Legendary guitarist Adrian Belew was kind enough to spend some time talking with us as he waited out a fire drill in his Denver hotel on the eve of the “Remain In Light” tour that launches at the Ogden Theater here in Denver on February 16th.
Widespread Panic played their 65th consecutive sold-out show at Red Rocks last Saturday and set a new record for the venue – a record they smash every time they play the joint – they may well be the kings of Red Rocks! Many surprises were in store for the audience this night, it started with a dry show despite the ominous forecast of heavy rain, then we were treated to a sit-in from tour manager Steve Lopez, a pair of Talking Heads tunes late in the second set, and finally a three song encore. No one left disappointed.
For the second show of their first ever two night stand at the incomparable Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Greensky Bluegrass invited the eclectic Funk band Turkuaz to join them and get the crowd going early. From the moment they emerged in their brightly colored outfits, the nine piece delivered lots of low end funky rhythms that got people up off their asses and dancing.
This past Friday night brought Denver unusually warm weather and a variety of choices for the Denver live music faithful to get down. Down at Cervantes’, J2G Live was ready to deliver their third installment of the Dance Party Time Machine, a collaborative effort of Denver’s finest musicians who come together to throwdown a mixtape of hits from throughout the decades of dance music. After trips through the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and more, the time machine landed safely in 2015 to end the evening.
On Friday, Red Rocks was a familiar scene of roving vendors and tailgate parties as the anticipation in the crowd built for Widespread Panic to kick off their annual three night run on our hallowed home court. The evening started with John Bell (JB) saying a few words about the Special Olympics before the four Colorado athletes competing this summer in Los Angeles were introduced on stage as torchbearers displayed the flame which was making it’s way through Colorado enroute to Los Angeles where the games will open on July 25th.
Despite the fact that David Bryne and Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent) were forced to cut their set a bit short due to a lengthy rain delay before their concert last weekend at The Botanic Gardens at Chatfield, they put on a fantastic performance, and one that will people will be talking about until the next time Byrne comes to town. The duo treated us to about two thirds of their recent collaboration ‘Love This Giant’ along with a smattering of St Vincent originals and some real crowd pleasers in the form of four Talking Heads covers.
Whenever the members of The Motet put together a tribute show you should take notice. Over the years they have covered The Talking Heads, The Grateful Dead, Earth, and Wind and Fire among others but the music of Herbie Hancock is a perfect fit for Colorado’s favorite funky bunch. If you’ve missed the Hancock tribute in the past you will be afforded another chance to catch this stellar show Wednesday.
Panic took a hiatus last year and, as a result, skipped their annual run of shows at Red Rocks, but they made up for this year by adding a fourth night to their standard three day run. Friday night of this run was the band’s 40th consecutive sell-out at the lauded amphitheater and while there was no special fanfare from the band celebrating the occasion Mother Nature let us know she appreciated the occasion with one of the most dazzling displays of lighting ever seen from Red Rocks.
Concert-goers escaped a chilly Friday evening as Cervantes’ played host to Kyle Hollingsworth Band and Soulive. With local favorites Good Gravy rocking The Other Side, an eccentric and young mix of Jazz veterans and Jamband stalwarts packed in for a night of smooth vibes and all around rambunctious behavior. Though Hollingsworth kicked things off with an uninspired set, Soulive moved us with a soulful and Jazzy performance.
The Motet’s annual “musical costume” shows on Halloween have become something of an institution here on the Front Range with folks buying tickets early in the summer to make sure they don’t miss out on the madness. This year’s run kicked off on the 25th, stopped in Denver for two nights at The Ogden before heading up to Vail and finally wrapping up last night in Boulder. When all was said and done it was a fun and funky show and while it didn’t top “Funk Is Dead,” everyone in the room had smiles on their faces to the bitter end.