About 40 devoted fans stuck it out through two very mediocre bands to hear Filligar on a Tuesday night at Larimer Lounge.  The rock quartet is made up of three blond brothers: Johnny, Teddy and Pete Mathias with their childhood friend Casey Gibson.  They formed in Chicago in 2000, and have released 4 albums.They’ve been named one of music’s “Next Big Things” by SPIN Magazine and listed along with Wilco, Delta Spirit, and Heartless Bastards as “One of America’s Top 8 Live Acts” (Boston’s RSL music blog).While Filligar is a tight solid group of musicians, I was left wondering "what's the big

Portland’s Fruition stopped into Shine for a memorable night of strings and songs Friday night, boasting a Naropa vibe and an audience clutching craft brews and camaraderie.

Get on the Bus! Pickin’ on the Poudre is the quintessential Mishawaka BOOMshakalaka! Awkward as that may seem to describe the Fort Collins bluegrass quartet Head for the Hills composed of Adam Kinghorn (Guitar), Michael Chappell (Mandolin), Joe Lessard (Fiddle), and Matt Loewen (Bass), it’s appropriate. For nine years, H4TH has blown away Cache la Poudre patrons with their acrobatic backwoods antics.

Few musical journeys spanned as long and varied as Jorma and Jack's. As pioneers of the premier San Francisco electric sound with Jefferson Airplane, something else much bigger was meant to spawn and thrive for decades to come. Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady have held the foundations of their lifelong band and partnership Hot Tuna together for over forty-three years.

When you bring a together a cast of musicians steeped in different backgrounds for the sole purpose of creating on-stage spontaneity, you have an improvisational outfit. The Everyone Orchestra, conducted by ringleader Matt Butler, is exactly that. The difference between your typical jam band and an improvisational outfit is that the latter shows up to the show with no songbook.

What more can one ask for than a night of great musicians and a good mix of country, rock and bluegrass? Probably not much except to have those musicians be the members of Grant Farm… and maybe include a special guest.

Long heralded and firmly entrenched as the psychedelic stalwarts of Austin, Texas, The Black Angels run on a reputation of mysticism that has them surrounded by dark, fuzzy guitar riffs and distorted vocals. Not adhering to conventions of modern rock, though grappling with elements of surf and late sixties acid rock, they’ve carved out their own slice of the Indie music scene.

On the last Saturday of Jazz Fest, the late night grids displayed a smorgasbord of concert choices all over town.

I had the pleasure of catching this homespun Nederland crew at Quixotes a couple weeks ago. It’s a venue I feel gracious to walk in alone to and find friends of all forms waiting inside. Gipsy Moon adds a whole new arena of affability to the experience. Though they are young, they take on the somber musical sentiment of an ensemble years ahead of their time. They represent an old time classic grass that’s both invigorating and enriching, but in the most laid back of manners.

It's amazing that Built To Spill has been around for over 20 years. In that time, Doug Martsch's little outfit has released seven full albums, three compilation and live albums, several EP’s and singles and gone through numerous lineup changes. Remarkably, however, the band’s sound has stayed relatively consistent, as have the excellent live performances. This is all a credit to Martsch, whose passion for songwriting and performing haven’t waned one bit over the years.