THE VELVETEERS - GOOD BYE COLORADO, HELLO UK TOUR

The Velveteers - The Kinky Fingers - Boot Gun - The Bitter Suns at the Bluebird Theater, Denver, Colorado on Saturday night, August 31st, 2019

The Bluebird's Marquee had The Velveteers on both sides and the Kinky Fingers one just one side and Boot Gun on the other.

Three days before this show I had no idea I would be going. The next day however Mark asked me if I wanted to go and he would buy my ticket if I get in line early for the show. I asked what the hell? I was only vaguely familiar with the band, having heard them a few times on Colorado Public Radio Indy 102.3 FM.
https://www.cpr.org/indie/

This was going to be a special concert for The Velveteers as it would be their last show before flying to the UK to tour there. Five days after this show they went to the UK. Plus, this would be an all 303 show meaning all four bands are from Colorado.

That evening I messaged The Velveteers and asked them if it would be ok with them if I were to record the gig in 4K video. They were a little hesitant since they had no idea who I was, nor how my video recordings come out. They stipulated that they would first have to look at the video and approve before I could post it and I was fine with that.

Cool! Time to make sure the camera gear is at the ready!

My camera is so very tiny as far as what you see used by the pros at the concerts. I've shown this camera to the event staff and the person at the ticket window a couple of times now to get the clearance to bring it in before going in. If the answer is no, then I stash it in the car.

However, it is so humorous because the answer is always yes, followed by a remark like, "We just don't allow professional cameras inside."

I have to keep from busting up and just say, "Thanks!". Little do they know that the camera I can put in my pocket will outperform most of the non-video cameras you see at concerts. Yes, it is only a "point and shoot" camera, but it is made by Leica. It is branded as a Panasonic for sales purposes, but don't let that fool ya!

Anyone that knows me as far as concerts go, if it is a general admission show, then I am usually the first person to get in the venue and this has been so for decades.

I bring a folding camping chair, my Wonderboom Bluetooth speaker, some food and sweet tea and get there several hours before the doors open. While waiting in the shade of the Bluebird marquee the members of The Kinky Fingers were bringing their gear into the venue and asked me to take a picture of them under the marquee with one of their phones. I asked them if I could video record their set in 4K and they immediately said sure!

When they opened the doors to start setting up for the expected incoming crowd, they taped a flyer of the show and that is what you see above. If you look in the lower right corner you will see a red chair out on the sidewalk and that is where I was camped out.

There was a little confusion with the showtime as there were two different times posted. The printed tickets stated 9 PM. Other people had been informed it was at 8 PM. Since I had printed tickets, I expected that the doors would open at 8 PM. However, the doors opened at 7, which took me by surprise and I had to make a mad dash to pack everything in the car and get inside the venue with my camera and gear. So I ended up being the second one in the doors.

I love the Bluebird Theater, it is a very nice, intimate venue for a concert. Unlike most of the other venues like the Ogden and Gothic Theaters, they do not put up a barrier fence between the stage and the audience. You can get right up to the stage and put your hands and arms on it, plus there is a little shelf just under the stage for the audience to put their drinks on!

The Bluebird Theater is another of those old historic theaters of Denver, this one was built in 1914 and listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

At first, the place was so empty and no one was in line to get in, I was thinking it would be a light crowd for the evening. Just before The Bitter Suns went on stage the venue was beginning to fill up. Cool! We want a good size crowd for this event.

When Mark and I walked in, there was no one else in the place as far as an audience goes!

So I had enough time to go check out the merch without losing my spot. Without a photo pass, you need to be there first to stake out your claim.

The Bitter Suns are a three-piece band from Fort Collins consisting of Trevor Lampress on guitar/Vox, Riley Thompson on bass/Vox and Jonah Sroufe on drums/Vox. You can find out more about them at the handle @bittersunsband.

Their setlist for the evening was:

1 - unreleased

2 - unreleased

3 - Rewind (Psychedelics)

4 - Fuk't

5 - Snow Waves

6 - Degenerate of the Week

They were a fun punky, kind of a surf sound with a bunch of energy. No question they were having fun on stage and the audience was too.

Somehow I had a not fully charged battery in the camera and I had to perform a quick battery change during one of their songs otherwise, it is their full set.

The next band to come on was Boot Gun, usually a three-piece band however this night they had an extra guitarist and harmonica player. This Denver based three-piece band are Keith Lawrence on guitars and vocals, Davie Landry on bass and vocals and Cody Hart on drums. The harmonica player was Jeremy Baugh and the extra guitarist was Sam Janik.

