Second, the new Okkervil River album, The Stage Names, just leaked!! I have listened to it 4 times today, and I can honestly say that it is fucking brilliant. It's crammed full of the clever Okkervil lyrics that we've come to count on, and as an added bonus Will Sheff has really taken his vocals to the next level - he sounds fabulous. I have come to believe that this band couldn't make a misstep if it tried. The Stage Names is coming out (Jagjaguwar) on August 7. I command you to buy it. You know you want to. Now if we can just get these guys to come to Denver...
Finally, I had a lovely night of local band festivities at the Bluebird. I used to think that Denver didn't have any bands worth a damn, but have since discovered that I just wasn't looking in the right places. I was fortunate enough to catch two of my favorites tonight.
The first time I'd heard of Everything Absent Or Distorted was when I saw them open for Malajube and Snowden a few months ago. OK, truthfully, I saw the last song of their set; but I admit that it hooked me. They played again at Larimer Lounge last month, but I was Fort Collins for a graduation ceremony. So, tonight was the first time I got to witness a full set from these guys, and I gotta tell ya - in this case, the first impression was more than accurate. I'll say again what I said back then - these guys are the epitome of geek rock... geek rock with a razor sharp edge, anyway. They are 8 bodies of instrument swapping, sports-jacket wearing, energetic blast of a band. The one guy who seemed to actually be "dressed down" was wearing jeans and an Iron Maiden t-shirt. Not only was he wearing an IRON MAIDEN shirt, but he shuffled from banjo to accordion to bass to showing off his dandy ballet dance moves. Other members played a violin and trombone, in addition to the normal, boring, rock and roll instruments. The only way this set could have been better would be if they could have thrown in some damn cowbell. If you live in the Denver area (or even if not) and you have the chance to see these guys - GO! They do not disappoint.
Headlining tonight were the Hot IQ's. I saw them open for The Thermals a few months back and was definitely impressed. They've received accolades aplenty for being best local band and whatnot. After the 8 member EAOD set, the stage seemed rather empty for the 3 Hot IQ's, but they brought it, for sure. Slightly less geek and slightly more rock, the Hot IQ's had the crowd eating out of their hands. Me? I caught myself wishing that the sets had been swapped and EAOD were headling. Not that Hot IQ's weren't fabulous, just that EAOD really knocked my socks off. But THEN, midway through their set, Hot IQ's brought out a cooler of popsicles, and proceeded to throw them into the crowd. I didn't manage to catch one, but the mere fact that I was at a rock show where popsicles were hurled into the crowd was reward enough for me. I don't know if it was the sheer fucking coolness of the band actually flinging popsicles from the stage or what, but they seemed to gather some steam after that. They finished up their set in incredible fashion, and I was the slightest bit bummed that there was no encore. They're playing Monolith at Red Rocks in September - w00t! See them.
