Yonder Mountain String Band—Babcok Theatre—Billings, MO—03/20/2013

Jerry Joseph and the Jackmormons—Whiskey Jacks—Big Sky, MT—03/22-23/2013

Widespread Panic—Red Rocks Amphitheatre—Morrison, CO—June 27-30, 2013

Bloodkin—The Filling Station—Bozeman, MT—07/07/2013

On an off night for Widespread Panic, supporting act for the Northwest run Bloodkin rolled into Bozeman, MT’s Filling Station and blew the roof off the nearly empty venue. The show had everything going for it: ease of access between Panic shows, and the two nights off between the Grand Targhee 3-night run and the Big Sky Brewery Amphitheater shows in Missoula, MT. That being said, one might have thought more Panic fans would have turned up in Bozeman on this balmy tranquil Sunday summer night in Montana. Opener Bret Mosely noted “it’s good to look around and see some familiar faces.” Indeed while the crowd was small, it was composed of a tight knit group of fans of southern music from all over the country. In true Montana style the doors on the bar were propped wide open, allowing the wind to wash the amplified music around the room.  Still, the nearly desolate bar and crowd of about 25 people made up for its lack of size in its exuberance of spirit.

Bloodkin also demonstrated that exuberance of sprit. As they played they joked with the audience, told a few stories, and even took time to comment on the warm summer breeze blowing in, a treat one would miss with a capacity crowd. The request line, too, might not have been open had the place been a little more packed. But instead of being all about their business, Danny Hutchens leaned out past his mic and asked in his gentlemanly slightly-southern drawl, “so what cha y’all wanna hear…?” The set list included crowd and band favorites. “Lifer” twisted and bent its way out into the sweet summer evening air. Eric Carter introduced “My Name is Alice” by explaining both how the song came to be, and why it means so much to him now. “I wrote this song about drinking before I quit…now it kind of reminds me of why I did” he commented.  Brooklyn based Bret Mosely moved from his role as supporting act to sit in for a few rocking songs with the southern boys. Highlights from this were the Bloodkin original “Rotgut” and the Rolling Stones cover “Happy”. Bret’s music styling on the Dobro fits well with Bloodkin’s southern rock and roll sensibilities. When north meets south on these lines the result was sublime. Bret already fits well with southern blues, and the musician has stated before that Widespread Panic fans have embraced his style. So it makes sense that a band whom Widespread covers would embrace Bret as well.

Songs like “Rotgut” may have been written for Athens, GA, but they find their home just as easily in Bozeman or Missoula, MT. If they slipped off your radar, or you have never given them a chance, or "you're sittin' on a fence so I guess you better decide", Bloodkin is definitely worth your time.  I know where I stand.  In various forms this band has played with and even pre-dates two of Widespread Panic's four different formations.  They sing the quintessential southern rock songs: ballads.  They sing songs about the rhythms of life and the characters in it.  They sing songs about the midnight towns... the kinds I call home.  Keep an eye out for this band; go see Bloodkin, you'll be glad you did!

Written and Photos by: Phil Santala

Edited by: Rosemary A.W. Roberts

Widespread Panic—Red Rocks Amphitheatre—Morrison, CO—June 27-30, 2013

The first ever four night run of Widespread Panic at Red Rocks Amphitheater caps an already historic career for the Athens, GA based jam-band at the idyllic Morrison Colorado venue. Three night stands here are a center piece of the band's summer tour. Indeed Panic has racked up the most sold out shows in a row in the venue’s impressive history since its inception in 1906 and official construction by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1936. This four night run would be numbers 39-43 in that long standing tradition of shows, and would be their 42^nd sold out show as well at Red Rocks. This would also be Widespread Panic's first four night run since the end of the hallowed traditional 4 night New Year’s shows at the Fox Theater in Athens. The shows would also mark a shift in the summer tour, being the middle of a pendulum swing to an out-west and up-north series of smaller more intimate venues. For four nights, "the boys" alone would stand unsupported at the foot hills of the Colorado Rocky Mountains in front of capacity crowds, further cementing their place in the history books of this legendary venue.

