Leftover Salmon - 23 July 2016 - Red Rocks Amphitheatre - Morrison, CO

Leftover Salmon

23 July 2016 - Red Rocks Amphitheatre - Morrison, CO

for The Lot Scene by Parker

Band Members:  Vince Herman - vocals, acoustic guitar, washboard; Drew Emmitt - vocals, acoustic and electric mandolin, electric guitar, fiddle; Andy Thorn - vocals, acoustic and electric banjo; Greg Garrison - vocals, acoustic and electric bass; Alwyn Robinson - drums; Erik Deutsch - keyboards, piano, melodica

    Music and friendship.  The two go so well together, creating so many wonderful things in the process.  A natural marriage of ideas and ideals that was so apparent at Red Rocks in Morrison, CO, this past weekend.  Hometown heroes, Leftover Salmon, epitomized the very meaning of musical friendship opening things up for their pals from Kalamazoo, MI, Greensky Bluegrass who would be playing their first headline show at Red Rocks to a sold out crowd.  There has been mention of a “passing of the torch” from Salmon to Greensky, but that isn’t quite what I observed the other evening.  What I saw instead was the coming together of two bands in joyous camaraderie to share a stage and a night of music under the rainbow skies at the historic venue:  true friendship made manifest through sound and sight and shared experience.  And what I saw was magical — a night of celebration and merriment for one and all, bands and fans alike.  Smiles were abounding and legion all evening long, even through the scattered rain and winds, each one a testament to the spirit of friends-made-family emanating from the stage.  And, that afternoon, no fewer than three different rainbows graced the skyscape over top of the stage and spilling down onto distant Denver and the surrounding hills.  The magnificence of Nature all around us, bathing our faces in the golden light of the evening sun and the multicolored hues of those utterly beautiful arcs in the skies above, we were ushered into the musical bliss of our big night of wonderment by some good ol’ fashioned polyethnic Cajun slamgrass, care of Leftover Salmon, of course!! 

