Dance ‘Til Dawn: A Day (and Night) on the Road With Capital Cities
At its core, Capital Cities are Ryan Merchant and Sebu Simonian, a synth-pop duo that broke into the Top 10 with 2011's "Safe and Sound." On the road, though, the duo expands to a quintent, with Channing Holmes, Manny Quintero and Spencer Ludwig contributing drums, guitar and bass. Last week, the group played a headlining show at Denver's historic Ogden Theatre, and they invited our cameras to find out what goes on behind the scenes. Upon seeing the resulting photos, they offered caption to help us get a sense of just what their day is like.
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Lights On
"Ryan scoping out the Ogden Theater during soundcheck."
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Spit Valve
"Spencer Ludwig warming up on his new trumpet right before showtime."
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One Two, One Two
"The best part of soundcheck is listening to the full mix from an audience perspective."
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Snood
"Making last minute tweaks to Raphael, our reliable showtime laptop."
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Essentials
"Drummer essentials: set list, drum heads, kick drum beater and fresh cigars."
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Acoustics
"The best part of soundcheck is listening to the full mix from an audience perspective."
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Breakdown
"Post-show breakdown."
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Stogies
"Our drummer Channing Holmes relaxing with a cigar outside the Ogden."
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Miracle on Table Ice
"Ryan and Sebu attempt a hockey version of foosball at a local Denver eatery."
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Sidewalk Talk
"When you live in LA, you never expect it to be cold anywhere you travel to. Denver was in fact cold that night."
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Band With a Van
"Living the glamorous life in a 15-seater van."
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White Horse
"White, American standard Fender Stratocaster."
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Marquee
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Crooning
"Ryan making a singer face and getting into the music."
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Safe and Sound
"Spencer making the girls swoon with his virtuosic trumpet playing."
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Front and Center
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Big Fat Bass
"Our bassist Manny Quintero taking a dirty solo on our tune 'Love Away.'"
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One More!
"Backstage hoping that the crowd calls us out for an encore. Thankfully they did!
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Drum Break
"Channing Holmes is probably the happiest drummer in the biz. Look at that face!"
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Take a Bow
"The first show from our fall headlining tour seems to have gone well. We love our fans."