Blog | 2015 blog entries & Quick links

 It was snowing and cold on Black Friday night in Colorado Springs on November 27. A small crowd came out to see the The Reverend Collin Estes and the Born-Again Sinners, Hayden Trobee, Aaron Noble and headliners Rough Age at the Black Sheep.

By my rough count there were less than 20 people in the venue that holds 400. Maybe it was the cold and snow or the somber mood after the second active shooter incident in Colorado Springs in the past month. But, the people that were there enjoyed a good night of live local music.

Aaron Noble Brown, solo with an acoustic guitar played first, starting around 8 PM. I really enjoyed his set. He was able to connect with the few people that stood in front of the stage for his 30 minute long set.

Next up, Hayden Trobee accompanied himself with a telecaster and also kept the small but enthusiastic audience close to the stage.

The Reverend Collin Estes and the Born-Again Sinners were the first full band to play and they did a nice job. But, the full band playing in an empty venue emphasized the somber mood for me.

Colorado Springs band Rough Age closed the night with an enjoyable set. Too bad not many people got to hear it.

I made recordings of the performances. I've uploaded the Aaron Noble Brown and the Reverend Collin Estes and the Born-Again Sinners sets for live streaming. Follow the links below to hear those recordings.

  Reverend Collin Estes and the Born-Again Sinners ~ 2015-11-27 Black Sheep, Colorado Springs, CO

  Aaron Noble Brown ~ 2015-11-27 Black Sheep, Colorado Springs, CO

Colorado Springs band Eros and the Eschaton played an intense, hard driving 40 minute long set at the What If... Festival held in downtown Colorado Springs on Saturday.

There was a small crowd assembled to see the seven song set which started a little after 2 PM. The five piece group fronted by Kate Perdoni performed on the KRCC stage which was set-up next to the Pioneers Museum.

There were many young kids hula hooping and playing near the stage while the band played. The whole event had a youthful, optimistic and fun vibe to it.

I enjoyed the dynamics of the Eros original "Over and Over" and also the bands cover of "Vitamin C" originally done by Can.

I made an audio recording and took some photos which can be found by following the links below.

  Eros and the Eschaton - 2015-09-19

  Eros and the Eschaton ~ 2015-09-19 What If... Festival - KRCC Stage, Colorado Springs, CO

Members of the Davenport Band with guests Kevin Waybright on bass and vocals, Chris Bocast on electric guitar and vocals, Matt Fields on vocals and acoustic guitar and Kevin on drums played from about 2:30 PM until 8 PM on Saturday July 11 outside at Jim Rose's home. It was a very informal jam session, but fun evening, with the band playing cover songs and originals to a very small group of friends and family. I made a recording and took lots of pictures which can be accessed by following the links below.

  Jim Jam - 2015-07-11

  Jim Jam ~ 2015-07-11 Jim Rose's home, El Paso County, CO (selected outtakes)

Posted and updated by: Chuck Miller June 27, 2015

The Wendy Woo Band played a free concert at the University Village Center in Colorado Springs on Friday, June 26. The band started right around 6 PM and played two sets of mostly original music. Though rain clouds threatened, the event was dry until the show ended at little after 8 PM.

The band played a lot of songs from their new CD Tipping Point. There were several highlights, including The title track from the new CD, "Tipping Point." Outdoors the song was powerful, sounded great and was well received by the crowd. Later in the set, Robin Hoch sang an excellent cover of Stevie Wonder's "I Wish." I hadn't heard the band cover that song before and it sounded great and was unexpected. The jazzy instrumental section of "Sundrops" was sublime with Jimmy Lang's keyboard solo half way through the song.

The second set was short, but sweet. The band seemed to up their energy a notch for the second set that started with a couple of covers, but ended with a good mix of old and new Wendy Woo Band songs. The high energy original "Gonna Wear Red" ended the night and sent the audience out of the venue happy.

I made a recording and took some photos which can be accessed by following the links below.

  Wendy Woo Band ~ 2015-06-26 University Village Center, Colorado Springs, CO

  Wendy Woo Band  - 2015-06-26

Posted and updated by: Chuck Miller May 30, 2015

The Wendy Woo Band's May 29th appearance at Stargazer's Theatre in Colorado Springs served as the southern Colorado release party for their new CD Tipping Point.

