Throwing liquids at the Giraffes is encouraged. Just be warned that they'll spit them right back at you. Photo by Joe McCabe, denverpost.com/reverb.

Locals Black Lamb opened Friday night’s Westword-sponsored show at the Bluebird with an impressive amount of fans in the audience — so it was no surprise the crowd seemed pleased by their song choices.

Lead singer Brian Hagman has years of experience rocking peoples’ socks off, and did just that, singing with intensity and forcing my ears to bend his way. His stage presence was intense, making use of the large, wide Bluebird platform. At times it felt a bit forced, that he wasn’t actually feeling the fury his abused vocal chords were delivering. But he at least looked the part with his long, straggly beard and short-sleeved coveralls.

View a full photo gallery of this concert.

Next up was Denver’s latest buzz band, Snake Rattle Rattle Snake. The atmospheric, rising Denver six-piece delivered a solid performance to the enthusiastic crowd. The band consists of five guys (two of whom are drummers), and one girl, lead singer Hayley Helmericks. The band’s dark, guitar-driven rock isn’t breaking any molds, but each members’ talent was evident in their skilled playing. Helmericks’ vocals were also slightly off- key for most of the evening, but her performance more than made up for it. If you like early Siouxie and the Banshees, or Zola Jesus, you’ll like Snake Rattle Rattle Snake.

Which brings me to the Giraffes. The performance incited an onslaught of half-full beer cups, water bottles and ice hurled at the band members’ faces. Each time lead singer Aaron Lazar was pelted by foreign objects, it made him smile a little more, the fluid and ice assault fueling his energy, each song getting crazier than the next.

The Giraffes are a punk-indebted hard rock band from Brooklyn, formed in 1998. Members include Damien Paris on guitar, drummer Andrew Totolos (also DIY network host of the TV show “Tricked Out”), Aaron Lazar on vocals and Jens Carstensen on bass guitar. The infamous live performers make no apologies for their music or their behavior on stage, but they also take their craft seriously.

They understand that their live shows need to kick those like me, who may be on the fence, right on their ass. If you’re in a band and struggling to break through the local bubble, go to a Giraffes show and take lots of notes.

View a full photo gallery of this concert.

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Ryan Price runs ArtistRoster.com, a music recommendation website and live-music promotions company. Check out his site.

Joe McCabe is a Denver photographer and a regular contributor to Reverb. Check out his website.