Photos by Jim Mimna
The Scene: It wasn’t too long ago that the seedy remnants of a smut shack were re-imagined into an entertainment complex with music, arcade games, and most importantly booze. Entering Colfax’s “barcade,” the 1up, I was astounded at the turnout. This was a Thursday, and it wasn’t long before it sold-out. Since I’ve crossed into my 30’s I haven’t made it out on many “school nights,” but the 1Up Colfax and promoter Justin Picard have been behind a multitude of excellent Super Jams, and I didn’t want to miss out.
Opener: The Sweet Lillies. From wall to wall, the crowd listened to the soothing Bluegrass of opening quartet. The band consisted of 3 young ladies and a gentleman. While they were enjoyable to listen to, I felt they were playing it pretty safe for the most part. Their style was on the more relaxing side of bluegrass which was a nice change from the typical gunslingers, peddling speed-grass. When they covered Peter Rowan’s “Midnight Moonlight,” the crowd gave them their best reception of the night.
Roosevelt Collier’s Colorado Get Down: Having Garret Sayers, Dave Watts, and Joey Porter in a SuperJam was almost cheating. These three have played together in many configurations over the last decade including their primary project, The Motet. Add some sharpshooters like String Cheese Incident’s Billy Nershi, and jam-leader Roosevelt Collier, and I knew there would be moments of magic.
As the instruments came to life, I was engulfed in smooth Gospel fusion ascending into staccato, psychedelic madness… strange and wonderful. “The Doctor” (Roosevelt) lived up to the nickname, navigating the slide with surgical precision. He reminded me of Robert Randolph, onlywith more groove. Watts was a metronome of diversity, allowing the style to shift between Porter and Sayers’relentless funk, and The Doctor’s Gospel-drenched Blues.
When the band took a break, several people were discussing the fact that Bill Nershi had yet to appear. While there was frustration, it was effective in keeping the crowd from splitting early. When Nershi finally appeared, the crowd roared. He and Collier stepped right into some bluesy riffs, trading licks and propelling the evening to new heights. At their best, their guitars weaved together like Betts and Allman. Billy’s white Gretsch had the right timbre to create that effect working with Roosevelt’s steel. Several other musicians popped in to play songs including Cody Russell from The Drunken Hearts, Emily Clark, and Gabe Mervine of The Motet. Emily’s vocals on Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground” were a welcome contrast to the largely instrumental jams. Gabe dropped some technical trumpet on some sludgey Funk during one of my favorite jams of the night while Russell seemed elated to trade off with Rosie on slide.
Though I only got 3 hours of sleep and work was slammed, I’d do it all again. And again.
Energy: B
Musicianship: A
Sound: B+
Stage Presence: B
Set/Light Show: C
Overall: B
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