After a generous introduction by Stargazer's owner John Hooten, the band got started by playing four songs from the new CD. Some of the songs have been played by the band for a while, but most of the songs are brand new. I enjoyed them all and feel like the new songs are excellent additions to the band's huge repertoire. My favorite of the first four songs was one I have heard them play before, "Where It's Warm." It's a textbook, guitar driven, Wendy Woo song with a dance friendly reggae feel and strong vocals by Wendy and Robin Hoch.

After Hoch's beautiful "Saving Grace" and a cover of "Queen Bee" sung by Colorado Springs own Jimmy Lange, the band got back to the new CD material with the title song "Tipping Point." This song reminds me of the best songs Woo wrote early in her career, like "Before It Gets Better." With strong lyrics, the wah, wah guitar pedal sound and a confident delivery this was one of my favorite songs of the night.

Woo and Hoch opened the second set as a duo with a cover of The Plain White T's "Hey There Delilah" which was well received by the audience. After playing some more familiar original material, the band eventually played the rest of the songs on the new album. The best song of the second set was the first song on that new recording, "In the Middle." The song was written by Mitch DeZwarte who has played guitar, bass and keyboards with the band off and on since 2005. Woo gave the song a lengthy introduction and the band played it well.

The set ending original "Down and Dirty" was also a highlight for me.

The CD Tipping Point is one of the best recordings I have heard made by a Colorado band ever. Recorded at Colorado Sound in Westminster and mixed by legendary producer Jim Gaines, Woo's voice and guitar have never sounded better. I can't imagine anyone who would not enjoy hearing Tipping Point. I'll have it in heavy rotation listening for a while. Congratulations to Wendy Woo the band for producing an exceptional new CD!

  Wendy Woo Band ~ 2015-05-29 Stargazer's Theatre, Colorado Springs, CO

  Wendy Woo Band  - 2015-05-29

Posted and updated by: Chuck Miller May 2, 2015

I enjoyed the sold out Katie and Joe Uveges performance at The Gold Room in March. So, I was very happy to see that Joe Uveges with the BUS Band were playing at the same venue on May 1.

The band, composed of KJ Braithwaite, Joe Uveges, Jim Sokol and Eddy Lieberman with Teddy Nazario on drums started around 8:30 PM and played a very nice mix of original songs and covers.

I'd seen Uveges a few times, solo and as a duo with his daughter Katie, but I'd never seen him play in a full band like this. I was very impressed with this group who's harmonies and arrangements reminded me of Crosby, Stills and Nash at times. They even played some CSN material. It wasn't a sold out show but there were lots of fans inside the venue having a great time listening, with some dancing in the little floor space that wasn't crowded with people.

I didn't record this time, but I did take some pictures which can be seen by following the link below.

  The Bus Band  - 2015-05-01

Posted and updated by: Chuck Miller April 19, 2015

The eighth Annual Record Store Day of live music kicked off at the Independent Records & Video Annex store in Colorado Springs at 11:00 AM on Saturday, April 18. There was a line of people stretching half way around the building before the music store opened at 10 AM.

The first band to play was Briffaut, made up of Daniel James Eaton on acoustic guitar and vocals, Grant Sabin on bass, trumpet and vocals and Alex Koshak on drums, keyboards and vocals. Their mellow morning set was well received by the large crowd that was in the store buying mostly vinyl records.

I was able to see and record only one other band, Justus League, who played from approximately 3:20 PM to 4:00 PM. Their high energy set was excellent. The crowd had thinned considerably by the time The Justus League started, but the people that were there were treated to a great set of blues music by the band. I thought the James Brown medley was the highlight of the set.

I recorded both bands and have posted the recordings and some photos I took at the event. Follow the links below to see and hear what you missed if you were not there.

  Justus League ~ 2015-04-18 Independent Records & Video, Colorado Springs, CO

  Briffaut ~ 2015-04-18 Independent Records & Video, Colorado Springs, CO

  Justus League - 2015-04-18

  Briffaut - 2015-04-18

Posted and updated by: Chuck Miller March 29, 2015

A Night Of Remembrance and Music - Remembering Marsha Miller - The Lo-Fi Cowboys and GyzUnGlasus was held at Southside Johnny's in Colorado Springs on March 27. Both bands reunited to benefit Happy Cats Haven a no cage, no kill cat adoption shelter in Colorado Springs. The event was a public remembrance and celebration of the life of my well loved, music loving wife Marsha Miller who volunteered at the shelter and passed away in December.

