As the rain poured down over Denver last Thursday night, many people opted to stay in for a movie or curl up with a book. But three Denver bands and their fans saw the rain as a perfect coincidence, setting the tone for their show packed with dark wave, punk and goth sounds.
Even before the first act Dream Of Industry took the stage, the room was bubbling with a friendliness and warmth that was unexpected based on the venue’s dark aesthetic and the somber weather that characterized the night outside. Casually, right around nine, the room shifted to the half of the space where the stage is, where members of Dream Of Industry took position. Juxtaposing their friendly demeanor off stage, Dream Industry tore into their set with a voracious force.
Characterized by vicious vocals that sludge through thick bouncy guitar riffs and echoic bass lines, Dream Of Industry showcased their undeniably dark wave and post-punk sound. With obvious influences of early darkwave bands such as Joy Division and Bauhaus, Dream Of Industry offered up a modern rendition of the famously known 80s genre.
Following Dream Of Industry came an act that matched the “off the dial” musicality but from a different angle. Denver and DU favorite, Antibroth, took the stage soon after, and without hesitation began on a rampage of sound that once again glued together the crowd that had dissipated during the set change.
Known for their unique sound and masterful unison on stage (despite the complexity of the music’s composition), it’s hard to have anything negative to say about an Antibroth set. Regardless of how put-together or energetic the band themselves may have felt while on stage, lead singer Jeremy Mock’s obscured vocal inflection mixed with bassist Dan Switalski’s ability to deliver the unexpected and drummer Hayden Boch’s sheer force is enough to captivate anyone’s attention.
Take that and pair it with the fact that the boys were simply having a good time on stage, moving swiftly from song to song and dancing and stomping along, making Thursday night’s show one of the band’s best yet. And the crowd’s reaction was clear evidence of that, with bouts of thundering applause after each song and no lack of movement throughout the set.
Finishing off the night, the last piece of the stacked lineup, was Julian St. Nightmare. With little released music, Julian St. Nightmare has been able to garner a solid following in Denver, with their live performances carrying them toward local popularity. Not only did the band deliver impressive cohesion on stage despite many moving parts, but they also paid mind to aesthetics which made the set more of a performance, an immersive experience even, for the audience.
With their gothic post-punk sound as the foundation, the band utilized visual elements of fog machines and lighting that coincided with changes in the songs, to bring a fully rounded performance to Hi-Dive.
Being a five-piece band, it can be hard to showcase each of the member’s abilities on stage, but that didn’t seem to be an issue for Julian St. Nightmare. With every member, excluding the drummer, contributing to the vocals in some way throughout the set, it added to that performance feel, with each member acting as a different character.
As the night rounded out and fans were sent back out into the world, having had their rainy night soundtracked by three bewitching sets, it was hard to believe that it was April and not October with the spooky and surprising sounds that all three acts delivered at Hi-Dive.
