TFB rips! Boulder musician Tony Furtado brought his copious skills to tiny Mile Away Hall in Council Bluffs, Iowa and while playing for an even tinier crowd of very lucky heads, TFB proceeded to shred their instruments right before our unbelieving eyes (and ears). Whoa…If you have yet to attend a TFB show get it going–you will not be dispappointed. This is original Americana as fresh as it gets!
Big Tasty
Big Tasty descended from on high–okay, they drove down from Minneapolis– for a show at the Music Box and without much ado took the stage and proceeded to exhibit skills to sway even the most jaded head (me). Damn, these boys rip! They play a funk-infused (thanks to wondeful keyboard and guitar work) brand of Grateful Dead-inspired music. At one point in the show they we’re playing an amazing “St. Stephen,” only it wasn’t. It was an original. Bruce Hornsby does stuff like that.
Chris Duarte, Spearhead + Blues Traveller
Austin blues master Chris Duarte in a tiny room in Des Moines on a Wednesday night. Blues On Grand is a phine club and this power trio had it rockin’, despite the somewhat lame table set up. What can I say, I love an open floor. Somehow I had not witnessed the guitar pyrotechnics of Chris Duarte before. What a guy. An amazing right hand (rythmic sense), and left as well. To say nothing of his heart, which is clearly in the right place. Thursday, there was much anticipation in the air as Lincoln’s new Rococo Theatre opened its doors to the phreaks for the phirst time. Opening act, Spearhead brought their positive vibes to the people of the Corn and the people were pleased. Singer and political poet Micheal Franti encouraged us to “get the funk up on the walls of this place” to ensure a proper breaking in. And the sweat did flow as Blues Traveler delivered huge. Two phat sets and a double encore. My personal highlight was Dropping Some NYC>Crash Burn>Dropping Some NYC in the second set. Looking phorward to many more shows in this kind venue.
Phil kicked off The Quintet’s fall tour in da Windy at the Aragon Ballroom in Uptown. The theater features a sweet wood floor and Arabanian themes throughout. We were late getting into the show due to big city pressures. Namely, traffic and no parking spots. We missed “The Eleven” opener, but in a way it was perfect to enter this Arabian-themed venue to the otherworldly strains of “Blues for Allah.” It’s been public knowledge for years that Grateful Dead used to pick a topical theme and work it out in the music. Clealry, the theme for this night was war. The band broke out “Liberty” for the first time, and this furthered the theme perfectly. In the morning we hit the road and arrived in St. Louis with time for a couple beers at a downtown bar before the 7:30 show. The Fox is a spectacle to behold, but Bud is all they have on tap. I guess it’s a company town. Naturally, this matters not when the band is treating all to Cosmic Charlie>I Am the Walrus>Cosmic Charlie. Saturday brought us into Eastern Time and The South. The Palace Theater in Louisville is the most architecturally significant venue I’ve ever encountered. The word trippy applies. The musical theme this night seemed to move to a new topic–the passing of Ken Kesey, Merry Prankster and literary hero. Phil sang “Black Peter” and I was moved. Milt, Boss, and I got to hang with Warren after the show and be assured, we let him know how much we love him, and his work.
Once again, I was kicked by the Mule and loved every minute of it. Mule with Oteil on bass and Chuck Leavell on keys came into Kansas City after a west coast swing with Schools. I’d seen Schools play with da Mule in NOLA, so it was interesting to see the Oteil configuration. The venue was a little weird, a country and western bar inside and a beach volleyball/disco outside. Many goons swarming, looking for the slightest infraction from the hippie crowd. That’s never good. Luckily, Mule’s music soared above all such mundane issues. The following week I took my first excursion to the Hoyt Sherman Place Theater in Des Moines, Iowa. Nice theater, small, classy, easy to navigate, mellow crew, good sound, but PEOPLE, RISE UP. Rise up and take your stance again! Rise up and be kicked by the Mule! My friend Charlie, a professor at Iowa State who attended the show with me, could only mutter, “Iowa,” in response to my intermission probe regarding the participant’s lack of enthusiasm for the art of dance.
Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey + Galactic
Lawrence, generally understood to be one of the kinder environments on the Plains, has some “sick” venues for music. This was my first jaunt to the Granada Theater on Mass Ave. and I loved it. Tall cocktails, lots of floor space, Sweet Corn Princesses everywhere you look. To top it off, Oklahoma’s phinest, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey opened for Galactic. It was a smokin’ night in every way.
Wild Magnolias, Dirty Dozen Brass Band + Leftover Salmon
Salmon del Rio, August 11 + 12 on the Colorado River, near State Bridge was further proof (not that any was needed) that LOS has more phun than any band alive. That’s their thing. To have as much phun with as many pholks as humanly possible. Saturday night at Salmonfest this year was total N’awlins meltdown. Wild Magnolias opened for the Dirty Dozen who opened for the Salmon. Then all three acts shared the stage coming out of a second line at intermission. I wish I had a photo. There must have been close to fifty peeps on stage (what with all the Salmon heads in the parade), jigging hard for a long time. God, I love Salmon.
Widespread Panic, Phil + Friends, Femi Kuti, Karl Denson + String Cheese Incident
Just did six shows in four states over the last eight days. Kinda like old times. It began on the 4th with Panic at Harmony Park, a hippie-owned venue on Lake Geneva, Minnesota with old oak trees, a grassy infield, and camping. Panic ripped it up, particularly out of drums where they sandwiched Bob Marley’s “Heathen” in the middle of “Four Cornered Room.” I also enjoyed the Muddy Waters encore, “Red Beans Cookin’.” Friday after work I flew to Denver for Phil + Friends at Red Rox. Warren melted us all to the core with “Comes a Time.” On Saturday we got treated to a “Shakedown > Blue Sky” opener and “Dark Star > Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” in the second set. Next up, two nights of String Cheese at Westfair Amphitheater in Council Bluffs, Iowa, across the river from Omaha. African band leader, Femi Kuti opened Monday and Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe opened Tuesday. Both sat in with the Cheese, as well. Bound to cover a little more ground on Wednesday I took the day off work and headed to Willie Nelson and Phil at Sandstone Amphitheater in Bonner Springs, Kansas. Warren got Milt and me in on the guest list and we had sweet seats up phront for classics like “Cosmic Charlie,” “China > Rider,” “Dark Star > The Eleven,” and the “Scarlet > Fire” encore.
Fresh on the heels of the Salmon, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones stopped for the night at the Anchor Inn on their way west to Telluride Blugrass. The Anchor is a biker’s bar situated on a choice piece of land along the banks of the Mighty Mo (Missouri River) just north of downtown Omaha. During the show, rain fell, but not distractingly so, plus the moisture lent us a rainbow of cosmic proportions, perfectly framing the stage in a radiant arch. All the while, watchging the river and Bela’s fingers flow. Yeah you right.
Last night musical history was made at the Ranch Bowl in Omaha. Colorado jamband Leftover Salmon took the stage deep in daCorn for the first time ever. Considering they live in Boulder only eight hours from here, it’s hard to understand what took them so long. No matter, lost ground was more than made up phor as the band took the stage to a deafening roar of approval from the pleasantly phocussed Sunday night crowd. Salmon have three new members in the band, prominent among them, Bill McKay who used to play keys and sing daBlues for Derek Trucks Band. Bill treated the “Homey-Ha” faithful to a rousing rendition of “It Takes a Train to Cry,” by Dylan. Thanks Bill!