The Desciples
On a crisp late September evening, Desciples, Apex Vibe, and the A-Oks opened for Goldfinger at Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom. As the seasonal changes bring in the fall breeze, and the cooler, lighter atmosphere descends upon Denver, the changes of the season are reflected in the atmosphere of the venue. Gone are the long nights of sweltering heat in and outside of the club. The fall temperatures bring some sought-after relief from the dance floor’s heat.
The Denver rock-reggae band Desciples rocked the opening spot. Their synchronicity of rock and reggae was a perfect pairing for the headliner, Goldfinger. Desciples bring something different to the stage. Maybe it is the crazy look in lead singer, Stephen Hashbarger’s, eyes, or the pure intensity of Dubs’ riffs on the drums. It might be Derek’s funky, steady bass line, or keyboardist Sam’s happy feet. Or perhaps the pure, emotional, primal energy of the percussionist, Chilli . Whatever it is, it catches your attention. It holds you. The rhythm and melody draw you in and keep you there. Desciples have an honest and raw confidence on stage, and give their performance everything they’ve got. Stephen’s honest lyrics, combined with his shredding guitar solos, are reminiscent of early Sublime, and his vocals are hauntingly similar to Bradley Nowell’s. Something about this band forces you to stand up and pay attention, and before you realize it, they have you in their groove. Your eyes close and your head is swaying as your feet begin to move with the rhythm. Dripping with sweat by the end of the set, the band played a cover of “Rocket Man” and “Welcome to Jam Rock,” in addition to several well-written, tightly performed originals. After dancing along with Desciples, it was nice to walk outside into the refreshingly cool autumn air.
I wish I could say as much about Apex Vibe. A Denver band that bills themselves as a soul/rock/reggae band, Apex Vibe appears to be attempting to go the 311 route, but they seem to have taken a wrong turn at Albuquerque. They were a confusing configuration lacking in both rhythm and melody. There was a lack of interaction with the crowd, and the guys on stage did not appear to be happy to be there. The sound for the set was terrible. Can’t really blame the sound guy for that; Desciples set sounded fan-freakin-tastic, as did that of the other bands. The performance was subpar and felt contrived. The playing was sloppy and it appeared as though no one in the band really knew the originals. The lead singer appeared to be the only one playing with any confidence and he remained stock still through the entire performance, as if he didn’t understand the energy it took to catch the attention of the audience. I couldn’t understand any of the lyrics, and when they did cover Sublime’s “Ebin,” I realized the crowd was as confused as I was about why these guys were even on the stage. They just did not seem prepared. Fortunately, it was a lovely night to sit out on the back patio and listen to the DJ spin dubstep and techno on the Other Side.
Then the A-Oks hit the stage and the energy of the crowd in the room began to recover from the previous performance. In fact, it spiked. This Denver-based punk/ska band definitely brought the lightning. Their performance was the definition of controlled mayhem and they pumped up the crowd for Goldfinger. The members of the band bounced around the stage, waving their arms and feet – and everything else that could be enthusiastically waved. The punctuation of the trumpet, saxophone and slide trombone made the point, “This is ska punk!” The crowd was skanking and slam-dancing by the band’s third song. They looked like they were having a great time up there. The sweaty crowd flocked into the cool night air seeking respite from the pit in the falling temperatures outdoors.
When Goldfinger took the stage the crowd surged forward. The late 1990s ska-punk band from California delivered exactly what was expected. They are obviously well-practiced pros who have been at this a while. They bring a tremendous energy to the stage and rock as hard as they did almost 20 years ago. They got the crowd pumped; fists in the air, skanking, singing along and slam dancing. Everyone was sweating and spitting out the song’s lyrics back at the band. The band sucked all that energy in and hurled it back into the crowd, making for a full-throttle performance. The guys in Goldfinger have the energy of men half their age on stage. The crowd – and the energy – was a far different scene from my previous experience at Cervantes and it was a nice change. After the show was over, the crowd flooded out into the cool crisp night. And while the coat check wasn’t so busy tonight, it won’t be too long before the bitter cold of the outdoors is in stark contrast to the lovely, cool, crisp air of this late September evening.
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