Photo by: purevolume.com
Denver’s own The Simple Discussion didn’t fill up the Marquis on Friday, but they should have.
The unsigned indie rock group is made up of four members: Paul Wineinger on vocals, guitar and piano; his brother Nick on lead guitar, vocals and keys; Cameron Osborn on bass and vocals; and Carter Spencer on drums. It all began when the Wineingers played an acoustic set in a classic coffee house setting, but they found themselves getting frustrated over not being heard and sought out more members.
The band compares their sound to the Silversun Pickups, Kings of Leon and Copeland for Paul’s so-called “girly voice.”
Concerts can be more engaging when the band holds up a certain degree of discussion with the audience: witty banter, insights, anything like that.
Negatively speaking, it felt like the band was a bit uncomfortable with this idea, and maybe just headlining in general. Paul left the dialogue to, “We love you guys, too!” and the obligatory thanking of the opening bands.
However,the electric feedback between numbers was the only negative of the evening.
Music wise, the quartet had an incredible balance, no one aspect of the band fell by the wayside. Often in concerts, it seems as though the vocals can get lost behind the instruments, but Paul’s slightly high, smooth voice never had to fight for the spotlight. Their songs were fun and easy to follow, even if you had never heard Safelight (2006) or Translate Me (2009), their two EP’s. As the show went on, their growing excitement was obvious. In the final non-encore song “Hey Friend,” Paul demanded that the audience sing along, flipping the microphone stand towards them, and they were happy to oblige.
The audience in general seemed infatuated with the band, screaming at each of them specifically during the breaks between songs, swing dancing when possible and holding a general groove throughout. Chants of “One more song!” brought another two numbers, one being a new acoustic piece Paul performed on his own, bringing back to my attention his talent and the maturity of his voice.
