Monolith Festival – Red Rocks Amphitheater, Morrison, CO, 14-15/09/07

This summer’s highly anticipated Monolith Festival was the first indie-rock fest ever held at Red Rocks, and to my knowledge, the largest we’ve ever had here in Colorado – over 60 bands on five stages at (arguably) the most beautiful venue in the United States. Months of speculation and growing excitement paid off in a big way over the weekend with an incredible two days of music. The festival organization and execution was really first-rate; outside of a few sound problems from the main stage on Friday, things ran very smoothly.

Day One

I’d never been to a multi-stage festival before Monolith, and I admit I was curious as to where they were going to pack five stages into the venue. The stage layout turned out to be quite brilliant – even if it did involve a lot of stair climbing. I managed to hit at least one set at each of the five stages over the two days, and each stage had its own appeal. The two stages inside the visitors center tended to get hot and crowded, but the acts playing more than made up for that.

We arrived just as the festival began. Everything Absent Or Distorted, now unquestionably my favorite local band, was the first act playing the main stage. Even though there weren’t more than a couple hundred people in attendance for their Friday afternoon set, it was great to see the guys playing Red Rocks. They put on an energetic set, as always. But really, you can’t go wrong with white suits, accordions, banjos and happy musicians, am I right?

Next we scaled the stairs to the top of the amphitheater and the New Belgium Stage for The Broken West. I love their debut album and so far their live show hasn’t disappointed either. Our first taste of the New Belgium stage was great; we wondered how its sound would be affected by the main stage, but it seemed that they staggered those two stages enough that there was little overlap. Even when bands were on simultaneously there were rarely any problems. Rarely.

After The Broken West we grabbed some beer and began discussing our options until Clap Your Hands Say Yeah took the main stage – Cat-A-Tac at the WOXY.com stage or Scott Leger at the acoustic stage? I was leaning toward local band Cat-A-Tac, even though they play a lot of gigs, I’d been meaning to check them out for some time. In the midst of decision-making, however, Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band took the New Belgium Stage and made our decision for us. Easily the surprise of the festival, the bluesy/Zydeco-ish Big Damn Band was made up of a drummer, a singer/guitarist (who sometimes played cymbal with his foot), and a washboard player. A washboard!!! The highlight was a song (inspired by a true story) entitled “Your Cousin’s On COPS”. Yeah, the TV show. It was awesome. I’d never heard of these guys (and gal) but will never miss a chance to see them again.

At this point we started to plan our stair-climbing in a rather strategic way. Next was CYHSY on the main stage, but since Ra Ra Riot was on immediately after in the visitors center (accessible only from the top of the amphitheater) we sat about halfway down to the main stage for the CYHSY set. Despite some feedback and microphone problems, it was a really good set. Somewhat surprisingly, only three of the nine songs played were from Some Loud Thunder. The band seemed really confident playing the Red Rocks main stage and were very animated and energetic.

Back to the top and down to the WOXY.com stage for Ra Ra Riot. This was our first experience with the indoor stages, and though it was getting chilly on the outside, the inside was definitely a different story. Ra Ra Riot packed ‘em in and even though it was hot and crowded, the enthusiastic set from these upstate New Yorkers was a lot of fun. I loved the electric string instruments – they looked like violin and cello skeletons.

By this time the stairs and the dancing had taken their toll, so we contented ourselves watching Kings Of Leon from the second from top row of the amphitheater. I’ve never seen KOL before, and I’ve heard they put on a great show, but it was pretty ho-hum to me. Maybe because we were so far away, maybe because I’m not familiar with them, maybe because we’d just been rocked by Ra Ra Riot… Not too much to report from this set.

The Editors though… they were a blast. At times they seemed to sound like any other band from Birmingham, but the energy from both the band and the crowd made the set a complete success.

