Red Rocks Amphitheater in Denver, Colorado is one of the world’s premier concert venues. Just recently comedian Bill Burr shot his new special at the scenic concert hall and over
MMJ kicked off a two-night stand at Red Rocks with a number of choice covers.
Umphrey’s McGee and Railroad Earth will return to Red Rocks this September.
Of the hundreds of outdoor venues Phil Lesh has played over the past 50 years, the Grateful Dead/Furthur bassist ranks Red Rocks in the top two along with The Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. In fact, there’s a plaque at the Morrison, Colorado venue that says as much, so you knew last night’s Furthur show at Red Rocks had the makings of something special.
[via @MusicNeverStops]
For the start of the second set, Phil and Bobby’s band welcomed Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes and Chris Robinson Brotherhood to lead them through classic Pigpen-sung tunes The Stranger (Two Souls in Communion) and Hard To Handle as well as the Furthur debut of Bob Dylan’s You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere. Robinson has a long history with Weir and Lesh dating back to the Crowes opening for the Dead in Tampa on April 7, 1995. More recently, Chris did a few tours with Phil and Friends and performed back in August with Weir and Jackie Greene at the Folks Festival in Lyons, Colorado. Back on March 12, 2010, Robinson first sat in with Furthur at Phil Lesh’s 70th Birthday Bash, where he sung a number of songs including The Stranger.
Chris Robinson w/ Furthur – The Stranger (Two Souls in Communion)
READ ON for more on Chris Robinson’s big night with Furthur…
Umphrey’s McGee @ Red Rocks (July 3) and Boulder Theater (July 4)
Words: Emily Alderman
Photos: Matthew Speck
While Many bands are blessed with the opportunity to perform at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, very few can fill the vast space with sound and compete with the natural beauty around them. On Sunday night, Umphrey’s McGee easily accomplished this challenge with Jefferson Waful manning the light rig as they returned to the gorgeous venue for the second year of Red Rocks and Blue.
[All photos by Matthew Speck]
Opening the first set with a melodic Jazz Odyssey that filled the amphitheater with sounds that tingled auditory senses and lights that sent chills up your spine, the thousands of fans in attendance got a taste of what they were in for. Umphrey’s started off set one with some classic “jammy” tunes, playing songs such as Bridgeless and Professor Wormbog early in the show, but as the evening progressed they showcased some of their new prog-heavy originals – Puppet Strings, No Comment and Deeper. Even though these newer songs definitely have a different feel to them they still continue to showcase the outstanding musical abilities of the members of Umphrey’s McGee, from the soulful belting vocals of Brendan Bayliss to the rock-god shredding of Jake Cinninger, each member had an opportunity to flaunt their talent in mini solo jams sprinkled throughout the set.
Just as everyone began to become restless from what seemed to be a never-ending set break, Umphrey’s returned for set two with one of their newest songs, Nipple Trix. A composition featuring a slow build up, Nipple Trix almost seemed to be a cue from the band to stand up and stretch out those rock fists to get ready for what they had prepared for us…and oh boy did they have a treat for our rock fists. With special guests Curtis Fowlkes and Jennifer Hill from Easy Star All-Stars on horns, Umphrey’s kept the second set moving with their cover of the Peter Gabriel classic Sledgehammer. As the horns echoed throughout the amphitheatre, the crowd shouted the well-known lyrics and pumped their rock fists.
READ ON for more on Umphrey’s Colorado run…
Words: Alexander Wolff
Images: Jason Woodside
Disco Biscuits – Bisco Inferno Weekend: May 26 – 28
For some Disco Biscuits fans, there is no greater treat in the world than to watch the group perform at Red Rocks. Arguably the best outdoor amphitheatre in the country, Red Rocks is a venue that brings a magic all its own to each show. Along with the natural beauty of the venue, the Biscuits have been putting in extra effort to make this weekend as special for their fans as possible and they are finally beginning to succeed.
[All photos by Jason Woodside]
Like most bands, the Biscuits are at their best when touring heavily, so with only 12 tDB shows in 2011 leading up to Bisco Inferno weekend, there was some skepticism and apprehension about whether they would play well. Fans hoped it wouldn’t take too long for the group to start firing on all cylinders. With two shows at the Ogden leading up to the finale at Red Rocks, there wound up being plenty of time for the band get their groove back.
