Scooter & I drove the 2 hrs to Boulder yesterday to catch the unusual "bluegrass" band from Boston called Twisted Pine. Drive was sane really except for the last bit to Boulder on #93 during rush hour. We caught up with T&L in downtown Boulder at Japango for some fine sushi. They were well and glad not to be in Scott's shoes. I was glad to be in my new Twisted shoes - which Kala got me for dad's day, and she calls "clown shoes" ~ so little undue respect.
Scott & I were able to walk to the Velvet Elk and we were way before doors so sat in a booth and chatted. The bar was decent and affiliated with the micro-brewery next door. IPA was "ok." Yet dinner and brews were all on Scooter since I drove so, "pretty good" really. Opener was Tonewood, a new bluegrass band from Denver. They were good and displayed good 3 and 4 part harmonies, but often the fiddle or guitar guys would lead. They cheated a bit and added a capable percussionist; the crowd called him "box boy." A small treat when Anh Phung, the bluegrass flutist/vocalist from Twisted Pine joined for one cover song. They have a self-published EP but are starting a Kickstarter to do there first full length album.
Velvet Elk sound was "ok;" I did have to cup my ears toward the band on occasion to get better high-mids. Twisted Pine quickly followed the opener and started great with some of their "hits" and better covers (Lucy In The Sky). Twisted Pine is an unusual Boston-based "bluegrass" group of mandolin, fiddle, bass, and flute. Band leader and fiddle-player Kathleen Parks does a lot of the writing and is the lead vocalist; I noticed Anh doubling her vocals on many occasions during the show however now. Ultimately there were 100 folks in the club with us... not too crowded and the owner shared with us early that the pre-sold gate was just 44 tickets, so $1000 gate became $2K ~ wow that's small. You have to be a very hard working musician down the ranks to make a living. As Twisted Pine wound through the 70min mark though things changed... after a Zappa-esque cover they began playing longer jazzy instrumental segments. While well done, these weren't our favorite. Scooter said "they've lost their way," but one guy on acid thought these were the best parts and was dancing like a demon. We left a bit early with the turn so I did not grab the setlist. Good show and great with Scooter and seeing Wilkes.
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