How was everyone’s Phishing trip this weekend? Celebrate the fruits of your labor or just shrug off that hangover with some #FreeMusic on this Labor Day edition of #MusicMonday – Check out Cycles headlining Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom!
Cycles has had a solid relationship with the Phish fan base. After a choice set at the Cash Or Trade tent on Dicks lot back in 2016 piqued the interests of phans across shakedown, the band would go on to start touring more nationally and play two Phish after-parties in 2017. Continuing the tradition of catering to post-show Phish fans, Cycles played another Phish after-party, but this time upgrading the venue to their first headlining appearance at Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom, “the big room” so-to-speak.
Kicking things off, the band launched into “Something In The Water”, which may have been a nod to the cancelled Phish festival that was shut down due to water contamination issues. After solid versions of “Aloe Parade” (with a slightly re-worked chorus) and “Toy Pony” (with a very nice intro) the band performed a newer tune called “Oh Whale”. A heavy sludging tune with no chorus but a proggy gallop and ominously macabre lyrics. It’s dark from all angles but endearing in only the way Cycles can be. Sounds like these are exactly what makes Cycles’ sound so unique and appealing.
The set also saw two new Patrick songs, a rendition of “The Ball,” which Denver crowds last saw at their November ’17 show at The Bluebird the previous year, and the newer tune “Water”, the latter of which has a chorus in which we start to see a bit more of an evolution of Patrick’s vocal style. It’s another dark tune akin to “Oh Whale” but with a more structured chorus and possibly more potential for a jam.
In addition to the new Patrick songs, the set saw Cycles making a lot more use of samples. One of the best examples being in “Game Show”. The song featured sound bytes from Chris Farley’s eponymous Japanese Game Show SNL bit as well as various dings and bings from gaming machines. It even featured some “Oohs” and “Ahhhs” from a fake crowd during the bliss jam. Also a nice touch was the “Hiya Georgie!” from the recent IT remake during the introduction to “Sunday Night,” as well as the original lyrics about murder. The samples show the band’s lighthearted nature but also open the door for interesting song concepts like their take on 69 Boyz “Tootsie Roll” and Christina Aguielera’s “Genie In A Bottle” (Did I just write that sentence?) which featured instrumental takes on the songs while the samples help engage the audience. It helped propel the “Sunday Night” to a darker realm, added a nice subtle touch to the “Clyde” intro, and on a broader level it gives them a sonically different approach to cover selection and potential jams. For the record, I dig the samples.
Following the dark “Sunday Night,” the band lightened things up with a reggae take on one of my personal favorites, “Clyde”. The verses were pretty standard fare, but instead of playing the standard riff during the chorus, Patrick strummed along on to a reggae infused take of the song. It was great to see the risk taken, and the pay-off was a new lens on the tune, which is real testament to how great of a song it is. After “Clyde”, the band pretty much went full party mode. Tucker quickly thanked the crowd, then the band broke into a fierce rendition of “Party Boy” which would lead to another instance of the band experimenting with samples. Sandwiched in the middle of “Party Boy” the band dropped an instrumental cover of Prince’s party anthem “1999,” which featured a sample of the synth and back-up vocalists during the chorus. They jammed along before seamlessly seguing back into the ending of “Party Boy”. The band would then perform a new Michael Wood tune called “Float Above It All”. A melancholic song about regret with a hazy demeanor which made more use of the samples with quotes littered throughout the tune. Another great song from a band that has been on a songwriting tear. Next-up the band played “Mean Dog” which sandwiched another party anthem, 69 Boyz’s “Tootsie Roll,” which once again made use of the samples. Once this dropped, the ballroom went nuts. Throwing what few glowsticks remained from the Phish show and getting down like it was 1994. After landing back into “Mean Dog,” the band then started up “Hang It Up On The Wall” which sandwiched Christina Aguilera’s “Genie In A Bottle”. This was possibly the most well received of the covers all night, go figure. Unlike the other times the band went into 90s sample space, they landed back into “Hang It Up On The Wall” and crafted one of the most interesting jams of the evening. The set then closed out with the one-two punch combo of “Square Peg > The Martyr” which was a solid choice to end the set. “The Martyr” is a songwriting marvel and one of the band’s strongest songs at the moment. Anyone who may have wanted to dart for the encore got to see a strong finish.
But those who did leave before the encore missed another use of the samples and a bit of a pun as the band performed “The Changer > Changes” – a classic Cycles instrumental into the Tupac rendition of a song that samples a song by Bruce Hornsby. It’s inception sampling! It was cool to see the band experimenting with new stuff. From changing up originals to using new methods to deliver their sound, it’s exciting to see a band with so much talent willing to take risks and seem to have more fun than anyone in the room doing it. Congrats to Cycles for absolutely crushing their first headlining set in the main ballroom. Can’t wait until the next one!
Cycles | 2018-08-31 | Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom, Denver, CO
-= One Set =-
01. Something In The Water >
02. The Aloe Parade
03. Toy Pony
04. Oh Whale
05. Tucker’s Pet Weed[1]
06. The Ball
07. Game Show
08. Water
09. Sunday Night
10. Clyde
11. Party Boy >
12. 1999 (Prince cover) >
13. Party Boy
14. Float Above It All
15. Mean Dog >
16. Tootsie Roll (69 Boyz cover) >
17. Mean Dog
18. Hang It Up On The Wall >
19. Genie In A Bottle (Christina Aguilera cover) >
20. Hang It Up On The Wall[2]
21. Square Peg >
22. The Martyr
-= Encore =-
23. (Encore Break)
24. The Changer >
25. Changes (Tupac cover)
Thank you to Cycles and Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom for being cool with taping/sharing shows. Go see live music and tip your bartenders! #spacetapes
Also thank you to Jacob Silverstein for the incredible photos!
