Tuesday was a scorcher, no doubt about that! When I rolled up to the Denver Botanic Gardens, my car was reading the outdoor temperature as 95 degrees and it felt every bit of that as I walked a couple of blocks and took my place in line to see the formidable double bill of Jonny Lang and JJ Grey & Mofro.
While most nights at the Gardens are decidedly toned down, wine and cheese type affairs, once or twice a summer Swallow Hill books a show that lights things up a bit, entices people to a venue they might not usually frequent, and frankly, rocks. This was one of those shows.
Kicking off the evening, guitar phenom Jonny Lang took the stage and he dove right into a blistering set that must have pushed the Gardens strict dB limit. Lang’s fingers danced on the fretboard, and he contorted his face as he wrenched screaming blasts of sound from his guitar.
He serenaded a crowd of devotees and newbies alike with “Rack ’em Up” which started out slow and jazzy but picked up the pace and then dropped a massive sandwich of “Red Light” -> “Everything Is Going to Be Alright” -> “Red Light” which must have pushed the 15 minute mark. It was clear that Lang had come to play and he walked right into my wheelhouse when he started playing the opening riff of Stevie Wonder’s “Living For The City.”
As Lang’s set neared the 75 minute mark, he picked up an acoustic guitar for a take on his 1997 hit “Lie To Me” which he started out solo, but midway through the band re-joined him, he picked up an electric, and together they careened into the station with guns blazing.
After a thirty minute break to completely switch the stage over, bluesy soulman JJ Grey took the stage with a six piece band that included a pair of trumpeters. Launching straight into “99 Shades of Crazy” with some tasty harmonica, Mofro turned up the evening heat and, much to the dismay of security, the crowd packed into the small dancing space at the front of the stage. “Loving Every Minute” came next and reminded us all to savor the time we are given in this life (a theme that would come back a little later in the show) but it was Grey’s delivery of John Anderson’s classic “Seminole Wind” that really blew me away. I’ve loved this song since it was a hit on the radio back in the early 90’s and this version was powerful!
After the band took us to “Lochloosa” (where it’s apparently ten thousand degrees in the shade) Grey shared the fact that he buried his father the day before kicking off this tour. He struggled to keep his composure for a second and then delivered a beautiful take on “The Sun Is Shining Down.” As the song neared the end Grey could be seen leaving the stage with tears in his eyes. A feeling that any of us who have lost parents can relate to.
A trumpet solo signaled the start of “Brighter Days” and Grey returned to the stage and dove into the song with clear voice having shed the outward emotions for the time being. It’s never easy being on stage and performing for people, but to do it saddled with that much emotion must make it so much harder. I’ve always felt the emotion in the music of Mofro, but this performance was special. Kudos to the Gardens for putting together another amazing evening under the stars!
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