Song - Dream City, Free Energy

In this day and age there is very little in this world that is ‘free.’ One may even argue that nothing in this world is ‘free.’ I beg to differ and so would Philadelphia based band, Free Energy, a band that you should be listening to, but probably are not. Yet.
Free Energy has a raw sound that comes from listening to vinyl or for you 90’s kids out there, cassette tapes. It is obvious that the production is minimal, which is refreshing nowadays with auto-tune taking over the top 40 charts. What you hear on the recording of Free Energy’s debut album ‘Stuck on Nothing’ is exactly what you get during their live show. And then some.

I recently had the pleasure of seeing Free Energy in concert on June 26th at the Bluebird Theatre in downtown Denver. We had spun their album at the station quite a bit, and even named them our band of the week back at the end of March, so I was excited to finally see them live. At the merch table among all the t-shirts, CD’s, vinyl records, and cassette tapes with price tags my sad college wallet did not want to look at, I noticed one word jump out at me through the throng: free. Free Energy was giving away free posters, stickers and hugs so everyone could have a memento from the night. This was a good way to start things off.

After standing in anticipation the lights finally went dim and five extremely hip young men entered the stage. As soon as the first beat of their first song, self titled ‘Free Energy’, was played the energy on stage and in the crowd immediately sky rocketed. And might I just point out that the first beat of the song is played on a cow bell?
They kept the energy high throughout the entire set with memorable moments being the songs ‘Dream City’ and ‘Bang Pop.’ These boys really know how to command a crowd and their stage presence is a force to be reckoned with. Might I also call attention to the lead singer’s fabulous dance moves? At the end of the set you won’t even know what to do with all the free energy you were just given, so convert it into work (a little physics humour for you) and dance.

You can catch Free Energy on tour through mid-July with Mates of State and in August with Titus Andronicus. Check them out at www.myspace.com/freeenergymusic for complete tour dates and bumpin jams. Also check out www.kcsufm.com for more up and coming bands that you should be listening too.

~Erin Browne