the UMS 2011 Review in Pictures

Our local Denver scene is growing and busting at the seams. The UMS has been running the four day marathon for a couple of years now, and it amazes me that our scene is able to sustain that amount of time and venues. Granted, a certain percentage of the acts are national ones, however, we live at a present time when our local acts are nearly overshadowing the national ones.

I started my Saturday at the well-adorned Illiterate Gallery for an early performance from duo, Piña Chulada. Their rhythmic performance set the floor for a brilliantly curated afternoon at the hot gallery. To the guy standing in front of the only fan circulating the unbearably hot air, FUCK YOU. You never want to be that guy, and there he was, hogging up the little cold air that was being oscillated by the only large fan in the confined space.

I’m thankful I brought my bike. I was able to get from Famous Pizza to Moe’s BBQ in 5 minutes. No joke. It sure beat the hell out of the alternative, which was pounding the pavement in the 101 degree heat. The trek up Lincoln proved to be a fruitful one. I went based on the recommendation from my favorite scooter aficionado and all around badass, Cassandra Schoon, to catch the Still City. The mellow trio struck me as a heavier American Analog Set without sounding mopy.

King Mob captured my heart Saturday afternoon. The falsetto vocals from Ben Martin breathed fresh life into the muggy spot despite technical difficulties. It’ll be interesting if brothers Sam and Ben will direct any major studio time to the brotherly love project of King Mob from their main gigs with Flashlights and Lil’ Slugger respectively.

I finally got a chance to catch Port Au Prince rocking out a large crowd at the well ventilated 3 Kings Tavern and a couple of doors down (you thought I was going to say 3 doors down), Mombi hypnotized the onlookers in perfect fashion as the sun began to wind down it’s enormous grip on the sweaty afternoon.

Piña Chulada-Someone Like You [mp3]
King Mob-Take My Hand, I’m Changing [mp3]
Mombi-Glowing Beatdown [mp3]
The Still City-Against Each Other’s Teeth [mp3]
Port Au Prince – Jesus Kathleen [mp3]