Photos & review: Emily Shuey (Instagram)
Brooklyn based 3-piece post-rock band, City of The Sun, visited The Globe Hall in Denver with a exhilarating performance packing the venue to its capacity with fans coming from all over to absorb the bands unique, melodic, flamenco, and indie-rock infused sound.
The band’s front man, John Pita, began the show with a warm dialogue, seemingly bridging fans together with his sense of humor confirming, “We are City of The Sun, and none of us can sing”, setting the tone for what would be an intoxicating auditory experience.
The band filled the tiny stage with a Cajon and drum kit that percussionist Zach Para shifted between throughout the set, while guitarist Avi Snow and front man John Pita filled the rest of stage with an array of pedals and just enough room for John to dance while the music moved him in a way the rest of us could absolutely empathize with.
When I first listened to City of the Sun a few years ago, I wasn’t sure what to make of their sound, other than that I purely enjoyed it. I couldn’t put their music into a categorical box, considering their style begins as melodic and dreamy, progresses into jazz with strong flamenco roots, and then finishes out into indie rock, making their music not only unique, but all-encompassing in terms of experience.
City of the Sun entered the stage showered in a shadow-filled blue lighting that lit the venue just enough to see the person standing next to you, commanding full attention on the performance. Fans rested their elbows on the stage and were packed all the way back to the back wall, completely enthralled as they watched the band make their final adjustments to their set up before beginning their performance.
John, the band’s frontman wasted no time bringing an electrifying amount of energy during their opening song. Equipped with his acoustic guitar, John played passionately, running around stage, letting his fingers be possessed by the lingering riffs as they evolved into flamenco picking. He connected with the crowd in a way that seemed like second nature, jumping onto the venue’s amplifiers, into the audience playing face to face with fans, and at one point laying his guitar flat on stage and picking almost an entire song, creating an invigoratingly smooth and hair-raising experience for everyone present.
The band played most of their repertoire including “Perfect Instance”, “Everything”, and their latest release “La Luz”, along with unreleased music, and even a lyric-less cover of Kid Cudi’s “Day ‘N’ Night” that fans happily inserted every bit of lyrics for.
The energy remained consistently high for the entire set, and upon their first exit, I think we had all lost track of time. City of the Sun re-entered the stage for an encore that included John jumping into the crowd and serenading us one last time with “Ventura”, showing that this isn’t just an experience the band has created for their viewers, but an existence that each member still genuinely gets lost in every time they perform.
1 Comment
There was also a bass guitar you forgot to mention.