On Saturday, Turkuaz brought their Life In The City winter tour to a close with a sold-out show at Denver, CO’s Ogden Theatre. Colorado’s own rock-fusion sextet Eminence Ensemble handled the evening’s opening duties. Eminence Ensemble recently released their newest studio effort, Real News, which marks the band’s first studio release with added guitarist Taylor Frederick and keyboardist Johnny Bosbyshell. The local rockers set the tone for a rowdy evening, as the packed downtown Denver venue loosened up for a funk-fueled evening of music.

Turkuaz opened up their set with “Chatte Lunatique” off of 2011’s Zerbert, with drummer Michelangelo “Mikey” Carubba flexing his chops behind the kit with a hard-hitting groove. Guitarist Dave Brandwein let it rip with a gritty guitar solo, as
Chris Brouwers (trumpet), Greg Sanderson (tenor sax), and Josh Schwartz (baritone sax) followed closely behind with an infectious horn line. The nine-piece unit moved forward with “If I Ever Fall Asleep” and “Digitonium”, with Shira Elias and Sammi Garett adding their silky-smooth vocals on the latter. Next, Garett stepped up front and center to lead her bandmates through a bubbly take on “Tip Toe Through the Crypto”. Taylor Shell dropped some serious bass bombs, laying the foundation for Brandwein to unleash a smoking hot solo.

Turkuaz showed no signs of slowing down, as Brandwein, Elias, and Garett led their bandmates through “Make You Famous” off of their recent Life In The City release. The nine-piece powerhouse rolling with their newer material as they unleashed “Superstatic”, followed by a horn-heavy take on “Murder Face”. The band kept on chugging with a well-delivered segue of “Lift It Up” > “Zynth” off of 2015’s Digitonium, as the sold-out crowd danced and grooved with the high-energy music masterminds. Turkuaz unleashed fan-favorite “Babies Makin’ Babies” next, as Craig Brodhead found his strut with some tasty licks on the synth.

Brandwein, Elias, and Garett shared vocal duties on “European Festivity Nightmare”, before the band dove head-first into “Life In The City”, the title-track off of their 2018 release. Carubba kicked the tempo up a few notches as the band moved forward with “Lookin’ Tough, Feelin’ Good”, highlighted by a firey hot guitar solo out of Brodhead’s corner. Turkuaz delivered a pair of Digitonium tunes with “Bermuda” and “King Computer” before yellow-themed goddess Elias enlisted to lead “The Question”. Elias knocked it out of the park, with her soulful bandmates providing some spot-on harmonizing vocals. The colorful ensemble picked up the pace with “M’Lady”, which was followed up by “Take It Slow”. Turkuaz brought their massive set to a close with “Bubba Slide”. The Ogden Theatre crowd was begging for more and erupted when the band came back out onstage for their encore of “Everyone’s A Winner” and “Coast To Coast”. Turkuaz reminded Colorado that they are an absolute force to be reckoned with, and if you have the opportunity, do not miss these colorful funksters the next time they cruise to a city near you.

Checkout a beautiful gallery of photos below courtesy of photographer Andrew Rios.

For a full list of Turkuaz’s upcoming tour dates and ticketing information, head to the band’s website.

Setlist: Turkuaz | Ogden Theatre | Denver, CO | 2/16/2019

Set: Chatte Lunatique, If I Ever Fall Asleep, Digitonium, Tip Toe Through The Crypto, Make You Famous, Superstatic, Murder Face, Lift It Up> Zynth, Babies Makin’ Babies, European Festivity Nightmare, Life In The City, Lookin’ Tough, Feelin’ Good, Bermuda, King Computer, The Question, M’Lady, Take It Slow, Bubba Slide

Encore: Everyone’s A Winner, Coast To Coast