By Julia Battagliese
The down-to-earth nature of Slow Pulp and the humor of Vundabar took their Globe Hall show memorably past my expectations.
Slow Pulp opened for Vundabar on February 20, accompanied by Backseat Vinyl, whose performance I missed.
Slow Pulp, a dream punk band headed by lead singer Emily Massey and currently based out of Chicago, came to Denver for their second time on Wednesday. The sound of Slow Pulp feels like getting launched into space with catchy guitar riffs. Massey’s vocals are like if a dreamy ghost cooed the despairs of anxiety and the weight of various relationships in her life. While Slow Pulp’s set definitely connected on a deeper level in their mellow songs, they know how to get down as well. Despite the tendency to come off a bit shy and sweet on stage, Slow Pulp kicked up the energy midsong and got the crowd from some casual swaying to really getting down.
“It felt like a community coming together.”
Vundabar, based out of Boston, put on a super goofy performance. They were in their element on stage, joking around and letting their weird hang out in the open. Lead singer Brandon Hagen showcased the band’s personality on stage through shenanigans like imitating the sound of the fog machine. Hagen also prompted the sound engineer to use a twinkly sound effect, prompting the crowd to laugh at his antics.
The energy was taken to another level as Vundabar took the crowd from moving to moshing. A pit formed as people in the crowd sang along to every word of songs off their most recent album, “Smell Smoke,” which came out in February 2018 and some of their older tracks off of their album “Antics,” which came out in April 2013
Often Vundabar would get midway through a song and simply stop playing, getting the crowd riled up in hopes of forcing the band to start up again. Vundabar’s liveliness on stage was reflected in the crowd, with people yelling and interacting with the band. It felt like a community coming together.
The best part, however, would be Vundabar’s encore with their classic hit, “Holy Toledo,” which starts out with a smooth jammy guitar, inciting cheers from the crowd. Of course, before they started the song, what better than to play laser noises along with the sound of bongos?
The Vundabar show proved to be just as musically intriguing as it was entertaining, making it feel like a hometown show with good friends. If ever presented with the opportunity, I can’t express how valuable seeing a Vundabar show can prove to be. Don’t miss out on a talented band with the personality to match!