The saying goes: and into every life a little rain must fall. Well for Panic fans at Red Rocks it might well read: and into every run a little rain must fall. Friday night’s rain didn't just fall; it threatened, progressed, split, came back, wavered, tentatively opened up, then dumped. Earlier in the day the storm split and rolled on past Red Rocks, providing from some spectacular lighting in clouds as the sun set. But from the top of the venue the winds picked up and the lightning grew closer as JB (John Bell) growled and howled thru a merciless "Mercy." Things were evidently gathering speed on stage and off. Big gusts of wind battered and blasted the band and the refuse left lying about by patrons. The band was prompted to take an unceremoniously announced weather break while "we get things tied down" declared Dave Schools. Some headed to the doors while rumors of hail and torrential downpours swirled in the winds above the fans’ heads. House lights and music came on...the question arose: would we receive a rain delay, ala Telluride ten years ago? The band returned just in time to usher in the first tentative drops of a Rocky Mountain summer rain storm during “Ain’t Life Grand.” The drops and winds increased as the band moved on.  As the bands teased out the jam of "Fishwater" the storm complied with the request for "a little bit more, more, more" and started to open the faucet up. The crowd rose to the soggy occasion with no hesitation, cheering on the band and the lighting as they both gathered force in the battle for the hearts and minds of the Red Rocks audience. As the electricity arched through the air it seemed to meld into the stage. The winds picked up, the rain hammered down, and the band played on. The lights swinging out on to the crowd illumined the drops as they blew sideways, and the band channeled the growing turbulence and funneled into an electronic maelstrom of tight knit funk infused with New Orleans blues so revered by both fans and band alike. Slowly and delicately the jam out of “Fishwater” ebbed, timed almost intuitively with the dissipation of the storm.

While Friday night’s stand outs were the storm-infused jams, Saturday night's moments came via smooth transitions and a big ol' pile of JoJo's (John Hermann’s) keys. Songs highlighting the tinkling ivories and his unique New York twanged southern style blues were plentiful, and it really seemed like a stand out night for him. While the debut of the Smiling Assassins song “On This Mountain Side”  may not have hooked much of the crowd, the "Second Skin> Driving Song> Ride Me High > Drums > Proving Ground> Driving Song> Breathing Slow” was the monstrous jam that panic is known for. During it JoJo’s light was shining straight through. The jam out of Drums featured some of Dave Schools’ finest work of the run as well. Deep bass bombs harked back to the days gone by when Dave and Sunny (Domingo Ortiz) took Panic out of drums night after night in the late 90’s.

A final saying on the road is “Never miss a Sunday show.” Red Rocks and Widespread Panic share a distinct relationship here: the dreaded early show. Some play thru, others rest, and too many crash and burn. But the Sunday show at Red Rocks almost never disappoints, and this run would be no

different. The show was full of tight jams; it was solid, smooth and well constructed. But still coming off the infamous “cover set” of 2011’s Sunday show it still seemed a little, well…non-Sunday-ish. Going into the encore the show in its entirety stood out as two sets of workhorse Panic. The encore, I thought, threw all this out the window. Encores can be a tricky business. A solid show can be totally shot by a rough landing at the end. It’s all people seem to remember as they walk out. “Dirty Side Down” and “End of the Show” were as solid as they come. Hell, “End Of the Show” alone is a powerful send off. Sure, it’s not that all out rocker some might like, but it’s sweet, poetic, melodic and downright nasty. It is reminiscent of when the Grateful Dead would send off a show with “We Bid You Goodnight.” So when JB was the only one taking off an instrument I was hopeful but reserved. What gem could cap that crown? The crowd erupted into an extended period of cheers, claps, whistle, hoots and hollers. As the band prepped themselves, the tension built. There have been times where a song following ”End of the Show” has seemed a bit misplaced. This, dear reader, was not one of those times. “Jesus Left Chicago” was a simply amazing placement. Its lyrics seemed to highlight the tour route Panic is taking between Spring and Summer tour. Furthermore it was just a great placement. It solidified the encore. The “Travling Light” that followed was a pure bonus. An epic four song encore to highlight the four night run was poetic, and composed correctly of the right songs in just the right order. It made sure that even if all you remember was that encore, you would know it was a good run for all. No wonder Panic does this for a living.   

Soggy and smiling is often how some, if not a lot of time, can be spent at Red Rocks. Friday night had been true to this form and prompted John Bell, the immortal bard of Red Rocks, to quip "it's not the safest thing to be doing, but it’s still fun." A truer statement might never have been uttered on that hollowed ground. A lot of things might be a whole lot safer than a four night run of Widespread Panic at Red Rocks. The consequences on your pocket book, your diet, your mental health, your employment, your physical well being, your relationships back home, your legal status, your…well, all can be jeopardized by such a risky endeavor. Still we gather, for there ain't no misfortune in your lives when your feet have left the ground. Thanks JB, that little side comment between songs might very well sum all that is the fleeting experience and sheer joy of a Red Rocks Widespread Panic run.

Written & Photos by: Phil Santala

Edited by: Rosemary A.W. Roberts

Jerry Joseph and the Jackmormons—Whiskey Jacks—Big Sky, MT—03/22-23/2013

Spring time in Big Sky, Montana means two things to local riders and music fans: melting snow by day and melting faces by night. Jerry Joseph and the Jackmormons returned to Whiskey Jacks for their now annual run. Fans turned out, too, from far and wide to ride and rock. Jackmormon, or JMOS, fans from California, Minnesota, Colorado, Idaho and Wyoming showed up to share dance space with the Montana contingency of “Zombies” as JMOS fans have been known to be called. The Whiskey Jacks run began as it has in years past; with stops in Missoula and Whitefish before ending in Big Sky, MT.

