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CIT 2011
The weekend of August 26th and 27th was a good one for SCAMP fans in Denver. With Papadosio on Friday night and This Must Be The Band on Saturday night, it was sure to be a nice reminder of what we all look forward to in May…
Friday night at the Bluebird was host to a Papadosio show. Even though these guys are from Indiana it sure seemed to be a hometown kind of feel. If Denver isn’t their second home, it seems like it should be. I’m not positive but I think they sold out the venue, which I believe is 550 tickets, a great showing, for any band. The best part of the large crowd though was that they were all really into what was going on up on the stage. Papadosio still looks to be a really young band, and they are, but boy are they starting to figure it out. With a great mix of new technology and old school dance music, Papadosio brings a party to every city they play. Great bass lines, cool vocals, solid guitar work and a machine for a drummer all keep this band going strong. If you missed them at SCAMP check them out in a city near you soon. If not, make sure to see them in May. This band is one that is on the rise, already selling out venues like the bluebird, they are bound to make some magic happen.
Saturday was no slouch of a night either. With This Must Be The Band in town, I was super pumped to get my Talking Heads dancing requirement in for the month…oh, you don’t have a Talking Heads Dance Req? You should…just sayin…
Anyway, I got to the venue as the notes of the first song, Makin’ Flippy Floppy, were ending. Every time I see this band I am blown away by their dedication. To learn the Heads music so well and perform it in a way that gets everyone in the crowd live is a very special thing. Of course we got all the classics…Punches, Flippy Floppy, Life During Wartime, Cities…It was phenomenal.
I got a chance to catch up with the band at set break and see how everything is going. I went to school with the front man, his name is Charlie Otto and if you haven’t had a chance to meet him, head down to Martyr’s and grab a beer from him where he is also one hell of a bartender. From everything I can gather, Charlie and the rest of his band mates were stoked on the turnout at Cervantes…Considering that this was their first trip to Colorado, the 500-700 people I estimate were in there is a wonderful turnout. Really, this band is just happy to be playing music. Of course everyone is trying to “make it” and in a certain sense, these guys have. Kasey Foster, the beautiful leading lady of the band said it was her first time with a rider so she decided to throw in a bottle of wine which she enjoyed at set break…not the whole bottle, but a glass…Which is another really cool thing about the band. They were not there to get wasted. With a focus on providing a great show, This Must Be The Band achieves that and more.
Hopefully SCAMP brings them back because their impromptu set in the tent last year was G’NICE…If you didn’t catch it I assume they’ll be playing somewhere in the Chicago land area soon. Don’t miss them!
A Day In Of The Life
Well, a weekend actually. My Umphrey’s Red Rocks and Blue experience actually began on Friday July 1st when I picked up some of my Chicago peeps from the Denver Airport. It was great to have the Midwest peeps back with me again and the buzz of excitement that could be only an Umphrey’s show was already building. We went out Friday night and Saturday night and caught my good friends, the Fox Street Allstars as they brought their band of rock and funk to my favorite Denver bar, Herb’s Jazz and Blues. If you haven’t had a chance to check out the Fox Street Allstars, please do so. They are good friends and tour around with the New Mastersounds. We all know those cats can throw down and let’s just say Fox Street holds their own.
Anyway, Sunday came and it was time for Red Rocks. By now the crew had increased to about a dozen. We had a van pick us up for the show, SAFETY FIRST, and headed out. We got to the lot just before doors, hopped in line and went into the venue. It was a slow to grow crowd and we were able to put some tarps down in the sweet spot, rows 24 and 25, just left of center. We got in touch with another crew of peeps and had our group of 30 or so rollin all together.
Up first were the New Mastersounds. They looked so funny packed in all tight on top of one another. Appearances, and Eddie Roberts’ new hair cut aside, those euro boys really held it down. I love seeing them play and I’m so happy they have become friends with the UM guys and that gives me more chances to see them. Up next was the Easy Star Allstars performing some of their originals as well as some of their dub covers. A really fun show, something must have gone wrong though with the timing because they were just about to start their bong rip influenced “money” from dub side of the moon when they got cut off. Regardless they hold it down and always put on an amazing show. Nevertheless it was time for UMPHREY’S.
