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Showing posts from October, 2019

California Honeydrops & John Craigie 10.26.19

Salvage Station Asheville, NC Photos by J. Scott Shrader Photography View Scott's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.cahoneydrops.com www.johncraigiemusic.com

Noah Kahan 10.22.19 (Photos)

Gothic Theatre Englewood, CO Photos by Brandon Johnson Photography View Brandon's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.noahkahan.com

Whitney & Lala Lala 10.21.19 (Photos)

The Ogden Theatre Denver, CO Photos by Brandon Johnson Photography View Brandon't Full Photo Gallery Here! www.whitneytheband.com www.lalabandlala.com

Cycles, Zeta June & Chompers 10.19.19 (Photos)

Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom Denver, CO Photos by Ryan Fitzgerald ( Jarred Media ) View Ryan's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.cycles.band www.zetajune.com www.facebook.com/ChompersBand

Album Review | The Drunken Hearts' Wheels of the City

Words by Kevin Hahn ( Split Open & Shoot Photography ) Many things come to mind when I consciously make the decision to listen to The Drunken Hearts; mostly good times had by all my friends dancing to their very intentional and melodic version of “Americana folk-rock”. YarmonyGrass Music Festival (maybe five or so years ago) was the first time I saw them live, and this band has truly evolved into a tighter, more focused, and ultimately much better/more entertaining band than they were back then. Led by the haunting vocals of Andrew McConathy, The Drunken Hearts have turned into one of Colorado’s musical stalwarts and seem to be hitting their stride with their new release Wheels of the City (available now). Produced by legendary Railroad Earth musician Tim Carbone this album is a testament to what the Drunken Hearts do musically, blending fierce musical talent/string playing with some very real and meaningful lyrical choices. Led by McConathy’s vocals, Wheels of the City sh

Rapidgrass with Sam Reider and the Human Hands 10.20.19 (Photos)

Swallow Hill Denver, CO Photos by Elliot Siff Photography View Elliot's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.rapidgrass.com

Kitchen Dwellers & House With A Yard 10.12.19

Hodi's Half Note Fort Collins, CO Words & photos by Nicholas Stock ( Fat Guerilla Productions ) The music scene is constantly awash with opinions and conjecture about the next “big thing.” Hype is marketing and marketing is money and bands need that sort of thing to be well you know… a band. We’ve all entrenched ourselves in a world where FOMO is not just a game plan it’s a lifestyle. Yet throughout all the murkiness of social media and online fluffery true artists do emerge from time to time. This year alone we’ve seen several standout performers finally getting the accolades they deserve. Billy Strings comes to mind; another is The Kitchen Dwellers. These boys from Montana have been slogging their way through the national bluegrass circuit for the last decade or so with a relentless touring schedule and a true desire to spread their music far and wide. That music takes a jam mentality and smashes it up against bluegrass traditionalism. The result is something truly uniq

The High Hawks & Kind Country 10.19.19 (Photos)

Cervantes Other Side Denver, CO Photos by Nancy Isaac Photography View Nancy's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.facebook.com/thehighhawks www.kindcountryband.com

Bombino & Vieux Farka Toure' 10.19.19 (Photos)

Church in the City Beth-Abraham Denver, CO Photos by Elliot Siff Photography View Elliot's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.bombinomusic.com www.vieuxfarkatoure.com

Hiss Golden Messenger & Erin Rae 10.18.19 (Photos)

Globe Hall Denver, CO Photos by Elliot Siff Photography View Elliot's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.hissgoldenmessenger.com www.erinraemusic.com

Troyboi x G Jones 10.18.19 (Photos)

Red Rocks Amphitheatre Morrison, CO Photos by Brandon Johnson Photography View Brandon's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.troyboimusic.com www.gjonesbass.com

New Mastersounds, Kitchen Dwellers & Ghost Note 10.11.19 (Photos)

Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom Denver, CO Photos by Doug Fondriest Photography View Doug's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.newmastersounds.com www.kitchendwellers.com

