Camp Counselor Nick "Gets Down" with Roosevelt Collier’s Colorado Get Down with Hot Buttered Rum & The Dead Winter Carpenters

 
I rode up to the Mishawaka on the maiden voyage of Drive On Productions’ VIP Mishawaka Shuttle departing from The Colorado Room. We stopped in for a beer and met up with our driver before heading up the canyon. It was a great experience overall and I would highly recommend checking out their packages for safe travels to and from shows all over Colorado.

 
We arrived early to check out California alt-country experience the Dead Winter Carpenters. They got the show going around 8 PM. They treated us to a couple tracks off of their latest EP Dirt Nap, including “Bootleg Jack” and a foot stomping “Colorado Wildfire.” This song had a special resonance given the venue’s local at the heart of High Park Fire burn area. Dead Winter Carpenters have continued to hone their sound with a powerful passion for song craft. Their blend of instrumentation and utterly clean vocals is enchanting. Fiddle player and vocalist Jenni Charles is a breath of fresh air and her harmonizing was pitch perfect. They closed their short but sweet set with a smoky “Holy Moses.”

 
Co-headliners Hot Buttered Rum found their way to the stage next. Hot Buttered Rum continues to be one of the best progressive bluegrass bands touring today. HBR puts on an incredible show wherever they play plain and simple. For their sets at the Mish and LoHi Music Festival they performed sans Aaron Redner with Zebulon Bowles filling in on fiddle.

“We’re gonna get a little weird tonight… this is the shit we live for…” –Nat

In all honesty this is the shit we live for. This night was already going to be a special show at the Mishawaka regardless of stage selection. Ultimately it was transformed into and intimate gathering with some stellar string music in tiny room in the mountains. They opened with a mischievous “Busted In Utah.”

Set 1: Busted in Utah, Another City, Squall, House On The Hill, Pay Yer Dues, Swing & Sway, Desert Rat, Cherry Lake> Summertime Gal> Walls of Time> Summertime Gal, Face, Ramblin Girl, Great Many Things*, 3.2

*w/ Garrett Morris from Dead Winter Carpenters

Listen via archive.org

Their 90-minute set was full of jamgrass goodness. The interesting element was the addition of Zeb on fiddle. He is a veteran of Whitewater Ramble and currently plays with The Drunken Hearts. His inclusion with Hot Buttered Rum almost made it feel like a local show. Almost. He was on point all night playing back and forth with Yates. Things got downright psychedelic during “Desert Rat” as the dancing hit a heated pace.

 
The room began to steam with sweat as fans found what space they could for this party. Garrett Morris from the Dead Winter Carpenters joined Hot Buttered Rum for a sick “Great Many Things.” They closed with the fan favorite “3.2.
Roosevelt Collier is best known as the pedal steel player from The Lee Boys who are celebrated for their spiritual approach to live music. Known as “The Dr.” his skills on the sacred steel are on par with that of Robert Randolph or The Campbell Brothers. Roosevelt Collier’s Colorado Get Down is a super group the likes of which are rare in today’s scene. The band is comprised of Collier on pedal steel, Dave Watts on drums, Joey Porter on keys, Garrett Sayers on bass, and Andy Thorn on banjo. It’s the Leftover Motet Boys.

 
The band focused on instrumental tunes that paid homage to everyone from Michael Jackson to Jimi Hendrix. The obvious melody of “Billie Jean” formed and this sped up the dance party to a frenzy. Musically this band is actually an incredibly tight unit. Any group that is anchored by The Motet’s rhythm section is doing all right in my book.
Throughout the entire show a couple hundred people filtered in and out. By the end of The Get Down set fans began to find their way to their buses leaving ample room for throwing down. Roosevelt and company were pure fire and given their myriad of Colorado performances over the last year or so, they will most likely continue to play short runs and one off gigs. Go see them – they are musical dynamite.

 
It would have been easy to be pessimistic about this show given that fact that it was moved indoors. However we’ve had so much rain in Colorado that our normally unpredictable weather has become even less certain. Playing in the Spokes Buzz Lounge magnified the liveliness and created a vibe that was palpable to the musicians. I consider myself lucky to have witnessed this unique and noteworthy show.
Hot Buttered Rum will return for a series of festival dates in Colorado in early July. Roosevelt Collier has already booked an All Star Jam with Oteil Burbridge at the 1Up next month as well. So get out and see these amazing musicians, you won’t be disappointed.]]>