AMZY Intimately Unplugs Denver’s Pop Scene at Third & James

Local pop sensation AMZY played an intimate – and at a few times pretty emotional – set of their signature positive pop (almost) completely unplugged recently. While the set still exuded the now-trio’s lighthearted and infectious bubblegum sound, the acoustic nature and intimate surroundings of the Third & James Recording Studio made it feel almost like a command performance in your living room – much to the small audience’s delight.

The venue – the locally-owned base for Third & James Records (AMZY’s label) – Was both welcoming and acoustically impressive. The wide open space easily hosted the seated audience and plenty of sound and musical equipment, and still felt like home.

Vocalist Brennan Johnson manned the keys throughout the night (aside from the song he decided to sing on the floor), easily showing mastery of the sexier part of crooning all the while, while guitarist Sean Grant and drummer Wes Barton filled in the rest of the sound with succulent hooks and catching rhythms.

At one point mid-set, Grant took advantage of the intimate surroundings to thank the audience for showing up, and choked up unexpectedly with the realization of the newish band’s quickly growing – and justified – appeal and popularity.

“To go from, y’know, having no fans, to this,” he said, “is just incredible!” Afterward, Grant received a healthy jab or two about his misty ovations from both the audience and his bandmates, but it was all in fun.

For a few hours, AMZY treated less than 75 fans with a collection of their local hits like “Sorry, Not Sorry,” “We Don’t Walk, We Dance,” “5 to Midnight,” each with various heartfelt stories about them from all three members. Johnson turned the tables and choked the seats up a bit when he described the context of “Together We Are the Same,” about his close relationship with his sister (Check out the video, above). The set felt loose, improvised, and seemingly without a planned playlist (though they presented one excited younger fan with one from the “stage” floor after the set).

Well on their way to bigger things, the band was humble before the audience, showing that they’re nowhere near forgetting or abandoning their local fans, regardless of the height of their success.