Big Head Todd and the Monsters were welcomed home with open arms the last two nights from sold out crowds at Washington’s in Fort Collins, Colorado. It's always heart warming when BHTM walk onto any stage in the Rocky Mountain state. There is so much love and adoration for their soul shaking longevity you can’t ignore the infectious energy they bring. The band is celebrating their forty year history as a band and what a mile stone that is. When you look back on their humble beginnings that started in Northern Colorado and look ahead at the band's future the memories are vast and the possibilities are endless.
Can you imagine the miles the band has traveled, the endless mile markers passed on the open highway and the late nights behind the windshield chasing the the moon? I am betting they found inspiration in those special times and still carry those memories with them today. It must be so rewarding for this band to look back at the past forty years of touring, recording and the changes they have endured. The music industry environment certainly has gone through some major changes over those years as well. From a time when radio was king and selling records and touring was really your only option on getting your music out to the world, and now everything is just a swipe away. The two things that have not and never will change for BHTM is their sheer determination, talent and ambitious attitudes to perform the best rock show every time they perform and the love they have for their fans.
BHTM released their first full length album in seven years this past summer and it absolutely embodies the energy and diversity of their music. The band's twelfth studio album titled “Her Way Out” is an American roots blues rock album. All of the songs on the new album were written by Mohr and has his heart and soul all over it. His emotional delivery of his lyrics and his guitar playing feels like a moody, melodic, introspective masterpiece. The man loves the blues, he understands it and embraces everything the genre has to offer. His love for the Delta Blues style mixed with his contemporary rock arrangements give the music a heartland vibe. He certainly has soulful songwriting abilities and emotional lyrics that embody a different time and place. Maybe it was him that sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads.
Mohr was not alone in the studio for the recording of “Her Way Out”. He was joined by his bandmates Brian Nevin on drums, Rob Squires on bass and Jeremy Lawton on keyboards, pedal steel, lap steel, guitar and backing vocals. The album was self produced by the band, mixed and engineered by Jeremy Lawton and mastered by Mark Fuller. These same musicians with the exception of Fuller were all on stage at Washington's this past Friday and Saturday and they sounded bigger, bolder and broader than ever before.
Covering songs from many eras of the bands career they have never sounded fresher and more vibrant. Mohr’s unmistakable voice was powerfully buttery and crystal clear. He articulated every word with emotional warmth and soul. His ability to deliver his lyrics in time with the songs rhythm was a wonderful display of his vocal phrasing and voice control. He simply painted his words onto a blank canvas filling it with compelling, vulnerable inflections. He pushed his words forward and pulled them back where needed, always giving the audience elements of the richness of his words and voice. On guitar Mohr had all kinds of crazy skills up his sleeve. He drove his guitar at the audience like a train wheel on fire. His technicality blended perfectly with progressive, contemporary and down right slow burn grooves that moved and shaped each song into their own musical personality. Don’t get me started on his guitar solos that can peel paint off the walls!
Nevin on drums and Squires on bass are the dream team of rhythm sections. After playing together for four decades they know exactly what each other are up to. The hard hitting drumming style from Nevin and the rock steady bass grooves of Squires anchored the band to a foundation that was heavy on thickness and punchy on power. The two of them together were joined at the low-end hip and never let up on filling the house with heart pounding rhythm. Lawton on keyboards, lap and pedal steel and guitar was laying into his Hammond organ like it owed him money. Rich swirling tones emanated from his Leslie speaker filling the room with robust instrumentation and warm rich tone. His style on the piano was equally as impressive as were his guitar skills and background vocals.
With different set lists for each night the band left some fan favorites on both and added some cover tunes. Some of those very cool covers included ‘Boom Boom’ by John Lee Hooker, ‘Brandy’ by Looking Glass, ‘I Wanna Be Sedated' by the Ramones and ‘You Wreck Me’ by Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers for the first night. The second night included ‘Boom Boom’ by John Lee Hooker, ‘Foreplay’ by Boston, 'Beast Of Burden' by the Rolling Stones
and ‘Highway Star’ from Deep Purple to close out the fantastic and unforgettable two night run in Fort Collins. We have included those full set lists below.
A heartfelt thanks to BHTM for an unforgettable weekend of music, to Washington’s for hosting, and to the production staff for their stellar work. Special appreciation goes to Christopher Fernald (Lighting Designer) for making the stage shine brilliantly.
