The Infamous Stringdusters 1.19.12

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Fox Theatre
Boulder, CO

Words By J-man
Photos By J-man & Carly Marthis

The Infamous Stringdusters were back in Boulder, CO which meant that's where we needed to be. We battled one of the windiest nights in Colorado from Denver to Boulder where we found ourselves parked in the lot across the street from The Fox Theatre. There was a long line out front of the building and the sizeable crowd that gathered looked excited and energetic. Inside the theatre it was filling in quickly. A photographer snapped shots of folks in different poses as they came through the door for The Fox Theatre's Facebook page. The mood was really light and party-like as the opener Pert' Near Sandstone took the stage.

Music filled the Fox with Pert' Near Sandstone putting out some old-time sounding bluegrass. I enjoyed the music and thought it to be a fitting opener for The Stringdusters, however it was odd to see that one of the gentleman's role in the band was almost strictly tap dancing. Somewhere during their set I received a text from Chris Pandolfi (Banjo) letting us know that they were backstage and that we should join them. We toughed our way through the crowd toward the backstage enterance where we were greeted by Chris.

Backstage members of The Stringdusters warmed up and prepared for what was looking like a sold out show. We stepped to the far end of the dressing room to record a conversation for MusicMarauders Live.



Following the conversation we headed back upstairs... On the way up the stairs, the evening's set list was posted on the wall. I immediately noticed the name "Jeff Austin" (Yonder Mountain String Band) on the set list. We headed out into the crowd and found a spot with a little bit of room towards the back of the venue. Approaching the time that The Stringdusters would take the stage, I headed back to the greenroom once more to grab a group shot of the band. This time I found Jeff Austin and Tyler Grant (Grant Farm) backstage...



The show began with an outward pouring of energy and musical talent! The band moved freely around the stage shifting their positions as they passed around solos. The vibe was electric. Just prior to the ISD's set I confirmed with the manager of The Fox that the show was indeed sold out! The Fox was packed and moving along with the sweet melodies of the Stringdusters.

Songs like "Steam Powered Airplane" and "Get It While You Can" resonated throughout the theater and the hearts of those lucky fans in attendance. As expected, Jeff Austin joined the Stringdusters on stage, elevating the vibe and exciting the crowd beyond belief! As Jeff took the stage, The Fox went into a frenzy of dancing, yelling and beer spilling! After getting tagged with our second beer, we made the unfortunate but necessary decision to exit The Fox to protect our gear. We took our equipment back to our car and attempted to find a decent spot to view the show from the back of the crammed venue. Alas, it was packed, uncomfortable and near overwhelming.

"Good for The Stringdusters," I thought as we exited the venue. They had outgrown The Fox Theatre! What an impressive turnout for an incredibly talented band. The Stringdusters have become quite the sought out group of musicians... Possibly the best at what they do on the bluegrass scene. If there is a more complete package, I'm not aware of it. Go see The Infamous Stringdusters!

J-man & Carly's Photo Gallery

www.thestringdusters.com

www.foxtheatre.com

Comments

  1. BrianJanuary 29, 2012 at 12:36 PM

    I'm a huge fan of the String Dusters and Pert Near Sandstone and both bands put on unforgettable live shows. The 'tap dancer' you refer to from Pert Near is Andy Lambert who is a super talented clogger and plays an integral musical role in the band which is actually fairly common for old-tyme string bands. If you've never seen a raging fast string band with a clogger to match you are missing out - his dancing solos are a favorite of fans in Minneapolis.

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