Review: Blucifer’s First Rodeo encapsulated the strength of Denver music

If you’ve lived in Denver long enough, or have been masochistic enough to visit its solipsistic subreddit, you’ve probably encountered numerous complaints about the city, often directed at the food, public transportation, dating, city officials, whatever.

There can be decent points there, sure. But one facet unique to this city that you’ll never hear people fully deride is its local music scene. The artists here encapsulate one of the best quotes from “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”: “Don’t dream it, be it.”

That’s what they achieved with Blucifer’s First Rodeo, whose debut on South Broadway July 23-26 marked a monumental, sold-out success and underscored that culture isn’t derived from large industry corporations and national networks, but actual, localized community.

When co-founder Mike Young took the stage at HQ on Saturday ahead of the midnight set from Horse Bitch, he gave a stirring speech about the mission of the festival. Most of all, he said, it was about the people — the artists who perform and the people who support them. It’s a coalescence that cannot be replicated by anything else, and breathes hope into an increasingly tech-driven world that would stifle it.

“What you just did, you did not do by yourself,” he told the crowd. “No artist makes art by themselves. No musician makes music by themselves.”

He went on to shout out his fellow co-organizers, and “every person, including all of you, who has come together in this room to make this moment. Not because of some love of power. Not because of corporations’ love of money, which is not going to protect them from death. No amount of money in the world will protect this evil fucking American empire.

“The only thing that will protect us,” he said, to overwhelming cheers, “is if we love each other together.”

Given the audience’s response, Denver agrees.

Then Horse Bitch put on one of the many highlight sets of the weekend, as the venue essentially became an advancing sauna saturated by a nonstop mosh pit buoying sweat-drenched crowd surfers. Photographers were gleefully knocked on stage, where the bandmates were also banging around as guitarist/vocalist Dave Knodle launched himself onto the audience, somehow managing to play his instrument among the grappling hands before he was lurched back on stage. That’s a Horse Bitch show for you, but doubtless it was supplemented by being at a debut festival like Blucifer’s First Rodeo.

“We’ve played this street on this weekend for years,” guitarist Riley Merino told the crowd, referencing performing at the Underground Music Showcase, which happened in Baker for 25 years before it moved to RiNo for its 26th iteration the same weekend. Now, he said, it’s different: Blucifer’s First Rodeo is run by artists and friends. It’s an actual representation of the scene. And what a scene it is.

Blucifer epitomizes a DIY spirit that proliferates through these Denver artists, which is why so many legacy acts such as Bluebook, Dressy Bessy, Colfax Speed Queen or Wheelchair Sports Camp signed on — all of which used to be UMS constants. When I ran into WSC vocalist and activist Kalyn Heffernan at one of the Sunday house shows — a phenomenal set from Church Fire — she told me she had been looking forward to such a gritty festival taking stake in the city. The house shows, she said, were what she anticipated most: They had been a part of UMS long ago, but this signified a return to form for a scene festival.

That DIY ethos was also the highlight of Blucifer’s kick-off on July 23, with bands playing at such venues as Seventh Circle, Ante Up, D3 Arts and Squirm Gallery. But it was also prevalent throughout the weekend via the sense of discovery, as people wandered from one spot to the next to find a new act. Mr. Shrimp had Li’l Devils so packed that it was at capacity, but that didn’t stop a crowd forming around the venue to catch what they could hear. The festival was a major win to local businesses that signed on, as well, with people gathering around Goldmine Vintage for stellar sets from bands like The Whimsies or Handknit, or at Wax Trax Broadway Bazaar for the always-impeccable Pleasure Prince, a synth-pop and electronic duo that made you forget the stifling heat under its shower of synth.

The range of genres was also impressive: DVNE HPPY delivered a head-turning set of hip-hop at Illegal Pete’s, not long after Lady Los enchanted the audience with her spellbinding neo-soul and R&B, accompanied by the always phenomenal Nelo. Just after Lady Los’s set, a new fan said he just had to approach her, asking her for name and socials and where he could see her again. Metal and hardcore bands also showed up for their corner of the scene, with the speed demons of Cobranoid unleashing a whirlwind in the appropriately industrial Import Mechanics, and busking metal heroes Insipidus doing what it does best: whipping up a pit along the sidewalk for a set you only wish could’ve been longer.

Cheap Perfume also brought one of the weekend’s standout performances, with sheer, unbridled punk that has inspired so many other local acts. It’s not often you have a band demand that men stand to the side so women can have their own mosh pit (especially for a song about sexual assault), but fuck, it was so necessary. Other likewise iconic and longtime bands delivered highlights, from the haunting, deep sonics of Bluebook to the hip-hop and punk from Wheelchair Sports Camp, both at the most natural choice of a venue — the hi-dive.

The house shows were the perfect way to wrap up the weekend, meandering around the Baker neighborhood, where you’d uncover bands playing in backyards or on porches. The Mañanas filled the street with its signature surf rock and dancing until people were begging for an encore (and they delivered). Colfax Speed Queen shredded at a skatepark above a halfpipe. And these won’t be the last shows in the neighborhood, with PorchFest bringing more than 120 artists there on Oct. 3.

There wasn’t one complaint heard throughout the festival, which expended so much time, energy and heart from its co-organizers, many of whom work multiple jobs on top of their own creative projects. This was a volunteer effort, something purely for filling a void in the scene and emphasizing a cultural movement that can only be found in this city. Each artist I spoke with only spoke effusively of what this event meant to them. So needless to say, everyone is already looking forward to a festival next year.

It’s events like Blucifer’s First Rodeo that underscore what Denver artists do best. They don’t wait for opportunities; they make them. And the city is better for it.