The Boulder Theater was half filled, but felt packed last night as the viewers danced and clapped and stomped their feet to two Denver-based bands, Dovekins and Paper Bird.
Dovekins ran on stage just as the opener finished their last song (a percussion group called Spirits of The Red City), hoping to capture the energy of the excited crowd before it faded away. They did just that, keeping their songs up-tempo throughout their set.
Paper Bird plays at the Boulder Theater (CU Independent/Isa Jones)
They had a folksy, yet dance-inducing, sound — every member of the band played multiple instruments. One was switching between bass, clarinet, piano and even kazoo. Their songs sounded like they belonged on the back porch of a Mississippi house instead of a Colorado theater, with the neighbors gathered to dance the night away. The audience, however, was willing to give them the same good old-fashioned party atmosphere.
Halfway through, an out of breath guitarist asked the audience, “You’re not tired yet, are you?” A resounding “NO!” led into the next romp, which had their keyboard player pounding furiously against fast, rhythmic drums and insane banjo riffs.
Though Dovekins finished their set, the musicians were not content to let the audience wait for Paper Bird while bad music blasted over the theater’s sound system. Out again came the first opener, The Claptet, leading the audience in a call-and-response hip-hop jam. They then busted into a rap song, which ended with Dovekins, Spirits of The Red City and members of Paper Bird on stage “grinding and bumping” and two of the Dovekins members stripped down to their underwear.
Paper Bird took the stage just a few minutes after that burst of silly fun. At first, the crowd seemed confused, not sure whether to dance and cheer or stand in awe of the talent they were witnessing.
The three female vocalists, accompanied by an array of musicians, is not the band set-up one might expect. Paper Bird is known for their versatility, blending retro-pop, folk, and big band sound seamlessly, making the intricate vocal and instrument work seem easy. There were even a couple of moments where the band sounded orchestral, with trombone, trumpet, bass, drums, and a chorus of vocals all flawlessly emitted.
Though their set went past midnight, they daringly played some of the instrumental tracks off their newest release, “Carried Away,” and the audience was far from weary. The encore performance of “Colorado,” the state’s unofficial anthem, had the whole place jumping and singing along.
When the crowd left Boulder Theater they appeared, to this writer, proud of these musicians that call Colorado home.
Contact CU Independent Breaking News Editor Isa Jones at Alexandra.i.jones@colorado.edu.
