It is hard to take a group with the word “bucket” in their name seriously. Nevertheless, Brooklyn-based indie gems Rubblebucket shirked conventions and encouraged attendees to “get silly” last Saturday when they horned hard and effectively electrified north Denver’s Larimer Lounge.
Being a place that sells Hane’s plain white tees in a vending machine alongside Doritos, Fritos and Kools, one never quite knows who or what will be thrust onstage to invade your earholes at this grime-ridden institution. But before a healthy crowd of almost exclusively millenials, the eight-piece completed a sturdy set of mature, charged and polished tunes that had the bobbing droves perma-smiling throughout.
Frolicking in their unique brand of indie-dance pop for just over an hour, the ensemble served as a deliciously refreshing reminder to all aspiring Soundcloud-ians to always do your darndest to recruit more horns. Trumpeter and band mastermind Alex Toth blared alongside trombone player Adam Dotson to an awesomely funk-filled end for every one of their four to five minute nuggets of sonic joy. The exclamation point to this tried and true sentiment arrived in the encore when Dotson roared a discombobulated yet elegant solo whilst crowdsurfing on the hands of the enamored hipsters below.
The two brass experts received help from the undisputed all-star of the pack, front woman Annakalmia Traver, who crooned with the mature sophistication of a Grammy award-winner and the welcome pronunciation of a veteran high school English teacher. Traver adorned her own baritone sax for the chorus and funk breakdowns for quite a few of the numbers, the torso of the bohemith larger than her own. Her command of such an unwieldy monstrosity coupled with her overall enthusiasm and vigor was an impressive inspiration for someone who is merely a few months removed from defeating ovarian cancer. The only mention or reminder of the disease came during the second song, as Traver ditched the Linda Perry-inspired knit cap she was wearing to unveil a shiny, Lex Luthor scalp – which she decorated quickly by letting an audience member Sharpie a massive heart. It felt wonderfully like a run-of-the-mill hairstyle to all in the room and did nothing but add to the awe-inspiring mysticism of her dynamic performance.
Traver called and responded to back-up vocalists Toth and Dotson throughout the set, which was riddled with new material from the gang’s new EP “Save Charlie.” The masses did not seem to mind acting as proverbial guinea pigs for much of the material, and reveled in standout hits, “Silly Fathers” and “Came Out Of A Lady” which were quizzically disguised amongst the new catalogue items. Their new single, “Patriotic” absolutely smashed as the second number of the evening which featured twangy synth lines straight out of a John Hughes montage over Ray Lamontagne-style horn work. The encore partied harder than any other part of the act, most notably due to Traver tossing a giant, multi-colored parachute cloth onto the audience à la sixth grade gym class, a move that was received with uproarious applause. The one noticeable absence in the set was the omission of the troupe’s stellar cover of The Beatles’ “Michelle” which has been mentioned in multiple, new-age conversations of best Beatles’ covers.
With an overall sound falling somewhere in a weird realm next to Generationals, The Commodores and a sober Sleigh Bells, Rubblebucket made up sonically for what they lack in the department of name judgment. They sport a packed November and December U.S. tour schedule, so give the list of cities a peak this winter break and get on the funky synth-dance pop and all around boogeyin’ train this crew is riding.
