Skip to main content

The Heavy Pets 3.6.13


Hodi’s Half Note
Fort Collins, Colorado

Words, Photos & Video By Nicholas Stock

My long awaited rendezvous with The Heavy Pets finally happened on a Wednesday night in Fort Collins. They were on a dizzying four-night run with Jet Edison that included a stop up the hill in Breckenridge as well. Jet Edison has been a figure in the local jam scene for several years. Last year they took the time trek around the country after finishing school at CU Boulder. These guys know how it’s done blending jam sensibility with a rock delivery. They’ve built up a solid repertoire and continue to wow audiences far and wide. They are a quintessential Boulder jamband and each member uses their talents well. They opened up with “Places.”

Set One: Places, Stratus, Wading, Undercover, Simon, Dances, Gold

They seem to be building up a new song list, as much of what they played was new to me. Phil Johnson’s dynamic keys synched properly with Max Kabst’s guitar making for a nice back and forth. These guys are definitely ready for the next step, and with a summer tour and new album in the works for 2013 they just might get there this year.

The Heavy Pets have to be one of the most misunderstood bands out there. There seems to be a lack of good video, and therefore people check out one song and believe that is what they sound like. I know I did. The fact of the matter is The Heavy Pets are one of the most versatile jambands touring today. Key word being jam, and boy how did they jam. They opened with “Keep Me Running.”

Set One: Keep Me Running, John Galt, A Taste of Wind, Got To Know, Stepping Away, Xylophone>Sports>Xylophone, Spin 'Round, Last Babies, Earthchaser, Eleanor B. Roosevelt

The Heavy Pets are a roundhouse kick to your sensibilities as they literally shred their way through and all possible genres. Nothing seems to be off limits as they dabble in funk, rock, jazz-fusion, roots reggae, blues, you name it. They bounce through these various soundscapes smoothly like the passing of a baton in an Olympic relay race. THP seems to be yet another post-jamband incorporating the foundation, but trying to take a broad approach rather than focusing on a single flavor. Jeff Loyd led the band through a nonstop set that just killed. Again as the night went on people slowly dribbled out into the night, but I found myself compelled to stay. They closed their massive set with an amazing “Eleanor B. Rossevelt.” I would definitely recommend getting out there and seeing The Heavy Pets. They are steadily growing and it won’t be long before these intimate club shows will be a thing of the past.

Nicholas' Photo Gallery

www.theheavypets.com

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Livetronica Sampler 3.22.11

Words by Greg Molitor ( ReMIND Photography ) Ozric Tentacles This British group has proven innovative throughout the years offering a space-rock meets psytrance sound that remains alive to this day. Though never having a major record label, Ozric Tentacles has produced 28 albums of diverse psychedelia throughout its career. The band met at the Stonehenge Free Festival in 1983 and truly fathered livetronica music with its use of sequencers and synthesizers. Simply put, there would be no livetronica without Ozric Tentacles. www.ozrics.com Octopus Nebula Colorado’s Octopus Nebula has certainly hit its stride as of late with its constant touring and increased festival interest. The group expands on the deep sounds of highly regarded acts such as STS9 and Shpongle but also carves a path of its own with its fresh takes on synthesizer tones and sampling in the live setting. Octopus Nebula Live at Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom on March 26, 2010. www.octopusnebula.com Big Gigantic Big...
Post a Comment
Read more

Buckethead: Gimmick or Guitar God?

Words & Photos By Nicholas Stock ( phatphlogblog.blogspot.com ) At what point does the gimmick overshadow the performance? The obvious answer is Buckethead. The man is an amazing guitarist but something is not right in this world. The idea a performer who dons a KFC chicken bucket on his head for a concert has always intrigued me, and some of his side projects such as Colonel Claypool’s Bernie Bucket of Brains have been huge successes. However his performance last weekend in Fort Collins simply left me perplexed. From his robotic dancing, to his nunchuck display, to the fact the he performed with an iPod rather than a band all added to my confusion. Going into the show I was ready to be blown away, despite rumblings of disgruntled fans from the previous night’s show at The Gothic. Buckethead had had some sound issues and some missed cues in Denver but I was still trying to be positive for the show in Fort Collins. It did go off without a hitch technically but that was the least ...
17 comments
Read more

Billy Strings 4.18.19

Salvage Station Asheville, NC Words by Jason Mebane Photos by J. Scott Shrader Photography When asked to write a review of last week's Billy Strings show at Asheville, North Carolina's Salvage Station I almost passed on it. I just wrote a review of his last Asheville show a few months ago and I thought it may be hard to come up with another set of words to describe to the readers exactly what a Billy Strings show is all about. I am sure there are a plethora of other reviews that other people have written focusing on how well he has mastered his instrument. I suppose I could recycle those thoughts and just sit here typing out a few adjectives describing each note Billy and his superb backing band played this past Thursday night, but that wouldn't be fun for me. Additionally I'd imagine a review like that wouldn't keep your attention either. Instead I have decided to focus on a few random parts of the Billy Strings show that seemed interesting to me. One: B...
Post a Comment
Read more