By now the venue was getting full and the "pit" was starting to get a little busy. Boot Gun was kicking ass and the crowd was loving it. You can find out more about them by going to https://www.bootgunmusic.com/

Boot Gun's setlist for the night was:

Feels like a storm

Hey hey

Still life

Bayou caviar

Moose brain

Virginia

Another fun live band to see in concert! The price of this show was $15 and we sure were getting our money's worth and there's still two more bands to go!
The Kinky Fingers are also based in Denver and have four members. They are Tayler Doyle lead guitar and vocals, Dustin Peterson on drums & recording production, Earl Seung Snyder on rhythm guitar, and Jairo Barsallo on bass. You can learn more about them and check out their music at https://thekinkyfingers.com.

The Kinky Fingers are also based in Denver and have four members. They are Tayler Doyle lead guitar and vocals, Dustin Peterson on drums & recording production, Earl Seung Snyder on rhythm guitar, and Jairo Barsallo on bass. You can learn more about them and check out their music at https://thekinkyfingers.com.

They have dubbed their sound as "Santa Fe Surf" and I would have to say that is fitting for these musicians that had an excellent sound and style to them.

This was The Kinky Fingers setlist for the night:

Sucker For Sure

Yeha Noha

Crooked Nose

Roll A Stone

Rain Dripping Down

Long Live The Dead

Super Glued Blues

By now the theater was packed and it was hot in there. Everyone against the stage, many with cameras and photo passes were getting bounced around and I took a couple of hard shots. The moshing had just hardly begun though!

The previous three band's gear and front monitors were removed from the stage and The Velveteer's crew began to work on getting the band's signature stage style set up.

There were five people dressed in black with a singular eyeball that appeared on stage, three in the back and the other two at either side of the front of the stage. They remained stationary for the entire set except for rotating their heads back and forth at times.

There were numerous painted mannequin heads, unlit candles, and skulls scattered around the stage. The equipment was set up a little different than you would usually see a three-piece band on stage, but this is not your usual band.

The lead guitarist is over to stage right and the dual drums/keyboards/slide guitar are on stage left, leaving the center of the stage empty. No microphone stands or monitors were in the center, front stage. This made for the perfect situation for me to shoot the video.

Originally The Velveteers were a sister and brother dual from Boulder with Demi Demitro on lead guitar and vocals and brother John on drums. However, John's musicianship covers far more than just drums and thus the three-piece band was made. Adrian Pottersmith was added on drums and became the lead drummer.

That allowed John to add a stand to the mix to hold a slide guitar and keyboard. The dual drums are set up sort of like two drum kits in one with the center section being used by both drummers!

Demi is quite the accomplished guitarist with a haunting vocal quality that keeps you smiling, dancing and wanting more. The dual drumming of Adrian and John had a polyrhythmic tribal sound that would really get your attention.

When John would stand up and use his slide guitar, it would fit in ever so perfectly as did his backing vocals. Adrian was pounding the drums and cymbals so damned hard that they were constantly going out of position and loose. (Adrian, get some sandbags.) But yeah, he kicks ass on them drums as can long as they stay around him.

Then for the last couple of songs, Demi put on an intense visual showing for the audience up close and personal. And as you can see from the video, no one was more "up close and in your face" than my camera with Demi. She seemed to be into playing the role and I hope this video gets the band much deserved attention.

Demi of The Velveteers just asked me to keep the video private until they get a couple of those songs released and said they love the video.

When I play the encore back time and again, it just gives me chills. I've shot some good concert videos before, but this is outrageous for an audience video.

I can't wait to see them again in concert and I certainly hope they will ask me to be there to shoot my style of concert videography.

Their music becomes a witches brew, like an intoxicating elixir that enchants the audience to become captive to their every note, their every movement. The Velveteers take this to their advantage inflicting pleasure to all within the venue. Everyone left in a hot, sweating, happy as hell mess flooding out onto the sidewalks of Colfax Avenue with big smiles on their faces.

There were thousands of dollars worth of cameras and gear all around me for this concert. I couldn't believe the number of photo passes I saw.

My little camera is a Leica Lumix ZS-100 shooting 4K. It is branded as a Panasonic, but it is a Leica camera. I was startlingly pleased when I realized how well the video function works for concerts. Being it a small point and shoot of course it has some caveats, but so what?

Unless you go to the UK, you most likely will not have a chance to see The Velveteers in concert again this year. The next time they come to your town, you best go see them! I'm betting they will be getting plenty of record label offers by the time they come back home to Boulder, Colorado. Red Rocks Amphitheater next stop! (Send me a photo/video pass!)

A special thanks to the Bluebird Theater, Indy 102.3, AEG and the bands the Bitter Suns, Boot Gun, The Kinky Fingers and of course The Velveteers!