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Showing posts from January, 2014

Assembly of Dust and Floodwood 1.17 & 1.18.14

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Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom Denver, CO Words, Photos & Video By Nicholas Stock Audio By Corey Sandoval ( Kind Recordings ) Friday January 17th, 2014: After an incredible start to their Colorado run in Fort Collins, Floodwood spent a few nights taking in the beauty of the mountains. They rendezvoused with east coast buddies, Assembly Of Dust, for a two-night stand at Cervantes. This is like a dream show for me. AOD is a rare visitor to this state on top of the fact that this was Floodwood’s first trip here as well. This show was brought to you by Jambase, ListenUp Denver and Marquee Magazine, not to mention the 11th anniversary of Cervantes. Sisters Of Soul, Ultraviolet Hippo, Atomga and Tori Pater’s Big Bad Band filled out the lineup over on the Other Side. The Great Guys featuring members of The Congress, Yamn and The Whales took the opening slot on the main stage. That being said it was also the same weekend that Railroad Earth booked two nights at the Fillmore just u

MusicMarauders Presents: Trad-Plus (Chris Pandolfi) & Andy Hall of The Infamous Stringdusters

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Armoury Denver, CO Join us on Friday January 31st at Armoury in Denver, CO for MusicMarauders Presents: Trad-Plus (Chris Pandolfi) & Andy Hall of The Infamous Stringdusters! The show will include a set from Andy, a set from Chris and a duo set to close the evening! Tickets are only $12.00 in advance and include a free show poster with all pre-sales! Purchase Tickets: www.tinyurl.com/qc5742s www.musicmarauders.com www.thestringdusters.com www.armourydenver.com

Pink Talking Fish 1.18.14

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Quixote's True Blue Denver, CO Words & Photos By Brad Yeakel ( Opti Mystic Outlooks ) Video By Erik Thoms For the second time in the last few months, I had the opportunity to watch one of the most entertaining cover bands ever conceptualized. Pink Floyd. Talking Heads. Phish. That's all, just three epic bands with vast catalogues, psychedelic undertones, and ravenous fans. Pink Talking Fish chose some phenomenal material, then they arranged the songs in interesting ways that made for mind blowing setlists. With members of Particle in the lineup, it was no doubt the guys could play. They maneuvered through compositional sections and improvisations with confidence, skill, and style. They really were a joy to watch. It was fun knowing that no matter what they played next, I was going to like it. Every time I have seen Ben Combe, I've been more impressed. His skill has developed, and he has emerged as a chameleon of sorts, easily recreating the notes and styles

Zeta June with Tallgrass 1.16.14

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Avogadro’s Number Fort Collins, CO Words, Photos & Video By Nicholas Stock Two-time Summer Camp alumni Zeta June came to Avogadro’s Number in Fort Collins for a night of resolute dance music. They brought along recent Colorado transplants by way of Iowa City, Tallgrass along for the ride. Avo’s is a less known yet highly regarded oasis for live music. Unfortunately, each time I’ve went to shoot a band there the turnout has been sparse. This night was no different. I arrived and found a seat up front. Tallgrass came on promptly at 9:30 PM. As they played, the room was almost uncomfortably silent. From time to time I tried to break the palpable calm with limited success. Tallgrass calls themselves, ‘Dirt Stomping Soul;’ I would add that they are an utterly rare intermingling of folk, gospel, indie, bluegrass, and more. To say that they are an original musical undertaking would be quite the understatement. Tallgrass is eloquent almost poetically jazzy in their delivery of sa

Railroad Earth 1.17.14

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The Fillmore Auditorium Denver, CO Words & Photos By Brad Yeakel ( Opti Mystic Outlooks ) The weathered barn was at the end of a windy road. It's drafty, abandoned, dusty contents reflected long forgotten hoedowns, and barn parties. The smell of hay and wood were sensory compliments to the broken, battered, and rotten remnants of pitchforks and shovels, banjos and fiddles. As the years passed, the instruments were ultimately buried in a field behind the barn. Then one spring, the sun and rain brought sprouts from the ground, and up grew the most organic band in all the land. That was how I like to imagine Railroad Earth was formed. Truthfully, Friday night I thought they really sounded like a farm. Each player was a different flavor from the garden, and took turns seasoning the songs. From time to time, there was a pretty tasty soup cooking. On the other hand, there were some downfalls to being so terrestrial. For starters, from an entertainment perspective, I never f

Technicolor Tone Factory & Genetics 1.10.14

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The 1up Colfax Denver, CO Words By Andrew Martin Photos By J. Picard Friday marked the third time I’ve gotten the opportunity to see a show at 1up Colfax, one of Denver’s newest and most unique concert venues. The first of these three shows was December 20th, 2013, for the Grand Opening show with Yamn and DJ Russo. The second show was, much to my delight, the Umphrey’s McGee Bill GrahUM III show (with a set from DJ Wyllys as an opener and setbreak). Finally, I attended the Technicolor Tone Factory show with an opening set from Genetics on the 10th of January, and after three incredible shows, 1up Colfax is quickly becoming a venue where I can fully expect to have a fantastic time. Before stepping into the actual concert review, I think we’d be remiss if I didn’t tell you more about the venue that’s been open a mere three weeks. With the space from buying out the neighboring porn shop, 1up has developed a very welcoming room in which to have their shows, especially when compare

