PICK OF THE WEEK: The Word – Ogden Theatre – Saturday, Oct. 10th

Photo by Jay Adkins

Why You Should Go: Fourteen years may have passed between albums for THE WORD, but that’s no suggestion of broken bonds. Nor of broken strings. A love of music, of extended improvisational collaboration, of closing the eyes and channeling the feel—these are the ties that bind THE WORD. The Word will be supported this Saturday at The Ogden by local favorites The Workshy.

The genesis of THE WORD began in the year 1998, when the Avant-jazz and funk group Medeski, Martin & Wood took the burgeoning North Mississippi Allstars on their first tour. Riding down the road, the groups listened to the first two Arhoolie Records compilations of sacred steel guitar, a musical style then just seeping into the broader public awareness. Sacred steel is ecstatic pedal steel guitar used in sanctified churches; it’s the same instrument familiar to country & western music, but played with the authority and scale of a church organ. Keyboardist John Medeski and Luther Dickinson cooked up the idea of recording an instrumental gospel album with the Allstars (Luther Dickinson—guitars; Cody Dickinson—drums; Chris Chew—bass) in Medeski’s Brooklyn studio. When they learned that a young sacred steel star named Robert Randolph lived in New Jersey, they invited him to their area gig. This was THE WORD’S big bang.

Venue:  The Ogden Theatre, 935 E. Colfax Ave Denver, CO 80218 – 303-832-1874

Doors: 8:00 p.m. Music starts at 9:00 p.m.

*Price: $32.50 Adv. $40 DoS
Purchase Here

*All prices are gathered from other sources and we are not responsible for mistakes or inconsistencies. They are intended only as guidelines. Please, always call the venue if you desire the most accurate information possible.