Reviews
While NASCAR superstar and eleven-year running fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. captured an irrelevant win last weekend at Martinsville Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. was hard at work racing down the road. The first leg of the glam-pop duo’s fall tour culminated in a voracious three-band onslaught at the Fox Theatre in The People’s Republic of Boulder, Colorado.
Last weekend Greensky Bluegrass hosted two sold-out shows at The Odgen Theater in Denver, Colorado. The shows were nothing short of spectacular - with killer sets that match the energy and skill Greensky fans love. The two performances showcased their new album, If Sorrows Swim, released last September. On Friday, Greensky mixed a few of those new songs with old songs, and a few old classics to boot.
“Music has always been a matter of Energy to me, a question of Fuel. Sentimental people call it Inspiration, but what they really mean is Fuel. I have always needed Fuel. I am a serious consumer.”
Hunter S. Thompson.
Note from gratefulweb.com management: We sent Jake Bendrick on assignment on Oct 22, 2014, with simple instructions. 1) Complete your concert review no later than 11:30 PM and turn it indirectly. 2) Keep it to 1000 words. Rather than complying with our request, he disappeared until late Sunday night at which point he returned to our office stinking of hydrogen peroxide, those rubber hot water bottles that people sometimes use for sore backs, and some kind of horrible Apple Candy Schnapps that supposedly came from Mexico. He turned in what he is calling a “review” that is over 5500 words long and has refused to edit a single word. He claims to have contributed this article at “great personal expense” and has threatened legal action if we edit “so much as a single goddamned comma, of which there are few, you dirty sonsofbitches.”
You know how our dads will turn us green with envy while casually mentioning seeing The Wailers or Led Zeppelin live? Nope? That’s just mine? Well the disappointment and jealous expressions on my future children’s faces was what was playing and re-playing through my mind on Sunday night as Pearl Jam took the stage.
Greensky Bluegrass returns to The Odgen Theater in Denver for an epic two nights this weekend to showcase their new album, If Sorrows Swim. It’s been an incredible past year for Greensky, with a spotlight during the world famous Telluride Bluegrass Festival, and a shared headline with Railroad Earth and The Wood Brothers at Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
Topics
There are some bands you never tire of. You’ll pay any price, drive to any city, and enjoy each show with the unvarnished enthusiasm of someone seeing them for the first time. That’s how I feel about The Avett Brothers.
It’s hard to use the term super-group without a couple of obvious stigmas surfacing. It usually constitutes musicians who were sensationalized with other bands coming together to benefit off of the novelty of their collaboration with other already successful players. Often the results are under-inspired, a lucrative opportunity to make a quick buck off of an established name. Not every band assembled of already established players constitutes super group.
How many more Dead tribute bands does the scene really need? There’s truly already plenty out there. Even if the music is structured to be boundless and open for continuation, it seems like bands could better serve the music with an improvisational spirit, but playing originals instead of Dead covers. Indeed it takes a special group of musicians who understand the music inside out and have the ability to diversify the extensive catalogue instead of simply parroting it.
