Cycles | 2018-10-27 | The Ogden Theater, Denver, CO [AUD]

Have you ever been lying up awake at night, covered in sweat…all you wanna do is sleep and listen to Cycles rip a set at The Ogden Theatre?! Well you’re in luck…

Opening things up at the Ogden for Spafford‘s Saturday-night throw-down, Cycles came onto the stage to the sounds of Prince. After a brief take on the purple one’s “Let’s Go Crazy” the band immediately segued into the break-beat instrumental “The Changer”, complete with newly added “Jellyfish” samples, an ode to Michael Wood’s first of many hat changes. Wasting no time, the band then segued into a hazy-reverb laden mist that would eventually dissolve into the opening riff of “The Martyr”…my take on the song is this…If you don’t love the chorus in “The Martyr” – you don’t love yourself. The song is phenomenal and only gets better with every show. Hat change #2 came in the form of a Rayden hat. For those not in the know, he’s the lightning god from the Mortal Kombat series. The “FIGHT!” sample from the iconic fighting game was a nice touch to start up “The Lone Stranger”, the frenzied tune that frankly had me thinking about my newest addiction, Red Dead Redemption 2.

We saw another appearance by the Patrick penned “The Ball” – the chorus is really just a riff but its one of the most triumphant riffs you’ll hear. I imagine this riff is what Thor has going through his head any time he’s bashing people with his hammer. The tune had a really powerful jam that patiently rose and fell several times before thumping into the opening bass notes of the band’s most consistent jam vehicle “Something In The Water”. The tune exemplifies one of Cycles’ most incredible traits, their ability to deliver inspired improv moments in such tiny spans. Usually band’s will take minutes to find that pocket moment where truly new and interesting music occurs and Cycles is able to find that moment and condense it.Tonight was no different.

Although what was different was what happened during the ensuing version of “The Mess”. I saw something i had only seen once before, a bassist breaking a string. Lacking a back-up bass, Tucker ran-off stage to quickly change the string which led to Patrick looping together a gazey reverb melody that looped until Tucker et. al re-merged to finish out the set.

Fitted with a new string and a still eager crowd, Cycles went into “Mean Dog” which contained a “Bittersweet Symphony” jam that revitalized the partially confused crowd; the 90s alt-rock anthem struck a chord with a crowd that was now twice as large as when the band had started. Closing things out the band performed a rousing rendition of “The Store”, a solid classic Cycles’ tune to leave with the potentially new lot of fans. Congrats to Cycles for another top-notch set at The Ogden – Enjoy!

Cycles | 2018-10-27 | The Ogden Theater, Denver, CO

-= One Set =-
01. Let’s Go Crazy (Prince cover) >
02. The Changer[1] >
03. The Martyr
04. The Lone Stranger
05. The Ball >
06. Something In The Water >
07. The Mess[2]
08. (Broken String Jam)
09. Mean Dog[3] ->
10. Bittersweet Symphony ->
11. Mean Dog
12. The Store

Show Notes: This was an opening set for Spafford. Prior to the band coming out on-stage, their manager Evan Marks came out dressed as a giant crab.
[1] “The Changer” featured samples from “Jellyfish” (String Cheese Incident).
[2] Tucker broke a string during “The Mess” and left the stage to change it. This led to Michael Wood leaving the stage as well while Patrick began a looping jam before eventually joining the band backstage as the pedal looped.
[3] “Mean Dog” featured a “Black Dog” (Led Zeppelin) tease.

Thank you to Cycles, Evan Marks & The Ogden Theatre for supporting taping and sharing shows. Go see live music and tip your bartenders! #spacetapes

LINK: https://archive.org/d…/Cycles2018-10-27.AKG.P170.AUD.flac16/