Don't say anything

If you don't have anything nice to say . . .

This is going to be a very short post.  

Hoping for some real laughs, Steve and I went to see Nice Jewish Girls Gone Bad and Good for the Jews tonight at the Wheeler Opera House.  

We laughed a few times for real and a few more times because we wanted it to be funny but mostly we just wished it would be funny or wondered when it was going to get funny.

Guitar Blues

On February 25, 2009, Steve and I saw Guitar Blues at the Wheeler Opera House.

Guitar Blues consists of Jorma Kaukonen, of Hot Tuna and a founding member of Jefferson Airplane, Robben Ford and Ruthie Foster.

Being that the only one of the three musicians with whom I had any familiarity was Ruthie Foster and being that I think she's phenomenal (as the title of one of her CDs states), I figured that the other two would be of a kind and that we were in for an awesome evening.

I was only partly right. It was a awesome evening but only because Ruthie stole the show. While both Kaukonen and Ford are extremely talented musicians, their music did little or nothing for me.

Ruthie, on the other hand, simply shone. Every time she stepped on stage, you could feel the energy in the theater change. Even those in the audience who were drawn to the show by the other artists (which was basically everyone but me) could be heard remarking afterwards how Foster was the real jewel.

Kaukonen, while very talented with a guitar, was too mellow and Ford, while also quite skilled, was too jam session-y.

But when paired with Foster and when Foster soloed, the audience soared.

Jerry Jeff Walker

On February 21, 2009, Steve and I saw Jerry Jeff Walker at the Wheeler Opera House.

Jerry Jeff isn't really my speed but Steve really likes him so I agreed to go see him.

I was very pleasantly surprised. It was an excellent show. There were songs I recognized like Mr. Bojangles and Sangria Wine. There were ballads and there were rollicking Jerry Jeff standards.

He's a winning entertainer, engaging the audience in banter and taking song suggestions while also being willing to charmingly turn other suggestions down.

Jimmy Ibbotson from the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band performed a duet with Jerry Jeff for Mr. Bojangles, the second song of the night. It was fun to see the two artists collaborating but Jimmy was a bit frenetic, dancing about the stage. This was probably in part necessitated by the fact that there really wasn't enough room for Jimmy, Jerry Jeff and Jerry Jeff's guitar in front of the microphone but it was still distracting.

REK

Robert Earl Keen performed at the Wheeler on January 10th, shortly after a friend's birthday so off we all went. REK is a repeat performer in Aspen and has quite the following here.

I was completely unfamiliar with his music. That always makes for an interesting experience and he didn't disappoint.

REK is a Texan singer songwriter with a humorous edge who enjoys engaging with the audience. He creates a rolicking vibe that was a bit lost at the Wheeler. The Wheeler is set up as a theater, so while you can get seats right up against the stage, there's no room for dancing. REK's music begs to be danced to. It's got to be a bit disconcerting for a musician of this type to look out at a very large room full of people, all of whom are seated and at the most, bobbing their heads.

In my opinion, his show would have been better at Belly Up, where there's a dance floor right in front of the stage.

Or maybe the Wheeler could figure out a way to accommodate the inevitable urge to get up and dance.

Abigail Washburn & the Sparrow Quartet

We saw Abigail Washburn and the Sparrow Quartet at the Wheeler Opera House on Saturday evening. Excellent show.

Abigail Washburn is a folk musician and the Sparrow Quartet was formed for the purpose of traveling and performing in China. They stayed together after their return and have released a self titled cd with American folk music combined with Chinese folk music.

One of my favorite cuts on the cd is Taiyang Chulai, an energetic traditional Chinese folk song. Another favorite track is Captain which was written by the quartet.

The musicians were all very engaging in person. The house was full and at the end, everyone was buzzing with approval.

Belated review

KT Tunstall.

On Monday night, Steve, Rachel, Rachel's friend, Sydney and I saw KT Tunstall at Belly Up in Aspen. Rachel and Sydney spent the whole show at belly'd up against the stage at KT's feet while Steve and I were just a few feet behind them.

I've been a KT Tunstall fan since she was profiled on Weekend Edition in February of 2006.

This was the last show of KT's US tour but she didn't short us at all. There was fun banter with the audience about trying to perform at altitude and about trying to ski in Scotland.

I had a blast, dancing and singing along with every song she played. I was standing near a speaker so I could sing as loud as I wanted without bothering anyone. She performed just one song I didn't know, a new one which hasn't yet been released but which I'm sure I'll own as soon as it is.

I was psyched that she played Beauty of Uncertainty. The one song she didn't perform that I would have liked her to was Girl and the Ghost.

KT and her band played with energy and enthusiasm. The only negative note of the evening for me were the two stick in the mud, unpleasant women near us who rarely moved, didn't sing along with anything KT performed but found the energy to make fun of me for enjoying myself. Until, that is, Steve shut them down.

But, even with that brief episode, the evening was a stunning success. Woo-hoo! (think Black Horse and the Cherry Tree)

Super Diamond

It's Spring Jam in Aspen.

Aspen SkiCo goes all out for the spring break crowds and packs in the events.

Last night was the Aspen Core Party, for which a stage is set up a block or so from the base of Aspen Mountain, a beer garden is set up (Bud Light being the name sponsor) and hot jams ensue in the cold spring night air.

For the past few years, likely in an attempt to attract the young ripper crowd, the musical acts have tended towards rap and hip-hop. They've even hired scantily clad hip hop dancers and graffiti artists to tag blank "walls" as the warm-up DJ is spinning.

This year, Skico went in a slightly different direction.

They brought in Super Diamond, a Neil Diamond tribute band. Aspen locals are no strangers to Super Diamond as they have played Belly Up Aspen annually for several years. In fact, not knowing that they were performing for free last night, Steve and I bought tickets for their concert tonight at Belly Up. (but you already know that because you're an avid reader, right?)

The 6 member band has been touring as Super Diamond for 15 years, come March 31st and it's clear why they've had such longevity. They're high energy, inspire fun and are obviously enjoying themselves.

As Surreal Neil puts it, don't let anyone ever tell you that Neil Diamond doesn't rock.

Super Diamond brings an edge to Diamond's music, liberally interspersing rock riffs throughout their show. Steve said that it sort of sounded like Billy Idol does Neil Diamond.

Will we go tonight? Right now I'd like to but 10 pm is a long way away.

One Night of Queen

Last night we sat in the front row for Freddie Mercury and Queen.

Or should I say Gary Mullen and the Works, a Queen tribute band.

Gary's got all the moves down and he and the boys put on a fun show. Just as Freddie did, Gary insists on a lot of audience involvement and does a good job of getting the crowd going.

Even the crowd at the Wheeler Opera House, which with its seats crammed together can present a challenge to an performer who wants the audience go get up and dance.

But Mullen managed it. Multiple times.

Rachel realized when she was halfway to the theater that she forgot her ticket. Thus she was late and Gary called her out in front of the entire audience.

"You're late. The ticket says 8 pm."

Later in the show, he put a microphone in front of her face during an audience sing-along and she ducked below the stage.

So I jumped in and covered for her. God only knows what I sounded like.

Rachel found a video today of Queen performing at Live Aid in 1985 and it really helped to see what a good job Mullen did of copying Mercury's moves and mannerisms.