Album Review | Hiromi Spectrum

Words by Brad Yeakel ( Opti Mystic Outlooks ) Very few things have captured my attention with such explosive fury as my introduction to Japanese jazz pianist, Hiromi Uehara. My friend, Adam was visiting several years ago and showed me a YouTube video of Hiromi’s Trio project playing a song called “Move.” Her musical mastery went past the realm of what I had ever seen, and I was enthralled from the jump. Over the last 5 years, she has become one of my musical obsessions. Her latest release, Spectrum was just released in Japan in September, and has now arrived in the US in early October. Spectrum ’s first track is appropriately titled, “Kaleidoscope.” Hiromi’s fingers waste little time before engaging in a sort of cat and mouse/call and response sequence where her hands shadow each other through a gauntlet of prismatic and ambitious melodic work. It took me several minutes before I noticed the lack of accompaniment. Hiromi’s boisterous and dynamic playing is more engaging than most

K.Flay, Matt Maeson & Yasi 10.12.19 (Photos)

Fillmore Auditorium Denver, CO Photos by Brandon Johnson Photography View Brandon's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.kflay.com www.mattmaeson.com www.yasimuse.com

Kitchen Dwellers & Ghost Town Drifters 10.10.19 (Photos)

Cervantes Other Side Denver, CO Photos by Doug Fondriest Photography View Doug's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.kitchendwellers.com www.facebook.com/ghosttowndrifters

Leftover Salmon's Blueridge Jam 10.6.19 (Photos)

Pisgah Brewing Company Black Mountain, NC Photos by J. Scott Shrader Photography View Scott's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.leftoversalmon.com

Album Review | Sturgill Simpson Sound and Fury

Words by Thomas Rutherford There has always been an otherness to Sturgill Simpson, a disregard for convention. Since his debut, he’s been a modern outlaw, wrapped in lead, smoke, and whiskey yet introspective and deeply vulnerable. He has never embraced this more than on his latest album Sound and Fury , simultaneously a searing celebration of living beyond boundaries and a thoughtful rumination on the hurt and the pain that causes a person to live in such a way. Once considered an outlaw country artist, with comparisons drawn between him and legends such as Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, and Willie Nelson, here, however, Sturgill smashes apart genre convention until all that’s left is the outlaw. And he’s never been better. The album begins with radio static, roaring engine. Soon, a distortion heavy, yet laconic riff rolls in. This is music born of dust, made for hard sunlight, hot asphalt. The song is called “Ronin.” In ancient Japan, a Ronin was a samurai with no master, a wan

Clairo 10.5.19 (Photos)

Summit Denver, CO Photos by Brandon Johnson Photography View Brandon's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.clairo.com

The Drunken Hearts & Extra Gold 10.5.19 (Photos)

Cervantes Other Side Denver, CO Photos by Scott Seifert Photography View Scott's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.thedrunkenhearts.com www.extragold.bandcamp.com

Mac Demarco & Thundercat 10.6.19 (Photos)

Red Rocks Amphitheatre Morrison, CO Photos by Jason Myers ( Memorandum Media ) View Jason's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.macdemarco.bandcamp.com www.brainfeeder.net/thundercat

Dopapod & Octave Cat 10.5.19 (Photos)

The Ogden Theatre Denver, CO Photos by Doug Fondriest Photography View Doug's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.dopapod.com www.octavecatmusic.bandcamp.com

The Drunken Hearts 10.5.19 (Photos)

Cervantes Other Side Denver, CO Photos by Nancy Isaac Photography View Nancy's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.thedrunkenhearts.com

Larry Keel Experience 10.5.19 (Photos)

Pisgah Brewing Company Black Mountain, NC Photos by J. Scott Shrader Photography View Scott's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.larrykeel.com

