Setlist, Attendance, and Recordings for: 2018-08-11 - The Lawn at White River - Indianapolis, IN

Setlist, Attendance, and Recordings for: 2018-08-11 - The Hi-Fi - Indianapolis, IN

I want to start this review off by talking about the first venue for my 7th and 8th Spafford adventure. The Lawn at White River in Indianapolis is an open amphitheater with mainly a grass standing/seating area that is in the heart of downtown Indianapolis. It was the perfect setting for an evening filled with great music being delivered to us by Spafford and Umphrey’s McGee.

Spafford came out to a big, early crowd. Many of the people around me were seeing Spafford for their first time. I assured them they were in for a treat. As the openers, Spafford brought the heat with When It Falls to start their hour-long, four-song set.

Right into, what is becoming a classic, Ain’t That Wrong, to give the Spafford fans and new fans a taste of their musical prowess.

Another favorite of mine, All In, came in nicely as the sun was setting behind the stage and put Jordan’s vocals caressing across the lawn at White River. Red brought it with the keys on this one in the meat of the song along with Brian shredding on the guitar. Cam kept that tempo smooth and in the pocket.

To close the set they set off on America. A perfect song to get us Midwesteners dancing around around and ready for Umphrey’s set. My overall impression of this set was exactly what I expected: professionally sound and perfect for opening set and but a prelude of what was coming later at HI-FI!

After Party at The Hi-Fi:

This show had been sold out for weeks. You could feel the excitement and anticipation growing in the night while waiting in line to get in to the venue. As I walked through the door, the first thing I did was snag a @Jon-Rose print from the merch table, then found my spot in front of the stage between Brian and Jordan.

*Photo credit Aaron Bradley

They fellas came out to a resounding applause and atmosphere to a packed house.

Opening with a funky Funkadelic was a perfect way to continue that excitement from earlier. Right into Broken Wing> My Road. Red really slayed the keys on My Road along with his angelic vocals. They went on a spree of shredding this one out. I was in awe of the magic I was watching on stage. I couldn’t believe how tight these guys were. Their chemistry is off the charts! I’ve seen a lot of music and this is one of the VERY few times that I can remember where I was so excited from the first note to the last.

Leave The Light On was next and got EVERYONE singing back to the band. You could feel the room sending the energy back to the band which they feed off of really well. This was one of the best LTLO that I had seen. The way they brought it out of the main chorus and into a jam and back into the chorus and back out again.

Mad World, it’s a Maaaaaaad World, was up next (which I happened to call earlier in the day even!) I love their version of this Tears For Fears classic. Their spin on this instantly made it my favorite cover that they do. While every other song in the set is fast paced and shreds, this song, during the chorus anyway, slows it down for just the right amount of time to bring you back up again!

They ended the set with another Brian shred fest, The Postman. You can never go wrong with this pick as it is a favorite among just about everyone. Lots of jam and fast paced slaps from Jordan, Red on the keys tickled our ear buds with those highs, and Cam kept us grooving on the bottom end.

They encored with The Reprise. Probably my favorite of the whole evening and the cherry on top. Brian continued playing The Raven to remarkable speed and technicality. All-in-all, I feel that this set at The Hi-Fi in Indianapolis will go down as one of the best sets I have seen all year from any band.

Thank you, Brian Moss, for melting my face off multiple times.

Discoman, Out.

*Photo credit Aaron Bradley

Special shout-out to Aaron Bradley for the incredible photos and to Mike Jacobson for the capturing video (link on the show page) of 3/4 of the opening set at The Lawn at White River. All you Nerds friggin rule!

Loved every miniute of it! @2muchmichele and myself were holding doen the front row party and raging! Cant wait to go back when they headline!

Setlist, Recordings, and Attendance for: 2017-10-12 A & R Bar, Columbus, OH

I want to start off this review with some of the people "behind the curtan" so to speak. These guys make the magic happen for us. Spafford is that magic. I am new to the Spafford scene so I don't yet know their names, but the techs for Spafford have really set it up nicely for each show I've attended.

