Flaural | Denver's Next Big Psych Band

March 16, 2017

With an explosion of psych-rock, it’s hard to cut through the noise and get to the truly talented musicians—luckily for Denver, local band Flaural fits the bill. Comprised of Collin Johnson, vocalist and bassist, Noah Pfaff, guitarist, Connor Birch, multi-instrumentalist, and Nick Berlin, drummer, Flaural surely picked up dozens of new fans last week at the Marquis Theater, where the band, along with Oyster Kids, opened for Dan Deacon.

Performing in front of a sold-out venue full of PBR-drinking college kids and adults looking for a night out is no easy task—keeping a crowd’s attention as an opener can be difficult, but Flaural has the audience hanging on every dreamy riff and smooth sense of storytelling. Flaural’s sound is like passing through a door and finding a whole new world on the other side, one filled with lush greenery and hues of blue and purple, where all stars are shooting and the body runs on beer, not water. Flaural has the rare ability to take us to dimensions other than our own—the band’s set is a journey that captivates the crowd from from beginning to end.

Flaural portrays a rare sense of ease layered within its live performance—Birch is a stoic yet enigmatic presence on the synth and various other instruments, while Pfaff looks out from underneath a wild mess of hair to produce perfectly executed riffs. One of the most charming aspects of Flaural’s live presence is that the band doesn’t take itself too seriously—Berlin is all smiles on the drums, and Johnson cheers the crowd with a tall beer in hand. Of course, there’s also the particularly enthusiastic crowd chanting the band members’ names with alcohol-fueled abandon. Flaural captures the attention of a large-range of music fans, from the punk rockers to the wildly dancing rave kids up front, to those who likely stumbled by the venue and decided to pop in for a spontaneous show. Those spur-of-the-moment concert-goers certainly lucked out with Flaural—each member brings a different talent to the stage, from Johnson’s effortless, incredible vocals to Birch’s fitting introspection.

When considering a fantastic set, it seems impossible to hone in on top moments—however, one can safely say that the best moment of the night is when the first few familiar sounds of “Nonnie” ring out. While the song is the band’s most popular, it’s for good reason—with rambling, bouncing instrumentals and an addicting chorus, “Nonnie” catches us like a fish in a net.

Flaural, hopefully, will be releasing new music soon (to be fair, we still can’t get enough of “Over Imaginary Cigarettes.”) The show at the Marquis served as a kick-off celebration of sorts in preparation for Flaural’s west coast tour—thankfully, the band will only be gone for a month, and will be playing plenty of local shows soon. For now, we’ll have to stick to hitting the loop button on Flaural’s Spotify.

Music | An Evening with Night Riots | Interview & Review

March 10, 2015

Spring is a great time of year to be living in Denver when music is your thing. As bands slowly make their way west towards Austin, TX for the music week of South By Southwest (SXSW), Denver tends to be one of the last stops for many groups before they plunge into the festival’s insanity. While some might think it’s a little overkill to watch the same band multiple time in the course of a few short weeks, I love getting the chance to watch artists play a proper concert before seeing what can often be disjointed, quick sets in rooms packed to the gills with festival goers. Last week I sat down with California-based Night Riots to talk about SXSW, touring, and all things Oregon Trail (yes, the crappy 90’s computer video game) before the band heads to Texas to battle the beast that is SXSW.

The room was moderately packed for a chilly Friday night at the Marquis Theatre when I arrived after a tedious battle with the pothole-filled streets to get downtown. It had been snowing all week, but you couldn’t tell from the warm buzz of the crowd once you got inside. “We always pick the coldest time of the year to come to Denver” guitarist Mikel joked, wrapped in a peacoat and boots as he met me at the door and walked us downstairs to meet the rest of the band. Playing that night with locals The Epilogues, the Denver music scene has become a welcome friend to Night Riots. They’ve played this city a slew of times over the past few years and were paired with The Epilogues as local support so often its lead them to ask the group to now accompany them on some tour dates through California and along the west coast. Although the band has continued to grow and change, Denver’s familiar crowd is refreshing amidst their newest endeavor: their first full national headlining tour. Kicking off on January 19th, the band will be out until the end of March, a lofty endeavor for any group regardless of size or tenure. “It’s been surprising how awesome the shows have been so far” lead singer Travis Hawley admitted to me on their green room couch. “It’s been nerve-wracking to be the headliner for the first time, but it’s going well so far”. “We think our drummer has dysentery, but he’ll pull through” guitarist Matt joked.

The past year has seemingly been one long, eclectic experiment for the band as they played with a crazy variety of different artists throughout the year. Touring with experimental rapper K Flay, playing festivals with The Mowglis and Cage The Elephant, and even a few Saosin reunion shows in the fall, the group has certainly stretched the limits of their dynamic sound, one which I’ve been known to describe as “brooding disco meets alt-pop”. When asked about their unique sound, Hawley said “We don’t wanna write the same song every time. All these pieces, each song, should be a different story, but they’re all from the same life. We’re always trying to relate pieces that are an adventure through (coherent) lifetime.” From the simple, poppy bass lines and piano of “Young Lore” to the emotive, 80’s style lyrics of “Back to Your Love”, into the dark and mysterious tracks of their newest release, 2014’s Howl, Night Riots might not seem to “fit” any of the bills they’ve been booked on, but it’s been made clear that they are the square that can become the rectangle, not the rectangle that cannot be the square. “It’s been really interesting to watch how fans react to us in each situation” Mikel concedes to me while we chat, “It hasn’t been planned for us to play such diverse shows, but it’s certainly been surprising to see how each show goes. Not all the fans at every show connect, but there’s been a good portion of fans that have been interested in what we do. I think that K Flay’s fans were the most surprising because she’s so different from us, but then again, she has a really varied fan base to begin with.”

