If you were lucky enough to get a ticket, then you probably had a killer Valentine's Day rocking out to DeVotchKa and Stella Luce at the new Washington's in Fort Collins. However, if not, here's what you missed:
I never had the chance to go to Washington's before its recent reopening, but from what I hear it's much nicer, which is easy to assume because it is absolutely beautiful. If you haven't been yet, you walk in to a second floor lobby, reminiscent of a movie theater but instead of candy and popcorn, that's where you get drinks. The double doors lead to an amazing, wide open concert hall with no bad spot in the house, and a stunning balcony that wraps around the venue.
Stella Luce kicked things off with a powerful set of avant-garde alternative rock, accompanied by Alana's haunting vocals and eerie viola melody lines. They go from chill and moody to blistering in a matter of seconds, which is one of many reasons that they're one of my favorite bands in town.
DeVotchKa delivered an amazing performance as always. Their unique mix of folk, indie and alternative, almost reminiscent of early Radiohead sets them apart from any musical counterpart, and truly made Valentine's Day at Washington's a special experience.
If you need a fix until the next Stella Luce show, here's a throwback from when they played in our back yard at Thunder Mountain Amphitheater this past October.