MUSICMARAUDERS

The Oriental Theater Denver, CO Words & Photos By J-man Audio By Corey Sandoval ( Kind Recordings ) The Oriental Theater was packed with an odd mix of folks present to watch the Denver Broncos play the Kansas City Chiefs and to get down to some funk from one of the genre's pioneers. Beer and Bronco jerseys mixed with marijuana and patchouli, while Genetics sat upstairs in their greenroom. On that particular evening the band was joined by manager, Ryan Garvey and photographer, Jedediah Liddell. There was a buzz backstage with people heading in every direction with gear, "costumes" and no place to be. The band was in a bit of a pickle as their opening set was quickly approaching and the football game was still in the third quarter. As an outsider with nothing to lose or gain, it was the perfect storm for an awkward situation. I pictured the band wandering out in front of the big screen to a venue full of booing sports fans, however, that was not the case. Ins...

Dazzle Restaurant and Lounge Denver, CO Words & Photos By J-man Denver is a magical town of music, culture and art. For many musicians, Dazzle is the epicenter of their creative output. For fans, Dazzle is a place to experience an array of fascinating musical performances and incredible evenings. In further support of the previous notions, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey recorded two nights of music at Dazzle to be released as an album. The empty seats filled up quickly with the waitstaff buzzing around the room in organized chaos, as the musicians took the stage. There was more excitement and back and forth banter that evening than at a typical Dazzle show. Music Directer Kevin Lee took the stage, as he always does, and welcomed everyone to Dazzle before turning it over to Brian Haas (keys). A big sip from a bottle of Pelligrino and the newly secured trio version of Jacob Fred was on their way! The music was an incredible mix of jazz from the depths of the listener's imaginati...

The Oriental Theater Denver, CO Words & Photos By Brad Yeakel ( Opti Mystic Outlooks ) Audio By Corey Sandoval ( Kind Recordings ) Everyone Orchestra Live at Oriental Theater on November 15, 2013. In 2005, I had the incredible experience of performing at an open mic with a backing band of Scott Law, Tye North, and Matt Butler at Horning's Hideout. To this day, it is one of my favorite experiences I've ever had. Since then, I have seen each of the above perform in various projects. The one I have seen most often... Matt Butler's Everyone Orchestra. Basically, Butler has traveled around the country organizing jam sessions. Often he's played at festivals and simply pulled from the available musicians. Other times, he has hand picked musicians to hit the road and let it all fly. This past Friday night at the Oriental, he pulled together Furthur's John K. and Sunshine Garcia Becker, Particle's Steve Molitz, ALO's Lebo and Steve Adams, Elephant Re...

Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom Denver, CO Written By Kevin Hahn ( Split Open & Shoot Photography ) British bands and their relationship with the American music scene can be traced back to the early days of the Animals, the Kinks, and the Yardbirds. Bands such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Led Zeppelin followed shortly thereafter and only furthered the love affair that had taken over the United States and its Rock N Roll culture. But not many bands that crossed the pond were into the idea of “funk” and this is where more recently The New Mastersounds have filled that void. Eddie Roberts, Joe Tatton, Pete Shand, and Simon Allen have created a unique form of British funk music, utilizing their incredible individual musical talents to come together and form one hard-hitting funk machine. Fortunately, I have been lucky enough to see these ridiculously funky gentlemen play numerous times now and this past weekend’s show at Cervantes was nothing short of “Funk-ta-cular”. ...

The Ogden Theatre Denver, CO Words By J-man It was a normal Wednesday in Denver with thick weekday competition in town for the evening's music. As I prepared to head to Armoury for Funk Night, a call came through on my phone. It was Particle's Steve Molitz calling to invite me out to eat and to see The Black Crowes with him. It caught me off guard, but a short time later I was on my way to an Outback Steakhouse near the Denver Airport. Upon my arrival, we had a good laugh about meeting at an Outback. I ordered a glass of red and we were off to the races with humorous Particle stories and catching up. A short time later we were buzzing towards The Ogden for some Rock N Roll. Out front of the venue, lines were surprisingly short at the ticket window where folks were purchasing or picking up their $55.00 purchases. Inside the venue, fans found space to move for the headliner. The Black Crowes took the stage around 10:00 PM for one sizable set that would end just prior to m...

Armoury Denver, CO Words & Photos By J-man A small group stood out front of Armoury following soundcheck, smoking, laughing and having a good time. You could see the excitement in the faces of the younger musicians as they conversed with David Murphy, who seemed to be truly enjoying himself. The final addition to the evening's line-up, Genetics, took the stage around 9:00 PM and dove into their set wasting no time in turning up the heat in the slowly filling venue. The four piece jam/jamtronica outfit impressed from the gate, triggering folks coming through the front door to head right to the back of the club to fully experience what they were hearing. Genetics' lights lit the room perfectly and a small machine poured smoke from the stage. With their set rounding the corner towards its conclusion, I extended their set in hopes that more folks would hear their music. Sure enough, during the last fifteen minutes of their extended set, the flood gates opened as Genet...

Armoury Denver, CO Words & Photos By Brad Yeakel ( Opti Mystic Outlooks ) In the world of music, few holidays have created such excitement as Halloween. Cover sets, audience participation, costume contests, and pranks have become expected pieces of the Halloween show experience. After debating the local offerings, I decided to go to the Armoury and watch Tiger Party play the music of LCD Soundsystem. I have not had a whole lot of experience with LCD, but I've liked a lot of what I heard. As I entered the bar, the live Phish stream from Atlantic City was just ending and Tiger Party was bound for the stage. One of my favorite things about Tiger Party has been the unpredictable nature of the shows. From the rotating lineup to the changing themes and styles, Tiger Party has always kept me guessing. Sometimes I get a funk-heavy scorcher, sometimes a rocker, sometimes a womp-session... But I typically enjoy the material and the players. Thursday's Tigers were mostly...

Avogadro’s Number Fort Collins, Colorado Words, Photos & Video By Nicholas Stock Avogadro’s Number is a tiny oasis of live music in the sometimes-overwhelming Fort Collins music scene. This venue has been a showcase for acoustic and folk music for a number of years. Off the beaten path of Old Town, Avo’s as it’s affectionately called houses a bar, a stage, and a restaurant. On a cool fall night in October, Avogadro’s opened its stage up to Summer Camp favorites Caravan Of Thieves. Hailing from Connecticut this band had been described as a unique blend of swing, jazz, and high intensity jamming. Fuzz Sangiovanni from Deep Banana Blackout fame along with his wife Carrie Sangiovanni form the foundation of the band with Ben Dean and Brian Anderson filling out the lineup of pickers. Arriving early I caught the last half of the opening set by The Cantrells. They are a duo from a bygone era with a true gift for the art of performance. The majority of the small but dedicated a...

Boulder Theater Boulder, CO On the brink of their Boulder Theater show this Saturday, J-man had the opportunity to speak with Elephant Revival's Daniel Rodriguez to gain some perspective on one of Colorado's most coveted bands! J-man: What was it about Nederland, CO that helped cultivate or produce a band like Elephant revival? Daniel: When one drives to the top of Boulder Canyon- and when you finally reach the crest of Nederland- there's a moment where you can see the continental divide along with barker reservoir and all the surrounding nooks and crannies of folks' homes nestled into the forest. At that moment you sort of know you've arrived at a special place in time. In that sense it has provided us with significant natural inspiration of landscape- and horrifically beautiful weather patterns that put a lot of things into perspective. Another huge inspiration and active part of Elephant Revival's cultivation in Nederland were folks like Vince H...