For the lucky fans that caught Thievery Corporation’s second show in Denver, it was more than just a concert; it was like stepping into a scene from an exotic far-off locale.
The sold-out Fillmore was packed with psychedelic dancing bodies swaying in time to the music booming out of the speakers and the kaleidoscope light show.
For the next two hours, the Washington D.C. based DJ/producer duo of Rob Garza and Eric Hilton and their accompanying 15 or so piece band took the crowd on a musical vacation. The band included two drummers, a horn section, a bass player, a guitar/sitar player and a group of vocalists from Tehran, Buenos Aires and Guyana.
Being a band that could be considered a mix of trance-techno/electronica, Thievery has an impressively large-world music background. Hits such as “Lebanese Blonde,” from their 2002 album The Mirror Conspiracy and “The Richest Man in Babylon,” blend musical instruments from around the globe.
These are a joy to experience, as the band plays them as if they were trained musicians from that native region. Impressively, Thievery is able to create a distinct mood with their music both on stage and on record.
Possibly the best moment of the performance was during the second encore. Two lovely singers from Buenos Aires came out and led the crowd in “El Pueblo Unido,” a song filled with optimism that is based on a protest chant used worldwide. To say the crowd loved the performance would be a complete understatement. Throughout the haze of smoke and moving bodies, it seemed like every single person in attendance knew the words to each song and sang them with as much energy and commitment as the musicians onstage. This performance proved that Thievery knows exactly what drives their audience and why they have cultivated such a large following.
When the lights finally came up, many in the audience seemed to be convinced they would come back on again for a third encore. All we can do is hope that the music gods will smile on us again and deliver another brilliant Thievery performance.