How to describe the only two night run of the tour? Well loud comes to mind. Very, very loud. A recent addition to Jerry Joseph’s stage set up was a Bogner amplifier. The sound guy commented with a grin, that he didn’t think they made an amp louder than that Mesa Jerry used to have. Tinnitus fans rejoice! While hot openers are the stuff that dreams are made of, second sets are the places where dreams become reality. Friday’s first set lumbered off the ground with “Frost Heaves”. “Road to Damascus” on the other hand showed what the JMOS are really capable of. Gritty, raw, full of emotion, and screeching out of the amps it grabs you by you-know-what’s and takes you for a ride. But that second set is where it always seems to come together. Friday night’s stand out second set heater would be the “Coliseum> Happy Book> Hammer> Staple Gun> Unprotected” jam. The songs in there represent the full range of Jerry’s ability. “Coliseum” hits slow and hard, like Pink Floyd’s “Astronomy Domine” or Parliament’s “Maggot Brain”. “Happy Book” seems to be Jerry’s closest thing to a pop-tune this reformed addict can write and still maintain his sense of self. “Hammer” and “Unprotected” are slower ballads, which served as great bookends to the all out rocker “Staple Gun”. That song embodies what it all seems to be about for Jerry: loud, hard and fast. When the beat dropped in the middle and the choruses started to ramp up to the crescendo the roof practically flew off Whiskey Jacks. 

Saturday’s second set featured the Little Women song “Drive”. This song has seen a variety of incarnations over the last two decades of live performances. The intro this time was eloquent, and haunting. It seems to encapsulate much of Jerry’s musical styling lately. One part a cappella, one part jam band, and two parts old time religious tent revival. John Bell doesn’t call him “the Reverend Jerry Joseph” for nothing. The irony is that the old time religious aspects came from decidedly modern songs. The beginning of the “Drive” jam featured the a cappella riff on the Townes Van Zandt song “Two Hands.” Much like the old AM radio dial on your parent’s pickup when you were grew up, as we drove, things started to drift. If you don’t stay on your toes you might miss the switch, and since they are in the same voice, you might never know which is new, which is old, and which are or are not covers. Into the song “Two Hands” the chorus from “Wicked Games” by The Weekend drifted in. “Well I got two hands, I wanna clap my hands together / got two legs, I wanna dance to heaven’s door/ I got one heart, I want to fill it up with up Jesus / And I ain't gonna think about trouble anymore” melded perfectly into “you bring your love baby I could bring my shame / You bring the drugs baby I could bring my pain.” As the guitar came off the straps resting on the back, things got even heavier. Jerry dropped it into gear and we drove into “Drive”. If ever there was a song that said it all, did it all, showed all a man could do, has done, and might forever be paying penance for doing; “Drive” is it for Jerry. The pump was primed by the slow, dirty vocal driven jam before it, and when Jerry lit the touch on the guitar riff of “Drive” the entire venue absolutely erupted off into outer space.

If the audience in attendance needed more, or if you, dear reader, question the mash-up ability of this man, the encore would leave no doubt as to how deep the cuts could run. A twist on some old standards gave new light and appreciation to them. “Constellation> Ashes to Ashes (David Bowie cover) > Chainsaw City (with reggae beat intro) > rice and beans rap> Brown Sugar (Rolling Stones) rap> The Chain (Fleetwood Mac) rap> Chainsaw City” was simply sublime. Constellation built slowly and surely, laboring along rolling and building onto itself, with the help of backup vocals by bass player JR Ruppel and drummer Steve Drizos. When Jerry rolled slowly and deliberately into the David Bowie confessional “Ashes to Ashes” the move was poetic. Jerry’s had an oft publicized, very public and much maligned personal battle with mood altering chemicals for the better part of two decades. “We know Major Tom’s a junkie” too and the way Jerry scrambled these lyrics fits the bill and ties them into his other songs too. The drugs might still call, he might be clean for today but “the planet’s still glowing” he belts out, “junk to junkie.” These lines coincide neatly with the “Happy Book” opener, “…I got to tell you, I’d really like to get high…” from a man possessed, but battling his demons. Jerry battled them right through the Chainsaw City mash-up into the cold clear night outside.