Leftover Salmon

    One of Colorado’s most Colorado bands, Leftover Salmon are no strangers to the Red Rocks stage.  Which is why they made the perfect ambassadors to open the gates for Greensky to follow.  In my opinion, an incredibly cool and classy thing to do on their part and embodying that organic meaning of friendship.  As such, we all knew that Salmon would be throwing down some serious jams and hot energy that night and we weren’t to be disappointed.  They started the whole shebang with Vince on lead vocals for “Dance on Your Head”, a highly danceable and enjoyable staple of the LoS catalogue.  This song has been with the band and their fan base for a nice long time and was the perfect way to begin.  Instantly the party-time electricity was felt blasting up from the speakers as each member of the band settled in to jam our faces off.  Tons of great stuff happened in this one like Andy Thorn and Erik Deutsch laying down a little keys-backed banjo solo which turned duet at points in very tasty ways.  And this was only a minute or so in.  Vince was clearly already having fun himself, playing around with the vocals a bit and dancing around like the merriest of madmen.  And then, back to Mr. Deutsch:  his solo?  Just stellar on every conceivable level.  Piano, keys, organ…all of it and more.  Again, I must gush and say how incredibly happy I am that he is a part of one of my very favorite bands.  Erik brings a vast amount of everything to the Salmon table and it all fits in so seamlessly with all that is the band.  Last but not least, Drew’s solo on electric was pretty raw and remarkable.  Talk about your versatility in a single band!  So much talent and so much skill being brought to bear for our enjoyment.  How can’t you love this?  Next up was “All Night Ride” filled with tons of hard drivin’, fast pickin’ for everyone to enjoy.  Drew was on lead vocals for this one as well as mandolin, setting a nice, blistering pace for all the dancing feet on tier after tier of Red Rocks.  Vince’s guitar and Drew’s mando dominated throughout, Drew’s solo of particular quickness and mastery.  All of this, of course, backed by the man behind the beat, Mr. Alwyn Robinson, whose percussion skills rained down with perfectly-timed drops of those mystical sticks of his, driving songs like this one like a freight train.  “Walkin’ Shoes” followed “ All Night Ride” with Uncle Vince back up to the mic take the lead.  Lovely and large ensemble sound coming out of this one at the beginning setting a great tone and tempo for this version.  Greg Garrison gave us a nice clinic in sweet bass lines about a minute plus into things at the behest of Vince — the good doctor was in, thank goodness.  This gave way to a fantastic round-robin all the way around the band with so many solos coming from so many instruments, keys and strings everywhere.  In turn, “Two Highways” followed up with Drew back up to the mic.  They took this one at a good clip, seeming to want to keep the energy at as high a level throughout the amphitheatre as possible.  Andy Thorn’s solo a couple of minutes in was blindingly fast in its execution (no surprise there) and incredible to behold.  That man just keeps getting better and better and better at what he does with his chosen instrument.  And aren’t we all thankful he does?  And what about that ending jam?  Oh my goodness, how incredible it was!!  Huge band jamming all around followed by a monster electric solo from Drew?  Just massive amounts of music coming at you all at once…and such great music, too.  So good!!  Later on down the set it was time for the band to channel some Taj Mahal with “Lovin’ in My Baby’s Eyes”, a personal favorite of mine.  Leftover had recorded a version of this song with Taj on their album The Nashville Sessions so it was special to be getting a version there at Red Rocks.  Vince Herman took lead vocals for this one, the strumming of his rhythm guitar like the voice of an old friend throughout.  The central breakdown was filled with all sorts of goodness, from Andy on banjo to Erik on keys to Drew on mando, all three tearing it up and threatening to evoke tears with the beauty of their jammed out melodies.  Just magnificent!!  I was completely unprepared for what came next:  some Jimi Hendrix.  That’s right…you read that correctly.  Jimi.  As imagined by Salmon.  What could be better, right?  It was certainly a supremely cool version of “The Wind Cries Mary” to be sure. I’d never heard the song done up bluegrass-style before.  Andy Thorn’s banjo lit things up early on taking up the melody line only to hand it over to Drew on vocals.  This one was an instant crowd pleaser as soon as we were all sure of just what exactly we were hearing.  And the band took it and ran, that’s a fact, my friends.  Erik had his chance to dominate on keys, of course, and that he did, in spades, many times over.  But it was the entire band together who shone most brightly during this song, so much big and bold ensemble sound bursting into the night sky.  Drew also took a nice, lengthy, rockin’ solo on electric for us handing the reigns back to Andy on banjo who marched up and down his fretboard like a mad scientist of bluegrass groove.  This was a big one, good people.  Big.  One I would very much suggest finding on the Internet Archive (please, do yourself a favor!!).  Suffice it say, there were lots and lots and lots of ecstatic faces beaming round after this one wrapped.  Mine included.  A lengthy and lovely and lunatic “Bolin Creek” followed up the Hendrix giving us a simmering, sizzling instrumental reason to keep our feet a-dancing in the crowd gathered between Ship Rock and Creation Rock, one of the best places to be on this planet.  This one was peppered through and through with one simple thing:  bodacious beastly bluegrass badassery.  So many notes, so quickly played!!  How??  Almost impossible…and from each and every man on that stage, too.  Mad beats?  Mad notes?  Madness abounding?  You bet, my friend.  And all so delicious to the ears!!  Bravo to each and every member of the band for this one.  What a ride!  A 13:05 ride to be exact.  Wow.  Another one for the Internet Archive assignment, I’m afraid.  Heck, you should probably just listen to the entire set, really.  You know, only if you love incredible music, that is.  Next up, Vince announced Anders Beck from Greensky who joined Leftover for a rendition of “Breakin’ Thru” on his mighty dobro.  Drew took the lead on this song as per the usual, crooning to us in that unique and lovely voice of his.  Let me tell you, I do love dobro with my Leftover Salmon.  I mean, I just freakin’ love it.  And last Saturday was no exception whatsoever.  Anders sounded simply marvelous, both in the texture of the group and during his solo.  The man is an adept on his instrument, there can be no argument.  And he makes it looks so blasted easy, too!!  So does Erik, for that matter.  Such a comfortable mastery on those keyboards, hands flying, fingers dancing.  How much great music can one heart hold, right?  And only to have Andy join in and throw even more notes at you?  More and more and more!  Yes, please!!  I’ll gladly take them all!!  This was another hefty one, too coming in at 8:35 — talk about getting the most from your music.  With this band?  By a long shot.  Finally, Vince closed things out by thanking all the mothers in the audience, especially those of the band, for all that they do.  It was touching and sweet and classic Vince.  Then, he invited a couple of “Salmon Eggs” on stage, his own son, Silas Herman, and also Eli Emmitt to come and join in the fun on mandolin and guitar, respectively.  There is nothing like getting to see a couple of proud papas and their sons jam out on the stage at Red Rocks.  And with Anders still sitting in, things promised to get really special for the last song of the night.  It just so happens we grabbed that very song on video for you which we will bring to you now: 

