Velorama: Bikes, Booze and Fun.

The 2nd annual Velorama Festival took over Denver last weekend with amazing music, brand installations, food, and amazing beer.

The festival was once again held in the parking lots off Blake Street in the Rino District. We were on hand to catch the music performances from some of the best acts in music today as well as some equally impressive local bands and dj's.

The first night saw things open up with local faves Slow Caves who set the tone of the night with a rather raucous performance with their usual chill rock vibes. Philly's own Hop Along was also on hand to perform an amazing set as the crowds started to fill in. It has been awhile since we saw the dynamic duo of Jamie Hince and Alison Moshart who form the rockcentric The Kills. Those unfamiliar with the band got a first hand dose of straight in your face rock and roll. The scheduled headliner for the night was Modest Mouse who unfortunately had to cancel due to travel issues, the decision left a bitter taste to those who came out just to see the band. We've been covering music for quite sometime now and realize that stuff like this happens all the time. The band did however get added to the following night's headlining slot.

Day two started off with local crooner Brent Cowles and his talented band. The band played a jubilant set that would have to rank as one of the best we have seen from the band. We weren't quite sold on Lo Moon who seemed like they killed a little of the buzz Cowles had left. A rather subtle set, the band just wasn't doing it for us or the crowd. The band that we had circled as a must see was Rainbow Kitten Surprise who blew our expectations as they probably had the best set of the weekend. Fronted by lead singer Samuel Melo, he channeled his inner Mick Jagger and Freddy Mercury dance moves as they gave life to the bands performance. The band is no stranger to performing in big festivals as they danced and swayed and encouraged the crowd to do the same. Cold War Kids (who seem like they play in Denver every other weekend) was on hand to deliver a nostalgic set for us as as they mentioned the last time they had performed in a parking lot was for the 2008 Democratic National Convention which we were also part of. The Growlers were another band who didn't seem to live to our expectations, not sure if it was the lack of our knowledge of their discography or that they followed Rainbow Kitten Surprise. Modest Mouse finally showed up and played an array of their amazing catalog that stretches back years. Frontman Isaac Brock did seem a little seem to banter a bit which at times made no sense to anybody but aside from that it was a great way to end the second night of the festival.

The last day of the festival had us scrambling to get to the grounds in time for Wildermiss, the local band who has been creating a huge buzz locally is starting to look more comfortable on stage as the band seemed more loose moving around the stage playing their customary indie pop sound. Another band we had been looking to perform was Cults. The duo of Brian Oblivion and Madeline Follin has been our playlist for years now and although we missed the last time they performed here, we were anxious to catch their set which had us reminiscing (older stuff) and excited to hear newer material. The night ended with a bang as Matt and Kim took to the stage and all hell broke loose. With a reputation for amazing live shows, the band did not let off the gas as they mingled and encouraged crowd participation throughout their set. The crowd of course ate it up and preceded to play along to the indie band hailing from Brooklyn.

Aside for a few minor quirks (beer lines, band rescheduling, water stations) the festival was an enjoyable weekend for music lovers as the bands that participated were a perfect pairing for a great weekend.

Day One: Levi Double U, Slow Caves, Hop Along, The Kills

Day Two: Brent Cowles, Lo Moon, Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Cold War Kids, The Growlers, Modest Mouse

Day Three: Wildermiss, Cults, Matt and Kim

Velorama Festival Set To Invade Denver Next Month

7:18:18 Velorama Poster.jpg

In a little less than a month the Velorama Festival will be taking over RiNo with their finalized lineup. Modest Mouse will close out the first evening of Velorama on Friday, August 17 after performances by Slow Caves, Hop Along, and The Kills! Modest Mouse replaces Glass Animals, Glass Animals had to cancel their performance at the festival due to a serious accident their drummer was in. The seriousness of his injuries and long road of recovery ahead caused them to cancel all shows through the end of the year including ours. 

The final lineup will have Modest Mouse, The Kills, Hop Along, and Slow Caves on Friday night. Saturday will have headliner The Growlers, Cold War Kids, Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Lo Moon and Brent Cowles. Rounding out the weekend will be Sunday headliner Matt and Kim, Cults, Wildermiss, Tracksuit Wedding and The Shacks.

