When the bases were loaded last night after the monumental kickoff of the Great Cycles Spectacles tour at the Fillmore, the party was still rolling at Quixote's True Blue with the miracle that is Game 7. Music Marauders started its celebration of its two-year anniversary with two days of Game 7 featuring Aron Magner of Disco Biscuits, Micheal Kang of String Cheese Incident, Darren Pujalet and Eric Gould of Particle and Pete Wall of the Motet.
The night began with some technical difficulties that resulted in leaving no sound for headliners Kang and Magner. Not to worry, because Pujalet and Gould didn't even think about stopping for a second for the sound to be fixed, due to the sole fact that they were the only members still with sound. After about ten minutes of some solid, locked-in jamming from the two, the system was back to the its full capabilities and everyone was back on the same page.
At this point, the audience was milling about, seemingly looking for another place to go, but as the first couple notes of "The National Anthem" by Radiohead was performed, the crowd knew what they were in for. Musicians often test their own limits when they try to make Radiohead their own, but Wall's saxophone solo put those fears to rest. They started to change the pace a little bit when they played the happy go-lucky song "Time to Pretend" by MGMT. This crowd favorite made everyone throw up their arms and scream for more. Not only was the group producing quality covers that everyone love and enjoys, but the communication on-stage was unbelievable. Kang's eyes were darting around the stage watching everyone's moves and Magner was acting as the courageous conductor -- throwing up signals all night to keep everyone in-tune.If the crowd wasn't stunned by this performance so far, then the bust-out of "Da Funk" by Daft Punk caught everyone's attention quickly. If there is a perfect time to start shaking that rumpa, it is to Daft Punk. This wasn't a triumph to mediocrity, it was unique and beautiful (like a unicorn), because there was not one time when anyone was lost. Kang found his pocket early in the night, which ended up with him improvising and creating a few inspiring jams for the rest of the night. Not to forget the very talented Darren Pujalet, who didn't drop a note the whole night and served as a drum machine that never ran out of juice. Last night's show again proved that when musicians known for a particular style step outside their comfort zone and succeed at something new, it's always a crowd-pleaser.
During Game 7's set, Digital Beat Down was in the back room heating things up. This wasn't an episode of the Jersey Shore where Pauly D has to "beat up the beat," but a collaboration of two determined locals showing what they can do. The sound these guys have come to produce so far is nothing less than excellent. With bands like The New Deal dropping out of the scene, it is time for fresh faces and sounds. Digital Beat Down can fill that void if it keeps it up.To start the night, Boulder's own Bass Time Continuum offered an array of bass-heavy melodies. The act took space out of the equation just to throw bass in as the third dimension, leaving everyone hanging with the wobbles. With frontman DJ Cucumber on the Saxophone, keys, and talk-box whomps, it really made for an enjoyable experience. The group really took the concept of bass music and took it to the next level with the live set.
Critic's Notebook:
Personal Bias: My favorite member of the Disco Biscuits is Aron Magner, and I have seen them more than fifteen times.
By the Way: Game 7 will be playing tonight, and it's a safe bet that the act will be more finely tuned.
Random Detail: This show was a definite crowd pleaser. I didn't hear anyone say that it was a bad show.
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