Opening Night of The Lillingtons Tour

Opening night of their tour ‘The Lillingtons’ play Denver on Thursday Jan 18th to a packed house. What other way to break in the New Year than with some rad punk music, right? Xposer Magazine had a chance to interview the band just prior to the show-taking place; below you will find the recant from the evening.

Originally hailing from Wyoming, the boys all grew up together, attending the same schools, becoming friends and they eventually formed a band just slightly over 20yrs ago. Way way back before the interwebs were even a thing. Before bands could just email venues etc in order to book a show. Making actual phone calls were the only thing that could get you through. So much more effort went into it all then, if you did not make it or succeed, you only had yourself to blame. Sitting in the green room and chatting about this very subject, I asked them what one of their favorite or most funny memories would be about life on the road… Tim replies with a story about having to boost cash from a club promoter in Ohio who decided to not pay them and instead was smoking crack outside. Now in 1997 the boys were just teenagers making their way around the country, playing at whatever spot would pick them up and this happened to be one of those spots. After the show, the promoter went out back and after asking for the payment and being denied, the crew decided to just snatch the cash box and run…. That is exactly what they did, snatched and ran; never to return again! What a crazy night that must have been and such a great story to tell, it is one of those “you should have been there” type moments. lol

If you have ever wondered what life on the road, would be like with 4 band members, a driver, road crew and pretty much testosterone everywhere you look? I am sure you guessed it… hazing and fart jokes for the next 2,000 miles coming right up. It is all fun and games until someone loses their underwear or gets to much peanut butter in their nose. >.<

As the years have gone by, just over 20 of them now… I decided to ask if they happened to have a few favorite snacks they always brought with them on the road. Alex, Cory, Kody and Tim all chimed in one after another with “Metamucil, Red Bull, Nexium and sparkling water.” Oh how appropriate and once again I am floored with laughter.

Of course, as you might have heard, ‘The Lillingtons’ have recently been signed to ‘Fat Wreck Chords’ which they are super excited for, as most of us are. For the show, ‘The Lillingtons’ brought in two great local Denver acts by the names of ‘The Pitch Invasion’ and ‘The Gamits’. Both were such great choices for the eve. The Marquis theatre provided the perfect, intimate closeness one would desire for a punk rock show. This was going to be one epic night!

The Pitch Invasion takes the stage and in true proper punk form, cranked out each song in under 2 minutes all while creating a mosh pit the size of a merry-go-round. With a very California pop punk vibe; TPI got the crowd moving from the first song to the very last note. I would have to say that this band was the perfect set up for the rest of the night to come.

Next up was ‘The Gamits’. Another well-known band from our local scene and for good reasons, not only are they a very talented bunch, but the bands bass player Johnny has been helping out local bands for quite some time with his online publication ‘For the Love of Punk’. You can see how much the crowd loves them as the pit grows and the music just does not stop. Playing a few of my favs like “Sorry Song” and “No One Cares”, I think I must have danced through the whole set…. Which is never a bad thing!

After just a brief stage reset, The Lillingtons take the stage. I did not think the floor could get more packed than it already was but I thought wrong as I was pushed ever closer to the front rail that protects the stage from the crowd. What a great feeling it was to be around all that energy, people so excited to see some great punk music and there was a hush before the first song began. Opening with ‘Drawing Down the Stars’ and that sweet slow motion of the guitar begins; my body continues to follow and move along with the song. This has to be one of my all-time favorite song intros ever, the way it pulls you in so melodically only to bring in those crunchy sounds and intense beats. By the time they played ‘London Fog’ the circle pit was as big as the room would allow with people slamming into each other all while enjoying the show. There’s just something about a punk rock show that really gets a pit going like no other show out there. A great sight to see. I have to say, I really am enjoying many of the tracks played from their most recent release ‘Stella Sapiente’, however they played so many great recordings from all of their many cd’s like ‘Murder in My Mind’ & ‘Until the Sun Shines’ that it made it hard to pick a favorite one out of all. They closed the night with ‘Lillington High’ and I had to leave the front stage area or else the pit that appeared with the opening chords of the song would have consumed me. The floor looked alive as I made my way to the back. Oh how I do love punk music….. Especially live. It can pull you in like no other music out there can. Hope you were able to make it out and enjoy the show with me but if not, there is always next time!