Underground Music Showcase 2015
Denver, CO
Photos by: Johnny Symmes
Every year on a hot weekend in July a section of South Broadway in Denver has a rendezvous with a tramp named the Underground Music Showcase (UMS). Four days of bands, booze, and blistering sun. Rock and fucking roll.
This year I wanted to branch out and see bands that I had never listened to or heard of before. The nice part about writing for this here site is that we only cover bands that we love. Which means when I'm at a festival like the UMS, I don't have to stay and listen to any band I don't like. There were only a couple of bands that I listened to and left. There was a large pool of talent and I went swimming bro.
I saw as many as I could within reason. There were a lot of bands. Many hundreds. Going to run it down for you in order. I recommend every band here and wish I could have seen more. There's always next year.
Day One
Safe Boating Is No Accident - The perfect sound to start off with. They are a pop rock type of band that is pleasant and frothy. Sound: like hipsters in a heated game of rock, paper, scissor.
Tyto AlbA - I'm not entirely sure how to pronounce this band's name, fuck I had never even heard of this band but I heard them from the street and popped in. I was pleasantly surprised. Really smooth sound and solid set. Sound: An open highway with no other cars, you're driving a convertible with the top down, and the weather is perfect.
Input - Flanked by drum machine button mashing ninja Broken and master string stroker Josh Lee this trio face blasted the crowd at an art gallery. Getting prepped to rock the stage at Riot Fest Denver this summer, Input and Broken ripped through a sweaty set of rap gems. Sound: M83-6 Mafia.
Baby Birds Don't Drink Milk - They are kind of a dreamy alt pop rock group. Weird band name, the singer faced the back of the stage, perfect for my first UMS 2015 show at the Hi-Dive. Shit is always weird there. Sound: Getting really high and talking about birds, too much.
Winehouse - This is an Amy Winehouse tribute band and I fucking love them. They look the part, sound the part, and played to a jam packed little bar. It was as hot and sweaty as Joel's balls post crossfit but it was a blast. Sound: A resurrected Amy Winehouse in her prime.
Gin Doctors - This is either a tribute band or a cover band man I don't really know. I thought they were going to do Spin Doctors covers but instead they played the entire Green Day album Dookie front to back. They slayed it. Kind of random but hey that's how it goes. Sound: A Green Day and Spin Doctors mashup that Del secretly loves.
*After this I caught Edison randomly playing in a parking lot, not part of the festival, just playing in a parking lot while a group of jugglers juggled shit*
Strawberry Runners - Seeing a band like this that I had never previously listened to is what I Fucking love about festivals like UMS. Unexpected but my balls were blown against the walls. Fucking awesome. Sound: If The Breeders played a game of air hockey with Janeane Garofalo.
Wild High - Really fucking solid indie rock band. Tight sound and good songwriting. Another one I hadn't heard before but was impressed. Hell yeah dudes. Sound: The Killers and Jack White go to play mini golf but halfway through realize how lame it is and go back to the car to get high.
Kitty Crimes - Kitty Crimes is a diverse mix of powerhouse avant garde hip-hop and indie rock rap. What the fuck am I talking about? I don't know. It can't be described absorbed through your face tentacles down through your soul loins. You should be so lucky. Sound: The goddess Athena taking karate lessons from Bruce Lee.
Day Two
In The Whale - Talked about them probably too much on this site but if you haven't checked them out yet you done wrecked yoself. They're playing Lollapalooza here soon. Sound: Getting kicked in the dick by Edward Scissorfeet.
Paperbird - In addition to the UMS shenanigans there are other exterior shenanigans afoot in the area. One example is The Centennial party at the Meese house. Caught this band there. A lot of harmonizing and deep soulful singing. They did a Fleetwood Mac cover that just killed. Sound: Lilith Fair folk.
Motion Trap - A really vibed out indie band that features Turner Jackson. Good shit. You know what's not good? Shots of tequila. It was national tequila day so we did that. Sound: Phantogram taking their dog to the dog park.
The Knew - A very tight rock band with a solid groove. A lot of upbeat tempo stuff that is really fun live. Sound: Rock takes Roll out on a date and afterwards Roll is like, you know, I think I wouldn't mind a second date.
Sunboy - First they passed out Capri Suns. So, winning already, fuck yeah dudes. Then they smash with these crazy blue backlights. Lastly they hit you with great fucking music. Their sound is very California beach on a sunny day type of shit. It's just good. Sound: Del and three asian girls in a drop top on the PCH.
Remember that tequila? Yeah it did me in and I called it a night, earlier than I had hoped.
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Tyto Alba
UMS 2015
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Input and Broken
UMS 2015
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Baby Birds Don't Drink Milk
UMS 2015
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In The Whale
UMS 2015
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In The Whale
UMS 2015
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In The Whale
UMS 2015
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In The Whale
UMS 2015
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In The Whale
UMS 2015
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Paperbird
UMS 2015
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The Knew
UMS 2015
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Sunboy
UMS 2015
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Sunboy
UMS 2015
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A Giant Dog
UMS 2015
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The Royal
UMS 2015
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Irish Rover
UMS 2015
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Qbala
UMS 2015
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Magic Sword
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Kitty Crimes
UMS 2015
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Kitty Crimes
UMS 2015
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Native Daughters
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Wiredogs
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Party Hard
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Medic
UMS 2015
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Before The Bulb
UMS 2015
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Tennis
UMS 2015
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Amzy
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Colfax Speed Queen
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The Centennial
UMS 2015
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Capri Sunboy
UMS 2015
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National Tequila Day
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In The Whale
UMS 2015
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Colorado Sunsets
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Ancient Mith
UMS 2015
Day Three
A Giant Dog - Crazy energy and dance moves for this early. WAY too much for this early. They tore the shit down. If anyone wants to know how to front a band just watch this band. Fucking energy and dancing and raging hard with no signs of letting up. Badass rock music. Sound: The Sex Pistols having sex with pistols that are fully loaded.