The Decemberists were the last band we planned to stay for on day one. They took the main stage at 8:30, and when they came out playing Shiny it seemed like we could be in for a treat. Unfortunately, for the most part, the set seemed like the last couple Decemberists shows I’d seen. There were other highlights – Billy Liar, a rendition of You Are My Sunshine that started while Colin was tuning but turned into a full band effort, a funny story about the worst song Colin has ever written (Dracula’s Daughter) that somehow turned into O Valencia!. Colin was entertaining as always, but there was just something a bit disappointing about the set, something I feel I can’t quite put my finger on. Perhaps it was that they, like CYHSY, had several sound issues (I’ve never seen so many technical problems on the Red Rocks main stage in my life) or that their last song was completely drowned out when the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club took the New Belgium Stage. Or maybe I’m simply on Decemberists overload… Monolith marks the third time I’ve seen them in the last year, so it could be I just need a break.

Overall, day one of the Monolith Festival was a rousing success. Even with the slight Decemberists disappointment, I didn’t see a bad set all day. I wish I could have seen more, but I’m the type of music fan where once I get pulled in to a great performance I can’t get away. It was really refreshing to be in the presence of so many talented musicians who were as thrilled to play Red Rocks as we were to see them.

Day Two

Day two of the festival brought more bands and more decisions to make than the day before. I played it safe for much of this festival, tending to stick with bands that I’d seen before and/or was pretty familiar with. Much like the day before, day two was overwhelmingly loaded with great music.

We arrived a little later than the day before, just in time for the start of Matt & Kim’s set at the New Belgium stage. Not unlike their show at the Boulder Theater three days before, Matt and Kim were all smiles, energy and moxie. The constantly growing crowd dug every note of the much too short set. Both Matt and Kim seemed completely in awe of the venue: “Kim, maybe we didn’t make it. Maybe our plane crashed. Maybe this is show heaven.”

In sharp contrast to the wide-eyed wonder of Matt & Kim, Brian Jonestown Massacre was next on the main stage. I stayed only long enough to witness Anton’s tuning meltdown – first cursing his band for not being able to play him a “fucking D”, then ordering the crowd to “Shut the fuck up. I’m doing this for you, just shut up and we’ll tune and play a song for you”. Wow. I can’t believe anyone still books this guy, though I admit it was a bit difficult to tear myself away from the BJM train wreck to catch Nathan & Stephen at the Rock Room Stage.

I’d been meaning to check out Nathan & Stephen (a complete misnomer, as there are at least 8 band members…) for quite a while, and I’m glad I finally caught a performance. The set was jammed with fun pop songs; the band and crowd were having an equally great time.

The next band on the Rock Room-adjacent WOXY.com stage was White Rabbits, who I want to see dearly. Unfortunately William Elliott Whitmore was playing the acoustic stage at exactly the same time and I wanted to see him too. I opted for the acoustic, mainly because I’m seeing White Rabbits at the Larimer Lounge next month. We did exit the visitors center via the WOXY.com room (where White Rabbits were sound-checking) at a very slow pace, in hopes of catching their first song, but no luck.

William Whitmore was a pleasant surprise. I’d heard of him but had never listened to his music. He’s a young guy but sings with the gruff yet melodic voice of a seasoned folk-ster. This was the only set I saw at the smallest festival stage; Whitmore didn’t think anyone would show up to see him and was oozing gratitude throughout the set. He didn’t hide his animosity towards cops, capping off the amazing set with a shoe-stomping rendition of Johnny Law.

Ready Art Brut? They were up next on the main stage. Eddie Argos is the consummate front man, strutting about the stage, or into the crowd, and spitting more than singing the lyrics. The crowd loved them and I can’t wait to see them again with The Hold Steady in November.

Back to the WOXY.com stage for Hot IQs. Even though they play a lot of gigs in Denver, they are my almost favorite local band (second only to Everything Absent Or Distorted), and I didn’t want to pass up seeing them at the festival. The band was already playing and the room was already packed by the time I got in, so sadly I couldn’t get a view of drummer Elaine – arguably the biggest draw of the Hot IQs live show. For those not in the know – she’s hot, she’s got an affinity for bubblegum, and she keeps a raging beat on those drums of hers. The thing I love most about Hot IQs is their ability to create a party atmosphere at their shows. Last time I saw them they brought a cooler of popsicles on stage and threw them into the crowd halfway through the show. For the Monolith set they had confetti-filled balloons floating around, getting popped by the crowd. Great set.

