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Denver may have its fair share of dive bars sprinkled about the city, but few have the musical prowess of the Lion’s Lair.
Known as one of the city’s most well established punk music venues, the Lion’s Lair is now expanding to include artists from a wide variety of genres including indie rock, jazz and singer-songwriter outfits like Jen Korte & The Loss and The Dan Craig Band, who performed on Friday night.
While the Lion’s Lair may look like your run of the mill corner bar, it sure as hell doesn’t sound like it. Since August, the bar cum venue has hosted a wide variety of local music heavyweights as well as relatively unknown new talents.
Korte could be considered one of the latter. Save for a few in-the-know local music lovers, Korte is a powerful swell just waiting to break into the Denver scene with a vengeance. Like that old high school friend that springs up out of nowhere, Korte’s performance blindsides the audience with her gregariousness and boundless energy. Armed with nothing more than a giant red guitar and a voice that could stop a missile, she assailed the audience with an full on audio assault.
Korte’s style blends rock, soul and blues together in one magnificent coalescence. Her voice oozed sex appeal with her sultry growls and fierce Joplin-esque high notes. At first listen, her sound is reminiscent of the likes of PJ Harvey and Melissa Etheridge.
Yet, as her set progressed, these comparisons gave way to an incredible sound that is totally original. Simple guitar chords and honest, home-spun lyrics made each song relatable to the audience in a very personal way. Altogether her earnest style and friendly disposition made one feel as if Korte was singing just to you. However, Korte’s unqiue style didn’t come easy to the singer.
“It took me years to learn how to sing well,” she said in a later interview.
With the addition of Morgan Coley’s accentuating beats and the help of Blue Light singer Jess Mefford on vocals, the trio put on an amazing live show.
Dan Craig and his band also performed a stellar set. No stranger to the stage, Colorado native Craig is a talented singer-songwriter who has released two albums and toured nationally in addition to playing in the indie rock outfit Hearts of Palm (formerly Nathan & Stephen).
Craig’s songs are simple, yet refined in all the right ways. Effortlessly, they are disarmingly sincere without sounding contrived or forced, a feat only mastered through years of practice. Accompanied vocally by the sassy Erin Donovan, the duo’s harmonies were positively spine-trembling.
While all of Craig’s songs were outstanding, it was the band’s cover of Neutral Milk Hotel’s “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea” that really caused a commotion in the crowd.
Backed on the cello by Seth Donovan and on the mandolin by Geoff Burghardt, this rendition was chillingly good. Sadly though, the set was a little on the short side, and many of the concertgoers called out for more to no avail.
The Dan Craig Band also played a free live Valentine’s Day show in the KVDU studio last week.
Their latest album will be released sometime later this spring.
After Friday night’s show, good ol’ rock n’ roll can be added to East Colfax’s popular reputation as a hotbed of drugs and sex.
