Skip to main content

The Infamous Stringdusters & The Drunken Hearts 12.5.14


Aggie Theatre
Fort Collins, CO

Words & Photos By Nicholas Stock (Fat Guerilla Productions)



The Infamous Stringdusters were set to co-headline the Hoppy Holidays show with Kyle Hollingsworth Band at the Fillmore in Denver. They took the opportunity to host a concert of their own the night beforehand at the Aggie Theater. The Stringdusters had been on a break since their performance on Halloween in NYC. The show at the Aggie was a reunion of sorts for the band. The Dusters invited local jamgrass heroes, The Drunken Hearts, to open up the night. They took the stage early around 8 PM. Unfortunately, I didn’t arrive until they were performing their set closing song with Andy Hall. The lack of a substantial crowd at The Aggie let me know I wasn’t the only one who thought the show started at 9 PM. The fact remains that The Drunken Hearts have truly progressed into a full-blown musical spectacle capable of powerful performances. The Hearts are firmly establishing themselves in the upper echelon of Colorado bluegrass. Zebulon Bowles remains a fascinating focal point for this band. The Drunken Heart are an impressive group with limitless potential. Check them out if you haven’t seen them live.

The Infamous Stringdusters are dominating the bluegrass scene. They have been on a relentless tour schedule that has brought them through Colorado several times in the last year. They even performed with Governor Hickenlooper at the Viva Lyons celebration. At the Aggie they played two superb sets of music. They opened with a perfect bluegrass rendition of Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice It's Alright.”

Set One: Don’t Think Twice It's Alright, Time To Part> 17 Cents, Rivers Run Cold, Night On The River, Well, Well, Middlefork, Thirsty In The Rain, Paddy On The Turnpike, Tragic Life

Set Two: Hobo Song, High Country Funk Tease> In Gods Country, The Place That I Call Home, You Can’t Stop The Changes> Home Of The Red Fox, Scarlet Begonias> This Weary Heart You Stole Away, Like I Do, How Far I’d Fall for You, No More To Leave You Behind, Love Grown Cold, One More Bridge, Gentle On My Mind, Machines

Encore: Bar Tender, Uncle Pen

By the time The Stringdusters took the stage the room had filled in nicely and there was still quite a long line of people waiting to get inside the venue. The first set was bit shorter than the second, but it was full of fan favorites. They gave us a pair of aquatic tunes with “Rivers Run Cold” into a beautiful “Night On The River.” They performed a driving version of Peter Rowan’s “Thirsty In The Rain.” They closed the first set with “Tragic Life.” Every member of this band is a musical virtuoso. Each and every time The Infamous Stringdusters take the stage they play from the heart with a special brand of vibrancy and skill that is truly extraordinary.

They began their second set with their homage to vagrancy, “Hobo Song,” before teasing “High Country Funk.” They treated fans to a wide array of originals as well as a couple of covers. Pulling from a bit deeper in their catalog they performed “You Can’t Stop The Changes” into the instrumental “Home of The Red Fox.” Jeremy Garrett was center stage much of the show including a huge solo on “Red Fox.” Not to mention the way these guys interact while pickling together. It’s obvious that each member of the band is happy to be there as they swing their instruments around the stage. They delighted fans with a rendition of The Grateful Dead’s “Scarlet Begonias” before Andy Falco took the microphone on the lively “Like I Do.” The Stringdusters went back to their debut album Fork In The Road with “No More To Leave You Behind.” After a picturesque Travis-sung “Gentle On My Mind,” they closed with “Machines.” The Dusters hastily returned for a two-song encore that included Bill Monroe’s classic “Uncle Pen.” I can’t really say it enough; The Infamous Stringdusters are in contention for being the best bluegrass band touring today. They play from the heart with intensity. They are incredibly talented and yet gracious at the same time. They have quickly landed on my not-to-be-missed list. Their show at The Aggie would act as the perfect warm-up for Hoppy Holidays the following evening.

Nick’s Photo Gallery

www.thestringdusters.com

www.thedrunkenhearts.com

Comments

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...

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 ...

The Origin of MusicMarauders

Words By J-man "What should I name this fucking thing?" I asked myself in the midst of a joint in my Upstate, NY apartment. "It's got to be something with just 'Music'in the title. Nothing more specific than that, as we'll be covering a wide variety of genres." One more drag on the joint yielded the memory of driving down Woodward Ave. in Detroit, listening to Tribe Called Quest's Midnight Marauders. "MusicMarauders! That's it... It completely encompasses what we do in the sense the we are 'maraudering' or 'pillaging' for music," I thought as I stared out of the window at about three and a half feet of fresh Upstate snow. First things first, the domain had to be registered. "Do I have ten dollars in my account?" I thought to myself from a position of just scraping by. Pulling out my shiny, rarely used debit card, I put it to the test and was able to secure MusicMarauders.com. "What's next?" I ...