MIpSO Concert @ Gothic Theater ~ Spectacular Show With Andy Thorn On Their Farewell Tour 30Aug25

I was really excited to see MIpSO again in CO, especially since for the '24 concert Libby wasn't present. Tonight's show at the Gothic in DEN was completely awesome; it had been announced that this is their farewell tour and as expected they dove deep in the catalog for a range of great music for this show. MIpSO is a NCarolina "alt-Americana" band with six great albums and more singles; named at a big bluegrass festival in Japan 14 years ago: a little 'p' in their miso. There wasn't a firm setlist and they played stuff from all across their history together. 2, 3, and even 4 part harmonies laid on top of great string musicianship. I'm sure there'll be follow on solo acts and other bands but I will really miss the tightness and excellence of these 4 together.

I arrived a smidge early to queue for doors after an excellent hot pot meal with family at Bronze Empire. I was only #100 and able to get my favored spot right in front of the sound man and above the mosh pit against the 1st rail in the center. Ultimately the Gothic filled but was not packed. The sound from position A was good... better than when I've come here prior... The Gothic is cool.

Andy Thorn, banjo-wiz of the great Leftover Salmon Colorado band opened the show... he had graduated from UNC and knew Joseph and others from 'back in the day.' He was excellent and brought 3 different banjos to the night, indicating that rarely with LS was he able to use them all. From classic bluegrass to originals, he ripped to open the show. Joseph joined for a duet to close his set.

MipSO played over 90min of their great music, penned by each of them for one song or another, but always tightly delivered. Each of Joseph/guitar, Libby/fiddle, and Jacob/mandolin took vocal lead on most of the songs, but they were always joined by each other and Wood/dubl bass for harmonies and call backs. Everything was beautiful and you knew, they knew, we knew, this was our last show. Many of us knew and sang along to the bigger hits... this was a MIpSO crowd. Of course too they unplugged for a set and gathered around the keen Ear Trumpet Labs Delphina condenser mic. And, of course, Andy came back for a set to join MIpSO around that mic as well as when all were jacked back into the mixing panel.

This was easily one of the best shows of '25 for me, and wow there have been many great ones this year. If interested everything is available on Bandcamp HERE; from the very first drop on Dark Holler Pop I knew it was gonna be special.

Farewell MIpSO, you will be greatly missed...

IoT Additions ~ Levelor Electric Shades 25Aug25

Back on the Front Range there were some HoneyDo items to complete. A busted sprinkler was repaired first. Next ~ we've had some failures in some of the original 25 yr old shades. And, I regularly complain of the reflections on the TV in the family room from un-drawn window shades, but am too lazy to put the blinds down. So, we measured and procured new Levelor electric shades. We installed them today and they're great.

We bought solar charging panels for each of the 3 shades and I programmed them all to run on the same channel on the remote included. All 3 up or all 3 down is just what we need.

I did think it weird that the only microUSB port for charging is on the front of the shade; I get that primary access is for a charger but a 2nd connect from the back for the solar install would've been a lot cleaner.

It's simpler than ever to get ready for TV viewing in this room now with just the push of a button. I added shade control to Siri and that requires the Levelor hub, an account on Levelor InMotion, connecting my Levelor account to Apple in the cloud. The InMotion app and the hub are not very reliable actually so we'll see about cloud connections. "Siri, shades up." I thought about connecting Levelor to SmartThings or Harmony but voice is better and Apple is better about my data than Samsung or Logitech.

Out For A Rip Are Ya Bud'? ~ Epic Mtn Rally 23Aug25

There's a group of performance car owners that tk drives with on weekends. I was pleased to add the "gentlemen's class" to the team today. A pair of Boxsters sped out of Wildernest for Kremmling after multiple plan shifts had the starting team traverse Berthoud Pass first vs last. NP. The team caught us in Kremmling but with wild stories. Good news is that after they caught up with us, we continued undaunted and ripped 134 & 131 together... so fun. The blown cars are faster than me for sure on the ups at elevation and man can they accelerate if ever behind even a notion on the curves. Spectacular fun. Here's the team at Gore Pass awaiting MLC as he needed to poo. Heh heh.

A friend and neighbor drove the silver Boxster and I was in the classic red Boxster GTS with my Bro Brown. There  was an incredible Defender, a Supra that slayed, a modern fast maroon 'Vette, and Matt piloted the 911... oh yeah, here he comes. He's found a pretty cool team.