As a loyal reader we are offering you a special discount code: 

Ultra5 for the single day Friday & Saturday passes

Ultra10 for 3 day & premium passes.

Sunday is only $10 so we aren't offing discounts on that day.

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Brand New and Modest Mouse Invade Red Rocks

Super tours have become nearly instinct in todays music world. Unlike the heyday of the 90's and early 2000's it's rare to see two or more groups tour together on joint tours. A few months ago it was announced that Brand New and Modest Mouse were going on tour together, the plan was simple each band took turns headlining each night. Lucky for us that tour included a stop at Red Rocks this past Wednesday. A sold out crowd had a chance to see a couple bands who have left their mark in their respected genres over the year. First up was Modest Mouse, last time we saw these guys was at Riot Fest last year. They opened up with a bang starting with "Dramamine", "Be Brave", and radio friendly "Ocean Breathes Salty". The set seemed to lack enthusiasm and lasted only a little over an hour. While the crowd did politely participate, it was safe to say it was more of a pro Brand New crowd (which we think will alternate back and forth between the tour).

After what seemed like the longest set change in Red Rocks history the boys from New York were ready to wreck havoc on the sold out crowd. They opened up with "Sink", as the blaring LED's and fog created an aura that complimented the bands hard sound. Frontman Jessie Lacey commanded the set from the get go letting everybody know that it was his stage and his agenda. After tearing through song after song that made the band staples in the pop punk genre, Lacey reflected to the crowd that this was the end for the band (something that has been hinted for awhile). Stating that their were two things they needed to accomplish before breaking up, one was playing at Red Rocks and two was touring with Modest Mouse. Many in the crowd bared witness to the band they grew up listening to in high school reminding them that sometimes you do need a soundtrack for those times, luckily Brand New was there to provide it.

Music | Riot Fest Denver Lineup | Initial Observations

The first wave of lineup announcements for this years Riot Fest Denver have just been announced. We thought we would share our initial observations on some of the names that made the list. The three day festival is set to take place August 28-30 at The National Western Complex. Tickets are currently on sale and be on the lookout for a few ticket giveaways courtesy of your good friends here at Ultra5280.

Source: RunDMC.Com

1. Old School Hip Hop Returns.

The lineup includes hip hop pioneers De La Soul, Cypress Hill, Snoop Dogg, Run DMC, GZA and Ice Cube and Special Guests. This can almost make a lineup for those crazy Summer Jams they have at Fiddler's. These are some of the groups I grew up listening to so seeing them years later will definitely bring back some nostalgia. Rumor has it Snoop will be playing the whole Doggystyle record in it's entirety. I remember skipping school just to out and buy this record.

Press Photo

2. Modest Mouse in da House.

Leave it to us to provide for some of the most obnoxious puns. With a new record just released (you can read our review here) Issac Brook and company will be making an appearance at this years festival. Modest Mouse has always garnered this mysterious cult like following all while remaining true to themselves in many ways. We cannot wait to hear a full crowd sing-a-long of "Float On". This will separate the real Modest Mouse fans from those who only know this song.

Photo: Alex Marks

3. Explosions In The Sky!!!!!

These Texans have always maintained a special place in our hearts. With emotional driven melodic pop symphonies, they draw your attention from the get go. Perfect music for those rainy days (Denver has had it's fair share as of late). What better place to see these Texans than at The National Western Complex. For those of you unfamiliar you can find the bands work on many film and television shows including Friday Night Lights. Hearing "Your Hand In Mine" live is already sending chills down our spine.

Carmel Zucker Getty Images

4. The National Western Complex

Third time is a charm. When this was announced as the venue a few months ago there were your typical grumblings about the lack of camping, smell of horse shit, the allergy inducing atmosphere, I could go on. We say lets live outside the box and try something different every year. This time instead of horses and rodeo clowns we will have Iggy Pop and Jack Black, seems like a fair trade off. Besides we cannot wait to see some of the western themed outfits that may come from this.