I know I have mentioned before how Umphrey’s are my favorite, and this show at Red Rocks really reinforced that for me. First set began as the sun was really setting. Jefferson Waful would pretty much dominate everything that happened the whole night. When he gets to set up a rig like the one he had this night, with some 60 odd moving lights, well, he can really create some textures that are of unsurpassable beauty and I applaud him for his efforts. The music though, boy the music. This was a really special show for me for a lot of reasons. I was with some of my best friends in the world both from Denver and Chicago and I was actually privileged to be able to introduce 2 other friends of mine to UM…what a first show to see.
I’m not sure about everyone else but I am really stoked on the way these new tunes are coming together. We got Puppet String in the first set which is just an awesome song full of metaphors vocal harmonies and soaring guitar riffs. Dropping into a dirty Hurt Bird Bath was probably a really good idea, and the plunger ending was a great way to send us off to set break. 2nd set was amazing as well. Divisions and Haji were my personal highlights as those songs have the tendency to tug on my heart strings. Ok, I’ll say it, I was crying during both tunes…I can’t help it…between the scenery, my environment (inside my body), my people, the lights, the songs, it was all too much. Not tears of sadness , but almost of connection and shared experience. Leaving his lyrics open to interpretation, Brendan really allows people to connect with his music, simply amazing. Finally, the encore, Pearl Jam’s Release, with huge vocals, Brendan’s voice seemed to flow over the entire crowd and wrap them in a blanket of emotion connected to the song. This song is especially meaningful to one of my best friends, Ben Burstein, and for me to see him see this song was very special as it helps me understand what his world is about a little more.
With the show over we headed back to the van. Between our 14 and another limo of 18, we were about to continue the party at my place where an ice cold keg of PBR was waiting for us. Upon arrival, my roomie Kari was getting things ready and we were about to rage. The Fox Street boys, my roommate Jordan and his band Kinetix, and s couple other special guests who later got locked in our backyard for half an hour, were all getting down together. The tunes and the beers were flowing and we were all so happy to be home safe with each other just living the life. I think we all got to settling down around sunrise. Epic, epic night.
Waking up on the 4th we all could barely do anything considering the night before. But, in the true spirit of an Umphreak, we rallied and raged. We got up to Boulder about an hour before the show, grabbed a bite to eat on the Pearl Street mall and headed into the Boulder Theater. Crew and I headed straight up to the balcony and to our surprise, all the seats had been removed. I later found out they went out for cleaning, but it was great up there. Super roomy, awesome sound, unadulterated view. From everything I hear people talking about, they loved the Boulder Show more than the Red Rocks show and if you are into a dancey night of Umphrey’s I’d have to agree. With such a small room and everyone being such a big fan, there was a lot of energy flying around in the boulder theater. Between Booth Love, the Triple Wide, Wappy, and In the Kitchen, the dance force was out in full effect. For me, however, getting to see Murph come out and play Comfortably Numb was the highlight. Every single person singing along, it was phenomenal. Check out this video by my buddy Ben: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUkG5a2hXTM
With all that we had experienced I continue to realize how lucky we are to get to see a band like Umphrey’s. And just as every note they play can ring for only so long, seeing a live band is a fleeting endeavor. We never know how long they will play or what the future holds. So whatever your band is, go see them. Go see them as much as you can because tomorrow, you might not be able to.
Denver Music Scene, God I Love You
So I want to tell you all about 3 very different shows that I got a chance to see recently and just beg Summer Camp to put all these peeps on the bill for next year. First up is Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. Good lord. Now I don’t know if you have ever seen Grace, but that is exactly what she is made of. Amazingly beautiful and classy, Grace has an energy about her that makes you go, woah…Now, if you have ever heard Grace Potter you already know this…her talent and voice surpass even her beauty. It is really amazing. She has so much power inside her that she can unleash on the crowd any time she wants. Please Summer Camp Staff…if there is anyway to get Grace on the bill, DO IT!!! Give her a night set and let her throw down!
