let us by numerous times) but were stopped by a new security guard standing at the same post and told our passes didn't admit us downstairs although we had been admitted down all morning. After trying to explain the situation we eventually gave up after the security guard became rude and condescending. Whatevs, security man, you didn't ruin our day!
One of our staff members was lucky enough to snag a photo with the band downstairs *cough cough BST security* yes, downstairs in the VIP area. OG PTM members bassist Zach and lead singer John were exceptionally nice as she fan-girled for a brief moment (photo below!)
Finally the moment we had all been waiting for! New grammy winners, Portugal. The Man took stage! The Lords of Portland started the show off with a few favorites from the 'Evil Friends' album (2013) including "Purple, Yellow, Red and Blue," and "Modern Jesus." God damn, we just love you PTM! They threw it back even further with a few more hits from 'In The Mountain In The Cloud' (2011) like "All Your Light" and "So American."
After revisiting some old favorites, PTM showed off music from their brand new album 'Woodstock' (2017) like "Live In the Moment," and ended their set with grammy winning favorite "Feel It Still."
Although we had a stellar time this year at Kegs and Eggs we hope KTCL 93.3 considers another venue next year as we feel this awesome free event has, no question, outgrown Blake Street Tavern. The venue was clearly over capacity and the stage set up with the entrances was not ideal. Possibly outdoors with more room? Westword showcase parking lot in the Golden Triangle? Mile High Stadium parking lot? One of the Big Wonderful locations, maybe? Think on it!
From all of us at Ultra5280, we hope you had a fun and safe St. Patty's day weekend!