We all want to know who else will be headlining this year! (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

5. Mystery headliners

There are still a couple artist to be announced. We love the anticipation, for all we know it could be somebody like Faith No More (who actually just booked a Red Rocks show this summer) to Drake (this dude has showed up at every festival anyway so why not). His dad was in town this past weekend, maybe he was doing some scouting who knows! I think this is the first festival where I have seen a non-EDM artist on the bill, which is a little weird. We would love to see some local love by including a few notable acts....pssst...Wiredogs!

Music | Modest Mouse "Strangers To Ourselves" | Album Review

Modest Mouse hasn’t put out a full length record since 2007.  In the nearly eight years since their  number one record, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, Isaac Brock and company have apparently been busy. They have spent time in Atlanta showing Big Boi how to make apple pipes in Stankonia Studios, Brock has been seen on Portlandia and even scored a couple movies, and fairly recently he said in an interview that the band had been working with fellow Seattleite Krist Novoselic (Apparently they were working on Modest Mouse things that did not end up making it to this record). The band has also seen various lineup changes with founding member and bassist Eric Judy leaving the band, and the exit of ex Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, who - according to Brock - didn’t actually leave the band, rather just became busy. To help carry the weight they brought in multi-instrumentalist Lisa Molinaro who is taking time off from her Talkdemonic gig.  Now that we’re caught up on the goings on of Modest Mouse, we are still left to wonder why did this record take so long? Brock insists that he simply lost track of time. The surly but affable front man is now 38 years old, playing in the same band he started when he was 20. The question everyone seems to be asking themselves is can a band that seemingly ran on coke, salt water and angst keep going?

What we have been given is very clearly a Modest Mouse record. The record is lengthy but doesn’t drag and is filled with dense and dark introspection from Brock. The record has twangy guitars bending in and out of each other, booming drums (live and electronic) and layered vocals snarling and spitting throughout. With previous records there always seemed to be an overlying theme or tone from track one on; you could feel everything that the band was going through. On Strangers to Ourselves there is no through line from track to track - giving a feeling that this record did actually take all of those eight years to make. Parts of this record feel like the most experimental work the band has ever put out, while other songs you will have sworn you’ve heard them play before.

The opening and title track of the record feel like a welcome home with a swelling string arrangement and Brock gently crooning about regret and the merits of being able to forget the past. Immediately following that we hear the album's radio single that was released late last year, "Lampshades of Fire", a song that would have sit happily on either of their previous two records. Unfortunately after that you can start to hear the endless time spent in the studio, the second guessing and the feeling they don’t know where they’re going. In a track called "Pistol" (A. Cunanan, Miami, FL. 1996) Brock asks, “Why don’t you come to my room/and clean my pistol no duh” sung over a misplaced bass line and a painful drum machine. I’m not sure if this was an attempt at catching the magic that Tiny Cities Made of Ashes lived in or if this was something he needed to get out of his system, but luckily for us that is where the serious issues with this record are exhausted. 

Following the odd bragging of a lustful encounter with a Floridian in 1996 we are introduced to a new version of the band. This version of them seems okay with getting older and wiser and can’t help but notice the rest of the world is headed in the opposite direction. In a standout track "The Ground Walks with Time in a Box", Modest Mouse settle back into the groove they discovered in earlier offerings but with the added virtue of Brock’s new outlook; ostensibly lamenting that this world was clearly not made for him, but with a new feeling of apathy. From here on the record's bright spots continue and even have some bite. Tracks "Be Brave" and "The Best Room" channel what we've loved about this band for nearly 20 years - even if it is initially disconcerting to hear Brock growl about kids getting fat from playing video games.

It is unfair to expect a band to simultaneously make the same type of music and be in the same place for their entire career. Modest Mouse has evolved a lot over their time as a band, but what they’ve given us in Strangers To Ourselves seems a step short of where they could have been. For a band that was founded on confusion and angst, much of this record feels too calculated and professional. Strangers to Ourselves is married, has a house and a 401K, but that isn’t a bad thing even if it is a little less charming than the transient who will take whatever pills you might have. There is still something to latch on to amidst the over production and these bigger songs will undoubtedly make for a fantastic live show. This is a good record not a great one. Brock has said that the band is back and they plan on putting out a new full length “as quickly as it's legally allowed”, I hope that next album will include the music recorded with Novoselic and more. At the end of the day, I’m just glad they’re back.

-Ben Simorka