One of Denver’s hottest new venues turned up on Friday, November 6th with the Disco Biscuit side band, Conspirator. Sadly, this was one of the last shows at the 1up on Colfax ever. The venue closed the music venue section to stay faithful to its arcade bar roots, and ironically RAQ was the last shows there. Conspirator is far from a stranger to the area, as the Disco Biscuits play in Colorado more than anywhere else, Lotus just played in Colorado a couple months ago, and RAQ even more recently. There are members from each of these bands in Conspirator as founders Marc Brownstein and Aron Magner are from the Biscuits, drummer Mike Greenfield is from Lotus, and guitarist Chris Michetti is in RAQ. This is a super group side band that plays live instrumentation of heavy electronic music.
Digital Beat Down is a duo who opened the show with live electronica funk house music. The 1up was as full as I have ever seen it on this night. This is a popular show for a venue this small. Although the first set was kept a bit experimental, the crowd assimilated during the band’s trippy music play and danced their way through the set. The second set had some deep dub sounding beats, which the crowd elevated for. Aside from those reggae sounding songs, “Onamae Wa” captured the nights largest celebration. This song was written by the Disco Biscuit’s former drummer Sammy Altman and only played 31 times by the band. They debuted it in 2003 at a very unique NYE show. Only the very long time fans picked up on it, but it seemed like everyone enjoyed the song.
After this special collaboration concluded, much of the crowd went over to the Knew Conscious Gallery to see DJ Russo and Marc Brownstein spin some music between the walls of the distinct and creative designs at the gallery. Both of these DJs led a really creative dance vibe until the wee hours of the morning. Their styles differed quite a bit, but the impact on the dance floor did not wane at all. Both DJs filled the room with talent and phenomenal beats.
