Best known for the bars Dean Moriaty and Sal Paradise frequented in Jack Kerouac’s literary masterpiece On the Road, or the bevy of prostitutes situated along several of its stretches, Denver’s Colfax Avenue drools urban kitsch and youthful weekend nightlife. On any given Saturday night these days, the boulevard also offers as good a music buffet as anywhere in North America outside of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. From the large, breezy hall in the Fillmore Auditorium on the western edge of the music club district, to the more intimate space of the Bluebird Theater positioned over on the east, one can find some incredible live music on any given evening. Last Saturday night, for instance, offered some intriguing shows. The Neighbourhood performed for Denver’s 12-year-old set at the Ogden Theater, while the synthpop act Blaqk Audio headlined the Bluebird. The best show of the night, however, happened just across the street at the glorious little dive bar called the Lost Lake Lounge with a rowdy crowd of just a few dozen well-informed and highly tasteful music enthusiasts crammed together to check out the band Givers.
Having landed with a splash back in 2011 with the release of their debut album In Light, the Louisiana band’s high-octane, party tunes like “Up Up Up” and “Ceiling of Plankton,” featuring syncopated Afro-rhythms and Cajun zydeco overtones appeared to be creating a whole new indie music sub-genre. Givers new album New Kingdom (released in late 2015) likewise deserves every self-respecting American’s attention, esteem, and immediate purchase. Especially in the current critical environment when second albums are incredibly tough on indie bands with successful debuts.
Givers’ sophomore effort predictably suffered a rather tepid public and critical reaction. Which is a shame – New Kingdom represents a bold statement from a group of great musicians more interested in experimenting with different styles, such as R&B and disco this time around, rather than falling back entirely onto the Louisiana/Afro vibe that contributed to In Light’s success. Representing a clear evolution of Givers’ sound, New Kingdom completely clears the table with a closer reliance on synths and longer, progressively-styled compositions. The first two singles from the album, “Bermuda” and “Sleeper Hold” emphatically exemplify that sonic transition. Yet, the album often draws upon In Light’s influences with tunes such as “Sure Thang” and “Blinking.” Had the band released those two songs initially, the album may have generated a lot more attention from Givers’ more casual fans and critics. Fortunately, the notion of unpopular transition didn’t seem to alter the festive crowd’s enthusiastic reception of the new material, which by the way kicked ass live just as well as Givers’ older material.
After all, Givers is a band initially built to do nothing but play live shows. The youthful energy they employed in their early live sets together with some unique and skillful musicianship (especially the crazy onstage multitasking of singer and just-about-everything-else-player Tiffany Lamson) attracted enough critical attention to propel them to the mainstream soon after In Light’s release. I, myself, first discovered Givers through a YouTube video of the band performing “Up, Up, Up” at South By Southwest back in 2011.
The bands co-leader, Lamson (probably the busiest woman in rock during a live show), puts on a dexterous performance showcasing not only her vocal chops, but also any other instrument that might be within her reach.
Lamson is an absolutely marvel to watch – at one moment she is waxing all Sheila E., singing lead vocals while pounding out some complimentary beats on the small drum kit encircling her on stage. The next moment she might be reaching for xylophone mallets, picking up a guitar, or hovering over a synthesizer.
That’s not to discount the efforts of the rest of the band, the strengths of which was best exemplified in their performance of my favorite song on New Kingdom, “Layback.” At six minutes, this tune represents one of the longest and most complex songs Givers have recorded, employing multiple transitions and intriguing chord progressions. The recorded version of “Layback” offers some air at its back end, lending itself to a jammy live interpretation that the Givers totally exploit, featuring an electric organ segment ripped straight out of Deep Purple’s In Rock, while Lamson and co-vocalist/guitarist Taylor Guarisco (a dead ringer for James Franco) instigated physical bedlam on stage. Equally enjoyable, however, were the moments of the show when the band returned to the Louisiana-style vibes and syncopated rhythms of their older material, particularly the renditions of my favorite Givers tunes “Ceiling of Plankton” and “Noche Nada.”
Through the novel aesthetic direction New Kingdom takes, Givers have proven their creative unpredictability. Yet, even with the contrast in tone between the new songs and those from the band’s highly lauded debut, their mixed incorporation into the live set seemed to gel nicely. This all made for a great show, but just another night of music with Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty (but no prostitutes!) on Colfax Avenue.