Album Review | Billy Strings Home

Words by Kevin Hahn (Split Open & Shoot Photography) Has there ever been an artist with more hype and excitement surrounding them in our bluegrass/jam band scene than Billy Strings? I mean, where did this guy fucking come from? From a small town bluegrass and rock-n-roll upbringing, to a plethora of “Rising Star” awards from various outlets, followed by a very well received sit-in with Greensky Bluegrass at “Camp Greensky” back in June, to headlining 3 nights at Denver's Ogden Theatre coming up in December, Billy Strings is without a doubt the hottest name in bluegrass today. I’ll even go further and say he is the hottest name in the entire “Jam” scene right now. The guy is sitting in with the biggest names in the business, and more than holding his own. From Greensky to String Cheese to Widespread Panic, and in my opinion the holy grail of music when Billy was invited to join Bela Fleck and the Flecktones this summer in Utah for a one-off show, there is no one this kid can’

Jeremy Garrett 10.4.19 (Photos)

Chautauqua Community House Boulder, CO Photos by Scott Seifert Photography View Scott's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.garrettgrass.com

Bluegrass Generals & Meadow Mountain 10.3.19 (Photos)

Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom Denver, CO Photos by Nancy Isaac Photography View Nancy's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.facebook.com/BluegrassGenerals www.meadowmountainmusic.com

Bleached, Dude York & Pout House 10.3.19 (Photos)

Globe Hall Denver, CO Photos by Brandon Johnson Photography View Brandon't Full Photo Gallery Here! www.hellobleached.com www.dudeyork.bandcamp.com www.pouthouse.bandcamp.com

Album Review | Vida Blue Crossing Lines

Words by Kevin Hahn ( Split Open & Shoot Photography ) Ever since my first Phish show in 2010, I knew the way Page McConnell played the keys was exactly how I wanted to play them myself. I immediately felt a musical connection with how he smoothly transitioned from one aspect of his piano “spaceship” to another, jumping from keyboard to organ, and then right into a grand piano solo. The “Chairman of the Boards” as many of us Phans call him is a national treasure in my humble opinion. He is not only a member of one of the greatest bands of all-time, but he has ventured off on his own in a variety of projects to explore elements of music that his Phish brethren might not be so accustomed to. Vida Blue, Page’s hard-hitting, electric-focused band and ultimately the gateway into his creative mindset is one such example of music done outside the world of Phish. (To be exact, only two songs have been adapted/blended for both groups to cover, “Final Flight” and “Most Events Aren’t Plann

Video Premiere: Octave Cat "Hide In The Reeds"

Photo by Ben Wong Octave Cat, the trio featuring Eli Winderman (Dopapod - keyboards), Jesse Miller (Lotus – bass/modular synths) and Charlie Patierno (drums), released their second studio album Refract in September. They have just released a studio video of "Hide in the Reeds". Winderman says of the writing, "'Hide in the Reeds' is one of those songs that just seemed to fall together very naturally. We were joking about making something similar to the Allman Brothers classic tune 'In Memory of Elizabeth Reed' and one thing led to another. The harmonic and melodic choices seemed to unfold right in front of us. It's always a great feeling because it rarely happens like that." Miller elaborates, "Octave Cat is an interesting band in that we move from musical textures that are very synth heavy to a jazz trio sound. 'Hide in the Reeds' is that stripped down sound of an electric piano trio. It does remind me of Allmann Brothers B

Album Review | MonoNeon's Living the Best and Worst Life at the Same Damn Time

Words by Brad Yeakel ( Opti Mystic Outlooks ) MonoNeon (Dywane Thomas Jr.) is an extraordinary bass player, composer, collaborator and freak of nature. He is, by most accounts, aloof, bizarre, and brilliant. He’s crafted a persona that adds to his mystique and intrigue. Mono’s latest effort is an awkward, yet fluid snapshot of his influences, ambitions, and musical direction. The vibes are reminiscent of Prince, Sly, Kendrick, and PFunk, while the composition brings in elements of Frank Zappa, Al Di Meola, and more. The way he uses his bass as the melodic keystone of his ensemble is fairly unique, though not unprecedented. The indelible mark that Prince left on MonoNeon is reflected in his phrasing, rhythmic concepts, and odd lyrical content. The album begins with the title track, and chugs along with the janky consistency of a printing press rolling paper. The industrial repetition creates a steady propulsion that’s constantly fighting the syncopated dips and lags. The combin