What makes a great show? Is there a rubric?

Written & photographed by Meesh Deyden

Something special must be happening when a concert photographer wants to put down her camera and be fully present at a show. About 4 songs in to Vampire Weekend alum, producer extraordinaire, Discovery co-vocalist Rostam's set at Globe Hall, I found myself retiring my shutterbug perspective for a bask-in-the-glory-of-all-that-is-holy mode of showgoing.

Rostam & his string quartet (photographed by Meesh Deyden)

You can tell when a show is gonna be dope even before it starts-- there are indicators. Fans shout and cheer before the performer even takes stage. Greetings amongst attendees range from blissful silent nods to full on sparks of nascent friendship. The house is packed, and no one's too drunk or too sober. It's good vibes all around. Globe Hall had all that goin Friday night, and then came the string quartet.

Rostam's touring band is composed of a bongoes-focused percussionist and a MF string quartet. So here we are post-opener Joy Again, and here comes a MF string quartet. Now, if you know Globe Hall, you know the venue feels an awful lot like a high school auditorium with its linoleum floor and collapsed faux-wood tables lined somewhere out of the way. Take that image, add four men with their violins ready, music stands positioned just so, and you've got what looks to be the start of the most handsome high school recital ever.

This, all before any music begins.

Rostam backstage (photographed by Meesh Deyden)

Rostam first played the last song off his Half-Light album, a reprise of his hit "Don't Let It Get to You," followed directly by the album's first track, "Sumer," creating an extended crescendo reflective of his conductor-like approach to structuring his live performances. This approach was also evident when he expertly guided the audience in singing the beat for "Rudy." We weren't on time, so, being the producer/conductor he is, kindly advised us to start over and he'd "lead [us] back in."

Belting along seamlessly now, and almost as sweetly as Rostam's electro-modified vocals, fans bobbed and jived to the singer who seemed to smile with every lyric.

Mid way through the set, Rostam, who is of Iranian heritage, posed a query for the snugly packed crowd, "How many Persians in the audience?" Denver, though white af, still boasted 1, with the dude exclaiming, "I'm the only one!" to a now giggling audience. Rostam, touring much of the mid-west recently, responded that "in Minneapolis there was one, but she was my cousin." And while this interaction may seem insignificant, lighthearted engagement between performer and audience about race & ethnicity in America in 2018 is pretty damn spectacular.

Now if all this isn't already the makings of a good show, Rostam has to go and play his harmonica, repeatedly caress his mic stand, call for the lights to dim for a song that heralds "everyone of us has felt the lights go down," and bring an encore that showed us B side material (a cover of Nick Drake's 1971 Pink Moon) and a "brand fucking new song" that'll surely grace the charts with its lusty lyric "we are sweating with no clothes on."

So yea, I put down my camera. I noted his slick Air Max 95s, dutifully appreciated them like my editor in chief taught me, and I enjoyed the show.

You can stay updated with Rostam's latest here.

Tu 2/6 MØ and Cashmere Cat at Ogden

So you pride yourself on listening to the acts that eventually blow the fuck up, but you're also not a pretentious git who ditches the rush of the tunes soon as your makers make it big. I am talking to you, hip-hop/deejay head, with your eyes on producers who finally release their own ish! Cashmere Cat's been in the game for years, sonically sculpting hits for everyone from Ye to Grande, and now's your chance to catch him reppin entirely his own vibes. This co-headlining tour with Danish popstress, MØ (pronounced MUH), is sure to bring party from doors open til security sweeps you out the Ogden and onto cold ass Colfax.

TIX: $30ish // Pro-Tip: Don't be an asshat to the X-hands (aka Under 21) that'll surely be there not so sneakily smuggling shooters to each other. You were a teen once, too, old man.

The Velveteers photographed by Robert Castro

F 2/9 The Velveteers EP Release w/Bud Bronson & The Good Timers, Plastic Daggers at Hi Dive

Rock and roll is not dead. In fact, some of it is alive and creepy af and from Boulder?! The Velveteers "Death Hex", as Dylan Owens of Denver Post's The Know writes, is a "cut-to-the-bone single" and we quite agree. They have limited songs accessible online, so head to show and grab their tunes an old fashioned way-- buy the album at the merch stand.

TIX: // Pro Tip: Keep your eyes peeled for Karl Christian Krumpholz's next comic for Westword featuring The Velveteers. PS we <3 this band, and you can check out our previous coverage here.

Sa 2/10 Black Star at Ogden

"Hard knuckles on the second hands of working class watches / Skyscrapers is colossus, the cost of living is preposterous." As Denver small talk now also includes anyone's best guess of the number of cranes along the Mile High skyline, it couldn't be a better time to hear two of raps most pioneering political figures, Mos Def (aka Yasiin Bey) and Talib Kweli, rage face. This last minute booking has hip hop fans ready and anticipating, but the $65 price tag may lure away the very people our conscious MCs are rhymin for.

TIX: $65 // Pro-Tip: Your friend bails and you have an extra ticket? Hand it to a fan outside the gates and make someone's night.

F 2/16 Rostam @ Globe Hall

Yep, he was in Vampire Weekend. No, he's not Jack Antonoff. He's a dude who NPR writes as "helping to reshape pop music with West African guitar licks crossed with unusual polyrhythms and joyful melodies." Collaborating with acts like Ra Ra Riot, Haim, RAC, and Discovery, you can expect a lot of bubbly beats and billowy vox tracks during his set at Globeville's Globe Hall. Unfortunately, the show is sold out, but we're sure our readers now how to navigate that lil obstacle, legally, of course.

TIX: SOLD OUT-- buena suerte // Pro-Tip: Head to the gorgeous Fort Greene bar across the street for happy hour, then p/u some bbq from Globe Hall, and gorge on cheap beer til openers Joy Again take the stage.

Sa 2/17 Classixx DJ Set @ Vinyl

GO IF: you love indie rock but kinda hate dancing, but you resolved to give less fucks in 2018, and just wanna move, man. Vinyl is a sweaty club off Broadway, and no one's gonna be worried about your two step. These LA DJs got you.

TIX: $16ish // Pro-Tip: Avoid wearing that Classixx tee you copped from H&M. It ain't them and they're suing. No, really.

Su 2/18 Majid Jordan at the Gothic

If Majid Jordan hasn't secured a spot on every playlist you've made for bae, you're doing it wrong. The Toronto duo first caught our attention when Drizzy featured them on "Hold On, We're Going Home" and later signing them to his OVO Sound. Now, fair warning-- this show's gonna be sexy af. Like, baby makin music. Like, people feelin themselves maybe not so metaphorically kind of vibes. Like, maybe you do want that shot of tequila.

TIX: $30ish // Pro-Tip: Parking can suck around the Gothic-- careful of side streets that only allow resident permit parking.

W 2/21 Brent Faiyaz @ Lost Lake

I mean, we don't wanna say he's a good place holder for your Frank Ocean fix, but he hits that nerve-- eclectic, tender & sincere, classic yet new. Faiyaz, one of the trio Sonder, and Maryland made former rapper, kicked off his solo tour in Chitown at the end of January. Seeing him at an intimate venue like Lost Lake is sure to be a moment fans will refer to years from now when he's playing global festivals and showing off his friendship with Solange-- oh wait, that's sorta already happened.

TIX: SOLD OUT // Pro Tip: Post up outside Lost Lake with your best puppy dog eyes and get yourself a damn ticket.