Category: Live Music News

The Colorado Sound S8|EP37 2014

Usually I spend my weekends listening to a lot of new releases, as I work on the Monday morning post and sometimes News Notes & Spins for the 1st.  This weekend though, it was not specifically a new release, but one that I’d only tasted since it came out over a year ago now – Nina Storey – Think Twice.  Nina has been a part of the Colorado music scene since her debut in 92.  Since then, she’s had an up and down career – mostly up – getting marginal cred in the media, and losing out in a terrible performance on one those celebrity based real life talent tv shows examples of the downside events.  Her move to Los Angeles has proved beneficial for this Colorado original who continues to move forward, dismissing criticism — in a testament to her longevity and her perseverance, Nina was featured on a Times Square digital billboard this past week – in advance of shows in NYC.  

Truth is, I couldn’t listen enough to Nina’s album.

Video Pick of the Week:  Supergroup:  “…a music group whose members are already successful as solo artists or as part of other groups or well known in other professions.” (wikipedia).  Young Ancients = supergroup comprised of Colorado Blues Society Award winner (2013, 2012 solo/duo category) Cary Morin + Subdudes founding members John Magnie and Steve Amedée.  I’ve had the pleasure of working with this lineup a few times this past year, and will be doing sound for them October 31 at Oskar Blues Homemade Liquids and Solids in Longmont.  Do I need to say you should be there?  

Speaking of where you might want to be.  I’ll be joining SpokesBUZZ for a couple of events on Oct 2, and Oct 5.   Oct 2 = Homecoming (Denver): Winchester Holiday | Phin | Maxwell Hughes | Amanda Broadway.  Oct 5 = Homecoming (Fort Collins): The Deadwood Saints | Pandas & People | Bonsoir, Catin | Lewi Longmire and the Left Coast Roasters.  The Denver show is free and all ages.  The Fort Collins show is free.  Don’t know if it’s all ages.  I have to assume so, as it’s at Avogradro’s Number in Fort Collins.

PLAYLIST S8|EP37

HOUR 1

Chris Hillman “Slippin’ Away” from Slippin’ Away (1976)
Dusty Drapes & the Dusters “Talkin’ Boogie” from The Red Album (1981)
(D) The Deadwood Saints “6th Street and Trinity” from 6th Street and Trinity
(N) John Oates “Six Men” from Good Road to Follow (2014)
(N) Montropo “Letter to Mary” from Follow Me (2014)
(D) The Seers “Deaf In June” from Cellophane Eyes (2014)
Glitta Kings “Twice Broken” from Girls in High Heels Shouldn’t Dance On Glass Tables (2014)
SuCh (Su Charles) “P’s and Q’s (Playing Games)” from Trial and Error (2014)
Wendy Woo “Fade to Gray” from Wide Awake and Dreaming (1999)
(N) Safe Boating is No Accident “Dye My Love” from Bonus Features (2014)
Fierce Bad Rabbit “Time Machine” from Maestro & the Elephant (2013)
Raincheck “Oh Brother” from Raincheck (2012)

HOUR 2

Gerard “Hello Operator” from Hello Operator (1976)
Dean Reed “Our Summer Romance” from Our Summer Romance (1960)
(D) Steve Law Band “Old Oak Tree” from Old Oak Tree (2014)
String Cheese Incident “Can’t Wait Another Day” from Song In My Head (2014)
Mohammed Alidu and the Bizung Family “Land of Fire” from Land of Fire (2010)
Paper Bird “As I Am” from Rooms (2013)
Esme Patterson “Valentine” from Woman To Woman (2014)
Ark Life “What You Want To” from The Dream of You and Me (2014)
Eddie Turner “Rise” from Rise (2005)
(D) Hot Rize “Blue Is Fallin’” from When I’m Free (2014)
Tom Gershwin “Sugar” from Sweet Pastimes (2013)

The Colorado Sound S8|EP36 + Review/the Burroughs

IMG_20140901_182522_349My outdoor festival season ended this weekend.  This was the 3rd year for Fortober Fest, an end of season downtown street party in Fort Collins, produced by the Downtown Business Association (Colorado Brewers Festival, New West Fest).  Highlights from this year included the Young Ancients, Sofie Reed, Soul School, Romeo Delight (a live tribute to Van Halen), Whiskey Blanket, and the Burroughs from Greeley, among the fourteen bands picked to celebrate bikes, beers, bands and the end to the summer.

It really does take a lot to stop me in my tracks and make me listen… even harder to make me turn around while I’m walking off – busy with some activity or another when I’m working a show.  That’s more or less true for nearly all of us working live music events for a living.   We see and hear a lot of bands and at least for me, most of the time I hear them in the background.

The Burroughs from Greeley

I feel like the guy who walked in at the end of the party, when I say I just discovered Johnny Burroughs.  Nothing online will prepare you for the energy of a Burroughs’ live show.  I had to be convinced to book them sight-unseen, based purely on their reputation with some friends of mine in the scene.  I’ll need no coaxing from here on out – I’m all in, at least so far as the live show goes.

