Saved by music. By the time this event was inaugurated it had been nearly a decade since Denver had a quality festival boasting lots of national touring acts: the Mile High Music Festival at Dick’s Park and the Monolith Festival at Red Rocks. I had been missing both terribly, so I had high hopes for this young buck entering the scene. The bill was promising: Wilco (a favorite of mine) and Death Cab For Cutie (a bucket-lister of mine) each headlining their own nights, with support from a few lesser bands I figured would be entertaining. The festival logistics and infrastructure were infuriating — navigating bad signage on the grounds, watching the main stage from a hot asphalt parking lot, waiting in hour-long lines for a single beer — and the crowd was packed so tight that you could forget about seeing anything at all if you left your hard-earned spot near the stage, but the music was mostly awesome. Death Cab blew me away with a very heavy, head-rattling show; Wilco brought an incredible set loaded with hits (“Impossible Germany”! Yes!); and Saint Motel crushed it with high energy and fantastic command of the crowd. I expected The New Pornographers to impress but they were utterly limp (they needed Neko Case; she didn’t show) and Tennis, a local favorite, was the worst thing a live act can be: boring. This festival is contracted for at least a few more years so I’ll be very curious to see what the next edition brings. It needs help but, if the talent comes, so will I. Setlist