Denverās Apples in Stereo: so
happy they hurt

By B. Erin Cole
The Metropolitan

Apples in Stereo
Olivia Tremor Control
The Music Tapes
Bluebird Theater
Oct. 11

The Apples in Stereo are the Happiest Band in Denver. In a local scene at times dominated by growly punkers and unfortunate pseudo-Dead jamminā bands, its enthusiasm is refreshing.

Apples records, such as 1995ās Fun Trick Noisemaker (spinART) are pretty damn chirpy. Lots of smoking up and listening to the Beach Boys has served the band well, and its songs are full of perfect melodies, sleepy harmonies and unabashed fun.

The energy evident on the bandās albums translates well into their terrific live shows. Their Oct. 11 show at the Bluebird was no exception. Touring to support their just-released Tone Soul Evolution (spinART), The Apples sped through about 35 minutes of mostly new songs.

The set began with some of their shorter material, which progressed to longer songs as the evening went on. They kept up a steady pace throughout the show, coasting from song to song easily, with a minimum of banter. Except for the lack of an encore, the performance was great.

One of the best aspects of the show was the audience reaction. You canāt not have some physical reaction to their shows, whether it be dancing, fidgeting or even bobbing your head in appreciation. So by the end of the night, even the most jaded cardigan-clad hipsters in attendance had become bouncinā fools.

The audience was more subdued for the first part of the show ÷ their loss. The other great band playing was the Athens, Ga.-based Olivia Tremor Control, one of The Applesā Elephant Six compatriot bands (Elephant Six is a loosely associated group of bands, all of which play on each otherās records. The other major band involved with the collective is Neutral Milk Hotel, whose album On Avery Island (Merge) was one of last yearās best surprises).

The Olivia Tremor Control perform its weird, psychedelic music by making sound through any means necessary. The seven band members changed from instrument to instrument throughout their set, using lots of non-traditional noisemakers including a hand saw, an autoharp and a reel-to-reel tape recorder. Usually, the more instruments a band uses, the more potential there is for it to suck. This wasnāt the case here.

Their performance consisted of many songs off their recent album Dusk At Cubist Castle (Flydaddy). It was like watching a bunch of friends mess around with sound in someoneās living room. It was refreshingly intimate, and the band members all seemed to be having a great time on stage.

Denverās The Minders were originally scheduled to open, but didnāt. Opening instead were The Music Tapes, which ended up being some of the members of the Olivia Tremor Control plus some random local folks. The Music Tapes combined prerecorded sound collages with bizarre folk songs. The effect was interesting but a bit disturbing.

Genuine enthusiasm is hard to come by in the ironic, hipper-than-thou 90s. Itās great to see bands, especially very good ones, that are excited about what they do.