On Tour
Comparisons - The world is littered with them. We compare this to that for reasons only the people doing the comparing can comprehend. Sometimes they are interesting, sometimes they are not.
Furthur @ Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ on Saturday 4/27/13 left me comparing a laundry list of items.
My issue with the whole trance fusion style of free-music is that it lacks a fundamental separation from what a DJ could compile in a two hour set. Only a few select bands hold the torch as progressive and risky enough to truly hold my attention. Above all of the one-hit DJs and livetronica wannabees is bands like Lotus, STS9 and The Disco Biscuits.
Austin, Texas was the final stop on Umphrey’s McGee’s nine-date southern run. What a great city to end the tour in as well. Stubb’s BBQ is an outdoor backyard style venue in the middle of downtown.
The band had been hyping the 420 show via their social media networks for weeks and they didn’t disappoint. This was the first time Umphrey’s sold out the 1,800 person capacity venue.
The great thing about a small venue like the Bluebird is you can literally feel the music. You can feel the floor shaking to the beat as people dance and jump about. You can feel the bass and kick drum in your chest. You can talk to the artist on stage, and they'll talk back. It's an intimate experience, which is a good thing for a band like Lucero.
After kicking off their highly anticipated 2013 Spring Tour in Minneapolis the previous night, the ever evolving, genre defying electronic group Sound Tribe Sector 9 continued onwards to Madison to display their talents in front of a packed house at the Orpheum Theatre.
Past the effulgent cherry red and puke green neon sign delineating Pike Place Market, through a perennial shower of raindrops and mist, and under a vertical column of winking, blinking marquee lights is Seattle's historic Showbox at the Market. Founded way back in '39 and still going strong, the Showbox ballroom has draw many of the greatest musicians and performers of all time. Name any artist or band, and they've probably graced the Showbox with their tunes and presence. Duke Ellington? Check. Muddy Waters?
The veteran cast, all-star group of talent called the Greyboy Allstars is back on the road in support of their newest album entitled, Inland Emperor, which the tour is aptly named after. They started it all off with this two night run at Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom, which is one of my favorite indoor venues in Colorado. The opening band was the New Orleans funk powerhouse Dumpstaphunk.
It’s not rare to walk into Macky Auditorium and feel overwhelmed by its elegance, but walking in to School of Rock playing ‘Black Magic Woman’ in all its sultry splendor on April 6th for the Nomad Theater’s benefit show added a whole new element of allure. These kids could rock it, and seeing such young folk on the stage of an old-time auditorium was a pleasing contrast to the senses.
I must admit I was worried that the departure of guitarist John Neff was going to leave a noticeable void in the sound of the Drive-By Truckers last Friday night at the Boulder Theater (Neff split in December of last year). His pedal steel was always on time amidst the guitar-heavy DBT shows, a near perfect "icing on the cake," if you will. All said and done, was his absence noticeable? Sure.
