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Showing posts from February, 2012

Bowlive III: Night One 2.28.12

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Brooklyn Bowl Brooklyn, NY Words By Karen Dugan ( www.tinyrager.com ) Photos By Phrazz Happy Bowlive New York City! Faithful fans of Soulive descend upon the Brooklyn Bowl, one of Brooklyn’s premier music venues, last night for the first night of the highly anticipated ten-night run BOWLIVE III. In previous years, Bowlive audiences have had the pleasure of witnessing diverse line-ups of well-known and up and coming musicians, taking their turn on stage with guitarist Eric Krasno, organist Neal Evans and drummer Alan Evans, the soulful trio who inspire these ten nights of musical magic. Bowlive III will be no different with scheduled collaborations by Zach Deputy, Big Sam, Karl Denson, Questlove, Lettuce, Rahzel, Allen Stone, Jennifer Hartswick, and the Alecia Chakour Band. More additions are added continuously over the run so keep those eyes (and ears) open. Straying from the formula of the past two years, Soulive hit the stage early, opting out of an opening band until the weekend pe

From Denver to Boulder w/ PMW 2.25.12

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Casa De Paul Brown Denver, CO Words By J-man Photos By J-man & Carly Marthis Who is Poor Man's Whiskey? Are they just another gimmicky cover band exploiting the popular music of a past generation or could their original music stand on it's own? How was it that Michael Kang got signed on to this project? I had a lot of questions as my curiosity peaked leading up to seeing the band for the first time. It was a Friday afternoon in Denver, CO and Carly and I had a date with PMW w/ Michael Kang at The Casa De Paul Brown! We swung by Quixote's True Blue to pick up a stack of tickets for the evening's show at The Oriental Theater, which I would be selling to the attendees of Paul's Pickin' Party. As fantastic folks and familiar faces flooded into Paul's place in Denver's Lower Highlands, food was catered in from The Highland Tap & Burger and drinks were poured. By the time the band arrived the party was buzzing! I ducked upstairs to use the restroom wh

Garrett Sayers Trio 2.22.12

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Highland Tap & Burger Denver, CO Words By J-man Photos & Video By Jhonette Perdue & Brian Rempel ( BiggerGuyProductions ) The Garrett Sayers Trio (Garrett, Patrick Lee, Jonny Jyemo) Residency is the place to be on Wednesdays in Denver! Every Wednesday folks, both weekly attendees and new-comers, flock to The Highland Tap & Burger in Denver's Lower Highlands for an evening of FREE music with a who's who crowd from the live music scene! Promoters, musicians, managers, publicists and fans converge on the Tap for what has become a magical showcase boasting incredible vibes, as well as great food and drinks! This past Wednesday, The Highland Tap played host to it's biggest turn out yet for the weekly showcase! The room was packed with folks watching in amazement as the trio tore through some enjoyable instrumental covers and originals, including tracks by Black Star, Medeski Martin & Wood and more. The music took on an energetic yet vibey swagger as the band&

Whitewater Ramble's Mardi Gras 2.21.12

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The Fox Theatre Boulder, CO Words By J-man Photos By Carly Marthis & J-man With the coming of Mardi Gras came what felt like an annual event, Whitewater Ramble with special guests in Boulder! WWR was joined by The Henhouse Prowlers for an evening that would mark my first time seeing both WWR & HHP with their newest members. Backstage special guests began to turn out and the party began with a mix of musicians tuning and jamming. At one point the Henhouse Prowlers began a warm-up/pickin' session that caught the attention of the whole room triggering everyone to stop what they were doing and gather around the suited band of professionals. We joked with Joey Porter (Motet, Juno What) about his role in the event before having a conversation with Ben Wright (Banjo, HHP) and Patrick Sites (Mandolin, WWR) for MusicMarauders Live. The conversation begged some interesting questions and yielded some satisfying responses. The time came for the Henhouse Prowlers to take the stage, so w

Juno What 2.18.12

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Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom Denver, CO Words By J-man Photos By Carly Marthis We went in search of a dance party and a dance party is what we found! Juno What's electro-funk throw down returned to Denver for an evening that would mark their second performance in Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom. The ballroom filled in as Sunsquabi opened the evening of music. Backstage the vibe was high as members of Juno What, Joey Porter & Steve Watkins, dawned their characteristic white jump suits. With the arrival of Dave Watts the trio was ready to take the stage to a fast-filling Cervantes! Juno What appeared to an elevated level of energy and wasted no time in diving into their filthy funk. Mind-bending notes and vocals from the two talkboxes of Joey and Steve fueled the party, while Dave gave the crowd a beat to get down to. Through one set of raging jams, they touched on such favorites as the title track off of their second album, "Shameless" as well as "Take Contr

Poor Man's Whiskey w/ Michael Kang 2.24.12

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The Oriental Theater Denver, CO Words & Photos By Nicholas Stock Heading down to the Oriental Theater in Denver, the only name on the bill that I had seen before was Michael Kang. My expectations were low even though I had heard rave reviews about Poor Man’s take on the Pink Floyd classic. First up was Dead Winter Carpenters opening the show. Hailing from North Lake Tahoe, California, this roots rock band blends elements of folk, blues, jam, bluegrass and more. They put on an interesting show to say the least. They opened up with a rowdy "How To Make A Living 101." SET I: How To Make A Living 101, Devil Town, Find Your Home, Sun Don’t Shine, I Shot Him, Tahoe Gal, From Here to San Antone, One Foot In The Gutter, East On 8, Take Your Mama, Cabin Fever I have to say that I was impressed with what Dead Winter Carpenters brought to the table. They had an easy-going feel to their sound, but with an urgency to their heavy hitting tunes that got the crowd moving. The Oriental

Snowlive 2.19.12

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The Fox Theatre Boulder, CO Words & Photos By Nicholas Stock Soulive is a classic soul-jazz, funk instrumental outfit hailing from upstate New York. Their sound is from a bygone era with a power and ferocity that can’t help but turn heads. I caught them way back in my early days in the scene, but have not seen them live for over five years. When I heard about their Snowlive run at The Fox, which included sit-ins from JJ Grey, Jonathan Stewart, Jon Grey and Jennifer Hartswick as well as workshops in the afternoons, I knew I had to catch at least one night. The Snowlive run, which continues in Lake Tahoe this weekend was jam-packed with music and information. Sunday’s show was a solo performance that ended with their highly touted Rubber Soulive set that was comprised of selections from The Beatles. The atmosphere in the room when I arrived was casual. By the time Soulive took the stage the room was loosely packed, but most definitely full. The range in the crowd was incredibly dive