Hometown heroes, Leftover Salmon, opened up for the first headline show for Greensky Bluegrass at historic Red Rocks...and what an incredible way to get the evening going!! Here we have the closing song of their set, "High Country", with friend Anders Beck of GSBG and family members Eli Emmitt and Silas Herman sitting in.

See just how magical the night really was?  And to think it was only the beginning.  But what a freakin’ beginning, right?  Salmon really did blow the doors off the opening for Greensky, true and true.  And that prevailing feeling of friendship?  Found everywhere…bouncing off the very walls of Red Rocks and around the hills of the Front Range.  I really cannot think of a better way for things to have gone.  Perfectly is the word that comes to mind.  The perfect preparation.  So many thanks to Leftover for putting on such a helluva show.  It truly was special.  And kind.  And kickass.  Damn, do I love this band!!  

Andy Thorn

Stay tuned for Greensky Bluegrass and their first headliner at Red Rocks!!

Leftover Salmon at the Stanley 2016 - Friday

Leftover Salmon at the Stanley 2016

Festival Experience Archive

for The Lot Scene by Parker

Friday Highlights

Leftover Salmon - Gipsy Moon (Late Night)

    So, there we were, back at the historic and haunted Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado.  Lured there by one of the best parties around, die hards flocked from all over the country to this supremely fun and marvelous merry and strange little festival tucked away in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains.  Sitting in a bowl valley with soaring, snow covered peaks all around, the venue is certainly not short on natural beauty or charm making the weekend a coveted one in the musical calendar to be sure.  And then there is the magnificent Stanley itself standing proud and a bit eerily above the town of Estes Park welcoming in every possible way and which certainly played the erstwhile and gracious host to our weekend of merriment and mutual madness.  The party atmosphere was in full effect from the moment we arrived on the Stanley’s property solidifying the fact that this weekend was going to be wonderful on so very many fronts.  And so, with visions of The Shining and Leftover dancing around in our heads we were all ready for things to begin properly…

    The welcome reception officially kicked things off for the weekend with Gipsy Moon providing the live entertainment.  They were, as always, fantastic.  Truly love that band.  But, more on those amazing young musicians later.  After the reception, we had a bit of time to get to the Concert Hall for the evening’s main event:  Leftover Salmon.  The reason for the season, Salmon were to play three full shows over the course of the weekend.  And, a little bit about the Concert Hall at the Stanley — it is a pristine white professionally designed vintage venue space with rich wood floors and superb acoustics, large, stately windows lining each side.  A balcony at the rear of the spacious yet intimate room completes the air of classical concert hall which was to stand immediately juxtaposed to the extremely energetic and madcap musical marvel that is Leftover Salmon, everyone’s favorite polyethnic cajun slamgrass band.  And, while the space was full it was never crowded, with a nice balance of people to room.  Always makes for a finer experience in my opinion.  And what a fine experience this was!  So many great people all gathered together in this hall to celebrate music and life and fellowship.  And with such incredible music all weekend long!  Speaking of which, why don’t we get ourselves to summadat right now?  

Gipsy Moon

    We decided to head a different route than normal and bring you a video of the first song of Leftover’s Friday night show.  That way you could get that initial flavor of the spectacle for yourself.  The band opened with “Out in the Woods” and took the opportunity to showcase the friends who had joined them for the night:  Jeff Coffin (The Dave Mathews Band) on saxophone and Erik Deutsch on keyboards.  Drew Emmitt took the lead on this one, crooning to the audience in his instantly recognizable voice.  But, listen to me gabbing on…why not take a quick look and listen yourselves? 