The night started with The Lo-Fi Cowboys playing an hour and twenty minute long set of mostly covers with a few original songs mixed in. The bar was packed with fans of both bands. It was great seeing old friends reuniting at the bar and dancing on the crowded dance floor in front of the band.

After a brief intermission to change out instruments on the stage GyzUnGlasus played together for the first time in fifteen years. The dance floor filled again with happy fans dancing to two sets of mostly Grateful Dead inspired covers with a few original songs that filling out the sets.

Chris Bocast did an excellent job playing lead guitar in place of founding GyzUnGlasus singer/ guitarist Chuck Binkowski who wasn't able to participate.

The band shook off the dust and really started to gel during "Scarlet Begonias" > "Fire On the Mountain." The mix was dialed in and it felt and sounded just like it did fifteen years ago for the rest of the night.

Generous fans filled a donation jar with money for Happy Cats Haven and a good time was had by all.

I made recordings and took some photos which can be accessed by following the links below.

  GyzUnGlasus ~ 2015-03-27 Southside Johnny's, Colorado Springs, CO

  The Lo-Fi Cowboys ~ 2015-03-27 Southside Johnny's, Colorado Springs, CO

  GyzUnGlasus - 2015-03-07

  The Lo-Fi Cowboys - 2015-03-07

Posted and updated by: Chuck Miller March 9, 2015

Local troubadour Joe Uveges and his talented daughter Katie put on an excellent and very well attended show at The Gold Room in Colorado Springs on March 7. It was a relatively warm winter night that helped bring out the enthusiastic crowd. Joe played acoustic guitar and piano and sang while Katie played fiddle and sang lead vocals. The duo performed two sets of original and cover songs joined by John Fischer on keyboards and vocals and Lee Patterson on accordion and mandolin.

Some of the more memorable moments occurred when Joe and Katie introduced and expanded on the origins of the diverse songs they played. There was a very funny incident that started when there was a loud snap sound that came from Katie's fiddle during the song "Waltz Time" near the end of the first set. The instrument's bridge had collapsed and Katie's reaction to that happening got the crowd laughing and clapping.

This was my first time attending a show at The Gold Room which opened up about 8 months ago in downtown Colorado Springs. I was quite impressed. The sound was very good and the staff were very accommodating. The 350 seat venue's stage is on the small side which appears to be oriented to smaller more intimate acoustic groups rather than large rock bands. The decor and atmosphere remind me of some small New York City night clubs I've been in.

I made a recording and took some photos which can be accessed by following the links below.

  Joe & Katie Uveges ~ 2015-03-07 The Gold Room, Colorado Springs, CO

  Joe & Katie Uveges - 2015-03-07

Posted and updated by: Chuck Miller February 8, 2015

Progressive rock & jam band moe. played three nights in Colorado as part of their 25th year anniversary celebration tour. The band started the three night run at the Fox Theatre on February 5 with "The Road." There were two highlights in the first set. "She" sung by Al Schnier was just beautiful. It sound as good as any version I've heard them play. The second highlight was the surprising "The Road" reprise at the end of the set. I hadn't noticed that they didn't finish the song, but it was nice to hear them come back to it to end the set.

The second set started with a medley of "Zed Nought Z" > "Calyphornya" > "Zed Nought Z" which was played very well. For me, the high point of the night was a nice version of "Time Ed." After that song, Rob Derhak spoke to the audience about the recent death of long time moe. taper and great friend of the band Eric Vandercar, who died unexpectedly earlier in the week. Derhak dedicated the next song, "New York City" to Vandercar as it was one of his favorite moe. songs.

The quintet sent us out into the warm winter night with "Happy Hour Hero" that closed the show. I thought it was a very good show. The Fox Theatre is a favorite venue for tapers, as it always sounds so nice in there. Of course I made a recording which is available by following the link below.

Night two of the Colorado run started at the Ogden Theatre in Denver on February 6 with Schnier's hard, biting ode to president "George" W. Bush. I have to say this show was one of the best I've seen moe. play. It was high energy and I just loved the song choices. "Hector's Pillow" > "Tubing the River Styx" > "The Pit" was sublime and that was just the beginning of the first set. Schnier also played Jerry Garcia's Travis Bean guitar throughout the night. The band ended the first set by finishing "George" which opened the set. They did the same thing, splitting the first song of the night and finishing it later with "The Road" at the Fox the night before. 