One of the bands that I’d been most looking forward to was Spoon on the main stage. We watched from the top of the amphitheater, in preparation for Cloud Cult at the New Belgium stage. Red Rocks as a venue has a lot of things going for it – one of the most pleasing is that there really is no bad seat in the house; they have a screen so those of us who choose the nosebleed seats can still get a decent glimpse of the action. Although I have to mention that what the second-to-last row of the amphitheater lacks in view it more than makes up for in sound quality, and Spoon sounded extra-amazing. As expected, they played a lot from this year’s incredible Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. The band was extraordinarily tight, Britt was all smiles – it was definitely one of the best sets of the weekend.

I’d only seen Cloud Cult once before Monolith, but it was one of the more moving, almost spiritual, musical experiences I have ever had. The Monolith show was no different. From the New Belgium stage atop the amphitheater, with a bit of wind kicking up, Cloud Cult drew in a large, sing-along crowd with their unique fusion of music and art. In a final bit of deceit that you probably wouldn’t expect from Craig Minowa, he flat-out lied to the crowd and said that the Flaming Lips weren’t going on for another 20 minutes so we all had plenty of time to stay for their last two songs. In reality, the Flaming Lips were starting at about that time (not that I would have left Cloud Cult). I thought it was a clever little bit of trickery.

I stayed up top to watch the Flaming Lips’ first few songs, as I’d decided earlier that I really wanted to catch YACHT’s set – he was booked for the WOXY.com stage half an hour after the Lips’ were scheduled to start, poor guy. I got down to the stage where they were doing a drawing for some free Southwest Airlines tickets or something. There were about a dozen people in the room, and for a moment I thought I was mistaken on the whole YACHT thing… I checked the schedule, made sure I was in the WOXY.com room, and waited. Sure enough, after about five minutes, Jona was introduced and proceeded to look out at the crowd and just chuckle – by this time there were probably about 25 people in the room, including Matt & Kim, Bryan from Hot IQs, and the sound guys.

He spent the first ten minutes or so just talking to us – about how this was exactly what he pictured when he found out he was on during the Flaming Lips’ set, how the car that was supposed to pick him up at the airport never showed up, how he’d already gotten paid, so he didn’t feel like he really had to do anything. Then he asked that the lights be turned down and the speakers up, and put on the perfect display to end the already amazing festival.

If you have never seen YACHT, do yourself a great favor and go do it. He has moves like I’ve never seen, and our small number didn’t seem to faze him at all – it was obvious he put everything he had into his performance. He spent the entire set shifting between the stage and the floor, completely engaging the audience (I hesitate to call it a “crowd”). At the end of his set, he assured us that he didn’t take us for granted, and thanked everyone for coming. He also invited us to stay and hang out, but I thought I’d better get back down to the main stage as I was meeting my friends (and ride home!) after the Lips were done.

I was out in time to see the Flaming Lips’ encore. I’d never seen them before, but of course their live show is legendary, so I wasn’t surprised by all the bells and whistles… I’m sure the entire set was great, but I left thoroughly satisfied that I was one of the few to see YACHT.

Overall, the weekend was impressive, exhausting, exhilarating and completely awesome. The weather couldn’t have been better – mid-September can be a little sketchy in Colorado, but we had no rain (or snow!) and it didn’t even get too cold once the sun went down. The best thing about Monolith was that there was always music happening somewhere – I love not having to wait through set changes. I can only hope that the festival was enough of a success to become a tradition.

Photo Credits
Everything Absent Or Distorted [EAOD MySpace]
The Broken West [solace]
Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band [twentyeightdeep]
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah [catinlap]
Ra Ra Riot [woxy]
Kings Of Leon [ckvenild]
Editors [johnandbelinda]
Decemberists [thinkderek]
Brian Jonestown Massacre [johnandbelinda]
Nathan & Stephen [shifty_eyes]
White Rabbits [woxy]
William Elliott Whitmore [solace]
Art Brut [squish_e]
Hot IQs [johnandbelinda]
Spoon [gloryglorycatchacory]
Cloud Cult [solace]
Flaming Lips [catinlap]