Monolith Music Fest: In Review & Friday Night
This past weekend, Consequence of Sound’s Matt Friedman traveled west to take in the second annual Monolith Music Festival. Between the indie friendly lineup and spectacular setting, the Colorado based festival offered one of the better ways to cap off a summer full of music festival fun…
The 2008 Monolith Music Festival, which took place September 13 and 14 in Morrison, Colorado (just outside Denver), was a rousing success for just about everyone involved. The music was amazing, the sound systems were powerful, if not just a little too strong at times, the weather was near perfect, and the festival attendees were pumped to be at Red Rocks (for good reason), as were the bands.
Red Rocks may just be the ideal concert venue. The organizers constructed the festival grounds around the famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Giant natural structures penetrate the earth, ascending hundreds of feet into the air, creating crystal clear natural acoustics. As if this natural phenomenon was not enough of a treat, the formations consist of colorful minerals, blending into a range of oranges and reds. These monoliths (hence, the name of the festival) are situated upon a mountain, overlooking the Colorado plains and the beautiful skyline of Denver, located just fifteen miles away.
Predictably, the Monolith organizers used the amphitheatre as the main stage for Monolith. Atop the apex, one could find the Upper Level Plaza and the Vendor Village Area. 
Also located on top of the plateau, the organizers placed the second stage (New Belgium Stage). For most of the festival, this was actually a fantastic setup. Unfortunately, for reasons that I will get into later, a couple of issues led to significant problems at different times on Saturday evening.
As a nice change of pace, festival attendees could actually seek air conditioning and shade inside the Rocks. On the opposite side of the plaza, two sets of stairs led down to the Lower Level. Doors open to the inside portion of the venue, where two separate stages were located, the Gigbot Stage and the WOXY.com Stage (located in the Heart of the Rock Theatre). Finally, back down the other side, just to the right of the main stage, and down some stairs, attendees could get up close for intimate performances at the Acoustic Stage.
Official Kick-Off Party
Cloud Cult
I did not know much about Cloud Cult before entering the Bluebird Theater on Friday night and, to be honest, it might have been better that way. It is not that the show would have disappointed me. To the contrary, I might not have been as impressed by the multimedia presentation. Craig Minowa, who fronts the band, rocks a mask lifted up on his forehead. Even more unique are the two official band members, who do not bring conventional instruments onto the stage and, instead, use brushes and other tools to create fantastic paintings as a backdrop. While admittedly it seemed a bit like a novelty, this is what sold me on the band. They started painting during the first song and finished the art just as the final notes were played in the encore. Of course, the band auctioned off the artwork to the audience. It must be a trip to purchase a painting by one of your favorite bands, created in front of you, during a show.
Joining Minowa and the artists on stage were a crew of instrumentalists, including Shawn Neary (the bassists and trombonist, formerly of Tapes ‘n’ Tapes) and small string section. Whether it is the outfits, the artwork, the music or simply the band members’ personalities, Cloud Cult exuded a childlike innocence in its performance. 
All band members waved their instruments high, whether the more traditional kinds or those used to create the visual art pieces, as they sang along with Minowa, into microphone or, if not close enough, the air. To those not familiar with Cloud Cult, the band offers an eclectic style of music, ranging from upbeat indie rock to chamber pop (comparable to a slightly mellower and poppier Arcade Fire). While the pop songs are fun, I personally prefer the band’s spacey, more atmospheric songs. These seem to fit the surrealist feel of the show better. In fact, it is not a stretch to imagine Cloud Cult in a motion picture such a Jeunet & Caro’s wonderful The City of Lost Children or Neil Gaiman/Dave McKean’s Mirrormask.
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