Ok, enough of that, sorry, I just get really worked up when I start talking about Grace Potter. Anyway, show number 2, some good friends and local heroes, Yamn, an amazing band from Denver, has played Summer Camp before. These guys are really starting to make some moves professionally in terms of the quality of venue they play, the number of people they draw, and more. The first time I heard these guys play I was like, did Umphrey’s and Sound Tribe have a baby? Here is some clips from their New Years show up in Breckenridge: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GB2xZvmpR4 I know if you see these guys, and they tour with UV Hippo some times, that you will not be disappointed. They have a wonderful lighting director named Pauly who like Jefferson Waful is learning to paint the music with his lights and bring another element to the show. I got to catch a great rendition of I Am the Walrus at the show I went to. Seeing a band like this come up is really cool. To meet their fans who support them like no other. One of their biggest fans and my good friend Mackenzie Moore runs CAM Showear, clothes for shows…Yamn is the kind of band that brings people like her out of the wood work. Check out her show clothes here: http://www.facebook.com/cam.showear. As I get more and more into music, it is the local scene and the first fans of bands that really intrigue me. I think it is easy to see why people are big fans of big bands. But to “know” so early in a band’s career that they are the band for you, latching on and supporting them as friends and as musicians, it is a special community to be a part of. If you have a band like that in your neck of the woods, tell Summer Camp about them cuz all these kids deserve a shot.
Finally, just last week, I got to see Mr. Eric Johnson. If you don’t know who this guys is, you should. Perhaps you know his most famous song, Cliffs of Dover…I didn’t but I did know this guy had chops. With just a 3 piece he made so much music. I saw some chord shapes on the guitar I have never seen before. I think I have a new guitar hero though. His stylings were really tasteful. Beautiful chords, amazing solos…I got a bit of an Umph vibe off him and I would not be surprised at all if it turns out Jake was down with Eric Johnson.
Anyway, just wanted to let you all know about a couple shows I had seen. I’m heading out to see Styx and Yes tonight at Red Rocks, and August should be a good month for music too. Until next time…
CIT Taraleigh Weathers Gives a Recap of STS9 in Burlington, Vermont.
Burlington, VT has been on fire since the students have returned back to all of the colleges in the area. There are a ton of amazing bands at the venues all over town each night that our biggest decision in life is what band to rock out to. Life is very hard in Burlington:) On October 12th kids ventured to Higher Ground to check out some fantabulous dubstep. EOTO had each and every one of their fans dressed in anything from acid washed jeans to shiny jumpsuits with animal ear hats hypnotized with every whomp whomp they produced. Michael Travis and Jason Hann are one hundred percent committed to giving the show of their lives every time they hit the stage, which we as fans really appreciate. Every performance I’ve seen of EOTO so far, they have gone balls to the wall. Actually I would say the balls crushed the wall. You can’t help but dance, scream, shimmy, gyrate and maybe even pee yourself because you are so excited by the music. I love EOTO so much I wrote a Haiku about it.
Jason and Michael
They bring the whomp whomp whomp whoooooomp
EOTO melts minds
I also write one of the poems where you come up with a word for each letter
E- Everyone feeds off the energy of the band
O- Out of this world raging
T- Too much for my grandma to handle
O- Oooooohhh! I’m so excited to see them at Summer Camp next year:)
By Taraleigh Weathers
–
Live Deliciously!
www.healthyhippiemagazine.com
www.phanfood.com
The date was Saturday, August 10th. The place was Fort Collins, CO. And the show was the Tedeschi Trucks Band. Dear lord. If anyone can show me a better husband and wife guitar duo, I’ll buy you a late night ticket to SCAMP 2012…While Tedeschi Trucks was not the only act to play that night, they were certainly the headliners of the Bohemian Nights Music Festival held for FREE by the city of Fort Collins, Colorado. What a beautiful thing. Probably the best slide guitar player in the world and its free. Just sayin, all other cities out there…
Anyway, I was there not only for Tedeschi Trucks, but also for my buddies, the Fox Street Allstars who had the opportunity to open for the big guns. I’m sure I’ve mentioned Fox Street before, but if I haven’t go check them out here: www.foxstreetallstars.com Rumor has it they’ll be touring this winter with another SCAMP artist that I can’t really talk about so if you see their name on a bill make sure you get a ticket. If you need any convincing I’m pretty sure Derek Trucks was on the side of the stage for the performance and I’m pretty sure I saw his mouth move in the shape of “Holy shit, these guys are good, we better bring the thunder…” I could easily be mistaken.
