Transcendent and entrancing, Thievery Corporation’s Fillmore set on Thursday united the audience and the performers. Photos by Lucia De Giovanni.

Walking into the absolutely packed Fillmore Thursday night was like strolling into the infamous tunnel scene in “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” (the 1971 original, not the half-baked Johnny Depp vehicle), without the ominous sense of impending terror. The cavernous space was dark and humid, thick with smoke and the reek of ganja. The floor was an undulating sea of psychedelically-clad and sweaty bodies, entranced by the booming sounds and kaleidoscopic light show of Thievery Corporation. Any memory of the rapidly cooling, spring-storm exterior I’d just left completely disappeared, along with any tethers that had previously kept me earthbound, for the next few hours.

Orbiting around genius DJ/producers Rob Garza and Eric Hilton, Thievery Corporation’s touring band numbered somewhere in the range of 15 musicians, including two drummers, a sax and trumpet horn section, a bass player, a guitar/sitar player and a series of vocalists from places as far-flung as Tehran, Buenos Aires, and Guyana, singing in at least four different languages.

Their set, lasting well over two hours, was like a musical travelogue. They transported fans through the Caribbean and into South America, across the sea into Africa and further into the Middle East,
and further still into India, all the while maintaining a taught thread of trance. And they played these pieces as if they had transformed into classically trained, native musicians from each region.

To say the sold out Fillmore audience loved it would be a giant understatement. This crowd was so enthralled that they became part of the show, at one with everyone, and with the stage, in an orgy of uncontrollable, gyrating groove. When the band announced their hit “The Richest Man in Babylon,” the place exploded in screams, and the entire floor proceeded to sing along with every word.

In the second encore, two beautiful singers from Buenos Aires led everyone in “El Pueblo Unido,” a song filled with optimistic overtones that’s based on a protest chant used worldwide. The feeling in the room approached that of an uprising, albeit with a decidedly positive vibe. That this mythical revolution would be led by a group adorned in fur-covered hats and freakishly large sunglasses and carrying hundreds of twirling glow sticks didn’t lessen the comfort of inevitable victory by even one iota.

Thievery Corporation surpasses most bands in the electronica/trance genre easily by dipping into their impressive knowledge of world music, and their considerable talent in replicating the widely varied sounds both onstage and on record. Their following is massive, and continues to grow (they’ve reportedly sold out most, if not all, of the shows on this tour).

Their charged communion with the people last Thursday proved that this band has got a finger on the audience’s pulse, and they drive its cadence. It was exhilarating to see a gathering with such a positive ground and electricity, all of them dancing, panting and flowing together, ecstatic and spellbound.

Billy Thieme is a Denver-based writer, an old-school punk and a huge follower of Denver’s vibrant local music scene. Follow Billy’s giglist at Gigbot.

Lucia De Giovanni is an award-winning photographer and internationally known photojournalist. You can view more of her work on her website and follow her Project 365, a Photo a Day, on her blog.

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