Leftover Salmon came out both barrels a-blazin' on Friday night of their second Leftover Stanley weekend. An amazing set from these fabulous fellows, this is how they opened things up. Please enjoy!!

Off to a pretty good start, right?  I’d say so in the very least.  And how about those friends joining in?  That Jeff Coffin can wail on the sax, am I right?  And he continued to do so all night long, but I am getting ahead of myself.  And Erik on those keys?  Salmon and keys is always a great combination.  And continuing straight on into the fun of the night, “Sing Up to the Moon” was next in line for all of us.  One of the perfect examples of their self-professed genre and style, “Sing Up” is an instant crowd pleaser each and every time.  And, believe-you-me, this crowd had come to dance and party and rage until the break of dawn.  And what an excellent selection for just such activities.  Vince sounded album-perfect on the vocals as he led this juggernaut of joy on that Concert Hall stage.  Andy rocked out a tight little solo for us banjo a couple of minutes in — smiles all around.  This was answered by Erik throwing down on the keys in very fine fashion.  And, of course, Jeff on that sax of his.  A small aside here:  Salmon with saxophone is a pretty righteous experience.  Especially with a player as phenomenal as Jeff Coffin.  What a ride and only two songs in!  Andy Thorn was up to lead the next tune, that magical musical journey otherwise known as “Aquatic Hitchhiker”.  The usual lulling of the soft and sweet intro section did its job perfectly setting us all up for the expected madness that was to ensue.  And, just as gleefully anticipated, Andy and the band erupted into a cyclone of hard drivin’ fast pickin’.  Hurtling along at the speed of sound we were all of us on one giant thrill ride of stupendous string band music.  Not to be left behind, Jeff added his horn to the mix with some solo work followed by Erik on the keys.  Both of which were wonderful and proof that Salmon were employing the skills of their friends to the utmost that weekend, a trait of the shows we would all come to appreciate so fully by Sunday’s last note.  Alwyn Robinson laid down a pretty serious drum solo in this one, too, which is most certainly of note.  Love his style of playing so much.  And, after a mellow and mysterious center section, they brought things to a huge and magnificent whiz-bang of a close to copious amounts of applause and praise from the audience.  This was shaping up to be one helluva show!  Drew snagged the mic and took the lead for the next song, “All Night Ride”, another scorching hot, swift-paced adventure through quick pickin’, Salmon-style.  Andy Thorn’s banjo set the blistering stride counterpointed by Drew’s mandolin and punctuated by Jeff’s sax.  All at breakneck speed thus showcasing and proving this band’s serious musical acumen.  And Drew was really going for it on the vocals as well, kicking ass and taking names as only that man can when on the mic.  You know, just another face melter from this crazy ass band we all love so much.  Then there was that one time at the Stanley when Salmon played some Zappa.  Mainly in the form of “Camarillo Brillo”.  A bunch of whack ado awesome nut jobs playing the music of another whack ado awesome nut job?  Why the hell not?  Especially when it was that good.  And then it was time for some T. Rex.  Yup…you got that right.  T. Rex.  “Bang A Gong” anyone?  Vince laid down the vocals for this one, kicking some ass in the process.  Some great interplay between keys and banjo on this one.  Not to mention Greg’s ever-present and balanced bass badassery keeping the rest of these maniacs driving forward.  Such big sound coming from that stage!  And so good, to boot!  Whew!  