If you haven’t seen him lately, you’re definitely missing out. Sober, strong and humble. A man who seems to know: just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. A man who also knows “it isn’t killing me, I will be fine,” whether out on the road with the Jackmormons, Stockholm Syndrome, or as he will be this Spring with Steve Drizos and Walter Salas-Humara. With over 30 years on the road under his belt Jerry Joseph has been grinding it out longer as a jam-band than many fans (and bands) have been alive today. This experience and versatility shows. On the road with an ever-changing cast of characters and side projects, from Israel to South-East Asia, Jerry Joseph isn’t the man he used to be. Raps have changed, tunes have been augmented. Lines you hear today might be gone tomorrow in the ever changing quest for personal fulfillment highlighted by stage lights and guitar amps.

Written & Pictures By: Phil Santala

Edited By: Rosemary A.W. Roberts

Yonder Mountain String Band—Babcok Theatre—Billings, MO—03/20/2013

Let's just call a spade a spade. Billings, Montana is a weird town. Wednesday's Yonder Mountain String band show proved this to be the rule, rather than the exception. It was a whistle stop for these Colorado based newgrass boys on their way to sold out shows in Bozeman and Missoula. Much like the upcoming shows at the Emerson Cultural Center and the Wilma Theater, the Billings show took bluegrass into a decidedly old fashioned venue, The Babcok Theater. In its storied history in downtown Billings the Babcock has played host to many different incarnations: theater, cinema, weekly boxing match host, and more recently independent film venue and concert hall. The crowd inside the venue was as varied as the building’s illustrious history. Young dreadlocked kids, preppy gym rats, tight pants hipsters, old meat-in-the-seaters (people who sit for the show), middle aged couples square dancing in the isle, this blue collar town takes all types. They all came together, danced, often seemed to have a good time, and defiantly almost occasionally killed each other.

Fans in Billings get riled up, I mean REALLY riled up. Bands feed off energy like that for sure. Shout-outs were given to the “rocking balcony crowd” by mandolin player Jeff Austin. Jeff’s energy was unmistakable throughout the night. At times his body and facial movements seemed to be channeling Joe Cocker onto the stage. He was twisted, contorted, and ready to pop like a tightly spooled watch spring. It appeared the energy in the Babcock was also ready to go to such a place. During the 2^nd set Jeff had to admonish people in the pit to “cool off…there’s no need to kill each other…” as near fights broke out over coveted floor space. This type of scene might not be limited to the town of Billings; it might very well play out over venues throughout the US. Still, it seems silly when the back third of the venue is wide open. Granted you might miss seeing Adam Aijala’s cool collected riffing, Dave Johnston’s pie-in-the-sky grinning and picking, or Ben Kaufmann’s cool as a cucumber upright bass strumming from way back there. But you would also miss out on the prolific amounts of beer being spilled, and the near fisticuffs that broke out.

Still, such energy and its effect on the band could not be missed. With the worms coming out of the can all around them the band really opened it up. It could have been a night they laid back in the cut for sure. Coming off larger billed shows in Aspen at the Belly Up, and on their way to capacity crowds in Bozeman and Missoula this show could have been a snoozer, instead of the fiery sleeper it was. (Sleeper, in this case, is a commonly used term for a stellar show in an overlooked venue or town.) The band played to the melting pot audience by throwing in well-received covers. Their usually spot on, finger-pickin’ good bluegrass was there as well. “Snow on the Pine> Girlfriend is Better> Snow on the Pines” left patrons gasping for air while stumbling blurry eyed and thirsty into the set break.  But the 2^nd set original song stand out would be a briskly paced, and perhaps a bit too short, “How ‘Bout You” that clocked in at just around 5 minutes. But if it was bluegrass jamming one was looking for, the closer of the second set would not disappoint. “Little Rabbit> Whipping Post> All the Time” was a 20 minute hip shaking jam. The bands cover of “Whipping Post” was amazing, and a treat to be heard. Old timers in the crowd rose to their feet, and the younger generation leapt off the ground. Jeff belted out the lyrics like the love child of Warren Haynes, Joe Cocker, and Greg Allman.

Versatility is the name of the newgrass game these days, and the Yonder boys showed this as they closed out the evening with the Ozzy Osbourne thriller "Crazy Train". While it's hard to capture the heavy metal sound with a four piece bluegrass band, this cover hit the spot, and left no doubt that Yonder Mountain String Band had seen the times were changing in Billings. This sleepy blue collar town is just starting to come into its own on the Montana music scene. Hopefully as more big acts like this stop through it helps boost the local up-and-comers in the music scene. After-shows and openers will be needed to book into bills to fill out the nights. Locals may look forward to a time when a 200 mile round trip show isn't needed to catch a decent show. These "Blue Collar Blues" just might be "Not Far Away" from being a thing of the past, like "Snow on the Pines."

Written and Photos By: Phil Santala

Edited by: Rosemary A.W. Roberts, www.jamsplus.com