It’s interesting to be able to think back on the music of the 1990s, let alone the 2000s and what evolved in the live music concert experience. The reemergence of the multi-day music festival gave the jam band revival a venue to gig multiple shows at once and get closer with the fans. What also changed was what kind of music was being performing in a live setting. There was always a separation between the deejay persona and electronica music from the whole rock’n’roll bands that jammed. That certainly changed with the growing popularity of summer music festivals.

Railroad Earth returned after two years to The Pageant on January 17^th to open with The Forecast and Tim Carbone on violin. Following a large crowd welcome, the band started up into a soulful Long Walk Home that had us swaying. The band got rolling with an upbeat Lordy, Lordy and got us to jump and stomp to Gold Rush. RV made everyone dream of taking a road trip due to the weekend’s warm weather and also had Andrew Altman on the double bass.

Fox Street is one of those bands I wouldn’t expect to be based in Colorado. Florida possibly, Texas I could see, but Colorado is a bit of a wildcard. Maybe it’s Jonathan Huvards’ throat churning, rocky road vocals. Then again it could be the picking, sliding and stomping of their close-knit instrumental unit that screams southern roots.

Nels Cline’s music brings tangibility to abstraction. Over the years, as bandleader or featured sideman, his approach has little preconception of where the music needs to go or how his audience will respond to it. It’s the next evolution in the jazz idiom. While younger generations might know Cline as the non-exemplary lead guitar of alt rock band Wilco, his career as an established jazz authority dates back to the mid 80s.

New Year’s Day is always a time of recovery for most. Due to the holidays and previous night’s revelry and celebration ringing in the New Year, it can be difficult for some to motivate. For this reason, many bands take this opportunity to throw down for their dedicated. That is why I wanted to be here for this laid back all-star jam. And it was for good reason. These musicians were ready to play even after a three set New Year’s Eve show the night before.

There are plenty of instrumentally urbane bands touring that keep audiences captivated while still lacking true songwriting sophistication. It’s more than a challenge to play the weight of a show on strong original material. It’s an even larger feat to achieve that without being a mimic. Sometimes surroundings inspire robust and natural creativity. And its no coincidence that the lovely mountain state of Colorado is home and foundation for many thriving live music acts.

For the third year running, jam-grass veterans The String Cheese Incident set up their New Year’s Eve residency at the 1^st Bank Center in Broomfield, Colorado for three nights of songs and celebration in their own backyard. The rear of the seated bowl was sparse Monday, but a creeping night one buzz helped melt conversations about the negative temperatures outside.

This night was a party, and who could be surprised by that with the amount of talent at Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom on this night. There were three bands and three painters that created an electric dance space under the giant disco ball to kick off the holiday festivities. The famous Frenchy, Scramble Campbell, and John Bukaty lined their canvas side by side on the left side of the stage and prepared for a night of sheer artistry.

James Brown, dubbed the hardest workingman in show business, is long gone. If anyone were to carry the torch in the contemporary touring scene Karl Denson would be a chief contender.

On a super busy concert night in this thriving state, which has seriously become even more of mecca for music than it already was over the last half a century, the Ogden Theatre hosted EOTO on their final night of their fall tour. It was a perfect place for them to go showcase their intergalactic improvisational sound and their Prism laser beams descending on the crowd like a hard-boiled egg slicer. Colfax Ave.