When you hear of a band like Colourmusic, you would think you would see a group of guys with bright vibrant colored clothes and lights. The last thing you would expect is a band to come up in sequence white pants and hoodies with nothing but a little circle of orange over their left nipple. With little color I was disenfranchised and dare I say a little dissapointed because I wanted all the colors of the rainbow. However, after they started playing I realized that the color was not in their outfits but the colorful, vibrant music that they played in their set. Their show was definitely a good way to cap my terrible week of finals.
Colourmusic hail from Oklahoma and is the brainchild of British resident Nick Turner and US Citizen Okie Ryan Hendrix. Along with on again off again members, Nicholas Ley, Colin Fleishacker and Cry Suter, ColourMusic launched their energetic music and fun live shows across the nation wearing muted clothing as to not reveal the sheer power and energy they are hiding. Not to brag about the band, but they are something of SXSW favorites playing the last few years and being asked to come again this upcoming festival. In fact, SXSW is where I first saw this band. Albeit the whole festival was a little hazy, I do remember an energetic live band that blew my mind.They also have toured with the likes of Silversun Pickups, Postmarks and Nada Surf and have been mentioned in multiple journals as one of the best bands of SXSW.
Taking a detour from their tour with Dressy Bessy, Colourmusic came to Fort Collins and played the intimate Road 34 Venue. This was my first show at Road 34 and let me say real quick that this is going to be the next big thing for Fort Collins. It is a small venue that has impeccable sound and has a great atmosphere that makes the band and audience comfortable creating a creative and rocking atmosphere.
Their set was loud and vibrant. The songs were full of punk reverb and had great harmony between all of the singing parts. The guitar parts were good, but there was a lot of focus placed on the bass lines which were very catchy and pry my favorite part of the show. The show was a hodgepodge of musical styles stealing from early punk bands, garage distortion, and pop music. There is no real way to define their sound nor is their a band that can be compared to them. This is good because it gives them the ability to tour with anyone or have fun at any show because there are no preconceived notions. My two favorite songs that they played were “Put in a Little Gas” and “You Can Call Me By My Name.” These songs had catchy sing along choruses, simple beats, not to mention boys sounding vaguely like girls. One could not help but want to dance along. The songs did not feel too long, nor did the show feel like it dragged at any point. The band was thoroughly enjoying themselves and the audience was enjoying the band.
Since this was my first “Bar” show ever, I did not know what to expect. The crowd was a little sparse and I was worried that was going to affect the sound and energyof the show. Many of the people there did not seem to be there for the band, but rather were there for the drink specials. My worries were laid to rest when the show started. All of the people in the bar stopped and listened enthralled by the sound on stage. Which was very impressive. Smaller venues sometimes have a problem of having sound muffled because the levels are way off but everything was perfect. Even when the band tried to blow out the speakers, it sounded fantastic.
Overall, Colourmusic did a superb job during their show and were really nice guys afterwords. We sat and talked about SXSW, Touring, their stint with British Sea Power (Who by the way are PARTY ANIMALS!), and of course touring with local favorites Dressy Bessy. These guys really set the bar for good indie music. Their sound is refreshing because it is abrasive when it needs to be and comforting when it should be. They are humble guys and when you talk to them, you feel like you are talking to good friends. These guys are one of few bands that I hope to see them break big. A show well worth any night of the week.
There full length record, “F, Monday, Orange, February, Venus, lunatic, 1 or 13″ is out now on Great Society Records.
Here is a sample of their fun
Review By James Lopez
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December 17th, 2008 at 1:50 am
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