Denver’s Fillmore Auditorium transformed into a completely new world Saturday night as the mesmerizing Beats Antique took the venue to new heights. Their proclaimed Animale Mechanique tour draws from a wild range of styles that transcended their astonishing dynamic.
With openers Lynx, Minnesota and Zion I, the show transitioned between artists smoothly, not once leaving the crowd lingering.
Beats Antique divided their performance into a series of culturally diverse recitals. Starting out with a thunder of drum and bass breakdowns, the trio played a few tunes before it was time to shift gears toward the bizarre.
Zoe Jakes producer and belly-dancer performs at a Beats Antique show Saturday night at the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver. (Kyle Ward/CU Independent)
Dancer and producer Zoe Jakes entranced the audience with a timeless beauty that complimented her seductive movements. With a fellow dancer, she strapped on peacock feathers and the two performed a burlesque show to new song “Skeleton Key,” off the band’s latest album, “Contraption Vol. 2.”
Between dances, David Satori, Tommy “Sidecar” Cappel and an unknown saxophonist filled the venue with heavy hits “Alto” and “Egyptic.” The classically-rooted musicians maintained an energy that put to rest any doubts of the band’s jamming capabilities.
Cutting the lights and placing a large blank canvas before the bohemian dressed crowd, a projector lit up a lone silhouette fit with custom Hindu attire. Jakes then began an exquisite dance with an almost-ancient style of shadow play.
Surprising the audience soon after, the headliner welcomed opener Lynx to the stage, who is featured on their new album. As they performed their co-creation, “Crooked Muse,” Jakes and her stage counterpart danced soulfully on chairs while in mermaid dress. The combined efforts of Beats Antique and Lynx was the highlight of the show, showcasing their shared musical direction and intensity.
Beats Antique’s Animale Mechanique tour ignites the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver on Saturday night. The trio is famed for their combination of world music and cultural dance. (Kyle Ward/CU Independent)
It wasn’t long before the talented trio let loose more unexpected surprises. Zion I’s MC Zumbi, took to the stage for a hip-hip combo with heavy drum beats. Jakes changed once again into something more fitting for a hip-hop routine, exercising her wide range of abilities to the crowd.
If that wasn’t enough, Bassnectar and Pretty Lights hijacked a sliding cart of DJ equipment pushed on stage and started battling it out. The two famous electronic icons left everyone dancing in the auditorium.
Through theatrics acted out by sporadic skeletons, charming woodland ferries and a host of grazing animals, Beats Antique entered into their final set, unveiling a fake giant squid that battled with the band for control of the stage. Everything seemed to settle down after the band “overpowered” the fake squid, but the encore took any notion of normal and threw it out of the window.
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Jakes appeared, mounting a lion’s head the size of a speaker as Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” filled the theater. Satori and Cappel moved back and forth from their parallel drum sections, while Jakes playfully acted out the “taming” of her hungry lion into a pussy cat. The classic ballad was given a makeover that would have pleased the idled Freddie Mercury.
With their Animale Mechanique tour creeping to an end, the trio prepares to fascinate Australia with their hypnotizing act at the upcoming Symbiosis Festival.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Kyle Ward at Kyle.ward@colorado.edu.