Leftover Salmon

    Set break was a much needed bit of down time to recover our strength for the next set soon around the bend.  The chilly breeze blowing in through the open windows was so welcome to cool the heated brows of those gathered in homage to some of that sweet, sweet Salmon sound.  But we weren’t to rest for too long, since the band came back out blazing both barrels into the night to the delight of us all.  “Better” got things instantly going once again with its intensity of motion and feeling and we were all dancing wildly once more to the music of this wonderful band.  Nice fat, fantastic keyboard solo from Mr. Deutsch about a minute into it — excellent sound to have alongside Leftover.  Loving his addition to the band for the weekend.  Coffin took over from there, taking the opportunity to wail out a tasty and lengthy solo blanketing the concert hall in that unique timbre.  And, just like that, we were off once again!  At this point, Vince announced that they were just going to play the entire Euphoria record.  And I’ll be damned if they didn’t do just that!  What a treat…damn, son!  Of course, he didn’t mention that they were going to go completely ape while they did so.  They injected so much energy and merriment and pure, undiluted joy into this set — it was just so much fun to be there and to be a part of it all.  And it was just the first night, too.  So hard to believe.  Alwyn’s steady and steadfast beat launched us all into the next song from the album, “Highway Song”.  Drew nailed the vocals down on this one sounding so much like the recorded version it was kinda scary…not to mention his monster electric solo in the middle.  An excellent live version of “Highway” which was followed, in turn, by an excellent version of “Baby Hold On”.  Another good dance tune, that one, and with lots of lovely keyboard work from Erik.  “River’s Rising” was next in line for the evening which brought its welcome form of raucous and rowdy to the table — just a big energy song.  Andy Thorn had a pretty stellar solo a couple of minutes into things which Drew answered on electric guitar with some solo work of his own.  Interesting juxtaposition of those instruments there.  The bad and boisterous breakdown in this one was nothing short of epic.  Yeah, I used that word.  But, trust me, I know of what I speak.  Between Andy losing his mind on banjo and the rest of the band doing the same, what more can I say?  Epic.  Drew just shredding the hell out of his guitar while everyone else jams away like madmen?  Epic.  The trippy Erik-led mellow space jam section?  Epic.  Quite the momentous “River’s Rising” to say the least.  But they weren’t done yet…  No, to the contrary since there was a bunch of album left to play.  Vince brought his brand of insanity to the fore as he took the lead vocals on “Mama Boulet” changing the lyrics to “she’ll turn into Sheryl Crow for you” a couple of times and simply rocking it out for us.  Another big time dance number for the crowd.  Banjo solo from Thorn in this one was out of this world.  What a phenomenal player we have in Andy, no?  Jeff Coffin strutted his musical stuff again with a hefty solo of his own.  This song really was a perfect place for some sax.  Mr. Robinson gave us another of his signature solos while the rest of the band left the stage — always a cool visual.  This was a rather lengthy and large solo, too.  And one that led us directly into “Funky Mountain Fogdown” by way of an exploratory instrumental segue.  But once “Funky” hit properly it hit us all squarely in the face with some extremely fast pickin’.  Damn!  Drew’s fingers were flying over his mando just as fast as Andy’s were over the banjo.  Coffin kept pace with them both on saxophone, blowing out a mean melody of his own.  Vince was rocking his own craziness on the guitar the entire time.  The expressions on that man’s face…priceless!  He clearly loves his job to death.  “Muddy Water Home” was up next with Drew taking his familiar lead on the mic.  Vince had a particularly nice guitar solo early on which was followed by some more of that awesome horn from Jeff.  Great version of this one to be sure.  “Cash on the Barrelhead” followed (these two songs being in switched order from the album, why not) and featured Drew on vocals as well.  Quite the impressive piano solo from Erik Deutsch during “Cash” — just adore having keys with Salmon!  The breakneck tempo of “Ain’t Gonna Work”  took things from “Ridiculous Speed” to “Ludicrous Speed” in the blink of an eye.  Such wickedly fast quickness, such impossibly speedy playing.  So very impressive each and every time I see it.  And so many notes from every man on the stage…the wall of sound coming down at us was just staggeringly amazing.  Andy, Drew, Erik, Vince…all of them just bringing it to the next level all at once and all incredible.  Loved Vince’s guitar solo in this one — full of so much of that unique form of, well, Vince that we’ve all come to love and respect over the years.  Erik went a bit out into insane Salmon territory with his solo, too.  Good stuff.  Finishing up the Euphoria album, “This is the Time” and “Euphoria” rounded out the evening in lovely style.   “Euphoria” is a personal favorite of mine and I am always grateful to hear it even when I’ve been expecting it for an entire set, anticipating and waiting happily for the goodness to come.  Vince gave one helluva a performance on the vocals this time around, vaulting this song up to the rafters and back again.  And the entire ensemble on stage followed the lead and poured a whole heaping help of fun into this one for us.  A perfect way to end the first evening of superb music and enjoyment at the Stanley Hotel with Leftover Salmon and friends.  And they played us an entire album, too!  What a surprise…what a present!  The second installment of “Leftover Stanley” was going swimmingly thus far, so very fabulous on all fronts.  Many thanks to the band and their guests for the entire evening of musical adventure!!  So looking forward to the rest of the weekend!  But there was late night Friday to be had first and foremost…

Vince, come play with us...forever and ever and ever...

