04-13-2007
Denver, Colorado
The Fillmore AuditoriumThis past Friday night, I saw a double-shot of great jazz at the Fillmore in Denver - The Greyboy Allstars co-headlining with Medeski, Martin & Wood. Wow! What a show! ! ! And I was lucky enough to record it! ! ! I will try and set up a download page for it in the next couple of weeks. . .
It was my first time seeing either band even though I am a long-time fan of both. GBA opened up the show, and they blew me away! Karl Denson stole the show for me. But to be fair, Robert Walter was in the zone, and Elgin Park was awesome as well. Elgin looked like Phil Lesh! He was wearing a sort of nerdy v-neck sweater with a collar shirt and he was playing the same bodied-guitar as the one that I often see Phil playing (even though Elgin plays guitar, and Phil plays bass). I'm not sure what model of guitar it is. Karl Denson and Elgin did some singing, which I had never heard before, so that was awesome!
The Greyboy Allstar’s new album was available at this show for the very first time. It is called “What Happened to Television?” I picked it up and it is a great album, and Robert Walter has said that he is the most proud of this album specifically.
MMW was excellent. Medeski had some weird keyboard instrument with a hose that he could blow into. It might be the modern-day version of a melodica (If you're not familiar with a melodica, it was a kids toy that reggae musicians like Augustus Pablo started using for real music). Anyways, what Medeski was playing might be the modern day version of that maybe.
There were a couple of times that I felt like MMW sort of got lost in a jam, but really, who am I to make that call? They were truly exploring sounds and music, and I can always dig that. The highlight of MMWs set for me was when they went into a cover of Bob Marley's "Lively Up Yourself" As you can imagine, I was stoked when they started playing the bass line.
Karl Denson performed with MMW for several songs, and it was just excellent! ! !
They didn't play Bubblehouse (which I just absolutely love the tempo changes in that song), but they played a couple that I recognize. I often don't remember song names for instrumental bands. But once I start converting the show, I am sure that I will figure out some of the songs.
Funny recording story from the show: I gave my friend some money at the beginning of the evening, and asked if he would occasionally go get me a beer, since I kind of need to stay put and not talk to anyone. Well, my friend was gracious enough to do so, but I didn't expect him to hang out with me while I stood there in silence. So he did what any non-recording single-guy would do, and he took off and went looking for some good lookin' women. And he would occasionally stop back by with another beer for me. Well, half-way through Greyboy’s set, I start doing the I-need-to-pee dance. I am waiting and hoping that my friend stops back by, so I can hand-off the MiniDdisc to him, and head to the restrooms. Well it became apparent that he wasn't working on my bladder's timeframe. So at the next song break, I asked this complete and total stranger standing next to me if he would hold the MiniDisc and mic for this next song while I took care of my situation. And believe me, I was conflicted about making that decision. But I sure as hell did not want to record the ambient sounds of the Fillmore's bathroom. So he agreed to cover the show, and I went to the head as quickly as possible. When I got back, he was still there with the MiniDisc (Give Thanks & Praise!) and he handed it back over to me. He was very gracious to have helped me out, and all he said to me was, "Dude, you need a mic stand." And he is right, I totally need to get me a mic stand! It was apparent on many levels. Anyways, so that was a small situation that I found comical. I was getting more and more drunk, and needing to piss, but I was still trying to be focussed on recording the show, and also just flat-out experiencing the show as well. Disaster averted!
It was a two-night show. The show I saw on Friday night was headlined by MMW. GBA did not have an encore, but MMW did have an encore. I didn't get to see Saturday night's performance, but I guess GBA headlined and MMW opened. I guess that's a true co-headlining tour. On one night, a certain band will headline, and then the next night the other band takes its turn.
So to sum it all up, this was well worth the time and money - two bands that I love their music, but had never seen either of them perform. And now I am seeing them both at the same time. Kick ass! ! ! I highly recommend you catch these guys if they visit your neck of the woods. . .
P.S. I know I have mentioned this before, but if you ever see a show at the Fillmore, then you will notice that they use fog machines for every performance. If Wayne Newton performed at the Fillmore, he would be in a cloud of fog. Hey Fillmore, the 80s called, and they want their fog machines back!
The Greyboy Allstar’s website: www.greyboyallstars.comMedeski, Martin & Wood’s website: www.mmw.net