May 26 – Ogden Theatre
Unfortunately, the first show of the weekend on Thursday night was a bit of a letdown. The first set was uneventful save for a slick segue into Shem-Rah Boo, which featured a neat jam out of the middle before returning to Voices Insane. The Overture was a treat, but oddly placed. The second set was somewhat redeeming, with a highly exploratory Orch Theme that featured several beautiful themes and peaked more than once. Tricycle > Mr. Don also featured some excellent playing, most notably from keyboardist Aron Magner.
Set 1: The Very Moon > Voices Insane > Shem-Rah Boo1 > Voices Insane, Neck Romancer, The Overture
Set 2: Park Ave. > Vassillios > Orch Theme > Tricycle > Mr. Don, Shelby Rose
Encore: Mulberry’s Dream
1unfinished
[All setlists via PT Bisco]
READ ON for more from Bisco Inferno weekend…
Jamtronica faves the Disco Biscuits will return to Red Rocks for Bisco Inferno 2011 on Saturday, May 28th. The Biscuits will be joined by Rusko, Big Boi, BoomBox and Emancipator
String Cheese Incident “fucked with the stars” last night at Red Rocks where they debuted covers of MGMT’s anthem for the youth, Time to Pretend, and Joe Walsh’s ode to
Disco Biscuits – Bisco Inferno Weekend, May 27 – 30
Words: Alexander Wolff
Images: Jason Woodside
Colorado is a funny place for music these days. This beautiful area has been taking the rest of the country’s bands and turning The Centennial State into their biggest market. The Disco Biscuits appear to be to be the latest victim of what is surely one of the more pleasurable trends of the last few years to develop in this scene. Late May’s Bisco Inferno Weekend would indeed make this point clear to all of those in attendance. While many were nervous about Jon “The Barber” Gutwillig’s guitar playing, as he has been absent from live performance for some time due to a fractured wrist, by the end of the weekend it was as though he’d never broken the damned thing.
With little warning, a fair number of would-be attendees for Thursday’s show at the Boulder Theater found themselves observing a strange phenomenon: Marc Brownstein, responsible for the low end rumble of The Disco Biscuits’ electric pulse, announced to the world via Twitter that the band would play an acoustic set at the Pearl St. Mall, across the way from the theater. Several hundred gathered to watch: I say watch because very few were able to hear the performance, with the exception of a few lucky photographers and the rest of us who could hear Allen Aucoin’s dynamic dance drum beat. Jon “The Barber” Gutwillig’s voice could certainly be heard, but his guitar as well as Brownstein’s bass were both drowned out by the conversations of the crowd. Alas, fun was had by all. The best part for those in attendance seemed to be that the Biscuits themselves were having a ball.
Boulder Theater proved to be the weakest of the three Bisco shows this weekend, but it wasn’t without its moments. The first set was relatively uneventful, with Rivers seeing the first exploration of the night; a short, rocking jam that never got going quite as well as it could have. The Story Of The World segment would have been far more interesting if Aceetobee didn’t have the wet blanket of a Boom Shanker dropped in the middle. The second set was a big improvement, with great improvisations showing up in both Save The Robots and Digital Buddha, and Lunar Pursuit was well placed in the Buddha sandwich. The Spy encore got the crowd going, and was a good choice, displaying several angles of the Biscuits’ sound before wrapping up a night that could have been a better showing.
READ ON for more on Bisco Inferno Weekend in Colorado…
The Disco Biscuits’ Bisco Inferno Weekend started early with an impromptu set on Pearl Street in Boulder on Thursday and continued until Sunday when Jon Gutwillig played a rare acoustic show at the Fox. In between, the Biscuits delivered six varied sets, a few of which were picked by fans as part of the Planet Anthem pre-order. To whet your appetite for our coming Inferno coverage, here’s a look at the Home Again encore from Red Rocks…
Disco Biscuits – Home Again (Live at Red Rocks)
READ ON for the setlists from Bisco Inferno Weekend…