    Gipsy Moon.  A superlatively talented and skilled young band.  And they played one incredibly good late night rest assured.  I’ve really enjoyed getting to know this band over the past couple of years, both musically and personally.  Not only are they amazingly good and talented young musicians, they are also amazingly good people.  Humble, organic, real.  Just the kinds of traits you look for in great musicians.  And so late night took place in the main Stanley Hotel building in the McGregor Ballroom, the same location as the welcome session earlier that evening.  Alas, we arrived a tad late to the party and so missed the first few songs.   We did have the privilege of walking in during the beginning of Fleetwood Mac’s “Rhiannon”, a perfect cover for this band.  Mackenzie Page’s voice is well suited to this song as is the song itself for the band.  A very good choice from a group that makes many, many of those already.  The instrumentation of the band really lent itself very well to the mood and feel of “Rhiannon” a song not without a bit of mystery.  Made me sad to think we’d missed precious minutes of this show.  “Dying of Days” followed and was very bit as marvelous as can be expected.  One of my favorites of their originals, the chorus is as haunting as the instrumental lines.  Thankfully, you don’t have to listen to my prattle on about how wonderful it is because we recorded a nice video version of it for you here:  

Late night belonged to Gipsy Moon at The Stanley Hotel on Friday night -- and they completely nailed it down to the floor!! Such good music!! Here is just a small sample of the incredible we were treated to - enjoy!!!

Just lovely, wasn’t it?  As always with this band, they play really gorgeous music.  Not all bands have such beauty inherent to their style of playing.  Matt Cantor led the next piece, a familiar jig whose name escapes me, on his rich-timbred bass.  The interplay of the melody line between bass and Silas Herman’s mandolin here was simply splendid.  A really fun reinvention of a classic fiddle tune.  “Right Before the Dawn” was next in line and featured a soulful intro from Andrew Bain Conley on cello.  Again, Mackenzie’s unique, sweet, dusky, and lovely singing featured in this piece.  How can one not just love her voice?  Fantastic ensemble work from all four band members as well.  Excellent breakdown at the ending of “Right Before the Dawn”, too.  Just magnificent all around.  Eli Emmitt, son of Drew Emmitt (Leftover Salmon), joined them on stage for a number that he wrote, a guitar tune.  The “Spawn of Salmon” as Mackenzie called Eli and Silas.  A nice reel of a tune, to be sure.  Really dug what Eli had written.  Lead in came from Andrew on cello which he handed off to Silas on mandolin.  In turn, Mackenzie joined in on banjo and eventually Eli himself taking melody on guitar.  Such talent all over that stage!!  Such good music!!  Next up Mackenzie went back to crooning once again for us all with “Lonely Girl at Heart”.  Just gorgeous!!  Man can that lady sing!!  And when she has such stellar instrumental backing as Gipsy Moon, she can truly soar as a vocalist.  And I so love the texture of this band as well — having cello makes for a very unique overall sound and one that I truly appreciate fully.  A little farther down the set before they closed things out they played a particular favorite of mine:  the sad and soulful “Clementine”.  Not the way you used to sing it around the campfire, mind you, this one is mournful and dirge-like, but not without the original dark humor of the lyrics.  Matt’s low and deep bowing on his bass provided the appropriate foundation for this one.   Most certainly a different take on this song and one that is pretty damn amazing.  Love it.  “Oh my darling…oh my darling Clementine.”  Oh my, indeed!!  What a late night show — truly I cannot say enough good things about Gipsy Moon in one go.  They deliver so much already and have so much promise for the future.  This is definitely a band to keep your eye on over the next few years, I know I will be.  And it was nice and late in a haunted hotel for a Salmon weekend.  What more could you ask for?  I know I was happy as all hell and it was only just Friday.  Friday I tell you!!  Time for some really late night creeping to begin.  And then time to do it all over again on Saturday.  But that’s a story for another time.

Gipsy Moon

Saturday and Sunday on their way, folks!!