Australian Indie-Pop trio Atlas Genius brought their unique approach to alternative music to Summit Music Hall late Sunday night. The night started with Los Angeles trio Happy Hollows; this band is fairly unknown and surprised the crowd with lead singer Sarah Negahdari’s soft vocals. They had a similar sound to headliner Atlas Genius and started the night off on a breezy note. The band released two brand new albums this year but mostly played songs off their most recent, “Amethyst”. “Endless” and “Tambourine” were the highlights of their set and definitely succeeded in loosening the slowly growing crowd.
There was a short thirty-minute break in between Happy Hollows’ set and the start of the next band, Family of the Year. They started their set with softer songs continuing in the style that Happy Hollows led with. The entire band sang their songs in a folky-Americana style that the audience was obviously vibing with. Smash hit, “Hero,” was played last as a few people in the crowd sang along to every word. Another noteworthy moment was when all four members of the band sang “Summer Girl;” this soft ballad resonated with the crowd as they grew quiet for the only time that night. Family of the Year put on a far more enjoyable show compared to Happy Hollows. They had an exuberance about them that made the crowd jump and sing to every song. The atmosphere of the concert hall was now more festive and everyone was friendly. Family of the Year did their job in the best way possible—people enjoyed them and they excited the crowd for headlining act, Atlas Genius.
Atlas Genius walked onto a stage covered with flashing rainbow lights around 10:30 p.m.; the crowd went wild. Lead singer and guitarist Keith Jeffrey coaxed the crowd into dancing with him through his heavy Australian accent. Atlas Genius played through the entirety of their 2013 debut album, “When It Was Now.” The first song they played was “Back Seat,” which allowed the crowd to regain their dancing momentum and clap in between Jeffrey’s smooth vocals. The band sounded very similar to their studio versions, which is notable in today’s pop- music industry. The Jeffrey brothers impressed the audience with their talent as they jumped around the stage making their presence felt. They were young and loud—just what today’s Indieverse needs.
The highlight of the night was near the end of the show when the band played “Symptoms.” Jeffrey dedicated this song to all the relationships that are so close to making it but end badly instead. This is one of their more popular songs and was originally released with their first EP, “Through the Glass,” in 2012. The crowd sang every word and exhibited the connection through band and audience that only the most impressive of live bands can pull off. The refrain of “like a circle round and round we go” resonated with everyone there. The final song the band played was their massive, global hit, “Trojans.” This song is the reason most people were in attendance tonight and it had every single person in the packed crowd dancing. It was a fantastic moment to end a great night at Summit Music Hall.
The band came out for a quick encore before saying goodnight to the crowd, but not before Jeffrey called Denver the best city on their national tour. He called the audience the loudest and best crowd he has seen so far. Everyone in attendance that night came away with a great experience and now have something to brag about.
