Although many a band has looked at their CD’s track listing and said, “Yeah, let’s use this for our set list,” they would never admit it. Not the Widowers. At the beginning of the release party its self-titled debut, Mike Marchant put it right out there, “We’re going to play our new album for you from beginning to end.”
That’s one of the many wonders of the Widowers; the honestly that comes through its music and from its member’s mouths.
As opposed to a movie where your friend accidentally tells you that the hero dies in the end, giving away the surprise, actually knowing what was coming next was almost more exciting. You knew that the beautiful flow of “Stalwart Ships” would begin the night, and within 10 or so minutes from that, the jangle and sleepy tones of “Bone Collecting Ghost” would fill the Larimer Lounge with melodic harmony and grace.
But in a live setting, the boys really let go, amping up the energy of some of their more sedate tunes and really going off when the faster songs came about. Mark Shusterman (rhodes piano, synth vocals) was juggling the keys while waving down a semi with his tambourine as the Christmas colored lights danced behind him. Marchant and Davey Hart (guitar) were taking turns twisting and writhing to the pseudo post punkness of “Pistol,” coming together at times to clash with the titans.
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Meanwhile, Cory Brown (drums, percussion, programming, synth) was killing it on the psychedelic summer track, “Blackout Bastard Sons,” as did bassist Mark Weaver, working his 2′ x 2′ space on the stage.
In the end, they left the stage for only a moment to catch their breath in Larimer’s patio, returning within less than a minute later to perform the last songs on the album, stating that they weren’t going to make us wait. But I’m sure no one, in this scenario, would have minded.
If you missed this stellar performance, Widowers play this Saturday, May 3 at Bluebird with Cat-A-Tac, Light Travels Faster, 3 Cheers Faraday, which may give them even more room to spread their musical wings.
