The build up for Melody Lines & Collidoscope’s headline show at Cervantes was slow, steady, and a long time coming! When you spend a lot of time around venues and shows, you hear the “scene” talking about specific upcoming shows more than others. Aug 16th, was one of those shows. Supported by local favorite, Telemetry, plus Float Goat and Mr. Bugatti before them, the night’s lineup was absolutely stacked! It’s no wonder the show was reported as around 10 tickets OVER sold-out. Needless to say, Denver turned out and a party was had.

Mr. Bugatti got things started to an already excited crowd. The 1/3 member of The Party People really knows how to shine on his own, as well. Oh and did we mention his Party People partner, Benjamin’s Vibe opened up the Silent Disco, as well? In fact Denver’s musical stars where more than just on stage. Everywhere you looked you could see Denver’s biggest names intermingled with the local crowd just enjoying the evening. Members of Sunsquabi, Late Night Radio, and many other prominent musicians blended in with the gung-ho crowd all ready to rock!

Float Goat was the only name on the ticket I wasn’t super familiar with, however, their name is engraved in my brain from this moment on! These guys know how to funk! They simply demand proper attention with their cut-loose, charismatic, charm radiating from the stage. They did their job that’s for sure, and got the already filled out crowd ready for the next act, Telemetry.

The telemetric trio put their full talent on display for Denver that night. If you haven’t had the chance to see these guys, stop goofing off! The crowd favorite, and talked about throughout the rest of the night, was their rendition of “Sexy Back” by Justin Timberlake. This one had Cervantes Other Side movin’ and groovin’ and no one would shut up about it the rest of the night. Speaking with band leader, Jeff Barlow, he laughed about how the remix is actually one of their easier songs and how the much more complex track which followed yielded less excitement. The sexy never left, as far as I was concerned, and Telemetry remains on my short list of bands making waves here in Colorado.

Melody Lines and Collidoscope were the main acts for the evening. Melody Lines went first and only one word comes to mind when I think about this duo. Passion. Watching Vinny Crippen and Nick Hadden perform is simply a thing of beauty. Seriously, there doesn’t seem to be an instrument Vinny can’t play, and Nick just goes straight beast mode on his kit, never dropping that ear-to-ear smile. Vinny, on the other hand smiles a bit less, but instead expresses his deep love and devotion into what he’s doing. Most of the time his tongue was half way out of his mouth, you know that look of straight determination, as if he’s not even realizing there’s 500 people dancing to his art. Accompanying them for portions of the set was Jordan Panasewicz AKA PandaSayWay on trumpet, giving a little piece of magic to the already special moment. My favorite thing about the set, was watching Crippen’s own mother jam out in the front row, absolutely illuminated with pride and joy. Who could blame her?

Collidoscope closed out the night with their reputable up-beat, funkadelic sound. Recently, a prominent Colorado publication listed these guys’ set at Arise 2019 as one of the top 10 most fun moments of the entire weekend! They really don’t mess around when it comes to showing their audience a good time. By the end of their set they were drenched from working so hard, as was the audience from dancing so hard! Cervantes “The Other Side” hasn’t seen a night like this in a long time, and I’m certain I can speak for most of the artists and fans when I say this night will not be forgotten any time soon!

Catch up on the recap video from Melody Lines right here!

SharedViews: Melody Lines began playing music in roughly 2014/2015 if I’m not mistaken. Having just accomplished your biggest headline show yet, can you describe some of the growth and/or growing pains you’ve gone through as a band to get to where you are today?

Vinny Crippen of Melody Lines: Yes our first show was on August 2014. Been 5 years of performing. Crazy to think about. It’s been a lot of work and I’ve learned a lot. I think this year we’ve been growing faster than ever before. When we first started we were both in music school and learning how to get shows and how the industry works. Now we’re trying to approach it in a much more professional level and are more dedicated than ever to keep progressing.

SV: You dedicate your sound to many different or even all musical genres. Do you have a particular favorite when you’re not on stage? What about growing up, what kept your ears satisfied as a kid?

ML: Yeah I work really hard to try to make each song sound differently and always be trying to approach things differently. I have a lot of favorites but when I play I try to tap into the sound of the moment and not try to think about my influences too much outside of a subconscious level and let my art and style flow through me.

SV: You shared the stage with some of Denver’s premium talent that Friday. Telemetry as an opener, and Collidoscope as a co-headliner. Tell us about your experience with these other bands, as either fan or a musical peer. Are there any special collabs going to take place or something else special involving the lot of you?

ML: Yeah I was really pleased with how the lineup came together, a lot of talent on this bill for sure. Some of my favorite acts in Denver and best friends. We’ve played a lot of music together before and there will def be lots of collabs between us in the future. Performing a few songs with Telemetry at Sonic Bloom was an incredible experience. Might be a surprise collab or two at the show on Friday but the main focus is delivering a set that showcases a good depth of our catalog and takes people on as much of a journey as we can with our time allotted.

SV: I’m sure getting through this big night is taking the majority of your mind-space, but what plans/goals do you have for the rest of the year, or even moving into 2020?

ML: Lots of big plans in the works. I think one of the biggest goals for 2020 is to start to perform outside of Colorado. Starting to get more request from fans out of state and want to take our music to new markets, people, and opportunities. Also, new music releases coming soon and hope to perform at some more festivals next year.

SV: Something fun for ya, if Melody Lines could open for any act in the musical world today, who would it be and why?

ML: Top choice right now would have to be STS9. There’s a long list of acts I’d love to open for but they were one of the reasons I started making electronic music and one the biggest reasons this whole festival scene exists how it does today.

We Take You Back To The Sold-Out Friday W/ Melody Lines, Collidoscope, And Telemetry! Recap Video + Interview Included