This week we had the opportunity to cover a few different shows where the openers caught our ears and eyes just as much as the headliners did. Check out our stories below to hopefully get you stoked on two up and coming acts from across the globe.
LIA ICES | Los Angeles, California | on tour with: Phantogram
Opening for Phantogram at the Ogden Theatre this past Monday night, Lia Ices stole our hearts quickly and easily with her upbeat, synth-pop magic. Descibed by my photographer as “snazzy dance numbers”, Lia Ices music is quite the compliment to Phantogram. Digital and experimental, yet fun and ethereal courtesy of Lia’s warm voice, her music is a wondrous mix of fantasy, technology, and global adventure. Using what sounds like east Asian-influenced synth tracks, and spanish-influenced guitars in her songs “Sweet As Ice” and “Thousand Eyes”, the sonic sweetness coming from stage was enough to entrance even the most passive person in the room. Her new record, Ices, was released on September 16th, and is already receiving critical praise from numerous sources, including a feature on NPR’s “First Listen” section this month. The track “Higher” is even this week’s track of the week at Starbucks, so as you pick up your fall season fix, be sure to pick up some sweet tunes at the same time. In the mean time, check out one of our favorite tracks, "Thousand Eyes", below:
Majical Cloudz | Montéal, QC, Canada | on tour with: Lorde
Do you remember the first time you heard a band that made you truly think? One that made you stop in your tracks, who's music is what grabbed your attention, not the "twerking" or the design of the stage? Watching Majical Cloudz will make you do just that. With two men in stark white shirts on stage in front of Lorde's black draped fabric, Devon Welsh and his producing partner Matthew Otto were quiet, collected, and deliberate in their performance. A simple man and his microphone on an empty stage, Welsh delivers lines from their recent album, Impersonator, with haunting devotion; an act that will cut right to the core of any listener. The song that stuck wiht me the most is "Childhood's End", whose opening verse features the lyrics "Someone died/Gunshot, right outside/Your father, he's dead/I see him in my head/Childhood's End/Goodbye, my holy friend/Love me, it's a sin/Can you see me caving in?" With beats reminiscent of The XX or Massive Attack (the House theme song, anyone?), Majical Cloudz fits my desires for a rainy day, or a introspective night in at home. A well-fit pairing with Lorde, the duo are making good use of their opening slot on her headlining tour in the US right now. With no plans for the future yet announced, I plan to catch the group the next time they roll through Denver, and Ultra5280 will keep you in the loop as well. Check out the video for their song, "Childhood's End" below:
