![]() ![]() They were a juxtaposition of playfully cynical lyrics and serious emotional body language – and in that, felt much more genuine than the sincere antics of another performer who resorts to staged emotions in the overselling of a shallow song.įans may have scratched their head at the venue choice of the Ellie Caulkins Opera House and assumed he may be touring with strings, or doing something scaled down. Tillman’s stage antics, much like his lyrics, are a form of social commentary, playfully mocking the human concert experience. More than once, he hopped down from the stage and ventured down the aisle, doing the same, at one point grabbing tightly ahold of my hand, fingers interlocked, the scent of a man working out in a suit filling my nose as he sang directly to me. He fell to his knees, reaching into the front rows, dramatically imploring fans to share some sort of empathetic moment with him, all the while telegraphing that he was completely kidding. He embraces the art-form in a way few artists do anymore. Tillman is not only a gifted writer, but an outstanding performer. Tillman glided across the stage frantically gesturing, femininely twirling his hips, throwing his hands up, kicking his head back and collapsing to the stage like some sort of fainting damsel in an old Western movie. His large band of multi-instrumentalists remained silhouettes most of the night – both in sight and sound. He took the stage, encouraged the crowd to stand, and eased into it with “Every Man Needs a Companion.” The spotlight focused on Tillman, in a blazer over a nearly completely unbuttoned shirt. After the opener concluded, the bulk of the crowd quickly found their way to their red velvet seats on one of the four levels of the massive theater.įather John Misty: The house lights went dark and a demonic sounding vocal clip played as Josh Tillman and six musicians took to the stage. The large corridors provided a great atmosphere for fans to drink wine (out of covered cups with straws), and because of this, the venue was about half empty for opener Tess and Dave. The venue, usually reserved for the fine arts, was filled with 25-40 year olds, more well dressed than a show at the Ogden, but not on par with the venue’s traditional sport coat and evening-gown crowd. It marked the first of two sold-out nights at one of Denver’s most lavish venues, the 2,225 seat Ellie Caulkins Opera House. Saturday night couldn’t have been further from that show. In his first visit to Denver, an acoustic opening set for Youth Lagoon at The Bluebird back in 2012, a slightly intoxicated Josh Tillman (otherwise known as Father John Misty) snarkily quipped at the audience as they talked over songs from what would become one of the biggest releases of that year. The Ellie welcomes top artists and touring shows to the Mile High City and is also where the Colorado Ballet and Opera Colorado perform their season productions each year.The Scene: In the four years that have followed Father John Misty ’s 2012 album, Fear Fun, his Denver shows have come a long way. The Ellie is one of only three opera houses in the United States, one of nine worldwide, with seatback titling at every seat in the house. ![]() The opera house is humidified and provides state-of-the-art technical support as well as acoustical excellence and clean sightlines. ![]() The Ellie is a world-class acoustical hall designed in the lyric style with four levels: balcony, loge, mezzanine and orchestra. With a rich and eventful history since opening in 1908, the Ellie has been renovated many times and most notably in the early 2000s when everything but its historic shell was rebuilt into a lyric opera house. Through seat tax revenues and bond proceeds, private donations and a generous gift from the Caulkins family, the venue reopened in 2005 as the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, honoring Denver's First Lady of Opera, Ellie Caulkins. The Ellie Caulkins Opera House, known simply as “the Ellie,” is the premier venue inside of the historic Quigg Newton Denver Municipal Auditorium. ![]()
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