The first – of hopefully many – Denver Comes Alive events took place last Friday at the beautiful Mission Ballroom. A steady buzz around this evening had been building for months, so it was no surprise that the show ended up selling out.
With nearly 8 hours of music on the agenda, it wasn’t much of a shock that the venue wasn’t full when I walked in as Star Kitchen was nearing the end of their set. The Mark Brownstein led ensemble provided some nice funky background music as the crowd started to get settled, but I can’t say I really got to hear enough to pass much of a judgement on this project. I will say that it was nice to see Brownstein back on stage after his detached retina scare a few weeks back.
Then show really got going when Ghost-Live took the stage featuring Eric Krasno and Neal Evans of Soulive on guitar and keys respectively, backed by the mammoth Ghost-Note rhythm section of Robert “Sput” Searight on drums, Nate Werth on percussion, and the dazzling MonoNeon. From the get-go I was grooving as Krasno lit into the riff from The Beatles “Get Back” and transported me back to the days when I practically wore out the Rubber Soulive album he released back in 2010. The quintet also dropped a sprawling take on “Eleanor Rigby” that thrilled the crowd as the room finally began to feel crowded. Sax wizard Dominic Lalli from Big Gigantic then joined the group and added some soulful and very interesting textures to the second half of the set. These guys set the stage nicely for what was the highlight of the evening for me!
After a few tasty tracks from DJ Soul Sister who was spinning stage right, a powerhouse band of New Orleans’ finest took the stage to pay tribute to two legends of their scene, Dr. John “The Night Tripper” and Art “Poppa Funk” Neville who both passed away in 2019. On hand for the feel good celebration of life were Ivan Neville, Tony Hall, Jon Cleary, George Porter Jr., Nikki Glaspie, Art’s son Ian Neville, and a horn section consisting of Skerik on sax and Big Sam on Trombone.
They got things off to a fiery start with a scorching take on The Meters’ “Hey Pocky Way” that led into Cleary leading the group on the Dr. John classic “Right Place, Wrong Time.” It was apparent right away that everyone was having a blast as smiles flashed across the stage and the energy flowed out into the audience where arms were in the air and people were dancing up a storm.
The set was punctuated by memorable takes on Jimmy Cliff’s “Sitting In Limbo,” The Meters’ “Zing Zing,” and The Night Tripper’s “Such A Night” but the “Fire On The Bayou” closer nearly blew the roof off. This group will be reprising this performance during Jazz Fest so, if you missed it the first time, you’ve got a chance to catch it if you happen to be in New Orleans on Friday, May 1st.
After a break, and some more tunes from DJ Soul Sister, Oteil & Friends took the stage led by Dead & Co. (and former Allman Brothers) bassist Oteil Burbridge. Featuring Melvin Seals on organ, Krasno and Scott Metzger on guitars, and Jeff “Apt Q-258” Sipe on drums, the friends also showcased the incomparable Alfreda Gerald on vocals and percussion by Weedie Braimah.
After such a hot set from the Nola crew, I think Oteil made a bit of a misstep when he chose to open with “Water In The Desert” rather than something that would keep the crowd grooving hard. As it was the set was a slow build as the band delivered “Midnight Moonlight,” “Let It Rock,” and “Mississippi Moon” before getting into the meat of things with “Run For The Roses,” “That’s What Love Will Make You Do,” How Sweet It Is,” and another Jimmy Cliff gem in “Many Rivers To Cross.”
Unfortunately, as the clock pushed past 1:15 in the morning, Oteil stepped up to the mic to deliver a poorly placed version of one of my favorite songs “The Maker.” While this Daniel Lanois tune is a stunning piece of songwriting, people wanted to dance and the streams of people heading toward the exits were massive. Fortunately, for those of who waited out “The Maker” we got an awesome “Hot ‘Lanta” that set the stage for Alfreda Gerald to take us home with her best Janis impression on “Piece of My Heart.”
Yes, it was an uneven showing for Oteil and Friends, but when all was said and done, Denver Comes Alive was a great night of music that featured some incendiary musical combinations we aren’t likely to see anywhere else any time soon. I’m already looking forward to next year!
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