What a show. Perfect way to start the Winter Tour.
I've been a nerd for a short time now, but ever since I saw the boys at the House of Blues in Chicago this past year I can't stop listening to these guys jam.
I'm from the Chicagoland area so I was not familiar with the venue in Indy. However, some of my best friends live in downtown Indy and they are nerds as well... shoutout to @TrippinTerrapin and @SleepyGary. I met up with these dudes a few hours before the show and, trust me, we prepared accordingly 
The pre-show jitters were in full effect as we arrived at The Vogue and made our way to the third or fourth row just as the second opener The Twin Cats was finishing their set. These dudes were actually pretty good and had a real crisp galactic sound as they tuned up our ears and got us ready for the main event.
The volume goes up on the rap hype music, i'm pretty sure the boys like to pump themselves up before heading out there because this music had my head boppin, and then the band came out to a thunderous applause that shook the venue...
It started as a beautify melody that had me swaying from side to side with the rest of the crowd and really eased the soul as the crowd and the band began to get Settled In. The song would slowly pick up and before you knew it Brian was full out shredding on his guitar, Jordan was destroying his bass, Red was hammering the keys like a madman, and Cameron was keepin it moving on the drums. Once the song ended a wave of excitement swept the crowd as many had never heard the song before, including myself. I learned after the show that the only time they played it before was this past year on Halloween.
Right into Plans. This is where my mind really began to take flight as this song is always super intense and a load of fun. Brian wasted no time belting out some gut-wrenching guitar licks and the band really got into a nice groove that got the whole crowd movin' to the beat.
FUCK YES!!!! If you were there you probably heard me shout this as soon as the unmistakable melody of It's A Bunch rang from Brian's guitar. In my opinion, one of their best songs. I absolutely love this song, I heard it once before as the first song of the night for the second day at House of Blues. It just makes you feel so good inside. I could tell everyone around me was having a great time and had that same feeling of excitement and happiness inside of them as we all looked like a flock of head-boppin Joe Darts (Vulfpeck reference).
After IAB they went right into On Fire. I love when they cover this song, it is always a good time and was a good way to catch a breath and enjoy some much needed funky grooves after some hardcore jamming. I think it was around this time when we met some other nerds in the audience shoutout to @murphnerd27 and his buddy who is also a nerd but I didn't get his username. They gave us some awesome "I'm Killing It" stickers with Hulk Hogan on them that I added to my collection on my dart board at home, we stuck with these nerds for the rest of the show. While I was trying to find other nerds in the audience I was handed a plastic Bee that looked like it was made out of glued beads or something haha. I was so lost in the music at this point I don't even remember who handed it to me, but I rocked out with that Bee in my hands for the rest of the show and still have it at home.
Shake You Loose was the final song of the first set and everyone was really movin' to this tune. I love the heavy blues feel and singing along with the crowd. Once the song was over we were on a quest for water in preparation of what was to come in set 2.
The second set kicked off with In The Eyes Of Thieves and I was sucked right back in to where I left off. Things really got started though when they went into covering Catfish John. All the heads in the audience went absolutely nuts when they started playing this folk classic. One of the heads was a older Native American looking guy with a GD tee on. We started talking to this guy after the song and found out he was going to be in the Pit with us at Alpine Valley for Phish this summer. We told him to party on and hoped to see him and his buddies in the trenches this summer at Phish.
No one in our group had heard them play Electric Taco Stand before and as it should be it has always been one of our all time favorites. Once they started groovin' to this song everyone was singing along and the energy was at an all time high for the night. What was even better is that it ended up being a tasty sandwich with Dis Go In 5? as the juicy center. The funky hippie dance party as I like to call it was an all out banger from now until the end of the night. The set ended with a first-time played which I was super hyped to be a part of. The song is called Hard Way. It had a really funky beat and a relaxing reggae feel to it that was coupled with Red jamming away with a sexy organ sound.
Encore!!
I was telling my friends before the show started that my favorite Spafford song at the time is Slip and Squander. I was so pumped when they came back on stage and Red began to play and sing the beautiful tune. I love how it starts soft and slow and melodic and builds to a dramatic and heartfelt jam. I was really getting into this song and never wanted it to end.
A couple weeks ago Spafford sent out an IG post about Brian playing Salamander Song. I left a comment asking them to please play this song in Indy. Either it was a super coincidence or Spafford really cares about and listens to their fans. I would like to think the latter. But they ended the night with this song and it was perfect. Everyone was dancing on the water, listening to the beat drop, and flopping their feet to their favorite song.
It truly was a fantastic tour opener. Everyone we met was so nice and there were a lot of real fans that brought it to Indy. Can't wait to see these guys again.
I was dancing the whole way home.
