Ain’t no party like a Hallow’s Eve party, and Michal Menert and his Pretty Fantastics proved just that this past Friday at Denver’s Fillmore Auditorium. Opening up the night with experimental producer Thriftworks, rising Soulection artist StarRo and the chaotic breakdancing freak they call The Gaslamp Killer, the room was packed out within an hour of doors. Devils, goblins, zombies and more brought a mischievous spark in the air while also making for an interesting crowd – it was nearly impossible to turn around without bumping into a ghoul or stepping on a witch’s toes, but we still squeezed in a fair share of dancing.
After seeing the astounding reviews of Menert’s latest and greatest effort, a six piece indie-electro live band, it goes without saying that I was sitting on the edge of my seat – I was more than ready to see what they were all about with my own eyes. Contrasting heavily to Michal’s usual high energy, electronic driven and sometimes rambunctious live shows, this one was drastically different – the jazzy aesthetic of the Pretty Fantastics hit the stage in full force, and we l-o-v-e-d every minute! Armed with talented horn players, groovy bass slappers and passionate vocals from Menert himself and rappers JuBee and C1 from Foodchain, the Pretty Fantastics truly made the menage a trois between jazz, bass and funk a match in heaven. My personal highlight? The band’s beautifully haunting rendition of Pink Floyd’s ‘Breathe’. Reveling in a night of real live music was the perfect way to kick off our Halloween weekend, and we highly recommend hitting the rest of the dates on the Pretty Fantastic tour! You can thank us later.
