The yearly Dance Party Time Machine, a one-night dance party super jam at Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom in Denver, Colorado, went off on Saturday night, giving attendees a run-down of some of the best dance tunes from throughout the decades. This year’s line-up brought out big names on the scene, including Marc Brownstein, Aron Magner, and Allen Aucoin of The Disco Biscuits, Tom Hamilton of Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, Mike Greenfield of Lotus, and Eddie Roberts of The New Mastersounds. In addition, a rotating cast of many of our favorite Colorado up-and-comers from acts such as Analog Son, The Magic Beans, SuCH, Fox Street, Yamn, Tiger Party, Dynohunter and others came out to throw down throughout the night.
The Dance Party Time Machine kicked off early, though the 9:30 start time did not defer fans from packing the house by the time the first crew of musicians triumphantly made their way onstage to “The Final Countdown” blaring over the house speakers. After hyping up the sold-out crowd, to kick off the sold-out show, the musicians (Charlie Mertens, bass; Eric Low, drums; James Dumm and Jonathan Huvard, guitar; Eric Luba and Jodel Charles, keys) took it back to 1958, paying tribute to the late Chuck Berry with their rendition of “Johnny B. Goode.”
The beauty of Dance Party Time Machine is the surprise factor; for attendees, guessing what’s going to be played next and who’s going to be playing it is a huge part of the fun. Between each song, musicians swap in and out for one another, sometimes with just a lone musician replacing another, and other times the entire band on stage more-or-less rebuilding itself completely between tunes. The song choices are diverse, and when they say its a time machine, they mean it, with tracks from Vulfpeck making way for R. Kelly then Donna Summer or a classic Madonna song followed by Holy Ghost. However, what binds the setlist together is each song’s innate ability to get people dancing and a crowd feeling good.
For the second song of the night, Jonah Wisneski subbed in for James Dumm on guitar before the ensemble moved into The Beatles’ “Drive My Car.” Then, The New Mastersounds’ Eddie Roberts and Analog Son’s Jordan Linit came out to lock it down on guitar for The Meters’ “Funky Miracle” along with some help from The Magic Beans’ Casey Russell on keys. The next few songs were highlights of the night, with the masterful soloing of and chemistry between guitarists Roberts and Linit propelling the show forward as the band on stage moved through Band Of Gypsys’ “Changes” and Janis Joplin’s “Move Over.”
The Dance Party Time Machine is a perfect example of why Colorado’s music scene is known throughout the country. The crowd was amped from the very start, with many of the attendees donning costumes from the 80’s and beyond and really getting into the throwback theme of the night. The musicians from extensively touring national acts certainly brought down the house during the songs they were featured on, but the night more-so served as a fun way to showcase Denver’s vast array of highly talented musicians. Singer Ashley Niven of Tiger Party was one such performer, whose skilled vocal chops paired with her unreal stage presence made her an absolute joy to watch on songs ranging from Jamiroqui’s “Canned Heat” to No Doubt’s “Hella Good.”
Throughout the night, the band continued on, mediating between overt crowdpleasers that more frequently make their way into setlists, such as Eddy Grant’s 1982 feel-good tune “Electric Avenue” and The Talking Heads’ classic “Girlfriend Is Better,” and more unexpected though no less awesome numbers like ODB’s “Got Your Money” and George Michael’s “Freedom! 90.” There was no genre that the roster of about twenty-five musicians couldn’t tackle. Though the musicians tended to be primarily grounded in funk, soul, and jam, this didn’t stop the talented (albeit somewhat eclectic mix) of musicians from trying their hand at famous rap songs from across the decades (and to be honest, killin’ it), with a non-stop sequence of Freak Nasty’s “Da Dip,” Old School Players’ “Tootsie Roll,” and Tag Team’s “Whoomp There It Is” led by vocalist Jeff Prah being one of the most memorable and fun moments of the night.
You would be hard pressed to find someone who didn’t have a blast at this year’s Dance Party Time Machine. The show is one of the funnest nights of the night, seemingly for attendees and for the musicians who perform for it. Luckily, the Dance Party Time Machine is an annual affair. You can check out photos from Saturday’s performance below, courtesy of Andrew Rios.
Setlist: Dance Party Time Machine | Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom | Denver, CO | 3/25/2017
Set One: Johnny B Goode (Chuck Berry), Drive My Car (The Beatles), Funky Miracle (The Meters), Changes (Band of Gypsys), Move Over (Janis Japlin), Modern Love (David Bowie), Electric Avenue (Eddy Grant), Canned Heat (Jamiroqui) Dazz>No Vasoline>Dazz (Brick/ICE Cube), Got Your Money (ODB), I Wanna Dance w/ Somebody (Whitney Houston), Funky Town (Lipps Inc), Controversy (Prince), Hella Good (No Doubt)
Set Two: Lose Yourself To Dance (Daft Punk), Who Am I (Snoop Dog), Da Dip (Freak Nasty) >Tootsie Roll (old school players)>Whoomp There It Is (Tag Team), Christmas In LA (Vulfpeck), Ignition (Remix) (R. Kelly), I Feel Love (Donna Summer), You Spin Me (Dead Or Alive), Express Yourself (Madonna), Wait and See (Holy Ghost), What is Love (Haddaway), Tribulations (LCD Soundsystem), Don’t Stop Til you get enough (Michael Jackson), Girlfriend is Better (Talking Heads)
Encore: Freedom 90 (George Michael)
Musician Roster: Marc Brownstein, Aron Magner, Tom Hamilton, Mike Greenfield, Allen Aucoin, Eddie Roberts, Jordan Linit, Charlie Mertens, Eric Low, Eric Luba, Casey Russell, SuCh, Francine, Colleen, Jeff Prah, Jonah Wisneski, James Dumm, David Duart, Brian Hamilton, Ashley Niven, Clark Smith, Jonathan Huvard, Jodel Charles