Another experiment the band tried in 2014 was their month-long residency at Hemingways, a smaller, “hipster” venue in Los Angeles. Artist residencies have for the most part become a thing of the past with the exception of legacy acts at Madison Square Garden and shows in Vegas, so for such a young band to try it out seemed curious. “It’s something that’s kinda weird to think about, but it turned out rad for us” the group says. Playing four nights throughout the month of August, the band actually toured other states in between their shows each week instead of hunkering down in the city. “We regretted building the schedule like that in the end since we were traveling and touring so much (during that time period too), but we got it to work for us. It really hyped up the (fans in) LA, and was cool to see certain fans returning for each show week to week”.

As 2015 begins, Night Riots seem more focused on carving out new futures than they are on continuing to experiment. The group is headed south in a few weeks to Austin, TX for their second duel with the monster that is SXSW. “It’s interesting…wild…something that you just have to fully accept to make the most of” the group says when asked about the festival. “We went last year, and it was cool because there are just so many people there. Some you know, some you don’t, but you do have to have good shows to really make it worthwhile.” While the band is prepping to make solid first impressions on many down south, Denver’s familiarity with the band can be seen as one of the small pressures to keep them focusing on growth. During their set that at the Marquis, fans were singing and dancing along to each song, fully immersed in all the show had to offer. Vocalist Hawley was moving around the stage, climbing on speakers and twirling his mic stand through one of the better light displays I’ve ever seen in the tiny venue. After the group’s dynamic 45-minute set, fans called for encores despite the group already playing their current single “Contagious”. The crowd left happy at the end of the evening, although I’m sure I wasn’t the only one in attendance itching to hear new material from this group of avant-garde musicians.

Night Riots will be back in Colorado this summer during their stint on the Vans Warped Tour, but I hope that will be the last time we see them until they return with a full-length album in tow (they say they’ll record as soon as they have the chance). It’s certainly going to be a crazy week down in Austin for both the Ultra5280 team and the bands performing, but one thing i’m looking forward to is seeing Night Riots in a different setting, getting to watch new fans react to this eclectic sound that Denver has come to love like one of our own.

Wiredogs | Marquis Theatre | January 24, 2015

January 27, 2015

Last week we gave you guys a sneak preview of Wiredogs new, upcoming EP Kill The Artist Hype The Trash, and over the weekend the band premiered their new songs to the rest of the universe with their show at The Marquis Theatre on Saturday night. Fans new, old, and of a variety of ages all came out to support the Denver punk-rockers, and get a taste of the bands new, solidified musical direction. With a little help from friends in Slow Caves and Allout Helter, it was a solid night for all parties.

Opening the night were fellow local acts Slow Caves and Allout Helter. Fort Collins-based Slow Caves took the stage promptly at 8:00pm, playing what our photographer Matt Smith described as "fast-paced-snare-and-high-hat-punk". The group's music was certainly the lightest of the evening, but don't mistake this fact as a knock on the band, as I really love their music. Driving rhythms, and upbeat pop-punk rhythms kept fans moving for the duration of their 30-minute set. If you showed up late, or missed the show, fear not. Us Denverites will be graced with their presence once again on February 18th as they play with White Arrows and Shady Elders at the Larimer Lounge. Next up was Allout Helter, bringing with them a quick and forceful change of pace. Easily the heaviest band on the bill, the group's high energy was contagious, and got fans rocking and moving.

By the time Wiredogs took to the stage, the audience was definitely all warmed up and ready to go. Playing a mix of both new and old songs, it was apparent that lead singer Dan Aid, and the rest of the band were giving it their all. Fan favorite tracks like songs “Chelsea Hotel” and “Stone On My Chest” summoned sing-alongs from audience members, and the boys from Slow Caves took little time to start a mosh-pit in the crowd. The band took a minute to explain to fans that they’d recorded their new album live, playing songs track-by-track, rather than instrument-by-instrument to help ensure that all the passion and energy that one feels at their live show came though on the record, and if you remember from my review from last week, I can most certainly feel that difference. Closing the show with songs like “I Am The Resistance”, and new tracks “The Fear Is A Lie”, fans got a great taste of this new sound from Wiredogs. If you missed the show, check out photos from our photographer Matt Smith below and try to pretend you were right there, rocking along. The band is currently out on a quick west coast tour, but should be back to Denver playing shows through the rest of the spring. For now you can quench your thirst for fast-paced punk rock by streaming the new EP, Kill The Artist Hype The Trash on Spotify.