Another weekend has flown by, and so another weekend of shows flew along with it. If you weren’t at the Summit Music Hall in Denver last Friday, you missed out on Red Bull Sound Select’s first installment of 2017. The show featured the Reminders, River Tiber and the Cool Kids, all of which were packaged together in tight and versatile performances.
I arrived at the venue as the doors were opening at 8:00 p.m. The line outside wrapped around the corner and lined the block up the street. I went in and had some food from Marquis’ Pizza, stood and watched Craspoozy — an artist whose artwork graced the cover of The Rooster last month — work his magic and played a few games of Mario Kart with some new friends as I eagerly waited for the artists to take the stage.
First up were the Reminders, who took the stage at 9:30. The positive vibes immediately began flowing as the hip-hop power couple played tracks such as “The Way it Is” and “Recollect.” The way these two moved the crowd was worthy of headlining. The energy was constant and so were the motivational vibes. In between songs, the group squeezed in their positive messages about Valentine’s Day, politics and love for one another. The Reminders belong onstage, it’s evident from their confidence and tracklist. They kept me guessing on which song was next, and I was never disappointed.
The fantastic opening act was followed by the mellow tunes of River Tiber. Two electric guitars and an energetic bass guitar kept the music coming with River Tiber’s airy vocals to fill the space. The change in energy from bouncy good vibes to sensual sounds was interesting and had a lot of folks heading toward the bar. However, the music was soulful, with each song charged with its own deepness that was matched by Tiber’s vocals. The performance was capped off with my personal favorite track from the singer, “I’m a Stone,” which made the performance that much more special.
After a half hour mix from their DJ, Owen Bones, the Cool Kids finally hit the stage at midnight and the crowd went into a frenzy. After being lulled by River Tiber’s smooth performance, the high energy of the Cool Kids was fully welcomed. Playing hits, such as “Black Mags” and “Connect 4,” the Midwestern rap duo kept the energy at a constant high that was matched by the packed crowd. Although both Chuck Inglish and Sir Michael Rocks are older than most rappers currently on the come-up, they held themselves to a full and energetic standard and did not quit until they walked off of the stage around 1 a.m.
The fact that this show was Red Bull’s first installment of their Sound Select series for 2017 makes me especially curious about the next line-up.
Contact CU Independent Arts writer Alvaro Sanchez at alvaro.sanchez@colorado.edu.