First up Spafford opened with Ain't That Wrong, which really told everybody who was unaware that they were in for a fun night that would go by too quickly. Right into a cover of Green Day's Longview >Lonely jam that surprised me for sure!

Red was up next for his ballad, and one of my favorites, Beautiful Day. It surely was just that, a beautiful day! It was one song I've been wanting to hear live since I first discovered Spafford back in February.

Dis Go In 5? was up next back into Red's Jam > Weasel to close out the first set. It was like a huge cliff hanger leaving the entire crowd wanting more! So much energy and good vibes in the first made me wonder, "How can they top that?!"

They opened up the flood gates on the second set with Funkadelic. What a heater! That got everyone back to the stage in a hurry. Up next was a funky tune called In The Eyes Of Thieves.

They closed their set out with probably my three favorite tunes in a row..... Leave Your Light On > The Postman and, as an encore, Salamander Song. It's like they knew what I was thinking! What a great band and great set. I was able to snag one of the numbered tour posters too! Make sure you get one of those!

Photo Credit: Michele Felker

Friday night (9/22):

I first discovered my new favorite jam band, Spafford, back in February of this year. They came to Octave in Covington, KY. I was unable to attend the show but was interested in them as I am always looking for new bands to listen to. I was so ecstatic when I first turned on Electric Taco Stand.

Leading into festival season in Ohio I was on the search for where they might pop up and here came Resonance Music and Arts Festival. With an already stacked lineup, Resonance became the go to festival of the year for this mid westerner. But as a new Spaffnerd on the scene, I patiently waited all summer for their 2 sets at Resonance. I told my best friend, Michele, about them and we couldn't wait to see them live for the first time together.

They opened with Mind's Unchained to set the late night festival mood right. It was a hot and humid setting underneath the Woodlands Stage tent. As my first ever Spafford experience, I could tell right away this was not your ordinary jam band. I had my trusty air guitar out for the entire hour and a half set.

Brian with his intriguing technical prowess on the fret board of his guitar kept me more entertained for that set then I was the entire weekend COMBINED.

Red and Jordan kept the groove and funk progression going and had their own spots throughout the night. They kept the big, sweaty crowd moving and dancing on their feet while everyone kept the beat with Cameron manning the drums. Having our traditional front row party, Michele and I danced and grooved to every song.

The hour an a half set included, Leave The Light On, It's A Bunch, Ain't That Wrong, Backdoor Funk, and The Postman to close out the set. They left us all cheering and wanting more. Well, for us lucky ones that caught their first set, we had one more night of Spafford ahead of us.

Saturday night (9/23):

Awaiting this set since the last one ended, Resonance had a TON of good bands for Saturday. Like, The Motet, The Main Squeeze, Yonder Mountain String Band, just to name a few. But Spafford was the band of the weekend for me personally and I was jokingly renaming Resonance, "Spaffordfest".

As I was walking around the festival I was informing everyone I came across about Spafford. I reminded everyone they had a 2nd chance to witness history later that night back at the Woodlands Tent for their 2nd set.

They opened the show with an exciting Dream Jam that kept everyone piling in the tent once again for another moment none of us wanted to miss. I started seeing the "I'm Killing It" stickers dance around me. My best friend Michele, was approached and given a cherished sticker.

With jams like: Weasel> Palisades > Weasel and All In, we gave it our all for the band Spafford and all their glory!

With more groovy beats from Cameron and Jordan to keep our feet moving plus the mind blowing, shred master Brian, and Red dancing his fingers along every key stroke, this 2nd, hour long set, woke everyone back up after a long 3 day festival. It shook us to the core as they closed the night off with America and The Reprise.

All in all it was a great weekend of music and entertainment. Spafford is the new hottness on the rise and I can't wait for those Fall tour dates!

@Lopez im not a STS9 fan either. Dosio is hit or miss.

Who will be at Resonance? It will be my first experience of a Spafford set.... and I get 2!