The Royal - I really love this band. That's all I wrote with regard to this band in my notes. Never heard them and got to see them play in a backyard on a sunny day. It was majestic. Sound: Hipster Charlie Brown.
Chemistry Club - Nerd rockers doing nerd rock that rocks. Good times with these dudes every time.Yay science! Sound: Imagine Bill Nye wearing raybans and playing air guitar.
Qbala - Where the emcees at? Step up and get wrecked. This lady don't play. Sound: MC Lyte sharing an Uber with Lauryn Hill.
Magic Sword - I took a lunch break and went back at it feeling refreshed. Caught this band and knew nothing about them. Holy shit. This might be my new favorite band. Rocking Kanye masks with lights in them one dude rocks the beats and another dude rocks the guitar. Throw in a keytar here or there and an actual light up sword that is very much magical... oh my God. The visual part of their show is almost too much to take in. The music is instrumental and intense. Sound: If the Drive soundtrack was made out of Ryan Gosling's muscles.
Wiredogs - Punk is alive. These dudes done proved it. Sound: Swimming in a pool of Jello Biafra.
Rose Quartz - Just chilled out and listened to their music while recharging phones and playing giant Jenga. The soundtrack to that amount of relaxation and chilling was perfect. Thanks. Sound: Rolling hard in an empty field by yourself.
Kitty Crimes - This was slated as a "douchey bro party" but it was really just Kitty Crimes, a VERY DIY foam pit, and a couple of beach balls. Probably the highlight was the singalong of the Star Spangled Banner that was clearly improved and not planned. A very fun set in the Meese backyard closing out the last of their 5th annual UMS party. Their lease is up. Sound: Literal sex in the literal city.
Native Daughters - Some of the other UMS shenanigans include a blocked off side street with another stage on it that is loosely part of the festival but doesn't require a wristband. ND was playing there and they did the damn thing. They're an instrumental rock band that puts two drummers to the front of the stage and the string pluckers to the rear. Sound: Some shit that Joel and Tom would probably be geeked about if they ever left the couch during Big Brother season.
Soft Skulls - Really enjoyed this little rock band. Only caught part of their set but they did an excellent job. Sound: Foo Fighters eating burritos and nodding in non-verbal agreement at how delicious they are.
Wiredogs - Saw these dudes again and this time the energy was insane! They played a killer set and the crowd was going nuts.
The Gamits - Pop punk that's been around for a long time and still going strong. These guys are great and they slayed a set to a full crowd of sweaty people at the Hi-Dive. Fuckin a. Sound: Warped Tour doing a reunion tour of Warped Tour Tours.
Party Hard - This is an Andrew W.K. tribute band with approximately 80 members. The stage was filled to the brim in dudes wearing all white, rocking hard, there were pool toys. Man. It was a rager. Party on dudes. Sound: Andrew W.K. looking himself in the bathroom mirror in the morning doing daily affirmations that all contain the word "party" at least ten times.
Day Four
Medic - I took care of some adult shit and got down to the festival in the evening. First band up was Medic. They have a decent blend of gentle head swaying shit and jump around rocking shit. Great energy and songs that really draw the audience in. Sound: Imagine a day where everything, and I mean everything, goes your way and then you look back and wonder how that is possible.
Before The Bulb - I was walking up Broadway and heard a sound. I stopped in because it was intriguing. This is the band that was playing and they are really amazing. Killer steez with a drummer, double bass, keyboards, and a violin. Definitely going to try to see them again. Sound: If Jamiroquai saw Charlie Daniels at Medieval Times and challenged him to a joust.
Chemistry Club - Caught them again, this time to meet a friend for a drink.
Tennis - Caught half of their set at the main stage. They're originally from Colorado and they mentioned how nice it is to play at home. The crowd was filled in and vibing out to the light and airy sounds. It was a warm night and the sun had already set. A great setting to just chill out and close out the main stage. Sound: You know how when little kids dance but they don't really know what they're doing so they just bop around and it's adorable? That.
Ancient Mith - Love this dude and jumped over to catch his set. As he starts a drummer from another band started kind of testing his drums. Mith got pretty upset about guy sound checking drums during set and he vocalised this. He also moved one of the cymbals when the guy wasn't looking. In the middle of his set he and I played bumper car wars in rolling chairs on the floor of the venue. You missed out. Sound: Imagine a crew of professional wrestlers doing Cirque Du Soleil.
Amzy - This high energy band of young ones came dressed like they were casting for a James Bond flick but they had the place dancing their asses off. If they recast saved by the bell, this frontman is Zach Morris for sure. Sound: Fun, the band, having more fun than they are used to and considering the meaning of life.
Colfax Speed Queen - This band is like a high energy surf rock punk band. I fucking love them. They absolutely torn down the Hi-Dive and closed out the 2015 UMS in sweaty, sexy, style. Sound: Dick Dale Earnhardt Senior.
With every bathroom destroyed and every heart full of love and/or tequila, the 2015 UMS comes to a close. The streets of South Broadway were still warm and tattered like the basements after fight club. Sweat drenched and with heavy feet I trudged my way to a slice of pizza and some ice water to cool off. This is an epic weekend that I look forward to every year. It's all smiles and good times with good friends and great music. Cheers to another legendary UMS.