Sweet Pill @ The O
Sweet Pill x Deux Visages x Bike Routes
09.04.26
Bike Routes, Deux Visages, and Sweet Pill took over the Oriental Theater, and the venue was absolutely packed. And when I say packed, I mean packed enough that they opened the balcony, something you don't see happen at the Oriental all that often.
Somehow, though, the crowd avoided becoming the usual nightmare scenario that comes with a sold-out room full of sweaty strangers standing approximately two inches apart. Everyone I encountered throughout the night was incredibly kind and polite, which honestly deserves its own round of applause. Denver, you did great. Gold stars all around.
Bike Routes
The night kicked off with Bike Routes, who immediately brought an infectious energy to the stage. Beyond the music, their stage presence was impossible not to get wrapped up in. One of my favorite things about their set was how often they shouted out their hometowns, which is always such a cute thing to see a band do. It’s always super endearing watching artists proudly rep where they came from, especially when they're standing on a stage hundreds or thousands of miles away from it. Bike Routes also made a point to interact with the audience throughout their set, creating that perfect opener energy where, by the time they're done, you feel like you've somehow known them longer than the length of their set.
Deux Visages
Then came Deux Visages, who brought something entirely different to the room. One thing I always love watching during a live set is how band members interact with each other. You can almost always tell when people genuinely enjoy being in a band together versus when they're just coworkers with instruments.
Deux Visages very clearly fall into the first category.
The members constantly interacted throughout their set, and there was this undeniable sense that they were genuinely having fun together. Their friendship translated into their performance in a way that made watching them feel less like observing a perfectly rehearsed production and more like being invited into whatever weird little universe exists between a group of best friends who also happen to make music together. And just when you thought the set couldn't get any cooler, their last song blew me away.
At the end of their performance, Sweet Pill drummer Chris Kearney came out to join Deux Visages' drummer onstage. What followed was a full-blown dueling drums moment featuring two drummers absolutely going at it. It was easily one of the coolest ways to end a set and the kind of spontaneous, chaotic live music moment that you can't recreate by listening to their music online.
Sweet Pill
Finally, Sweet Pill took the stage, and I'm not entirely convinced someone didn't give them a significant amount of caffeine immediately before they walked out because the energy was absolutely insane.
From the moment they started, the entire band was running and jumping around nonstop. Every song somehow managed to crank the energy up another level, and the crowd happily matched them the entire way. It was one of those performances where you find yourself thinking halfway through the set that the band was going to have to get tired.
Spoiler alert: they did not.
Sweet Pill managed to bring such an awesome level of energy while still making the room feel connected. Their interactions with the crowd made the performance feel less like watching a band from a distance and more like being actively pulled into whatever was happening onstage. By the end of the night, the Oriental Theatre was sweaty, packed, and buzzing with the kind of energy that makes you remember why local venues and touring bills like this are so important in the first place.
