Cycles | 2020-08-22 | Knew Conscious, Denver, CO [SBD/AUD Matrix]

If I could, I’d do it all again. Play more games and tape more Cycles show like this one at Knew Conscious!

In these wild times where people’s lives face so many unknowns, one thing you can always rely on is Cycles to present a unique, face-melting shred-fest of the highest caliber. Headlining their first show since their two-night sold-out run at the legendary Mishawaka Amphitheatre two weeks prior, Cycles performed two hometown sets at the new Knew Conscious Art Gallery location in downtown Denver.

Both sets contained plenty of highlights – the first opened with a newer tune, “Robot’s Breath”, which was the first single released from their newest EP, “Summer Dress”. The thumpy intro provided an ominously eerie soundscape to immediately captivate a crowd that was itching to see live music again in these unfamiliar spaces. The allegory to isolation brought on by digital disconnect seems to fit oddly parallel to our quarantine-era experiences, and the reverberating bassline was a hypnotizing call to attention that worked perfectly for the opener. The band put forth the mightiest jam of the evening in “Be Yourself”, which morphed into various stages of thrash funk and reverb-laced builds, even containing a spirited “Hey Jude” jam in the middle, before coalescing into its peak-filled outro. The following version of “The Mess” took a deep dive into dark ethereal territory, at times feeling like a jam on the riff from “Close Encounters of The Third Kind” before eventually exploding back into a patented upbeat Cycles build that culminated with a wailing Patrick solo to ride everything home. Resurgence of “The Key” is super welcome, and while not as big a jam as the previous version at The Mish, still a substantial improvisational examination of the instrumental original.

The second set opened with another welcome classic Cycles trope – a drum and bass jam to kick things off. This blended into the second biggest jam of the evening, the tried-and-true jam vehicle of “Something in the Water”. There was a very brief take on “Wait” after a fan shouted it out, but then Tucker confirmed their new drummer didn’t quite know it yet. Their new drummer, Luke Stone (who apparently is a former taper – how cool is that?) filled his new role nicely, providing the firm foundation to tie-in the controlled chaos on either end of him. The set closed with the last big jam of the evening, starting with “Get Up Out of Your Head”, which broke itself down to a mere vibration before then reconstructing into a feverish build and exploding into another newer tune, the EP’s namesake, “Summer Dress”. In typical Cycles fashion, the song goes zero-to-sixty from misty alt-rock to funk-metal, and the main riff has the potential to appear in many Cycles teases to come. The band then treated the crowd to one last, quick party-jam with the always funky “Chapanga” for the encore.

Even in strange times, Cycles still delivers in all the right ways. Their two sets at Knew Conscious were bittersweet: it was great to finally get to see the band again but hard reconciling the fact that it may not be so easy – certainly not as easy as it used to be – to see them again. Clearly Cycles has not missed a beat, and while it may be a minute before we can all pack like sardines into a tiny room again, it is great to know that Cycles will still be there, ready to burn it down for us again.

Cycles | 2020-08-22 | Knew Conscious, Denver, CO

-= Set 1 =-
01. Robot’s Breath
02. Music For Free
03. Aloe Parade
04. Be Yourself[1]
05. The Mess
06. The Key
07. The Clock

-= Set 2 =-
08. (Drum And Bass Jam) >
09. Something In The Water[2]
10. Wait (aborted)
11. Sunrise
12. Square Peg
13. Fox
14. Get Up Out Of Your Head[3] >
15. Summer Dress[4] >
16. Get Up Out Of Your Head

-= Encore =-
17. (Encore Break)
18. Chapanga

Show Notes: This was a headlining show. Kessel Run opened the night.
[1] “Be Yourself” contained “Hey Jude” (The Beatles) quotes and teases.
[2] “Something In The Water” contained “Square Peg” teases.
[3] “Get Up Out Of Your Head” contained “1999” (Prince), “Square Peg”, and “Summer Dress” teases.
[4] “Summer Dress” contained “Get Up Out Of Your Head” teases.

Taper Notes: On-stage mics set to DIN configuration DFC right in front of the monitors. Board patch and mix thanks to FOH Engineer Andrew Davidson.

Thank you to Cycles and Knew Conscious for putting on this event and allowing us to come out and tape it. Go see live music, support your artist friends, and tip your bartenders! #spacetapes

LINK: https://archive.org/details/Cycles2020-08-22.CA14.omnis.onstage.AUD.SBD.Matrix.flac16