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!!

Strings & Sol Festival 2015 - Puerto Morelos, Mexico - Thursday

Strings & Sol Festival 2015

Festival Experience Archive

for The Lot Scene by Parker

Introduction

     You’d think that it having been my second Strings & Sol would make it all the easier to write about this singularly wonderful and wonderfully unique festival held for the past four years along Mexico’s Mayan Riviera coast.  You'd think that, right?  It would seem just the opposite is the case this year after returning from four magnificent days of some of the world’s finest string band music played to a delighted multitude whose dancing feet sent sand a-flying, the crystalline, sugary beach proving the perfect surface on which to boogie down.  Strings & Sol just gets so much so right as a festival it is hard to pick just what to write about for fear of transcribing the whole thing into an article entirely too long to read.  From the very resort itself (the absolutely lovely Now Sapphire with its incredible and highly attentive staff) to all the organizations represented (Strings & Sol, Cloud 9, and Positive Legacy) who worked so tirelessly to put on the most supremely awesome festival possible everything was top notch at every turn.  The setting was tropical and magical throughout with playful birds and coy coatimundi clowning about the palms and lush underbrush as you walked towards the flour-white beach and to the music.  The music was the finest the grass world had to offer that weekend all in one place and time.  In short, it is one of the very best and best run festivals out there at present, hands down.  I would highly consider this festival for your future endeavors if you can make it — trust me, saving up for this one is not only worth it, it makes it more than worth it in the first couple of days.  Unless you hate impossibly good music, that is.  Or the beautiful beach.  Or the gorgeous ocean.  Or flowing fonts of endless beverages of your choice.  Or all your best friends dancing to badass bluegrass.  Stop me when it all starts to sound too good to be true.  A thousand thanks go out to all those who had a hand in making Strings & Sol 4 so fabulous this year — your hard work was very much appreciated by all of us in attendance!  And a thousand thanks to all the musicians who played their hearts out for us all each and every day — your passion and commitment to your art is a joy to experience and behold, a treasure through and through!  And, speaking of music, I think we had better get to it, what say you?

Vince Herman & Larry Keel

Thursday Highlights

Yonder Mountain String Band - Leftover Salmon - Sam Bush Band (Late Night)

     Yonder Mountain String Band was first out of the gate to welcome us all to this festival on the beach and I can’t think of a better way to get things started.  Jumping out onto the stage with some good friends (Larry Keel and Tim Carbone) they ripped things apart with a monster “Traffic Jam” as their first number.  Larry Keel took this opportunity to throw down a particularly nasty solo on guitar which was answered by Tim on fiddle.  Nothing like Yonder plus their buddies…seems to always make for a wall of incredible sound.  And then there was the ridiculous fiddle duet between Allie Kral and Tim Carbone that Jake Jolliff answered with his own unreal playing.  And then, wham!  It was over.  Wow, what a way to get things going!  Then we got a great little cover with Allie on lead for us for “Bad Reputation” which the band approached with a lightness and playfulness.  They followed this with quick and fun “I Know You Rider” and then “Night Out”.  The dark and dusky “Saint in the City” came after featuring each member of the band on their respective instruments throughout the song.  They took this directly into “Landfall” then right back into “Saint in the City” with Ben on lead vocals.  Adam had a sizzling hot solo on guitar during the second half of “Saint” and, not to be outdone, Jake responded with a face melter of his own on mando.  The light and lively instrumental “Up for Brinkley’s” was next up in line featuring Mr. Jolliff on his magic mandolin — why not take a look and listen for yourself? 

Yonder Mountain opened the whole shebang up last Thursday evening in Puerto Morelos, Mexico, for Strings and Sol 4 with a fantastic set. Great fun had by all on 10 Dec 2015 at the Now Sapphire Resort. Recorded on tripod.

Pretty amazing stuff, no doubt.  How does he do it folks??  The world may never know.  After “Another Day” that contained a very nice banjo solo work from Dave the band invited some more guests out to share the fun with them, this time Larry Keel, John Skeehan (Railroad Earth), and Anders Beck (Greensky Bluegrass), for a lengthy and crazy good “Pass This Way” into “EMD” back into “Pass This Way”.  Again, though, why not take a look and listen? 

Yonder kept things going strong on Thursday, 10 Dec 2015, at Strings & Sol 4 with good friends Anders Beck (GSBG), Larry Keel, and John Skeehan (RRE). An epic 20 minutes of very fine string band music -- many thanks to all!! Recorded on tripod.

Later on down the line to finish this fantastic opening set for S&S 4, the band landed on a hot “All Aboard” into “New Dusty” back into “All Aboard” with the indomitable Allie Kral taking lead vocals to spearhead this ever-expanding jam of theirs.  I was talking with Ted Atwell, Yonder’s awesome lightning guru, about “All Aboard” at the festival and we agreed that each and every subsequent time the band plays it, the song just keeps getting better and better and better.  And this time was no exception!  Epic jam through “New Dusty” back into “All Aboard” — all the requisites one looks for in worthy and worthwhile musical experience.  What a way to get us all ready for some Leftover Salmon to come!