Whether or not I was, bringing the thunder is exactly what the Tedeschi Trucks Band did. I’m not sure, but I think there were 11 people on stage playing and it was awesome. Derek, as I mentioned, is probably the best slide guitar player in the world…so much control and such an interesting right hand technique…I hear he just kind of picked up the guitar at 5 and just knew how to play it…probably why he was touring with and opening for the Allman Brothers at age 14. If you don’t listen to Derek Trucks, check him out. His wife, Susan Tedeschi is no guitar slouch herself, mostly strumming and singing with the voice of an angel who loves to drink, she has the ability and often does rip great blues guitar solos. Together these two make some amazing music and I for one am super jealous of the musical opportunities that will no doubt be available to any and all of their children they may have or will have…but I digress. In addition to an amazing show, the technical side of it was super cool as well. With a great light rig, and the sun setting just before they took the stage, we were all treated to a wonderful visual display, I’ve included a pic…I especially liked the hanging LED strips…
The show was amazing; the horn players each had their time to shine, each back up vocalist got an opportunity to sing lead, a very democratic band if I’ve ever seen one. Most of the songs they played came off their new album, Revelator, which I’ve had stuck in my CD player for a few months straight now…If you ever get the chance to see Derek Trucks, even if you aren’t into his music, go see him play. In my opinion, it’s just phenomenal to watch anyone who is great at whatever it is they are doing, and as one of the greatest guitar players of our generation, I’d have to say Derek Trucks falls into that category.
Ok folks, there are a few things that the state of Wisconsin is known for and they are the
cheese curds, the beer, the Wisconsin Dells and Summer Fest. Summer fest is the biggest
music festival in the US an it is held through the month of July in Milwaukee. The weather was perfect, the choice of friends who came were perfect and being able to pre party in the parking lot was even more perfect because then we didn’t have to buy drinks in the park. I was pleased to travel the 3 hours from my house on a special Thursday to make it to see the Summer Camp artists such as Yonder Mountain String Band, G Love & Special Sauce and Michael Franti all in one set. And let me tell you that was the down fall, having to pick between who I wanted to see because they all played at the exact same time…..LAME. But me being me I made it to all!!! I started at Yonder who played an amazing Kentucky Mandolin and helped me to boogie down with my close friends and fabulous boyfriend. I figured having my adventure start at Yonder was a good choice, they have always pleased me with how they open their shows and how fast the crowd responds to the twangy beat. After grooving to Yonder for a tid bit I mozzied my happy butt over to G Love who rocked the crowd and made me appreciate glow sticks the size of my leg because holding one of those babies up in the air for more than a second makes me wonder how people at Summer Camp can hold all the totems and such for a whole day hahaha. It gets hard if you have never done it before but seems to get easier the better the show I have noticed. Like anything else it easy to dance, sing, hold totems and such if you are an awesome set so G love made it easy for me. After getting groovy to some G love I made my way over to my first ever Michael Franti show and let me tell you it was nothing like I expected. I haven’t really listened to much Franti but that man can throw down and make the ladies woooh hehe. If you have never seen the man than I highly suggest it because he is tall and handsome. Not only that but the man had talent and soul. I would enjoy seeing him again if you know what I mean. But t makes me happy to have seen him for the first time with good friends of mine. I ended up staying at the Franti show for the rest of the evening. The energy from the crowd was immaculate and the music was new to me and good.
It was really cool when we walked out of the park when the music was over. Our hopes were high, our crave for music was mouthwatering and there were some talented boys right outside trying to earn a buck and feeding our need for more. These four boys were skilled and had their stuff together. It is so hard to tell you how talented they were but let me tell you I bet they walked away with at least $1000 that night. They set up right outside the main gates to anyone who walked by had to at least hear them. When we heard the commotion we couldn’t help but walk over and see what all the hubbub was about. They were playing 5 gallon bucks like I have never seen. They were playing right on with one another, throwing sticks in the air, saying their
little tone “we want a dolla, I know you got a 20” all together perfectly. It was really cool. And no kidding people were dropping in money like no other, some people actually were dropping in 20 dollar bills. It was nuts but they were good. A buddy of mine decided he was going to drop in $5 but he wanted to play with them and they were cool enough to let him, it was hilarious because he couldn’t keep up with their speed. It was all in fun though. But these boys played out there every night and made a pretty penny doing it.
