It’s been a little while since I had a good night out on Colfax. One of Denver’s most beloved “main drags,” and home to many of the cities best live music venues, the avenue is just the right blend of seedy and hipster around The Bluebird Theater these days and – at the risk of letting the cat out of the bag on this one – we found ourselves grabbing some pre-show drinks and munchies at The Middleman, a great little cocktail bar with a limited (but delicious) menu just down the block from the venue.
As we chatted, the space filled up with the ticketed and ticket-less, and it wasn’t long before Paul Hoffman of Greensky Bluegrass took the table next to us. Fans from nearby tables sent Phoff shots and exchanged pleasantries but generally left him alone to his friends as we all ramped up for what was sure to be a great night of music.
Inside The Bluebird, the evening started with a special trio set from a personal favorite of mine, Cris Jacobs. Jacobs, a Maryland resident, has been a longtime fixture of the scene whether under his own name or with his band The Bridge (which ran from roughly 2001 – 2011 and released five albums) but it seems to me that Cris is finally generating a bit more attention and gaining some popularity out here in Colorado. He and his band anchored the SoapBox tent at this year’s Renewal Festival in Buena Vista and Cris was featured on the main stage with a solo set on Saturday afternoon before Billy Strings joined the band in the tent on electric guitar to close out a magical weekend of music. If standing toe-to-toe with Billy Strings doesn’t tell you enough, suffice it to say that Cris is a beast on the guitar and a hell of a songwriter.
When Jacobs took the stage, the room was pretty much packed and people were fixated on the stage as the trio ran through “OHoopee River Bottomland,” “Under The Big Top,” and “Buffalo Girl” early in the set. When I was side stage taking some photos, the security guard who was manning the backstage entrance pulled me aside to tell me how much he was loving what he was hearing. As I saw Cris getting his three string Cigar Box guitar out, I told the guy to buckle up as he was in for a treat!
Cris not only rips on his Tele and acoustic guitars, but gets really into the Blues when he’s playing slide on that Cigar Box across his lap (check it out on on the “Bone Digger” video linked below). After dropping “Queen Bee” and one of my favorites, “Jack The Whistle,” Jacobs invited his old friend Paul Hoffman to the stage for a pair of numbers. The first, “Northeast Texas Women” is a gem of a tune by Willis Alan Ramsey (Listen Here!) and then the quartet expanded to five when Jacobs called Kyle Tuttle up to join them on a ripping “Bone Digger” (Listen Here!) to close out the set.
Wit the main event looming, the energy in the room was buzzing and when The Lil Smokies finally took the stage, the exchange of energy was awesome to witness. The band opened with a relatively new tune in “Movies” and then moved through an absolutely blistering jam that eventually ended up landing on the Jethro Tull tune “Locomotive Breath.” This was a surprise to me as I typically associate The Smokies with more tender songs like “Life Out There” and “Echo Park” which followed.
The Smokies have been through some line-up changes over the past few years and it was impressive to watch them bring Tuttle back into the fold (Tuttle was briefly in the band in 2021) and effortlessly shift gears from high energy jams to haunting ballads to classic covers like Guy Clark’s “Rain In Durango.” Andy Donnigan’s Dobro was often leading the charge, but Jake Simpson’s fiddle was always close behind.
As if the energy wasn’t high enough, things hit a fever pitch when Dunnigan welcomed Paul Hoffman to the stage for an extended sit in that included the Greensky Bluegrass original “Past My Prime” (Listen Here!) as well as Smokies tunes “The City” and “Carry Me.” Hoffman seemed to be having a blast up on stage and was absolutely eating up the love from the crowd in the intimate venue.
As we got even deeper into the night, the band proved they had even more surprises up their sleeve when they welcomed Cris Jacobs and his band to the now crowded stage for the rockin’ “Losing Control” that served as a great set closer and set the stage for an encore that no one in attendance will forget any time soon.
After a brief break, the boys returned for a triple shot bonus frame comprised entirely of covers. First up was the relatively obscure (but definitely worth checking out) “All The Time In The World” by John Fullbright, then we got a serious dose of soul with Barry White’s “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love,” and finally the Tom Petty cut “Walls (Circus)” that was featured on the 1996 soundtrack for “She’s The One.” It was a great night at The Bluebird and a wonderful way for the Smokies to wrap up a three night at the storied Denver venue.
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