Skip to main content

North Mississippi Allstars 11.11.11


The Bluebird Theater
Denver, CO

Words & Photos By J-man


We had waited in a long line for the single window box office for some time before finally arriving at the ticket booth. Signs all over the dull, scratched pain of plexieglass read "Sold Out" as I handed over my ID for our credentials. There was a buzz in the air and the typical mad scramble of a sold out show left folks in front of the venue looking for their miracle. It was a hard ticket to come by. As if the issue wasn't already complicated by the fact that it was a Friday night in Denver, The North Mississippi Allstars rarely come around and that night they would be filming a DVD. The Bluebird was packed.

Inside, the North Mississippi Allstars took the stage to an energetic and enthusiastic crowd. The cameras were rolling to catch an evening of blues rock that would move even the least familiar NMA fan. But that night in Denver, it seemed everyone in attendance was a fan.

The show featured guitarist Luther Dickinson, impressing on multiple guitars and various stringed contraptions. His slide work, as always, was breathtaking. Chris Chew chased Luther around with heavy bass lines that moved and funked the crowd. At the back of the stage, Luther's brother, Cody Dickinson annihilated the drum set as well as his characteristic electric washboard.

Collectively, NMA is tight. And for a band who doesn't often tour, it was fantastic to see such a warm and desiring reception. Friday night sold out with tickets for Saturday quickly disappearing the last I checked. The turn out and energy of the crowd spoke largely to this powerful trio and their musical reputation.

Stay tuned for a link to the DVD that was filmed that November evening in Denver...

www.nmallstars.com

J-man's Photo Gallery

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Livetronica Sampler 3.22.11

Words by Greg Molitor ( ReMIND Photography ) Ozric Tentacles This British group has proven innovative throughout the years offering a space-rock meets psytrance sound that remains alive to this day. Though never having a major record label, Ozric Tentacles has produced 28 albums of diverse psychedelia throughout its career. The band met at the Stonehenge Free Festival in 1983 and truly fathered livetronica music with its use of sequencers and synthesizers. Simply put, there would be no livetronica without Ozric Tentacles. www.ozrics.com Octopus Nebula Colorado’s Octopus Nebula has certainly hit its stride as of late with its constant touring and increased festival interest. The group expands on the deep sounds of highly regarded acts such as STS9 and Shpongle but also carves a path of its own with its fresh takes on synthesizer tones and sampling in the live setting. Octopus Nebula Live at Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom on March 26, 2010. www.octopusnebula.com Big Gigantic Big...

Buckethead: Gimmick or Guitar God?

Words & Photos By Nicholas Stock ( phatphlogblog.blogspot.com ) At what point does the gimmick overshadow the performance? The obvious answer is Buckethead. The man is an amazing guitarist but something is not right in this world. The idea a performer who dons a KFC chicken bucket on his head for a concert has always intrigued me, and some of his side projects such as Colonel Claypool’s Bernie Bucket of Brains have been huge successes. However his performance last weekend in Fort Collins simply left me perplexed. From his robotic dancing, to his nunchuck display, to the fact the he performed with an iPod rather than a band all added to my confusion. Going into the show I was ready to be blown away, despite rumblings of disgruntled fans from the previous night’s show at The Gothic. Buckethead had had some sound issues and some missed cues in Denver but I was still trying to be positive for the show in Fort Collins. It did go off without a hitch technically but that was the least ...

Billy Strings 4.18.19

Salvage Station Asheville, NC Words by Jason Mebane Photos by J. Scott Shrader Photography When asked to write a review of last week's Billy Strings show at Asheville, North Carolina's Salvage Station I almost passed on it. I just wrote a review of his last Asheville show a few months ago and I thought it may be hard to come up with another set of words to describe to the readers exactly what a Billy Strings show is all about. I am sure there are a plethora of other reviews that other people have written focusing on how well he has mastered his instrument. I suppose I could recycle those thoughts and just sit here typing out a few adjectives describing each note Billy and his superb backing band played this past Thursday night, but that wouldn't be fun for me. Additionally I'd imagine a review like that wouldn't keep your attention either. Instead I have decided to focus on a few random parts of the Billy Strings show that seemed interesting to me. One: B...