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Mile high music minutes

By Jeremy Johnson
jjohn308@mscd.edu

Fresh face keeping the Denver music scene ‘Young’

Friday 3.21
“On The Up” featuring Kenny Lee Young w/ J. Russo, Ryan Madson
and Ryan Flick
@ The Walnut Room
$6, 21+

With his laid-back persona, impeccable style and bright, toothy smile, young Kenny Lee Young is an easy guy to like. And with his stunted, Jack Johnson-ish guitar chords and rhythmic, silk-inflected (or satin-soaked) vocals, Young conjures up the kind of disarming charm and affable acoustic that appeases a broad range of music listeners.

“I think that the big thing that attracts people to my music the most is the mixing of different genres,” Young said. “I think that really appeals to a person’s ear.”

Young found out just how marketable he was while attending college at Central Michigan University, where he participated and dominated local talent shows. Not satisfied with the gig options in the middle-American North, Young set his sights on a more prolific, and competitive, music scene he had heard about out West.

“I found out Denver had the second-highest venues per capita in the nation,” Young said about coming to the Mile High city. “And Denver’s a really young city. The people who live here are very young, and my music tends to appeal to that younger generation.”

And the younger crowd has responded. After performing in a number of cafés and cabarets (including Thursdays at Lannie’s Clocktower Cabaret), Young has begun to receive recognition for his palatable guitar plucking and lyrical sensibilities as he, along with a trio of other young Denver artists including J. Russo, Ryan Madson and Ryan Flick, host the “On The Up” March 21 at The Walnut Room, just north of LoDo. Though it’s 21 and over to get in, it’s sure to be a veritable fountain of youthful talent.

“I really like the energy from the crowd and being able to connect with them,” Young said of the upcoming show. “That’s the best part of being an artist is sharing your experiences with other people.”

Diamond in the ‘Rose’ garden

Friday 3.28
Diamonds Are Forever: A Neil Diamond Tribute
@ Cervante’s Ballroom
$10, 21+

Boulder’s own Aaron Rose describes his typical style of music as “outlaw rock” because “it’s outside the laws of a particular genre.” And with his silver and turquoise rings, his long hair and his even longer Southern drawl, Rose might be part outlaw rocker and part lovechild, but he’s all Neil Diamond.

Rose and an 11-piece backup are part of “Diamonds Are Forever: A Neil Diamond Tribute,” which will take place March 28 at Cervante’s Masterpiece Ballroom. The show is the brainchild of Rose and several members of Denver band Polytoxic, among others.

“(‘Diamonds’) stemmed from Polytoxic’s show ‘The Last Waltz Revisited,’” Rose said. According to Rose, his caricature of the American icon elicited rave reactions from spectators at the show. “Polytoxic started talking to me about doing a full Neil Diamond show. It turns out that people really get into it when I get into character like that.”

Rose became a fan of the eccentric rocker years ago when his mother spun Diamond vinyls at home.

“I was raised on Neil Diamond, and I really like him as a songwriter,” Rose said. “And I really like to do his stuff as a performer, and I’m not too proud to do a tribute show, especially if people really like it.”

Polytoxic proved that tribute shows could pay dividends, and not just homage. Aside from the acclaimed “Waltz” show, the Denver mainstays were also behind “This Is (Not) Spinal Tap,” which paid tribute to the fictional foursome from Rob Reiner’s 1984 mock “rockumentary.”

“This isn’t a four-piece band, this is a big production,” Rose said. “We want this to be a spectacle and something that people will remember for a long time.”

As to be expected, Diamond, who is considered the third most successful adult contemporary artist of all time by Billboard Magazine, has his share of copycats, including a fictional tribute band in the Jack Black flop Saving Silverman. One of those tribute bands, Super Diamond, will be performing March 27 at the Ogden Theatre. But Rose stands by the value of his performance, and considerably cheaper ticket price.

“We’re definitely investing a lot in bringing a lot of musicians together to make it sound as close to the original as possible,” Rose said. “People are definitely going to get their money’s worth.”

U2 3D features in-your-face concert footage and a bit of ‘Vertigo’

After walking into the theater that was showing U2 3D, it was obvious that true fans filled the seats. Everyone anticipated the start of the movie, wondering if Bono himself might reach right down out of the giant screen and touch them. Then the movie began, and every viewer in the theater put on their 3D glasses, sat back and waited for the magic of U2. U2 3D was shot in Latin America in 2006 during the Vertigo Tour, taking place in Mexico City; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Santiago, Chile; and Buenos Aires, Argentina. After filming was over, all the footage was edited to create the illusion that only one concert was filmed instead of many. The movie consists of 11 songs, including a two-song encore, and lasts for 85 minutes. Because of the tour being filmed, it was only appropriate U2 started the movie with their hit “Vertigo.” The moment the song began, the 3D feature was immediately noticeable, and Bono’s face was so close to your own that the theater was forgotten. Bono, already an excellent live performer, sang more than half of “Vertigo” in Spanish to honor the Latin audience. The songs performed complimented the rock documentary format, making for the perfect U2 experience. All of the favorites were played including “Beautiful Day,” “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and “Pride (In the Name of Love).” Joshua Tree classic “With Or Without You” was saved for the last performance of the night, and it was the ideal end a U2 experience. If you missed U2 at the Pepsi Center in 2005, the U2 3D movie is an inexpensive way to fill the void. It won’t completely make up for the sensation of seeing one of the greatest bands of our time play live, but it’s a decent way to get excited for the next time U2 goes on tour. And the 3D feature wasn’t half bad either.

By Desiree Clark
dclark67@mscd.edu