Railroad Earth – January 22nd – Ogden Theatre

Estimated read time 6 min read

Railroad Earth 2015-01-22-09-9969Photos by Jim Mimna

The Scene: It was one heck of a weekend with the guys of Railroad Earth, who were in town for their annual January run in Denver.  Three jam-packed shows of Railroad Earth’s incandescent music made for yet another one of my all-time favorite weekends of every year.  Standing in front of those six Jersey boys is my happy place and, scoping out the crowd, we surely all shared this mindset.  Railroad Earth fans are the best fans, my kind of fans, and we were lucky to catch our favorite band for three nights, (and six sets), of jaw-droppin’, foot-stompin’ music.

Railroad Earth: The first set was a very balanced mix of classic tunes, flawless instrumentals and awesome covers.  Things erupted right off the bant with “Lone Craft Farewell,” a heater of a track whose upbeat chorus swiftly kicked the night into high gear.  The mostly instrumental “Mission Man” came next, a song that is special, and especially fun for its call for crowd involvement.  Like Jagger in “Sympathy for the Devil,” Todd Sheaffer got the whole place going as he led everyone through the tune’s series of loud, excited “WOO’s.”

Three slower songs followed as the band deftly slowed the pace for “Bowling Green,” “Came Up Smilin'” and “Little Bit O’ Me” and the frequent changes in tempo were carried out all too gracefully. Even more graceful is frontman Todd Sheaffer, one of the most seemingly humble yet tremendously talented leads of any band I have ever witnessed.  Smiling even when singing, making eye contact with his audience, and even offering goofy facial expressions in response to his adoring fans – Sheaffer has that quiet charisma that is far and few between but let’s not forget the other five musicians up on that stage.  We can start by giving it up for Tim Carbone taking over the vocals on one of my personal favorites, “Any Road.”  Meanwhile, Carey Harmon was wrecking it on his drum set, as he accompanied Carbone’s gruff vocals.

Another incredible instrumental came next as our Jersey boys set a seductive mood with “The Cuckoo.”  Boasting Andrew Altman on the bass and John Skehan on the mandolin this is a longer instrumental that I wish would go on forever.  As we neared the end of the set, the boys decided it was time for a couple covers – really, really awesome covers.  The first of two amazing renditions was Hank Ballard’s “Tore Up,” with Carbone on the electric guitar and Andy Goessling on not one, but two saxophones, and simultaneously to boot.  Not entirely unpredictable, since this wasn’t the band’s debut of the cover, but definitely not expected and absolutely tremendous!

Now, with Goessling switching out the saxophones for a flute, our beloved Railroad Earth went into an entirely less predictable rendition of The Band’s “Acadian Driftwood” to close the second set.  To put it simply, the first of the six sets we would witness in the very near future set the bar insanely high for the remainder of the weekend.

The second set started (and eventually ended) a little slower, opening with the haunting “The Forecast.”  Most of the second set would bring us slower songs, until closer to the end of the evening.  The gospel-like “Long Walk Home” came next, followed by a fan favorite, and something a little more upbeat, “RV.”  The tune is a classic crowd sing-along, and sing along we did, shoulder-to-shoulder with our fellow “Hobos.”

The second set would also boast a few beautiful instrumentals, the first of which being “Stillwater Getaway.”  These quick, hyper instrumentals placed between slower tracks made for a well-rounded second set of that Railroad Earth sound that was so good, it sometimes hurt.  Todd led the crowd through “Black Bear” and then into “Said What You Mean,” giving us more of his meaningful and intelligent lyricism that is only made more special when supported by such an unparalleled band of musicians.

Just when we’d had our fair share of down-tempo, the apparent psychics that make up our beloved Railroad Earth brought it back up again for the remainder of the second set.  It was time for another tune with Carbone on vocals – an ode to their home back east – “Crossing the Gap” and the vibes throughout the room grew excited once again, and the booty-shakin’ commenced almost immediately.

One of the band’s most recent masterpieces, and the lone track from the band’s latest album Last of the Outlaws, “Chasin’ A Rainbow” was served up next and man was it a treat to hear live but the fan favorite of the night came in the form of the always epic “Head.”  Between the hootin’ and hollerin’ and the badass jam sessions, “Head” never fails to make RRE audiences go totally nuts – which is fitting, because that’s basically what they’re singing’ about anyway.  This tune is performed in almost every stop on tour, and with great reason.  The boys of Railroad Earth had just about brought down the house.  All they needed was precisely three more songs to finish the job.

Two back-to-back instrumentals closed out the second set with “New Lee Highway Blues” transitioning flawlessly into “Fiddlee.”  Both upbeat, fiddle-heavy tunes that showcased everyone’s outstanding abilities, it was some good ol’ Bluegrass that set the stage for a special encore.

When they re-appeared from the wings, the band serenaded a Hobo in the audience by the name of Peggy for her Birthday with a stellar rendition of “Peggy-O.”  Happy birthday to Peggy, and happy birthday to us, because this version was as classic as the original and simply marvelous to hear.

If anyone knows how to throw a great show – not necessarily a party, nor a good time, but one heck of a show – it is those six strapping lads of Railroad Earth.  Call me biased, but I know I’m one of many who feels this way.  These Jersey Boys are top-notch guys, unparalleled musicians, and some dang impressive entertainers.  Until Red Rocks, my friends!

Railroad Earth – January 22nd – Ogden Theater
Set 1:
Lone Croft Farewell
, Mission Man
, Bowling Green
, Came Up Smilin’, 
Little Bit O’ Me, 
Any Road, 
The Cuckoo > 
Tore Up
, Acadian Driftwood

Set 2: The Forecast ->
 Long Walk Home
, RV, 
Stillwater Getaway, 
Black Bear,
 Said What You Mean, 
Crossing the Gap, 
Grandfather Mountain
, Head
, New Lee Highway Blues->
Fiddlee
Encore: Peggy-O

Energy: A
Musicianship: A
Sound: A
Stage Presence: A
Set/Light Show: A

Overall: A

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