DENVER — Hozier, the man behind “Take Me to Church,” is well on his way to selling out a show at Red Rocks this summer. He also just performed at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. But in one of those wonderful music industry accidents, the Irish musician played on Wednesday at the Ogden Theatre, a venue one-fifth the size of the Morrison amphitheater.
This sort of thing has happened before. In recent years, both Adele and the Lumineers have booked shows at the Ogden shortly before “blowing up,” giving the Ogden show the feel of an intimate victory lap. And that’s certainly what it was for Hozier.
Backed by a surprisingly large band (at least five people), Andrew Hozier-Byrne rolled smoothly from pop to blues to blue-eyed soul. In person, he was sort of a John Mayer figure — a wildly talented musician who also attracted hundreds of screaming teens who could care less about his classical training.
Earlier, Ásgeir brought his brand of ambient Icelandic strangeness to the stage. The material seemed a little obscure for the Victoria’s Secret crowd, but was no less great for that.
Photos by Matt Farley