Portamento played a night of indie rock bands beginning with the letter P at the Lion’s Lair on Thursday. Photos by Jason Claypool.
Last Thursday’s apparent attempt at a fully-alliterated lineup at the Lion’s Lair promised to fulfill a growing need of mine to visit the bar, one of Denver’s shining examples of the dive. It also presented a chance to finally catch a full set from Popwreck, local Denver genius Aaron Hobbes’s latest project.
As I walked up to a show featuring four local bands — Peña, Portamento, Eleanor and Popwreck — I had to wonder whether Pee Pee was asked to join, making the alliteration complete. I quickly jumped that train of thought upon entering and settled in behind the all-too-familiar black-laminated bar — after I pulled myself up off the floor and dusted off a thorough, self-administered ass-kicking I took when I found out I’d shown up after Popwreck’s set.

Here’s a brief Popwreck review from photographer Jason Claypool:
The band started things off and sure as hell made their point, warming up the Lion’s Lair with Aaron Hobbs’ raw voice and his band’s driving pace. I was excited that this seemed to set the tone for the evening, considering that these were four bands I was unfamiliar with. Looking around the room, the crowd’s familiarity with and downright joy in hearing Popwreck’s songs indicated that they could have been the headliner any other night.
And back to Billy Thieme:
Despite missing Popwreck, the rest of the night’s lineup ended up offered a show that started off heartfelt and melodic and ended up somewhere far out in a world of highly complex and punky prog-rock.
Eleanor was already playing when I got there, showcasing sweet, melodic tunes that expose the band’s well-honed songwriting. They sport a sound that recalls a little Death Cab and Radiohead as well as a some Peter Frampton, fresh from the early ‘70s, all wrapped in a Flaming Lips spirit. Frontman Ryan Brasher is a charismatic singer, though he complained Thursday night about a cold that was affecting his vocals. Backed up by three other members and joined by two backup singers at center, however, their sound was full and cathartic, while remaining light.

Portamento (once known as Side-Fi Noise) set up next, a local instrumental three-piece with a tight, psychedelic feel. Their sound matches some of the heavily-layered indulgence of San Fransisco’s Mermen tossed with a smidgen of Man or Astro-Man? and a little Edgar Winter, then veers off into a Minutemen vibe as the bassist seems to channel Mike Watt. The three are obviously accomplished musicians, spewing a barrage of heavy, circular riffs and complex rhythms at a furious pace for a solid 45 minutes. Unlike many instrumental bands, they do a great job of avoiding the trap of overindulgence by changing up the time signatures many times in their songs, abruptly stopping and switching gears with ease.
Peña, another local instrumental band, followed, featuring a decidedly more prog-rock sound than Portamento but with equally accomplished musicianship. Members include Nick Sullivan, the guitarist responsible for the sultry, dirty blues of Denver’s American Relay, this time on bass, joined by Mike Scarano, Aaron Ray and David Allen.

On stage they produced instrumental songs that ebbed and flowed cathartically, manipulating the audience into visions of expanse — open, rugged, fast-moving. The tunes seemed to grow out of mid-song instrumentation by Rush or Pink Floyd, with a heavy nod towards early ’90s alternative prog-rockers Three Mile Pilot, and were steeped in a semi-thick surf-dirge.
As accomplished as these musicians are, and as exciting as their stage presence and music is, I can’t help but wonder if they’re not selling themselves a bit short by leaving out vocals. It seemed at times that the only thing missing, from both Peña and Portamento, was the potential mystique that a vocalist or two might bring. Still, the complexity and musicianship behind their instrumentation deserves to be appreciated for its own sake.
Billy Thieme is a Denver-based writer, an old-school punk and a huge follower of Denver’s vibrant local music scene. Follow Billy’s giglist at Gigbot.
Jason Claypool is a digital photographer from Lakewood. He specializes in concert, music and event photography. His work is available as large-format prints. His complete profile, with contact information, is here, and his collections are here. Track his show calendar on Gigbot.