The only weakness I see with the band is there’s no need for two guitarists, both of whom are adequate, but are both doing more or less the same thing, and neither of whom really shined in their role.  The four piece horn section worked extremely well as an ensemble unit.  The husband-wife rhythm section was there – laying down a foundation that never once got in the way of the exceptional arrangements that Johnny danced and sang over.  A trio of backup singers would be nice also.

Johnny Burroughs

It as an Otis Redding song that caused me to stop.  It was the engaging smile, red hair, dance moves, passion and pure soul that held me in place for hits by James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and others.  This ain’t no velveeta cheese on wonder bread cover band in a Holiday Inn dressing up and playing for an after work middle age suburban audience.  This was raw, visceral, emotional, ass shakin’, instantaneously crowd pleasing soul.  I will NEVER be surprised should I see panties being tossed at this guy from the audience (they still do that don’t they?). 

Any of us old enough to have seen Michael or Stevie in the late 70s and early 80s would be transported… Add in elements of the likes of Tom Jones or Sammy Davis, Jr in their day and the ghosts are there, lurking in the mannerisms Johnny puts on full display inside his tight space on stage, sandwiched between the horns and guitars… far too little space to contain this new, bright, smiling, happy as hell to be there song and dance entertainer.

PS… the record really does not do the band’s show justice – this is a band meant for the stage, not the studio (at least for now).

VIDEO PICK OF THE WEEK

Two videos this week… one from the closing band at Fortober Fest, Romeo Delight A Van Halen Tribute, and one from my pal Chris Daniels and his band the Kings with Freddi Gowdy on Rocky Mountain PBS.  Enjoy.

PLAYLIST S8|EP36 

HOUR 1

Jill Sobule “Too Cool To Fall in Love” from Things Here Are Different (1990)
Wendy Woo “Wide Awake and Dreaming” from Wide Awake and Dreaming (1999)
(N) Strange Americans “Rocks Rolls” from That Kind of Luster (2014)
Von Stomper “Mississippi Woman” from Von Stomper (2014)
Johnny Hickman “Another Road” from Hickman-Dalton Gang (2011)
Crucifix “The Dreamer” from Acid Reign (2013)
Fafi aka 3Percent “6 Dayz A Week” from Groove or Die (2009)
The Fray “Hurricane” from Helios (2014)
Churchill “The War Within” from War Within EP (2013)
Felonius Smith “Delivery Man” from Before the Rooster Crows (2014)
Sofie Reed “These Blues” from Red Hen (2014)
Keith Oxman “All Dudes” from Doing All Right (2009)

HOUR 2

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” from Greatest Hits (1990)
Poco “A Good Feeling to Know” from The Essential Poco (2005)
(D) SHEL “You Could Be My Baby” from You Could Be My Baby (2014)
Tennis “Never Work for Free” from Ritual In Repeat (2014)
(N) Drew Schofield “150 Million (-1)” from 150 Million (-1) (2014)
(N) Reed Foehl “Four Lanes” from Lost in the West (2014)
Five Iron Frenzy “It Was A Dark & Stormy Night” from Engine of a Million Plots (2013)
Eddie Turner “I’m Tore Down” from The Turner Diaries (2006) Jesse Furay Lynch “I Wish It Would Rain” (2014)
Jim Stranahan Little BIG BAND “Blues and a Half” from MIGRATION TO HIGHER GROUND (2014)

Bands from Nine U.S Cities Perform in Colorado at the BandSwap 2014 Homecoming Events // OCT 1 – 5

September 15, 2014 – Fort Collins, CO – Colorado music nonprofit SpokesBUZZ is releasing a compilation of songs from bands participating in its BandSwap 2014 program to celebrate the upcoming Homecoming events taking place in early October in Colorado. BandSwap 2014 partner city events are happening in nine innovative cities across the country from September 11th – September 27th, closing out the third successful year of the program that Hypebot called “an excellent example of creative innovation in the music industry.” The sixteen bands selected for BandSwap 2014 will then return to Denver and Fort Collins in October to celebrate Homecoming with a final round of concerts, networking mixers, and panels.

Reflecting BandSwap’s expansion from a musical touring construct to a civic collaboration connecting diverse cultural and innovative ideas, the 2014 Homecoming performances are hosted by the City of Fort Collins and Create Denver, and will take place at traditional venues such as Hi-Dive, Mishawaka Amphitheatre, and Hodi’s Half Note, as well as nontraditional venues such as Fort Collins’ eclectic arts space Downtown Artery, the cutting edge learning center Galvanize in Denver, and the energy research complex The Powerhouse Energy Campus in Fort Collins.

Spanning five days and taking place at eight venues across Fort Collins and Denver, the BandSwap 2014 Homecoming events feature performances from the 16 participating BandSwap bands, a handful of additional Colorado bands performing, music video premieres and screenings, educational discussion panels, networking SynchroniCITY mixers, shedding light on each city’s unique characteristics via Cultural Spotlight, presentations on innovative startups via InnovationSwap, and more!

