Being a long time Denver resident I am used to seeing many shows at the Gothic theater in Englewood, Colorado. As usual I arrive on scene about fifteen minutes before the opening set. Walking around the Gothic theater it is easy to see why it is one of my favorite venues in the Denver Metro area the walls are covered in blue Art Deco details which grab the audiences eye as people stare up at the walls and ceiling. The floor was about half full at my arrival with a strange mix of audience members. The floor consisted of what seemed to be an abundance of teenagers with black X’s on hands where as the second floor and higher levels consisted of what looked to be predominately of people in their early thirties. Right of the bat an odd mix making me wonder what the show would be like.
The opener a band called ON AN ON based out of Minneapolis took to that stage about 8:05 and began into their set. I was pleasantly surprised with their sound which was extremely emotional and sparse then picked up into grander peaks of songs. By the time their set ended the floor had continued to fill up for a notable turnout overall.
The front man of Saint Motel AJ Jackson took the stage and the crowd erupted in to high pitched screams. A few more minutes into the show the front man began to connect with the crowd on a level many front men do not achieve. Going so far as to do the stereo typical move of stepping down on to the edge in front of the stage and reach down to the audience members. Some of the hidden stars however including trumpet player and saxophone who rocked their parts achieving perfect pitches giving the music an extremely sleek party vibe. The songs played were generally up beat relaying heavily on keys giving the music an extremely colorful tone. In addition to the music the the band had an extremely simplistic backdrop of a “diver” as well as flashing Christmas lights wrapped around the mics.
About three quarters of the way through AJ Jackson told the audience to take out their phones and shine the flashlight on to the stage. While this did create a beautiful affect which helped the overall astatic for the current song it is a shame in my opinion that people are taking cell phones out rather then lighters. Overall the Saint Motel show was extremely tame rather lame crowd. The opening band ON AN ON is definitely a group I would recommend checking out if sparse, emotional, pop is appealing to you. But the real star Saint Motel played their up beat indie pop designed for a fun night. With that said Saint Motel excelled in connecting with audience members and creating a good vibe through out the entire show.
By Lane Speas