Floodwood & Gipsy Moon 1.14.14

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Hodi’s Half Note Fort Collins, Colorado Words, Photos & Video By Nicholas Stock Audio by Rob O’Brien I have personally been harassing Floodwood’s management for the better part of the last two years to get them to come out to Colorado. Given Al’s predilection for skiing it’s kind of a no brainer. Ever since first seeing them at Summer Camp I have been smitten with their sound. Floodwood’s brand of punchy acoustic music anchored by two members of jam powerhouse moe. is the perfect fit for any music fan. So finally it was announced that Floodwood would be embarking on their inaugural tour of Colorful Colorado. Their schedule included a short run into the mountains before two nights with Assembly Of Dust in Denver. Their first stop was a Tuesday night in Fort Collins. The evening began with local acoustic favorites, Gipsy Moon from Nederland. Gipsy Moon is an utterly fun experience. Their music imparts an impression of a romanticized nomadic existence framed by the kind of st

Chick Corea & Bela Fleck 1.16.14

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Newman Center University of Denver Denver, CO Words By J. Picard Photos By Kevin Hahn ( Split Open & Shoot ) The University of Denver sat quiet following a day of classes that included Bela Fleck conducting a workshop for music students. The Newman Center was illuminated in anticipation of the evening's performance. The grand lobby with its high ceiling, large archways and glorious stairs was staffed with two bars that included a selection of beer, wine and mixed drinks. Additionally there was a full four window box office and a band merchandise table. Elderly folks mingled as the the seven o'clock hour approached. A sort of chime sounded alerting folks that the show would be starting as they poured into the main concert hall. Ushers lead the way to assigned seats with fantastic vantages of what would be a most technical performance. The lights dimmed as a gentleman took the stage to set some parameters and fill in the capacity crowd on a plethora of upcoming ev

Umphrey's McGee 12.31.13

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The Fillmore Auditorium Denver, CO Words By J-man Photos By Kevin Hahn ( Split open & Shoot ) Coming off of an epic night of music at The 1up the previous evening, our palates were soaked and ready for three massive sets from Umphrey's McGee. There were a lot of places that we could have chosen to be that night, but really only one option in our mind. Outside of The Fillmore, we opened up our envelope of media credentials to find additional tickets for the sold out show. With all of our friends already with tickets or inside, we made a few peoples' night. Entering The Fillmore the searches were thorough, causing the line to extend as far down the block as I've seen it go. Once inside, we purchased a couple of $10.00 beers and made our way to the floor to carve out some space. The floor was packed with folks dressed in classy attire, costumes and boasting all sorts of random accessories. As my attention shifted to the stage, UM saddled up and the crowd roared loud

Preview: Pink Talking Fish Colorado Run

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Colorado, USA Join Pink Talking Fish featuring members of Particle on their Colorado run which kicks off on Thursday January 16th at Three20South in Breckenridge, then continues on Friday January 17th and Saturday January 18th with DeadPhish Orchestra at Quixote's True Blue in Denver, CO! Purchase Tickets For THURSDAY at Three20South: www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event Purchase Tickets For FRIDAY at Quixote's true Blue: www.holdmyticket.com/checkout Purchase Tickets For SATURDAY at Quixote's True Blue: www.holdmyticket.com/checkout www.facebook.com/PinkTalkingFish

The String Cheese Incident & The Del McCoury Band 12.31.13

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1stBank Center Broomfield, CO Words & Photos By Nicholas Stock After a night of couch tour with the Phish from Vermont on the 30th my wife and I rounded out our 2013 with a night of String Cheese. This was the third evening with Cheese for the truly faithful fans. It’s always a little bit odd jumping in at the end of a three-night run. It can make you feel sort of like a tourist, but I stand by my decision to peruse all of what New Year’s had to offer this year. I mean where on the planet is it even an option to see SCI, Yonder, or Umphrey’s all playing separate headlining shows within twenty miles of each other. The simple fact that I had to make that choice makes me thankful to live here on the Front Range. Fans had been scurrying around for several weeks leading up to the event trying to procure tickets but the large number of fingers pointed towards the sky meant that many were not successful. The show itself had been sold out for well over a month suggesting that man

Magic Beans 1.4.14

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Bluebird Theater Denver, CO Words & Photos By Brad Yeakel ( Opti Mystic Outlooks ) While a cold winter's night kept Colfax low key, the Nederland-based Magic Beans played their first headlining show at the Bluebird, and pulled an impressive crowd for their debut at the Denver theater. My only prior Bean experience was this past summer at State Bridge, and they were playing an acoustic set, billed as the Magic (String) Beans. I remember really enjoying that set, and I was excited to see the electric version of the band. Before the show, i had the chance the ask a few questions of the band behind the beanstalk. I wondered what significance the band name had to them, and if anyone was a particularly big fan of the Jack and the Beanstalk story. Scott Hachey (guitar) offered, "It's a great story, but I wouldn't say anyone had any more of an affinity for this story than say "Harold and the Purple Crayon" or "Good Night Moon"...Hendrix always