On the Flipside Music

By Jess Klausing

Some concerts are about the headliner. The best ones are about the whole night. On Tuesday, Lost Lake Lounge on East Colfax Avenue hosted StanleySimmons (Evan Stanley and Nick Simmons) on their debut tour, with PrettyUgly and Velvet Daydream opening. Each band got a full evening’s worth of personality out of its set.

Denver’s Lost Lake Lounge is a small room, with barely any space between the stage and the crowd. For a band still building its identity, that closeness works in its favor.

PrettyUgly

The Los Angeles trio opened the night as if they had been handed the headline slot. Frontwoman Parker Chrisbens has a gritty, full-volume voice and plenty of attitude, and she tore into the angsty “Eat My Words” before taking on Janis Joplin’s “Piece of My Heart.” Few songs carry more history, and PrettyUgly didn’t try to imitate it. They played it with their own fire.

The most memorable part of the set was a bit of theater. Between songs, Parker picked up a pink rotary telephone and took calls that revealed more of a doomed romance with her crush. Each call pushed the story further, so the set felt like a rock show and a short heartbreak drama at once. It set Pretty Ugly apart from most openers.

Velvet Daydream

Velvet Daydream played second, and they looked like they’d walked out of 1972 and never changed. Bell bottoms, embroidered vests, earth-toned turtlenecks, and a lot of turquoise jewelry set the scene before anyone played a note. Plenty of people in the crowd had dressed to match.

The music backs up the look. They mix classic rock swagger with psychedelic stretches, and you can hear Led Zeppelin’s power, the Rolling Stones’ looseness, and a little of the Doors’ dark hypnotic pull. They have enough youthful energy that it never sounds like a tribute act.

“Casino” came out of a driving groove with confident vocals and a bit of mischief. “Lemonade” is where the room locked in, and it turned into a full singalong. Guitarists Kaeden Keys and Ryder King added to the energy with sharp playing and plenty of stage movement.

StanleySimmons

Nick Simmons and Evan Stanley photo by Jess Klausing

Taking the stage as the main act of the night, StanleySimmons brought their debut tour to an intimate room that offered a fitting setting for a band beginning to establish its identity.

When Evan Stanley and Nick Simmons joined forces, they brought more than famous last names to the table. Their fathers Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons of KISS helped shape one of music’s most recognizable legacies. Yet StanleySimmons isn't a KISS tribute act or a family nostalgia project. It's a collaboration between two musicians who discovered that a friendship stretching back to childhood could become the foundation for something creatively exciting.

The opener “Dancing While The World Is Ending” set the tone with a sound that balances melodic songwriting against the weight and drive of rock. “Running Just A Little Too Long” kept the momentum moving, while “Starve The Beast” brought a sharper edge, giving the set a tougher backbone.

Evan and Nick work well as a musical pairing. Their voices bring different qualities to the arrangements, and their harmonies help tie the songs together. Evan's sauvy guitar swagger gives the music its bite, while Nick adds another layer through his vocal prowess and keyboards. Behind them, the rhythm section provides the muscle needed to move between the more relaxed passages and the bigger rock moments.

“Cold” takes a different route, pairing a measured rock pulse with a melodic sensibility that keeps it accessible without sanding off its bluesier edges. It shows that StanleySimmons can find hooks without relying on sheer volume or overworked theatrics.

Then there’s “Don’t Leave Me Here Like That,” which leans into a more roots-oriented side of the band's identity. Its Americana influence gives the song a sense of open space, connecting the group's classic-rock foundation to a more contemporary songwriting tradition. It's a useful reminder that rock doesn't always need to come with a wall of distortion to make an impact.

Just when you think things are winding down, the band launches into “Dystopia” like a ragged energy gut punch. Its driving character gives the band a chance to turn up the intensity, pushing the guitars and rhythm section forward without abandoning the melodic elements that distinguish the group from a straightforward hard rock outfit.

The night’s defining moment came with the closing number, “Real Life,” where rich vocal harmonies blended with the full force of the band. The guitars gradually took center stage, building through soaring bends into a fiery, extended solo that channeled the epic Southern-rock spirit of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird.” It was a satisfying close to a debut tour stop.

With strong harmonies, a flexible sound, and the chemistry of two longtime friends, StanleySimmons has laid a promising musical foundation.