Yonder Mountain & Friends

    Salmon.  Main Stage.  Strings & Sol.  Bring it.  Leftover came out to take over where Yonder left off, ready to incite a near riot of joy with their perfectly unique style of string band music.  And, having the likes of Sam Bush on fiddle and Jay Starling join them on dobro from the get go, life was going to be good all around as soon as they started playing.  And none other than Hartford’s “Steam Powered Aereoplane” to get things started, too!  I must admit, I really, truly love this song.  I love Hartford’s original and I love Salmon’s version.  And I indubitably loved this version.  Sam and Jay just added so much with their particular instrumental mastery.  Another perfect opening selection from a fantastic band.  They kept the ball rolling along with “Liza” next up which ended up showcasing just about everyone on stage by the song’s finish.  Of note would be Starling’s excellent dobro stylings and Andy’s banjo badassery.  What about Sam’s fiddle finery?  Well, yes, I must admit there was plenty, plenty of that as well.  A very appropriate tropical-tinged selection for our Riviera Maya setting — nothing but fun after the setting sun at S&S!  “Western Skies” was up next featuring Drew Emmitt on lead vocals not to mention some sweet mandolin work from the same.  Alwyn Robinson had this incredible drum solo during a long a lengthy jam that followed “Western Skies” — it was one hell of a breakdown to be sure with everyone taking a moment to lose their ever-loving mind while playing their instrument like a maniac.  Entertaining?  You betcha!  The oh-so apropos “Gulf of Mexico” was up next for us in the musical pipeline for the evening.  This one was at both times album perfect and filled with live-show attitude — that perfect mixture of all the right things for a supreme music experience.  Add into that a remarkable Andy Thorn banjo solo and you get precisely what you want!  After “Gulf” came the Andy Thorn-led and dominated “Colorado Mountains Evermore” with Sam Bush on fiddle and Jay Starling on dobro.  This one was really special, my friends…such good music.  But don’t take my word for it: 

Thursday, 10 Dec 2015, was one hot opening night of music at Strings and Sol this year. So many great bands and so much incredible music from each. No exception was Leftover Salmon with sizzlin' good guests Sam Bush on fiddle and Jay Starling on dobro -- magnificent!!

Later on down the line we got a madcap “Let’s Give a Party” (but, let’s face it, which version of this song isn’t madcap?) which drove the assembled crowd to an appropriate frenzy.  So much fun.  So much madness.  So much perfect.  Later still we were gifted with a Strings & Sol version of “Mama Boulet”, with Vince changing lots of lyrics to suit the fest and atmosphere.  A blistering, and I mean blistering, hot “Midnight Run” came after with Drew on lead vocals.  Vince had a smoking guitar solo in this one as well as pretty much everyone else on stage.  Hard drivin’, fast pickin’ of the finest caliber, my friends.  Unbelievably great music.  Then the band decided to tear “Keep Drivin’” into tiny little jammed-out pieces in front of our eyes and ears — the band was on fire that night.  According to Vince before they began, this is the song that “got the girl”, aka helped him to get his new wife to marry him.  What a sweet story.  And you have to love Strings & Sol for all the background that comes your way as a result of being there.  It’s always nice having Bonnie Paine of Elephant Revival join you onstage on washboard as well.  A musical treat to be sure.  “Two Highways” followed with Drew on lead and also featuring a great solo from Sam on fiddle followed by a monster, monster electric guitar solo from Drew.  All of this to the metronomic, funked-up backdrop of Alwyn on the drums.  Incredible version of this one.  Silas Herman (Gipsy Moon), Jake Jolliff (YMSB), and Larry Keel then jumped up on the stage to join in their fun times and to accentuate ours.  Andy Thorn led this super-dupergroup with “Take Another Little Piece of My Heart” (made famous by Janis Joplin) and it was epic.  So much soloing.  So much face melting.  So much singing along.  So much freaking fun!  So much interplay between those three mandolins, too.  Truly spell-binding.  Just the smiles on their faces as they traded off, style to style, method to method, man to man.  Really interesting from an audience standpoint.  After so much wonderful, they closed things with a raucous and riveting Drew-led number featuring so many guests and so much hard drivin’, fast pickin’ it was almost over before we all knew it.  One superbly great show from a superbly great band.  There really isn’t much more to say.  Accept that it was so awesome as to render me speechless.  So I had best get to Sammy and his band, right?

Leftover & Friends

    Late night in the palapa was about as fun as fun can get each night.  And the first night was precisely that with the Sam Bush Band.  People embrace the weirdness of the night with all sorts of dress and costumery from a mere speedo to being dressed in “Dumb and Dumber” tuxedos and everything in between.  It was a party atmosphere to be sure and the music of Sam Bush certainly drove that home in spades.  He and his band sounded incredible all night, featuring nothing but hard drivin’, fast pickin’ with drums to provide that boom and crash.  A notable selection from his setlist was a rock’n’roll fire hot version of “Midnight Rider” which sounded, in a word, badass.  Andy Goessling (Railroad Earth) and Drew Emmitt (Leftover Salmon) both joined in for this one and it was pretty damn awesome.  They even managed to work in an “I Just Want to Celebrate” tease into this one.  “Rollin’ in My Sweet Baby’s Arms” was another fine selection from their rep that evening, or should I say morning.  Probably one of the best versions of this song I’ve ever heard.  Such incredible musicianship.  Sam and his band really brought down the house, certainly making it hard to even consider going to bed afterwards.  Too much goodness down in the soul.  So many thanks to the Sam Bush Band for providing the perfect bookend to a fabulous evening of music at Strings & Sol 4.  And tonight was only the first!!!

Sam Bush Band

Be sure to stay tuned for Friday’s fun!