The second set was every bit as good as the first... maybe a little better. :) I was happily surprised to hear them start the set with "Crab Eyes." The medley of "Billy Goat" > a cover of Frank Zappa's "Don't Fuck With Flo" > "Mar De Ma" > "Meat" was trance inducing. They capped the night with a three song encore "Letter Home" which was introduced by Schnier as a favorite of Eric Vandercar's. Casual fan favorite "Blue Jeans Pizza" was next. After that song there seemed to be some confusion on stage as Schnier and Derhak glanced at each other. Then, Derhak played the intro to "Recreational Chemistry" and the audience erupted with cheers. A more than 26 minute long version of the song followed. The song wasn't on the set list and the band must have just decided the night wasn't quite over yet. We all left the venue happy and were greeted by another warm and beautiful Colorado night.

I had a ticket for the last show of the run, but decided the band couldn't top the February 6 show, so I gave the ticket to another Colorado Crew taper.

I did get to see the February 7 show, as TourGigs had a $9.99 pay per view available and I watched that show on the couch at home. I have to say that I have really enjoyed all of the couch shows I've seen over the years. When you don't have the money, stamina or time available to attend a show live, the couch shows are great. I plan to see many more in the future.

I won't review the Saturday show at the Ogden, because I wasn't there, except to say that I feel like I made the right choice based on what I saw and heard from home. The show was good, but not nearly as good as the Friday show.

Links to the recordings and some pictures I took are available by following the links below.

  moe. ~ 2015-02-06 Ogden Theatre, Denver, CO

  moe. ~ 2015-02-05 Fox Theatre, Boulder, CO

  moe. - 2015-02-06

  moe. - 2015-02-05

Posted and updated by: Chuck Miller January 26, 2015

"A Night Of Remembrance & Celebration For Marsha & Chuck Miller" will be held at Southside Johnny's in Colorado Springs on March 27.

The event will be a fund raiser for Happy Cats Haven, a cage less, no kill cat shelter in Colorado Springs where Marsha volunteered her time.

The event, organized by local musicians, long time friends and a couple of great guys, Kevin Waybright and Chuck Snow will start at 9 PM and include a set of music from her favorite local bands, The Lo-Fi Cowboys and GyzUnGlasus. This will be a re-union concert for both bands. I'll post more details when I get them.

1412 S. 21st Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80904
(719) 635-5000

Posted and updated by: Chuck Miller January 2, 2015

On my first solo New Years Eve night in 28 years I recorded David Lowery's bands Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven at the Soiled Dove Underground in Denver, CO. It was a great two band show and I made audio recordings and took some photos of both sets.

I had an excellent seat and recording position thanks to Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven's audio archivist morst.

CVB started the night by playing " It Was Like That When We Got Here" from their most recent CD, El Camino Real.

The sound was loud and clear to start, and actually got better throughout the night. When the band got into more familiar territory with "Eye Of Fatima (Parts 1 & 2)" from their 1992 album Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart the night got jump started for me. The highlight of the 64 minute long set was "Sweethearts" from the same album, later in the set.

I've seen both bands many times and switch back and forth every time I see them as to which band I like better. On this night, it was a technical toss-up. Both bands played excellent sets, but I'll give this night to Cracker for playing the longer set.

Cracker released their two CD Berkeley To Bakersfield album in 2014 and started their New Years Eve set with three songs from that release. It's always great to hear Johnny Hickman sing lead and he did a good job singing the new song "California Country Boy." Hickman's trade mark guitar licks are one of the reasons I keep coming back to see Cracker and the fourth song they played, the commercially successful single "Low' from 1993's Kerosene Hat  delivered.

While the band were finishing crowd favorite song "Eurotrash Girl" the venue's servers handed out disposable plastic champagne filled glasses and the group and crowd paused for Lowery's countdown to 2015. The band got the New Year started with "Sweet Potato" and "This Is Cracker Soul" which were both played as well as I have ever heard them.
 

The set ended with one of my favorite Cracker songs, "One Fine Day." The encore, a cover version of Jerry Garcia's poignant "Loser" sent us out into the cold first morning of 2015.  I left thinking it was a very good night of music.

Follow the links below to hear the recordings and see some photos I took during the show.

  Cracker ~ 2014-12-31 The Soiled Dove, Denver, CO

  Camper Van Beethoven ~ 2014-12-31 The Soiled Dove, Denver, CO

  Cracker - 2014-12-31

  Camper Van Beethoven - 2014-12-31