Denver Shenanigans: Exploring the Punk Music Scene

On Mar. 25, Marquis Theater hosted an event with amazing music from various artists including Into It. Over It., The World is a Beautiful Place and I am No Longer Afraid to Die (The World is), The Sidekicks, and Pinegrove.

The concert opened with Pinegrove, one of my new favorites. This band brought a fun sound with clean vocals. With entertaining guitar riffs and quick witted lyrics, Pinegrove caught my attention right away as their themes are very relatable to young adults. Pinegrove definitely set the bar high for the following bands. The other opener, the Sidekicks, while not my cup of tea, still accomplished the sound for which they are known.

Next on stage came The World is and they dominated the stage. With seven members on tour, the cluster and crowdedness brought an intensity. I had seen the band before but at a different venue, and from experience this band’s show always makes me feel unsettled.

For example, two of the guitarists never faced the crowd, always keeping their back to the front of the stage. One poignant interaction was when a guitarist walked into the crowd and touched a loud drunk man to quiet him during a soft part of the song.

This band never fails to make me think about the darkness that is part of every walk of life. That said, they also are enjoyable to listen to.

Four guitar players meld and harmonize into interesting patterns that are hardly ever obtained at a live show. They definitely live up to their name because I felt as though there was so much beauty here and now, but also that death was all too real. Their music begsthe question, “do you choose to be terrified by reality?”

The final act, Into It. Over it., is one of Evan Weiss’s many projects. Weiss is an acclaimed artist as well as a producer (working intensively with The Wonder Years). Many attribute him to starting the Emo Revival. Needless to say, I was excited to hear him play.

Interestingly enough, this was not my favorite act. With only four band members, the stage almost seemed empty and vacant compared to the seven of The World is.

Also, this band caters to an older audience with more bare guitar parts and tight harmonies. The themes in the music seemed less relatable to the audience who just came out of the shock of The World Is. By Into It. Over It.’s third song half of the crowd went home and it was only 11:00pm on a Friday night. Their music seemed basic and lackluster after the previous acts.

On the other hand, Into It. Over It. bounced back throughout their performance. Evan Weiss kept the remaining crowd engaged with fun conversation in between songs which was a pleasant change to the no nonsense attitude of The World Is. When their hit song, “The Shaking of Leaves,” was played everything came together and the music went straight to the heart. Definitely helped to end the night on a good note.