Photos by Jim Mimna
The Scene: There’s magic in the air when Railroad Earth comes to town. Last September the band produced a sweeping live film of their performance at Red Rocks Amphitheater. Needless to say it was a monumental show and this year would be hard pressed to surpass the energy and set list from the show that made fans swoon. It’s been another thrilling summer at Red Rocks and I was looking forward to the magnum opus of the summer with Railroad Earth and my favorite venue. As we arrived on Friday we were greeted with a winding will-call line that negated the chance to catch the much-anticipated early opener, Snarky Puppy. Luckily the triple-bill made for lots of music and Bill Kreutzmann was in the building to take us through the sunset.
Opener: Billy and The Kids. Bill Kreutzman will be playing drums until the day he passes on. The man has insatiable energy and for this project he brought along the talented group of Aron Magner on keys, Reed Mathis on bass and Tom Hamilton on guitar. From the beginning of the set, Reed Mathis was absolutely sensational, forming instant chemistry with the band both vocally and on the bass. Before long he had me dreaming of listening to the first Tea Leaf Green album on repeat. The group wasted no time by launching into a cover of Jimmy Cliff’s “The Harder They Come” and bringing Tim Carbone on stage for “Me and My Uncle,” before a train of classic Grateful Dead covers brought the crowd to their feet. The best moment was a wild rendition of “Feel Like A Stranger,” off The Dead’s 1980 Go To Heaven album. The manic back-and-forth between Reed and Aron on vocals, bass, and keys during this song was triumphant. It just felt like good old-fashioned greasy Rock and Roll. Overall, these were great songs to celebrate the summer of GD50 and new beginnings.
Billy & The Kids Setlist: Harder They Come, Me and My Uncle (Tim Carbone), They Love Each Other > Scarlet Begonias, I Know you Rider, Feel like a Stranger, Jam> Mission in the Rain, Loose Lucy (Snarky Puppy Horns), The Other One, The Wheel Tease> Casey Jones
Railroad Earth: I love and respect Railroad Earth for their creativity, songwriting and ultimate satisfaction in the live setting. The boys hit their stride quickly jumping from the John Skehan jam “Untitled # 12” directly into a rich and floating of rendition “Hunting Song” that sent the crowd straight to the moon. The first set was legendary material. The pace was hyper for Railroad Earth standards and Todd Sheaffer sang through the roof on older Bluegrassy romps like “Old Dangerfield,” “Cold Water,” and “Bread and Water.”
The second set began in typical dreamy fashion with a moonlit version of “Where Songs Begin,” and continued with a cover of The Waterboy’s “Fisherman’s Blues.” Tim Carbone has so much freedom with the fiddle on this song and it’s always a high energy cover. This preceded an erupting and lavish “Like a Buddha.” Last summers’ Red Rocks Buddha that appears on the recent live DVD is beautiful so it was almost painful to hear this played out again to a less epic peak but I wasn’t complaining as I watched thousands of smiling faces around me dance the rest of the night away.
The Snarky Puppy horns joined in for the last two songs of the set, and the finest musical moment of the evening was a “Terrapin Station,” encore. We were lucky as Railroad Earth has only officially covered the Dead classic five times in the last 15 years.
Anytime you get to hear Railroad Earth play two sets it’s a special experience for the band and attendees. The first set of this show was incredible and will be remembered for a long time. The 2nd set was solid, with a prodigious encore, but I still feel that 2014 Red Rocks set a standard that is difficult to match.
Railroad Earth – September 18th – Red Rocks
Set 1: Untilted # 12> Hunting Song, Grandfather Mountain, Bread and Water, Old Dangerfield, I am a Mess, Colorado, Cold Water
Set 2: Where Songs Begin > Fisherman’s Blues, Like a Buddha, Bringin My Baby Back Home, A Day on The Sand, The Forecast, Spring-Heeled Jack, Hard Livin*, Take a Bow*
Encore: Terrapin Station, Long Way to Go
* w/ Snarky Puppy horns
Energy: A-
Musicianship: A+
Sound: A +
Stage Presence: A
Set/Light Show: B+
Overall: A-
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