Within the cozy confines of the Soiled Dove in Denver last Wednesday, three different musical acts performed as part of the Ten Buck Tour. Each had a singular sound while still maintaining enough Venn Diagram overlap to make sense as touring partners.

First up was Utah band Desert Noises. They played an energetic set that came off like a cross between British guitar band pep and southern rock swagger. The band was at its best when they tilted their sound more towards the Brits and upped their bpm like on “Building Glass Walls.” For such a young band, they played an impressively tight show.

Following Desert Noises was the rugged folk of Joshua James. The first thing you notice with James is his raspy coal mine of a voice. It lends each song an eerie power and makes even his poppiest melodies sound haunting. That voice combined with his extreme emotional intensity kept the audience rapt throughout his performance.

The final act of the night were headliners honeyhoney. With their second album just out on October 24th, these Los Angelinos seemed excited to finally let their new tunes breathe some fresh air. Despite being from California, the duo has a distinctly Nashvillian sound. The layers of banjo and fiddle definitely make the honeyhoney come across as sub Mason-Dixon. The group really hit their stride towards the middle of their set with first album standout “Sugar Cane” and a cover of Hank Williams’ “Lost Highway.” The undisputed highlight of their performance was “Little Toy Gun.” Its surf-rock shuffle got many from the crowd to ditch their chairs, tables, and drinks to go work it out on the dance floor.

It’s a testament to each of the performing artists, that every set was able to bring something distinctive and memorable; which worked perfectly in such a unique venue as the Soiled Dove.

Ever since the Balkan folk of their first album, Gulag Orkestar, Beirut has been slowly inching their sonic geography closer home. There was France with second album The Flying Cup Club and then Mexico with 2009s’ March of the Zapotec EP. Finally, on this year’s release The Rip Tide, Beirut hit home with tracks like “East Harlem” and “Sante Fe.” Beirut maintained this jet-setting sound during their September 28^th performance at the Fillmore Auditorium, touching down in all the locales of their discography.

With the implosion of Kings of Leon and the subsequent dissolution of their tour with, Band of Horses were forced to scrape together a series of live shows that more or less matched up with their previously scheduled dates. Being without the mainstream chart power of their prior headliners, Band of Horses was forced to usher their show from arenas into smaller theaters. Luckily for the sold out crowd at the Ogden Theater Sunday night, Band of Horses did not downgrade their stadium-sized sound one bit.

Word association, Bright Eyes: Conor Oberst. Word association, Conor Oberst: poles. One of the most polarizing voices in alternative music today, Bright Eyes’ frontman Conor Oberst really knows how to run the proverbial gamut. He seemed to have seen much more than his 13 years of ages on his first precocious released recordings. He seems to still have a legitimate claim to the tag of “kid” now at age 31. Some people deride Oberst as the “Justin Bieber of indie.” Others will laud him as the ingenious voice of a generation. Whatever way you look at it, Conor Oberst is something; and usually a lot of it. That theme of polarization extended itself to the Bright Eyes’ concert last Tuesday, the 9th at the Boulder Theater. Featuring a set equally weighted between his old and new catalog, Conor Oberst put both his most mature and most child-like selves on display.

Most people know what they’re in for with Fleet Foxes: beard battered harmonies and flannel patched musical stylings. Knowing what’s in store makes them no less potent or spellbinding though - especially live.