All in all if you are ever in Milwaukee during the month of July I would highly suggest hitting up Summer Fest. It’s a guaranteed good time.
Natalie Fletcher
Counselor In Training
I bet you are wondering who I am talking about when I say Dave…… well I am talking about the one and only Dave Matthews and I got my first Dave show ever at the Dave Matthews Caravan in Chicago and it was a Chicago experience to remember. Lets start with the waking up at 7 am and driving down to Chicago to make the Saturday set of the Caravan which was personally the day to be there with Cornmeal, Yonder Mountain String Band, moe., G Love and Special Sauce, and Umphrey’s McGee. Yes I know some amazing Summer Camp artists. Any who getting back to the haul down to Chi town. We left real early to get there real early. The acts all started early afternoon and I wanted to make it there in time for a group picture at the Summer Camp booth for the scavenger hunt at 4. Of course I dressed in all yellow to represent my team and I was ready for the 5 hour drive. It was a really nice day and a pretty quick drive until we arrived in Chicago around 1 and it all went downhill from there. We went to my boyfriend’s sister’s apartment on the north side of Chicago because that is where we were going to stay. We immediately dropped the car off hit the red line and started what turned out to be a 3 hour trip to
the caravan grounds all the way on the Southside of town. It sucked our train broke down, we couldn’t find a cab in that part of Chicago for the life of us and when we finally got to the end of the train destination we had to wait for a bus and take a 30 minute ride to the grounds. We were very discouraged when we got there and missed Cornmeal Yonder and my picture. Very discouraged but we made it in time to catch the last few moe songs and the rest of the acts from there which were G Love, Umphrey’s and of coarse Dave. Nothing else could go wrong and nothing else did. It was a killer time. I have to say I enjoyed the Umphrey’s set very very much. They played amazing songs we all love like JaJunk, In The Kitchen and Nemo and they rocked it. It also made me really happy to hear a couple
people talking behind me about how they had never heard the band and how much they really liked them. I had to turn around and put my two sense in and express my love for the band. We all know how much I love me some Umphrey’s .
After all was said and done it was time for the main man to make his appearance. I unfortunately have never seen DMB live and I had high hopes for my first show being it was my first and it was the DMB Caravan not just any show. Needless to say I enjoyed it much so. I got to hear one of my all-time favorite Dave songs Satellite along with the ever popular Crash. It was amazing. Who wouldn’t want a chill 3 hour Dave Matthews Band set at his own festival? We hung out in the back due to outrageous DMB fans up front, I’m sure if you have ever been to a Dave show you have experienced the carnage of Dave fans. That is why I call the man a dog, he hounds and serenades those ladies with that deep relaxing voice and with Jeff Coffin on his side you really can’t go wrong at all. Oh yes it was one for the books. The time it took to get there blew but the weather was perfect and the music was right, what can beat that?
Natalie Fletcher
Counselor In Training
Click the photos to enlarge!
Joe Albin
Counselor In Training
Did you see Digital Tape Machine at Summer Camp? I somehow missed it and after checking them out at their tour opener in Burlington, Vermont I am so sad. They were freakin awesome. Seriously. I loved them. They rocked my world. I couldn’t stop dancing, I didn’t want it to end. They rocked my socks off. So…did I mention that I freakin loved them????
The band is comprised of Joel Cummins and Kris Myers from Umphrey’s McGee and they are joined by a bunch of super talented Chicago musicians. There were so many people playing instruments on stage and creating a sound that is unique to Umphrey’s McGee, but a little more metal and a little more electronic. I guess that’s what makes them Digital Tape Machine and not Umphrey’s. Does that make sense? I’m not the best at talking about music so my suggestion would be for you to go see them and then let me know how you would describe them. It was almost like Umphrey’s McGee on crack. Mmmm that probably doesn’t describe it too well either. All I know is that I was recovering from a stomach virus and I couldn’t leave the room because the music was hot and my dancing feet couldn’t stop dancing even if I tried. It was seriously that amazing.
GO SEE DIGITAL TAPE MACHINE. You won’t regret it.
Go check them out yo!
Taraleigh Weathers
Counselor In Training