The Beat goes pre-Valentine's with Stompin' George Eldon
and his band at the Gold Room in CO Springs...
Posted
February 16, 2019 and
last updated February 16, 2019 by:
Chuck Miller
  KCOS
Digital Media brought Stompin' George Eldon and his
four-piece band to The Gold Room in Colorado Springs on
February 13 for The Beat Goes On global internet
radio show. Hosts Mark White and Lisa Carns interviewed
Eldon and the band and entertained the intimate but lively
group of music fans between songs.
The show started at 7
PM with the band playing their originals "The Stars Have
Amnesia," "Barefoot (Ol' Time Happy)," and "Rainbow Song."
The sound in the venue was great. The band played well,
though I felt like the radio show format sometimes slowed
their momentum. But, of course the hosts made it fun, and it
was great to hear Eldon interviewed in depth about his songs
and tell some interesting stories. I left feeling like I
knew Eldon and his music much better than I had before.
Early highlights included hearing the new instrumental "The
Cabana Song" and the confessional host chat after the song
"Naked in the Graveyard." Of course, Chrys Bocast
did her best to feed the hungry crowd during "Saltine
Cracker."
There was also a Valentine's Day themed haunted house
giveaway by My Bloody Valentine. That got host Lisa Carns
out into the audience asking couples how long they'd been
together. One lucky couple won free admission to the
HellScream Haunted House on North Hancock Ave. After that,
the band launched into the audience participation song, one
of my favorites, "Johnny Depp." "Stoned Brown Girl" was also
performed impeccably later in the set.
I've wanted to record Eldon since I first saw the band play
at Mother Muff's in Old Colorado City last year. Hearing
them play all originals for the whole night was a rare
treat. The event ended at 9 PM with a strange
and inspired pairing of the chorus of Buck Owen's classic "PFFT You Were Gone" with the original "Talk
Some More Shit" which left the crowd wanting more. That
certainly ended the set on a high note.
The two hour long professionally produced video show was broadcast live and is
archived
on
YouTube and on the
KCOS Digital Media web site if you'd like to check it
out. I enjoyed watching it and think it will be worth your
effort to see if you're interested in the band.
Links to my audio recording and some photos I took during
the event are below.
Stompin' George Eldon ~ 2019-02-13 The Gold Room, Colorado
Springs, CO
Stompin' George Eldon
- 2019-02-13
Colorado Springs tribute to Bob Dylan at Stargazer's
Theatre & Event Center on Friday, January 18...
Posted
January 19, 2019 and
last updated February 2, 2019 by:
Chuck Miller
 Stargazer's
Theatre & Events Center hosted the Colorado Springs tribute
to Bob Dylan on Friday, January 18. The music started a
little after
7 PM with Lindsay & Jeremy Facknitz who kicked the night off
with a transcendent rendition of "Boots Of Spanish Leather."
This was my first time seeing this talented duo, and they
were easily my favorite act of the night. Lindsay's voice is
clear, bright, and chill-inducing at times. Jeremy's guitar
accompaniment was spot on and set the standard for the rest
of the performers. On this song Lindsey reminded me of
Natalie Maines, the lead singer for the Dixie Chicks.
Other first set highlights were Mike Judge's rendition of "I
Shall Be Released" and Craig Walter's powerful takes on
"Queen Jane Approximately" and "It's All Over Now, Baby
Blue."
I was there primarily to see Chuck Snow's performance. I
planned on splitting after
his portion of the show, but I enjoyed the other
bands so
much, I stayed for the rest of the night. Unfortunately,
each group only played four songs. As a consequence, they
were all turning over the stage at about the time they
started getting warmed up. Fittingly, I thoroughly enjoyed
Snow and his four-piece band's rendition of "You Ain't Goin'
Nowhere," which ended the first set with the crowd wanting
more.
Chris and Deb Mitguard got the second set started right with
"I Am A Lonesome Hobo" from John Wesley Harding.
Jason Miller's renditions of "Shelter From the Storm," "The
Man In Me," and "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go"
were appreciated by me and the eager Bob Dylan fans. Miller
only played three songs, but they were some of my favorites
of the second set.
One of Dylan's most popular tunes "Blowin' In the Wind" was
performed impeccably by K. J. Braithwaite, who also offered
up the crowd favorite "Mr. Tambourine Man." Braithwaite's
focus and command of the material was impressive. He was
aptly rewarded with some of the most enthusiastic audience
response of the night.
