DeVotchka Celebrates 20 years of ‘How it ends’

Photos: Oliver Thieme

On Christmas weekend, Denver was once again graced by the presence of the legendary local quartet DeVotchKa. On this rainy Saturday, the band played at the historic Bluebird Theater, celebrating 20 years since the release of their third studio album ‘How It Ends,’ by playing the album in its entirety.

Claire Heywood’s music is hard to put into words…

Before DeVotchKa made their way to the stage the audience was given a treat, that treat being a beautiful and extremely intimate performance by Denver’s own Claire Heywood. Claire’s music is hard to put into words, her poetic songwriting set to the tone of  Blues/Folk influences along with the rich tones of her voice made her performance extremely captivating and personal. Fair to say it was the most perfect start to an amazing night.

After Claire finished her performance, the stage was set for DeVotchKa, and it was fair to say they did not disappoint. Hearing their album ‘How It Ends’ played from start to finish was an experience I will not soon forget. From hearing the more popular songs such as ‘We’re Leaving,’ to the deep cuts like ‘Too Tired,’ which the band admitted to rarely if ever playing live since the release of the album 20 years ago.

The stage glowed with DeVotchKa’s enjoyment…

Witnessing the band perform an album that has meant so much for so long to all the fans in attendance was truly a wonderful experience for all involved, and especially for the band. During the performance the stage was full of nothing but utter enjoyment from every single member of the band.

As an audience member you can tell that the band loves performing these wonderful songs especially to their home crowd of the mile high city. After the band finished performing the record, they capped the night off with an encore before officially leaving the stage.

The night was one to remember, for the bands and the audience. Christmas weekend in Denver was made brighter and more joyful by the presence of Claire Heywood and DeVotchKa.