The 2014 Colorado bands are: Stella Luce (Fort Collins), The Yawpers (Denver), Gasoline Lollipops (Boulder), Eldren (Denver), Winchester Holiday (Fort Collins), The Deadwood Saints (Fort Collins), Shatterproof (Fort Collins), and Maxwell Hughes (Fort Collins).

The 2014 partner bands are: Lords of the Trident (Madison, Wis.), Jordan Igoe (Charleston, S.C.), Bonsoir, Catin (Lafayette, La.), k i d s (Athens, Ga.), Phin (Nashville, Tenn.), Amanda Broadway (Nashville, Tenn.), The LoLos (Chico, Calif.), and Lewi Longmire & the Left Coast Roasters (Portland, Ore.).

BandSwap is a musical and cultural alliance among like-minded cities combining the best of grassroots collaboration, cross-promotion, creative connectivity and most of all, the unrivaled experience of live music. For more info about the program, stay tuned to the website and SpokesBUZZ Facebook page for more updates.
Schedule

DENVER: OCT. 1- 3

WED – OCT. 1
9:30 p.m. – 1:00 a.m.: The Yawpers (Denver), Eldren (Denver), k i d s (Athens), and Jordan Igoe (Charleston) perform
Hi-Dive
7 S. Broadway, Denver, CO
Doors: 8:30 p.m.
Show: 9:00 p.m.
TIX $10.00 {BUY TIX}
21+

THUR – OCT. 2
6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.: Maxwell Hughes of the Lumineers (Fort Collins), Winchester Holiday (Fort Collins), Amanda Broadway (Nashville), and Phin (Nashville) perform. There will be a talk by SpokesBUZZ founder Dani Grant, as well as InnovationSwap pitches and music videos featured throughout the evening, including a music video premiere from Maxwell Hughes. Also featuring a SynchroniCITY Panel on “The Creative Process – Discovering Ideas and Finding Inspiration.”
Galvanize
1062 Delaware St., Denver, CO
Doors: 5:30 p.m., Show: 6:00 p.m., SynchroniCITY Panel: 6:30-7:30 p.m.
FREE SHOW!
All Ages

FRI – OCT. 3
8:00 p.m. – 12:30 p.m.: The Deadwood Saints (Fort Collins) and The Gasoline Lollipops (Boulder) perform with Bonsoir, Catin (Lafayette) and Lewi Longmire & the Left Coast Roasters (Portland)
The Walnut Room
3131 Walnut St., Denver, CO
Doors: 7:00 p.m., Show: 8:00 p.m.
TIX $7 ADV / $10 DOS {BUY TIX}
21+
FORT COLLINS: OCT. 3 – 4

FRI – OCT. 3

5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.: InnovationSwap featuring performances by Jordan Igoe (Charleston) and Ambassador Wolf (Fort Collins), as well as presentations on innovative startups.
The Powerhouse Energy Campus
430 North College Ave., Fort Collins, CO
Doors: 4:30 p.m., Performances and presentations begin at 5:15 p.m.
FREE
All Ages

7:00 – 9:00 p.m.: BandSwap performances from k i d s (Athens) and Ginger Whale (Fort Collins)
Downtown Artery: 252 Linden St, Fort Collins, CO
Doors: 6:30 p.m., Show: 7:00 p.m.
All Ages
FREE

9:00 p.m. – 1:00 a.m.: BandSwap performances from Shatterproof (Fort Collins) and Winchester Holiday (Fort Collins) perform with Phin (Nashville) and the LoLos (Chico)
Hodi’s Half Note
167 N College Ave., Fort Collins, CO
Doors: 8:00 p.m., Show: 9:00 p.m.
$10 {BUY TIX}
All Ages

SAT – OCT. 4
2:00 – 4:00 p.m.: SynchroniCITY party featuring Industry Panel & Networking “Prototyping – Testing, Iteration, and the Concept of Failure as Success”
The Mishawaka Amphitheatre
13714 Poudre Canyon Hwy., Bellvue, CO
{RSVP}

9 p.m. – 12 a.m.: BandSwap performances from Stella Luce (Fort Collins), Izcalli (Denver), Post Paradise (Fort Collins), and Lords of the Trident (Madison) perform
Hodi’s Halfnote
167 N College Ave., Fort Collins, CO
Doors: 8 p.m. Show: 9 p.m.
TIX $10 {BUY TIX}
18+

SUN – OCT. 5

2 p.m. – 6 p.m.: Lewi Longmire & the Left Coast Roasters (Portland), Bonsoir, Catin (Lafayette), The Deadwood Saints (Fort Collins), and Pandas & People (Fort Collins) perform. Includes open jam with Lewi Longmire
Avogrado’s Number
605 S. Mason St., Fort Collins, CO
FREE “Pass The Hat” Donation
All Ages