Saturday night brought an interesting mix of ambience and thrash to Nation as Deftones continued its world wide tour in support of "Deftones" the band's fourth full-length album.
Opening up for a band as dynamic as Deftones is not an easy task, however Denali was in an even deeper hole when the group walked on stage: they are a dream-pop band. Handpicked by Deftones lead singer Chino Morino to open up for this leg of the tour, Denali, who hail from Richmond, Va., has made waves with its latest record "The Instinct" on Jade Tree records.
Focusing on selections from "The Instinct," which has more of a rock vibe than the band's self-titled debut, Denali was quite captivating on the large stage, often shrouded in muted greens and yellows.
After the set, drummer Jonathan Fuller commented on the tour saying that even though merchandise sales are slow, the tour has been a great opportunity to play at much larger venues to bigger crowds. He added that Denali is lucky since most crowds don't heckle bands with female lead singers - Maura Davis, a classically trained vocalist, heads Denali.
Regardless of all preconceived notions, Denali managed to pull off an unpredicted win, and left the audience lingering for more after each song.
Bridging the gap between Denali and Deftones was Poison the Well, a hardcore band touring in support of its major-label debut "You Come Before You."
At around 8:30 p.m., the lights went down and Pink Floyd came on through Nation's speakers, and for a moment, everything was calm.
Opening with "Minerva," Deftones made its mark early with the awe-inspiring first single off "Deftones." Following up "Minerva," Morino and the gang served up five hot slices of older material off "Adrenaline" and "Around the Fur," before shifting the mood with "Digital Bath," from "White Pony," the band's most commercially successful record to date.
Over the course of 90 minutes, the Deftones played music from all periods of its history, hitting every note and making for one of the best D.C. appearances in the past four years. After leaving stage and coming back out to play "Change (In the House of Flies)," the only thing the Deftones could have done to make the night any better was keep on playing. Unfortunately, that will have to wait until next year.