 Stargazer's
Theatre owners John and Cindy Hooton finished the individual
live band performances with stirring readings of "All I
Really Want To Do," "Shooting Star" and two others. I'd
never seen them perform together. I thought they were very
good. John Hooton's finger-picking guitar licks held up well
against some of the more seasoned musician's work.
A video taped rendition of "Chimes Of Freedom" by Anglum,
Mock & Greene who couldn't make it to the live show played
on the screen above the stage as the night's performers
gathered together for the all-star last song of the night. A
very disjointed but still fun version of "Like A Rolling
Stone" capped the tribute at around 10:45 and sent the
joyous Dylan fans out into the cold Colorado night.
I recorded the whole event, but I currently only have
permission from Chuck Snow and John and Cindy Hooton to
share their performances. That
recording and some photos I took of each group can be
accessed by following the links below.
John & Cindy Hooton ~ 2019-01-18 Stargazer's Theatre, Colorado
Springs, CO
Chuck Snow ~ 2019-01-18 Stargazer's Theatre, Colorado
Springs, CO
John & Cindy Hooton
- 2019-01-18
K. J. Braithwaite
- 2019-01-18
Jason Miller
- 2019-01-18
The Mitguards
- 2019-01-18
Chuck
Snow - 2019-01-18
Craig
Walter - 2019-01-18
Mike Judge
- 2019-01-18
Lindsay & Jeremy Facknitz - 2019-01-18
Reflecting on why I like to make live music recordings and looking forward to
doing more of that in 2019...
Posted and updated by:
Chuck Miller January
1, 2019
 I
usually like to bring in the New Year while listening to
live music. I can't actually remember the last New Year's
Eve that I wasn't at a show or watching a pay-per-view event
at home on the couch. I just didn't feel the need to
get another live show in before 2018 ended. As luck would
have it though, just before I went to bed last night I saw a
Late Show with Steven Colbert re-run that featured Jeff
Tweedy from Wilco singing "Let's Go Rain" from his new solo
album WARM. That was a pleasant surprise and
fitting end to 2018.
Looking back, I had a satisfying year, musically. I heard
and recorded some new bands and attended concerts performed
by old favorites. The older I get, the more I appreciate live
music. The quality of live sound now plays a large role in
that for me. PA systems, even in small clubs, sound much
better than they did when I was young. I heard plenty of
poorly mixed performances when I first started going to
concerts. That was a turn-off. Now, I expect to be able to hear the words the
singers are singing and also hear all the instruments clearly.
These days, even small bands doing their own sound from the stage
can achieve that. Stompin' George Eldon's band does that every
time I see them. That's part of what makes a band worth
recording -- good sound! When I started to hear really good sound at
concerts, especially from the Grateful Dead in the 1980's,
that's when I got interested in making recordings. That's
what led me here.
When I buy a concert ticket or pay a cover charge to see a
band play these days, I expect to hear high quality sound.
That was the case with my
last concert in 2018, which was the December 29 Cracker and
Camper Van Beethoven double bill at the Soiled Dove
Underground in Denver. I've seen both bands many times. I
love their music. Both bands played very well, of course.
But they also sounded great! It was easy to make a quality
recording. You can read my review and listen to the recordings I made
by following the link
here if you're interested.
I'm looking forward to 2019. So far, I have tickets and plan
to see moe., Big Head Todd and the Monsters, and
Toad the Wet Sprocket at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. I'd love to
see Wilco this year. I haven't made a personally
satisfactory recording of them yet. Hopefully they'll play
somewhere in Colorado, and I'll get the opportunity. Closer to
home, there is a Bob Dylan tribute this month featuring
among others, some friends of mine at Stargazer's Theatre
and Event Center. Woodshed Red, a band I recently discovered
and really like, is
playing at that same venue in February. I'll record that
performance. I want to record Stompin' George Eldon's band soon,
too. They are
so unique. I want to expose them to more people.
I also want
to record some more diverse music in 2019. I see a lot of
jam bands, mainly because they tend to be more open to being
recorded. Contact me by email
here if you know
of a great local band I haven't covered yet. After all,
that's part of my mission: to highlight and expose people to
good live local music.
Well, those are some of my wishes for the coming year. I'm
excited after learning about some of the events that have
been announced already. If 2019 is anything like 2018 was,
I'll be happy and busy making recordings and sharing them
here with you. Cheers.
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