On Saturday, Denver local legends Pink Fuzz brought effortless cool to the Bluebird Theater. It was a frigid night, easily the coldest of the winter thus far, with temperatures dipping to around -7 degrees. Yet, the band was still able to draw a sold-out crowd out of their homes and through the freezing conditions to share life at its most visceral with each other.
That’s what Pink Fuzz’s music feels like: life, raw and uncut. It’s got a purity to it, a vitality. It’s heavy, enigmatic and mean but genuine, with moments of true tenderness and empathy weaved throughout the chaos. It’s the kind of music that makes those who hear it look inward at their pain and vulnerabilities and the cold that can develop from such things and break it all down into kindling. This then slowly grows into a quiet flame living just beneath the surface, a warmth that may be whispered to on cold nights and called upon whenever you need to burn.
Chaos exists in all of us. But shows such as the one Pink Fuzz played on Saturday serve as reminders that chaos may beget warmth and from warmth comes shelter. The music that Pink Fuzz makes teaches those who hear it how to build shelters within themselves to house all their little fires and that they may return to when the nights grow cold. Plus, it’s really fucking badass.
READ: Q&A — Pink Fuzz Fights to Reclaim Their Power on New Single, “Decline”
Local indie-punk band Horse Bitch kicked the night off with an impressive, high-energy set that exemplified why they’ve slowly been becoming one of the more talked about up-and-comers in the city. They were followed by Ritmo Cascabel who infused traditional cumbia with some heavy doses of psychedelia during their rowdy, percussion-forward set. Both bands, who couldn’t be more different, absolutely deserve your attention and serve as examples of the incredible diversity that exists within the Denver music scene.
Soon after the openers, a kind of low, droning feedback began to roll out from the speakers, indicating Pink Fuzz’s imminent arrival. It was at this point that a palpable sense of mutual respect rippling through the crowd became apparent. Everyone in that crowd braved the literal elements to be there. People nodded at each other in acknowledgment of this fact as they cracked their necks and rolled out their shoulders in preparation for what was about to come.
The band hit the stage and wasted absolutely no time launching into “Decline,” one of two new singles released in the past few months, the second being “Ain’t No Friend,” which came a few songs later. The crowd immediately became electric, hair down and swinging wild as people pushed and clamored over each other almost lovingly. The song sounds simultaneously like a lament and a challenge, anger and catharsis wrapped up into one. With its drilling lead riff accentuated by a raucous rhythm section that grows into a thunderstorm, it hit hard and set a great precedent for the night.
The band’s a trio consisting of brother and sister duo John and Lulu Demitro on guitar and bass, respectively — who also share singing duties — and Forrest Raup on drums. Their cohesion was incredible given how much each of them was doing at any given point. It felt like trust, as if they felt safe enough with each other to burn the place down and find each other again in the wreckage.
John absolutely rips. He’d move seamlessly from these intricate, heavy riffs into searingly atonal solos into more straightforward, traditional shredding and back. All the while, he created this casually powerful stage presence by tipping his (beautiful) guitar over the grasping hands of the crowd, sharing the mic with his sister and jumping off amps.
Lulu then filled the sound with alternately simple and convoluted basslines that lend the music an incredible depth that rattles the ribcage. When she wasn’t singing, she hung back a bit more than her brother, laying down these impossibly heavy lines while losing herself in her cascading hair as she headbanged, inviting the crowd to get lost in the music along with her.
The pair played off each other so well, John acting as moderately-composed id while Lulu reigned things in and gave them direction. Raup tied it all together with propulsive, straightforward beats that created a sort of tunnel vision, a hyperfixation on each passing moment as the band ripped the night apart.
Throughout the show, Pink Fuzz demonstrated a unique efficiency, not wasting a single moment on any extraneous bullshit. Every few songs, John would ask the crowd if they were warm enough or having a good time, but that was about it. It was welcome as the crowd was hungry, ready to devour each note as they moshed and swan dove from the stage to surf the crowd until they couldn’t anymore.
It was a tight set, but eclectic. In addition to the new singles, they played fan favorites such as “Barely Even Real” and “Enough,” during which the literal floor of the venue could be felt shaking. They hit some slightly deeper cuts, such as “Think You Got Me,” and they played quite a lot of unreleased songs that people might not be ready for yet. The backdrop for the entire show consisted of clips from what seemed to be old Hammer Horror flicks and moving graphics designed in the style of vintage tattoos. These visuals, courtesy of Mothpowder Lightshow, were then dowsed in a psychedelic miasma of swirling purples, blues and greens that created this haunting atmosphere that asked you to confront your fears.
Eventually, the set came to a close. This would be about the time that a band might leave the stage under the false pretense that the show was over before returning five minutes later for more music. Pink Fuzz, however, decided to eschew this pretense and stay on stage. Instead, Lulu asked straight-up, “You guys want to hear a couple more?” This sent the crowd into a frenzy as they chanted “One more song” over and over until the band began playing again. They hit two more songs that turned the flames in the chests of each person in attendance into wildfires before thanking the crowd and leaving the stage. The crowd then wandered out into the frozen city to search for warmth within each other.