Reviews – Page 8 – Chris K's Colorado Playlist

CP S12 EP26 2018

June, July and August are the three HOTTEST months – musically. There are more outdoor events – ticketed and free – in our region today than is even possible to chronicle, let alone attend.

Saturday night my girlfriend and I attended a sold out Mishawaka show – Trout Steak Revival with Gasoline Lollipops and Canyon Collected. It was the last possible Saturday night I had available this summer to get to the Mishawaka for a show, and the overall experience did not disappoint. A special surprise that night was the acoustic version of Gasoline Lollipops – the first for the band.

It was pretty evident that the sold out audience was there for the two jamgrass bands. The Gas Pops met reserved appreciation from a polite audience until they revved up the tempos, allowing Don to demonstrate his formidable lead guitar skills and Clay to demonstrate his ability to own any audience I’ve ever seen him in front of.

By the end of the set, with Clay raging vocally, the audience was sold. When the band came back on for a quick set of pics by the house photog, the audience thought maybe they were getting an encore …

Lead guitarist Don Ambory broke out a mandolin, the first time I’ve seen that happen – and he played his 1940’s Gibson acoustic for the Gas Pops set. He also sat in on three songs with Trout Steak, and played electric guitar – his solos in the Trout Steak set were fan favorites as were the ukulele solos taken by Canyon Collected’s Tia Martini.

Some of us standing in the “VIP” viewing area commented on the presence of the ukulele in the lineup until Tia demonstrably shredded every jam in the band’s 45 minute crowd pleasing set.

Because of the hour forty minute drive home to the Denver metro we didn’t stay for the entire set by Trout Steak Revival, but based on the overall feel of the night, and the thunderous applause during the first half of their set, I have no doubt that the show didn’t end by midnight. Trout Steak does stand out as one of the best acoustic jamgrass Americana-folk bands in the region today.

VIDEO PICK OF THE WEEK

At Bohemian Foundation, our focus is on building community …by coming together to create and enjoy music.

Last week I posted the The Best of 2018 So Far. Beyond the top 5 albums posted, there are some others that stand up well as we’re now beyond mid point of the year. The new album by Brent Cowles on Dine Alone Records, as well as Covenhoven’s A Kind of Revelation are going to be strong contenders by mid-December when the best of lists for the year come out around the region.

MONDAY MORNING MUSIC MEETING

What you’ll find below are new songs on the show this week … listen and let me know which ones you think I should keep in the Colorado Playlist, and which I should delete.

NOTE: In order to be included in the MMMM poll, the band/artist must have an embeddable file on Soundcloud, BandCamp, Reverbnation or YouTube.

PLAYLIST S12 EP26

(D) = debut of lp, ep or single
(N) = new cut from previously debuted lp or ep

HOUR 1

Sugarloaf “Green Eyed Lady” from Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You (1975)
(D) Paul DeHaven “No Gold” from King of Gold (2018)

Big Head Todd & The Monsters “Wipeout Turn” from New World Arisin’ (2017)
(D) Joe Johnson “Snakeskin Dress” from Morgantown (2018)
Slopeside “Prove Me Wrong” from Shoot the Moon (2018)
Elephant Revival “Rhythm of the Road” from Break in the Clouds (2010)
Monocle Band “Can’t Get By” from Monocle Band (2013)
Rusty Young “Down Home” from Waitin’ For the Sun (2017)
(N) Oxeye Daisy “Darling Boy” from Oxeye Daisy (2018)

The Yawpers “American Man” from American Man (2015)
The Wood Brothers “River Takes the Town” from One Drop of Truth (2018)
Keith Oxman “Brothers, Michael and Jean-Marc” from East of the Village (2017)

HOUR 2

Joe Walsh “Rocky Mountain Way” from The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get (1973)
(D) In The Whale “Highways” from Dopamine (2018)

The Railbenders “Bourbon County” from The Medicine Show (2018)
Katie Glassman & Snapshot “Liza Jane” from Dream A Little Dream (2014)
(N) Covenhoven “Stone and Clay” from A Kind of Revelation (2018)
Strangebyrds “Star Crossed Lovers” from Star Crossed Lovers (2018)
Motet “123” from The Motet (2014)
The Apples in Stereo “Dance Floor” from Travellers in Space and Time (2010)
Wood Belly “Solid Ground” from Solid Ground (2018)
A.J. Fullerton “Smoke & Mirrors” from Kalamath (2017)
iZCALLI “A New Lie” from IV (2018)
Peter Sommer “Upper Manhattan Medical Group” from Happy-Go-Lucky Locals (2017)

Best of 2018 – So Far

This subject has been on my mind for like a month now. There have been some really excellent albums, EPs and singles put out since December 1 2017. Here are the top album picks of the year so far, based on regional non-comm / public radio airplay and my own thoughts on the subject.

Anyone looking for rock or pop will be disappointed – roots, blues, old school rhythm and blues and Americana (alt-country) are the name of the game this year around the state.

I embedded song files. Go to their youtube channels or other streaming service to checkout full albums. Better yet – support the band with a purchase.

much love,
goat

Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats – Tearing at the Seams — no doubt that this album will finish the year at #1 with a strong national showing, and ubiquitous CO airplay.

Leftover Salmon – Something Higher! — scan the non-comm/public radio dial statewide and this album, while not even nearly as popular as Tearing at the Seams, is crazy popular – as it should be since it’s one of the best the band has turned in over the past 25 years.

Wood Bros – One Drop of Truth —many people don’t realize that Chris and Oliver Wood are Boulder natives, and still claim it as home – even when they’re performing elsewhere. Another HIGHLY played Colorado album around the state.

Reverend Freakchild – Dial It In! — the “reverend” is a traveler. He was born in Hawaii and has been in bands in Boston, including an early version of Soul Coughing with Mike Doughty. Today he’s living in Boulder and attending Naropa University. For all my blues fans, this one is at the top of the pile. #highlyrecommended

Gasoline Lollipops – Soul Mine — Clay Rose is known for being pensive and deliberate – living at the edge of damnation and redemption. The band is enjoying a banner year in terms of bookings and regional radio airplay.

CP S12 EP19 2018

One of the most popular hits in classic rock history, Dream On by Aerosmith, came out three years before some disc jockey decided to play it on the radio – and the rest, as they say, is history.

I’m not saying the same thing is happening this week, but I want to draw your attention to two (D) tracks in this week’s show that came out a year ago and to this point never made it to the show – one from the Motet, and one from a “new” band out of Colorado Springs – Audible. Let me know what you think of them in this week’s MMMM.

Another (D) track this week is from Andreas Devalera who I shared a stage with several months ago – and whose new release is the work, not of an 18 year old HS grad, but of someone many years older with greater life experiences and time spent on his multiple instruments.

Already proficient on 10 instruments, Andreas is one of those kids voted on as most likely to succeed – and evidenced by such a stunning debut, I’m inclined to agree. Sorry I don’t have an embed for the song I played. His cd release show was last night in Denver – so it may take a little while longer before the album is uploaded to your favorite new music streaming site.