Review: 2019-10-26 - Ogden Theater- Denver, CO

[mccuem]

Setlist, Attendance, and Recordings for 2019-10-26 - Ogden Theater - Denver, CO

All right Night Two, lets do this!!! Second night of Spafford in sunny Denver! I woke sometime around noon to one of the prettiest days I have ever spent in Denver, 70+ degrees not a cloud in the sky and news reports of up to a foot of fresh Pow Pow predicted in the next 48 hours. Record scratch, what? Snow? No way. But this is Denver so anything is possible.

I started out the day with what can be described as the most Denver place ever, craft beer and coffee inside a bike shop. Denver Bike and Coffee Company. (Phoenix has a similar institution but I digress). Then I took a stroll trough Denver to meet up for a late lunch with some resident nerds. I try and look up new places whenever I travel, recently I hit up Avante, solid choice, but this trip I decided to hit up Pizzability with my friends since we had been sharing their Facebook page for the last month. Cool spot, great food, and awesome staff. We were planning on doing a little bar hopping but ended up just having afternoon beers on their patio. Check them out next time you’re up there!

Sooo getting amped for the show. I had put up a last minute meet up for pre-show over at Sanchos for a drink just in case anyone needed somewhere to meet pre show. The previous day I had helped nerds find tickets of find homes for their tickets so Saturday preshow was all about getting my mind straight. I showed up and found the evenings tapers sipping drinks at the bar. And I did this one right! Last meet up I did (Los Angeles) I picked a bar that was closed when I had asked people to show up! Ooopps, but this time I got it right, so I’m not gonna brag but I’m getting better at adulting! Look Ma, no Hands!

I had met up with the tapers for the evening and got to walk in and watch them set up their mics and prepare the stream that those playing from home would be enjoying.

Eminence Front from The Who kicked off the evening! Clocking in at just over 30 minutes it set the tone for the evening. I think everyone was feeling this, and now re-listening to it I can finally understand the lyrics, I don’t want to list the things I thought that they were singing during the chorus man Slippy, Slappy Samsonite…I was waayyy off. Also just wanted to say that Jordan proves that he has been rehearsing his ass off lately. He sounds so dialed in and focused! Jordan, come to the front and get your gold star bud!

Leave the Light On was up next, crowd fave and a source of controversy this evening. I was making random observations to the tapers who still seemed happy to be putting up with me. First one was that Brian DID NOT HAVE THE RAVEN, rather a solid-body Gibson. Secondly and this was funny, Jordan messed up his doot doos! I don’t think that has ever happened. The band played through it and Jordan told us in song he would redo the part that he messed up, which he did, so he was forgiven.

So I had just seen my second-most seen song and then I get my favorite song to introduce people to Spafford to, ETS as the kids say. Electric Taco Stand for the win! I will never tire of this song! This version is about 2x the length of the first time I heard it and it never fails to remind me why and how I fell in love with this band in the first place. It’s such an approachable song and a great first song that I use to introduce my non-Jam Band friends to Spafford. The lyrics give way to a solid jam before bringing everything back to “as the TIMESSS GO BYYY”.

I was looking over the shoulder of the tapers when I noticed one of them posting on Facebook that they just recognized the opening licks to Fire Water Burn by the Bloodhound Gang. The covers that these guys choose never seems to amaze me. I wonder if one of you had responded to that text asking for that song. Seemed like most of the crowd knew the lyrics as well and every one around me started singing, giving some special emphasis on the MF’s. What a great way to close out a first set!

I was so elated after these first three sets I honestly did not know how they would be able to take top their performance. Wait, what’s that? Is something dripping off of Jordan’s Bass? That’s definitely All In! Again this is one of those jams that shows off everyone’s talent and lets the band go different places each time they play it. Fast or slow, I’m really digging these tempo changes.

Seven follows up and it takes me a minute to remember that this is not a new song. It’s been around for quite a while but compared to some of the other heavy hitters heard earlier in the set doesn’t get on the rotation much.

Next up was a song new to me! I always love these, having no idea where a jam is going to go it’s always exciting to get new to me music dropped on me. And yes, I know it has been played since the beginning of this month, but I have a weird thing about listening to shows I wasn’t at. I regret not going so I have to wait until this tour is over to go back and listen to songs from the Fall Into Place Tour, don’t judge. Doghouse transitions into another new to me song, Part II. I love how this song starts out so aggressively. Brian’s licks that he plays sound super aggressive, more so than anything I have heard them do before. But then they dial it back into a super mellow jam. I’m excited to see this segue develop.

The final cover of the evening followed next, not only a cover but a new cover! War of Man by Neil Young! Off of the 1992 release Harvest Moon. I’m going to be honest that I am not that familiar with his catalogue so I can’t compare this version to others, I just know that the boys took this on a 25-minute jam that I don’t think it has ever been on before.

Right as they close War of Man, Brian drops us into Weasell, that forgotten space in the back of your mind! Weasel always gets me moving and this version was no different and had me shaking my proverbial rear end all the way to the end of the set.
After a quick encore break, Brian thanked us for spending two nights with him before they busted out All My Friends! What a great quick song that lets Red explore the range of his rig! I’m not sure but that really sounds like a Leslie speaker, gonna have to ask him.
I was half expecting them to drop back into All In or something similar but nope, they drop into another song that made it’s debut this month Funkenseven And before you ask this is not a German word, looks like someone had some fun adding Umlauts to the word funky. Ohh good segue, because yeah this song is funky. It’s really cool to hear a new jam and this one will surly develop into a crowd favorite!

And with that my Epic two nights in Denver were over. Such a fun weekend, it was great to meet new nerds, reconnect with ones I hadn’t seen in a while, and boogie with some of my fellow Phoenicians who made the trip up. I left the Ogden floating away at the two nights of music and friends I had just enjoyed and looked forward to my favorite show, the next one.