BADBADNOTGOOD Close U.S. Run With Mesmerizing, Free-Flowing Show at Denver’s Summit Music Hall (SHOW REVIEW)

The night of Wednesday, April 29, BADBADNOTGOOD played an exploratory and hypnotic sold-out show at Denver’s Summit Music Hall, the last stop of a short U.S. tour. The day of, BBNG stopped by local independent Denver-Boulder area radio station KGNU for an interview before chowing down at the Colorado-based burrito bistro Illegal Pete’s. Filled with Colorado spirit (and sustenance), the band took things a step further by partnering with the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, to which they sent all proceeds from the “Smash ICE” t-shirt they sold at their merch booth.

Predictably, the line to buy merch snaked through the whole venue, and eager concertgoers inched forward, little by little, well through the opening set provided by the inimitable Cleo Reed. Wielding her six-string guitar and dressed in her Midwest best, Reed gaily (pun intended) serenaded the ever-growing audience with a sometimes romping, sometimes soulful performance.

The room having been warmed up, the members of BBNG took the stage one at a time, adding in the players and their respective instruments individually until they were finally in full force. Leland Whitty took the stage first, starting up on his electric guitar. Showcasing the value of a good intro and building the beat, Chester Hansen joined next, on his bass guitar. Juan Carlos appeared, hand drumming; Kae Murphy brandished their electronic wind instrument; Felix Fox sidled up to his keyboards.

Drummer and bandleader Alex Sowinski joined last, crashing right down on his drumkit and bringing the assembly to a fever pitch before settling things to introduce the final team member: Sylvain Chaussée. Chaussée’s instruments of choice are three 60mm projectors, providing all analog visuals, from twirling flowers to water dripping from stalactites. Diving straight into elongated interpretations of tracks from their lauded 2016 album IV, the band played for twenty uninterrupted minutes as Whitty swapped his guitar for the saxophone and Murphy set down their EWI and flourished their trumpet.

After taking a breath, the band launched into another half hour of continuous jamming, marked by seamless transitions and a trance-like atmosphere. They hypnotized the crowd, ebbing and flowing from sultry slow tunes to intense swinging, rarely allowing for a moment of silence despite members dropping in and out — Juan Carlos breaking to pull out the triangle then ajuch bells, as well as Whitty setting down the guitar in exchange for the saxophone, the tambourine, and lastly the flute.

Broaching the hour mark and having stopped only for water and air once, Sowinski pauses to give the band a respite and to lead the house in a group breathing exercise. Having simmered the crowd, Sowinski exited, leaving Whitty and Chaussée alone to enchant the masses with a ten-minute saxophone solo complemented by mesmerizing projections of cerulean waves which bounced off the drumkit and covered the backdrop, the stage, and Whitty himself. As the audience swirled in this aquatic aura captained by Whitty, his bandmates eventually retook the stage and ventured forth into invigorating renditions of “Confessions”, then a cover of the legendary J Dilla song “Rico Suave Bossa Nova”, and ultimately even an unreleased track.

Thundering applause from the crowd brought the band, along with opener Cleo Reed, back out for an encore. Closing out the night, BBNG performed a tear-jerking version of Roy Ayers Ubiquity’s “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” with Reed singing the lead vocals. Aptly capping the night, BADBADNOTGOOD and Cleo Reed had the whole venue enthralled with a heartfelt tribute to the late great Ayers, reminding everyone in attendance of the eternally strong communal powers of jazz.