Mile High Makeout: Think again

One of the worst things you can do, in any part of your life, is get set in your ways and lose the willingness to revise your opinions, perspectives and beliefs. Dogmatism always stands in the way of growth and learning. As for me, I love being proven wrong.

By Eryc Eyl

December 22, 2008

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In my humble opinion, one of the worst things you can do, in any part of your life, is get set in your ways and lose the willingness to revise your opinions, perspectives and beliefs. Dogmatism always stands in the way of growth and learning. As for me, I love being proven wrong. I really do. If I make an assertion - which I often do blindly, without sufficient evidence and with a level of conviction that is disproportionate to my actual commitment to that particular viewpoint - I find it incredibly satisfying when that assertion is proven false, flawed or factless. In the world of music criticism, this rarely happens. However, once in a while, a band about which I've formed and voiced an opinion will prove me wrong, and that's almost as good.

Such a serving of crow was served to me on Friday night at the Bluebird. While I like the Hot IQs and appreciate their status in Denver's scene, I've rarely seen them live. The last time I can recall was at the Westword Music Showcase in 2006, I think, and my opinion of the indie poppers' music was cemented then. The set was lackluster, the songs were amateurish and the energy was lacking. At that point, I decided that, whatever my opinion of the people in the group, my professional read on the outfit as a whole would be talented-but-boring.

On Friday night, however, from the video that introduced the band to the final notes of the performance, I was blown away. Elaine Acosta, Bryan Feuchtinger and Eli Mishkin definitely brought their A-game, performance-wise, to the Bluebird's stage. The sass and excitement the trio injected into their mid-tempo manic pop tunes caused the whole set to shimmer with a smart, infectious, irresistible energy that caused me to completely revise my opinion of the Hot IQs. The performance reminded me of We Are Scientists, one of my favorite indie pop trios.

And now I can't wait to see the Hot IQs again. Next time, however, I hope they don't prove me wrong. --Eryc Eyl

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