Living with Live Music
Some people were born with a silver spoon in their mouths, but I think my spoon was made of metal and a bit of stoner rock. Somethings in life are said to happen for a reason, though I don't believe this, last Monday the coincidences were in my favor. Curled up with my laptop as usual, I receive a call from a drunken friend who "just want(ed) to go home (urg)." He was at Three Kings Tavern, 60 South Broadway and attempting to be a good friend, I hopped in a cab to get him. Five minutes later I arrived and found another friend who had already helped him into a cab. Relieved he was en route, I asked the door guy what the show was and he replied nonchalantly, "Nebula, and some other band is finishing up." I make my way up and Black Lamb is putting on a rocking show and I was bummed I missed Kingdom of Magic's always buzzing experience. Shortly thereafter Nebula took the stage and enjoying the up and down bass that no one can resist softly bouncing or rocking out to.
That said, who is Nebula? The question is not as easily answered, but it begins with the departure of Eddie Glass and Ruben Romano from Fu Manchu in 1997. Their music is also not easily defined, perhaps alternative/stoner rock, with both metal and punk influences from the 1970's (Fu-Manchu.com). Glass and Romano's new project, Nebula began with some of the characteristics of Fu Manchu, a culmination of the sub-genres of rock and heavy metal. Monday, I could even pick up hints of blues rock, along the heavy baselines and low-tuned guitars of the great 70's rockers and metal heads. Fu Manchu gained new members in 1997 and still tours today at large venues, with advertising budgets and big bands, while Nebula has stayed under the radar at large. Several months ago I joined about 15 others at an amazing performance at the Larimer Lounge, providing for an intimate and epic experience.
Being a fan of the band, one might think I would have heard about the show at Three Kings, and I didn't because Nebula keeps it that way. They still largely have the persona of a garage band and their music reflects a true devotion to their sound, not to money or fame. This resistance to selling out is as becoming as the bouncing beer in my hand as I enjoyed the product of these circumstances wholeheartedly and will have listen to word of mouth for the next time they visit Denver.
Mayhem. The band's name itself suggests a sort of chaos that many metal bands seek to represent in branding themselves,
The North West Denver area has made quite the transformation physically in the last thirty years, but the residents' passion for live music has always remained strong. Denver itself has been a city of tunes since its birth from behind bar doors and venues of international acclaim alike. General William Larimer Jr. plotted the square mile now known as Lower Downtown with cottonwood trunks in 1858, spurred by the glisten of gold in the rivers and hills. The adjacent neighborhood of Auraria acted as a rival to the LoDo community and the two were constantly competing and at odds (FindAGrave.Com). The two neighborhoods were known for fueling this fire with drinking, pranking and of course competition including in music and merrymaking. Now LoDo is home to expensive lofts, nightclubs, high priced restaurants and office space while the neighborhood of Auraria was plowed in the name of higher education. So fellas, who really won anyway?
In reference to recent subjects entertained in these columns, man has been making music in some form for a long time. The Irish Trad Band, A Pinch of Snuff, visited the city of Denver for St. Patrick's Day festivities and embodied the spirit of human music sharing to quite an admirable degree. This left an impression of reflection and thoughts of what it means to not just play music, but to share an entire experience of music and life. From afar and half paying attention the music sounded as clear and true as a CD, but the epic experience came thereafter.
Sipping, sitting lazily in good ol’ Charlie Brown’s, tuning in and out as blind Paulie tickles the ivory, I reminisce about days before, and then days before I was born.
Read more: Speak easy, but carry a big stick: Jazz in Denver's Prohibition Era
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