The Motet Plays Talking Heads 6.24.11


Gothic Theater
Denver, CO


Words By J-man
Photos By Carly Marthis & J-man


It's not everyday that one of your favorite bands from this era does a whole show of covers by one of your favorites from the past. Luckily for many, Colorado is the home of The Motet and The Motet love The Talking Heads. That evening's show at The Gothic Theater was billed as a Widespread Panic after-party with The Motet taking the stage around 1:30am and playing until 4:00am. As a relative new-comer to The Motet, and having been introduced to the band via a Talking Heads tribute years back, this night had been a long time coming.

The opening band, Pinot was a five piece funk band from Los Angeles that felt like a headliner. The way the crowd responded to their call outs and danced carelessly, in addition to the time of night, really elevated the vibe and had Pinot feeling like the closer. At the doors the Red Rocks/Widespread Panic shuttles were unloading and the venue was reaching capacity. The best was yet to come...

Backstage the party vibe was just as high with the members of The Motet turning out one by one. Jameson was consumed as the clock approached 1:30am. Upon Dave Watts' cue, the band casually made their way up the stairs and out onto the stage to join the sold out Denver crowd.

The following two plus hours contained massive amounts of dancing, raging and funk beyond belief. An oddity occurred at 2am when the bar stopped serving, as required by law. The folks, who were already feeling good coming off of a WSP show at Red Rocks had failed to factor time into their agenda, thus missing the opportunity to stock up on beer. It was indeed a sight to behold, and in turn the energy climbed as the sloppiness decreased (which is the opposite of most shows).

That night the Motet was comprised of Dave Watts (drums), Joey Porter (keys), Kyle Hollingsworth (keys), Fuzz (guitar), Paul McDaniel (bass), Jans Ingber (percussion, vocals), Liza Oxnard (vocals, guitar), Carrie Sangiovanni (vocals). The line up was incredible. The musical relationship between Kyle and Joey was extremely noticeable and elevated the band to a much higher level. Additionally Fuzz's guitar playing was mind-blowing, stealing the show at many points.

The long set included some of the most popular and raging Talking Heads songs, such as "Life During Wartime", "Burning Down The House", "Once in a Lifetime", and a "Psycho Killer" that involved some massive crowd participation lyrically. The show had a completely different vibe than other shows that many had attended recently. The crowd seemed more in-tune and the band seemed overwhelmingly responsive.

Having seen a lot of Motet shows recently, I would easily put this one near the top. I'm sure many would agree, that night in Denver was one of those nights that will be talked about for some time. It was great to see all of the familiar faces that we have come to know. It was one of those Spring into Summer nights when everyone around you was smiling, when all seemed right with the world...

www.themotet.net

Photo Gallery From The Show

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