Photos by Jim Mimna
The Scene: With so many out and about in Denver to celebrate the 4/20 “holiday,” mellow vibes quickly turned to desperation as the box office attendant posted the “Sold-Out” sign in front of the iconic Ogden Theatre. Conversations quickly went from the exploits of the weekend to who had extra tickets and, from the looks of things, there were a lot of disappointed people sulking on East Colfax as the show started. While it may have been a surprise to some that a band making their Denver debut on a Monday night sold-out the 1,700 person theater, the performance Billy and The Kids turned in showed why it’s always smart to grab your tickets in advance.
Billy & The Kids: For many in the sold-out crowd this was the fifth concert in six nights and the band opened the night’s festivities by echoing the thoughts of these intrepid (or crazy depending on who you ask) souls with “Let The Good Times Roll.” I know I wasn’t alone in thinking that the excesses of the previous nights would make for a relatively low key evening, but it was obvious from the start that the all-star line-up had other plans. Bill Kreutzmann, the legendary drummer from The Grateful Dead, has handpicked a lineup of “kids” after a friend recommended teaming up with Aron Magner (The Disco Biscuits), Tom Hamilton (American Babies/Joe Russo’s Almost Dead), as well Reed Mathis (Tea Leaf Green) whom Kreutzmann previously worked with in his 7 Walkers project. The quartet was joined for this special, one night only, show by local favorites Jason Hann of String Cheese Incident and Dominic Lalli of Big Gigantic and the two quickly made their presence felt. Lalli’s saxophone work on “Estimated Prophet” harkened back to the days of Spring 1990, the era of Dead this show was to be celebrating. Lalli’s sax would prove valuable all night as he helped filled the musical space opened with just one guitar player on stage. This was especially true in the jams and segues that were definitely the highlights of the first set.
Despite only having a few shows under their belt together, the band was surprising tight and on point when venturing outside the safety of each song’s form. While it would have been easy for them to take the approach of many Dead cover bands and noodle their way from one song to another, leaning heavily on imitation Jerry licks, Billy, along with his Kids, kept things energetic and refreshingly dynamic all night. With Tom Hamilton firmly entrenched in the hearts and minds of most Dead fans these days, his stellar work both on guitar and vocals came as no surprise. His ability to stay faithful to the iconic riffs and melodies he has been tapped to play while bringing his own style and flare was on display all night, especially during segments like “Eyes of The World->Scarlet Begonias” and “Shakedown Street->The Wheel.” It is a joy to watch Hamilton play as it’s extremely obvious he is having as much fun as anyone in the room. This exuberance is contagious and the energy he brings is as infectious as the skill he plays with.
While Hamilton’s stand out performance was almost a given, keyboardist Aron Magner’s brought more to the table than most in attendance had expected. While Magner’s abilities should never be questioned, his reputation has been primarily built on his licks and tones from his Roland JP-8000 and Access Virus TI that focus heavily on a more synthy, electronic sound. It was great to see him step out a bit from that world and play with a lot of straight piano and organ sounds; something fans of his band The Disco Biscuits often don’t get to hear enough of. That is not to say he abandoned his bread and butter and the silky, and often warped, tones from that Virus synth added a very fresh flavor to some familiar classics. While nobody should have been shocked at Magner’s work on the keys, his contributions vocally were an amazingly pleasant surprise. Normally singing would not be one of the first things to come to mind when seeing him play with The Disco Biscuits but there is obviously something about belting out these Dead tunes that has a special place for him. With Spring ‘90 being the theme of the night, I was not alone in hoping for a “Blow Away” or “Dear Mr. Fantasy” to watch Magner channel his inner Brent Mydland and while things didn’t quite go that far, his verses and harmonies on tunes like ”Let The Good Time Roll.” “Women are Smarter,” “Gimme Some Lovin’,” and “Feels Like a Stranger” showcased a side to Magner’s game that a lot of people didn’t think was there. More than a few people seemed to be making plans to drop out and head on “Magner Tour” should the opportunity present itself – and I can’t say I blame them.
Of course no true Grateful Dead celebration would be complete without an outstanding rhythm section and with original Dead drummer Bill Kreautzman as the leader of the band it was a given that we’d see some amazing things from this group. Kreautzmann was joined by percussionist Jason Hann and the duo provided the rolling thunder and deep grooves that were at the core of just about every jam of the night. This peaked as the band came out of “The Wheel” and went into a thumping “Drums” session that saw the two dazzle the entranced crowd. Normally a drum jam is the last thing I want to hear at a show but with a legend like Billy and a monster like Hann on the kits this one was a treat. Not to be left out, bassist Reed Mathis showed why he is one of the best in the game and together the trio kept the whole room bouncing for most of the night. In a recent interview with Listen Up Denver! (which you can read here), Billy spoke about Mathis’s ability to hold down the groove while also taking lead by interplaying with Hamilton and Magner. For me, most great bass players are so good because they stick to laying a deep foundation for the rest of the band but I can see why Kreautzmann speaks so highly of Mathis. On songs like “Shakedown Street” and “Let It Grow,” Mathis showed his ability to keep the groove going but step out in front and take things in a new direction.
In a year where it almost feels like fans are being saturated by all The Grateful Dead 50th Anniversary collaborations that are taking place across the country, it never ceases to amaze me to see how much this music means to so many different people. I can not think of many band’s that unite such a diverse group of fans spanning so many generations. This collective joy was apparent all night as fans sang along almost word for word with every song and were blown away by the improvisation taking place on stage. The electricity in the room came to a head when the band did their introductions and called Billy back up on stage. I’ve seen some pretty crazy ovations for musicians at The Ogden and the one Kreutzmann got before the encore is up there with any of them. It was well deserved as the 68 year old legend and his group of “Kids” turned in a thrilling show capping off one of the more insane weeks of music in recent Denver memory. It seems like these Dead super groups keep pushing each other and are taking this music to places it hasn’t been in a long time. That’s great news for music fans both in Denver and across the rest of the country. To borrow a line from Jimmy “The Gent” Connors from Goodfellas “It’s gonna be a good summer!”
Energy: A-
Musicianship: A-
Sound: B+
Stage Presence: B+
Set/Lights: B+
Overall: A-
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