Let's go back to the beginning... the Gentlemen's Club of Boxsters (a Guard's red '15 GTS and silver '17 turbo 4 rocket) left our cul de sac ~7:45 for Kremmling. NP; we'll wait there for the 'special people.'  And, I'll don sunglasses for the ride so I can see. 

The Gentlemen's Class dispatched well across high desert, undulating roads, and keen canyons. Bro Brown was great ballast. The Supra and Vette were very fast; their pilots were keen folk with other stuff to accomplish in the PM. We left them on Gore Pass. Half the Gentlemen took the rest on to Glenwood Springs with the other half visiting grandkids in Eagle. Bully. I buzzed the awesome Glenwood Canyon section and headed S to Basalt for lunch & fuel. We ate and refueled and I discussed the tech employed in the remarkably fast (as yet unnamed Defender) with Winston owner (Scooter said, "sure, but no way mine")... the 5L supercharged kit with 22" wheels and full blackout build was "out there" cool as was the driver. He led 3 Porsches much of the way!

We were down to three at Independence Pass (one of the greatest viewpoints in America). Rob tailed me like a demon down Independence; yet I passed some nay-folk as needed. Steve queried: 'How fast are we going Dave?'; '125, I replied with a grin.'

All made appointed rounds on this hot, gorgeous, August, Colorado eve. We basically did the passes in reverse alphabetical. Spectacular.

Family Outings In Summit Co ~ Mountain Town Music & Food, Last Chance, Game Night 15Aug25-16Aug25

Matt ripped out in the 911 and Letha rolled up in the Corolla, to get the family together in Summit Co for some partying.

Matt actually came in on Fri and got to the Nest after Kala & I had been to the Dillon Farmers' Market to get the awesome crop of Palisade Peaches. After catching up some we headed over to Keystone for the Fri night opening of the Mtn Town festival and grab a beer at Steep. Band was meh but visiting with MLC was good.

We had excellent 'za at Last Chance, debated world events, listened to tunes on the NestMT, and cracked up at the latest season of South Park... irreverence is a core value. Letha rolled in early to avoid Sat traffic in DEN and the mountains. We quickly tore over to Mtn Lion for breakfast, Matt's fav. Then headed to the Keystone Mtn Town Food fest (renamed from Music fest, but still delivering 2 stages of music). We got nearfield bracelets loaded with a couple of food dishes each and enjoyed the pulled pork with apple salsa, smoked turkey with peach salsa, and pizza best. We took our drinking efforts inside during rainfall and had milkshake w/ booze, beers, margs, and saki... can't warn us about mixing. The bands were decent this day; I preferred the local duo Moonstone Quill with their Americana. That's probably due to styling as (in order) Kory Quitter, Split Window (good psycho stuff), Moonstone Quill, JGoods & Co (good blues with good vocals and chill sax), and Hazel Miller (no pic) were often more blues or funk or something else... not to indicate I don't like those styles 'cause I do, just not @ this venue maybe? None the less we had a good time.

We wrapped the day with totties on the veranda and serious gamification through: Wizard, Rubikub, Splendor, and Settlers. Fitting close to the visit, LPC won some tight games ~ good for her. TK & LPC ripped out of Summit early on Sunday. GR8 visit.

August '25 Music Appreciation ~ So Long Little Miss Sunshine, The Last Wild Buffalo, Christina Vane @ Western AF, MIpSO, And Jade Bird 13Aug25

Molly Tuttle ~ She's done it again; 'So Long Little Miss Sunshine' is another stellar album from my favorite (now) Nashville artist. I attended the Bandcamp "Listening Party" for this album today, as I do for pre-orders to see if I made a speculative error, or just to confirm my smart decision. I are wise (irys)... sure I own everything she's published or appeared in or whatever, but the party affirmed she's one of the best artists working (and she's damn hard workin') right now. The album is good (I pre-purchased the vinyl & digital a month ago) and she was commenting through the entire pr3view of the full album, to be on my doorstep and in my FLAC drive soon. Topping whack skills, songwriting, and voice... I think she's a cool person. I preferred 'Rosalee' and the banger 'That's Gonna Leave A Mark,' and the closer 'Story Of My So Called Life' where she plays banjo. Though too, right from the top, in 'Everything Burns,' her riffs are otherworldly. Note too that the compression is fine, but maybe a smidge high for killer acoustics and voice, and that the studio musicians, while killer, will not be on the road with her to replicate these tunes (the image immediately below suggests who plays on the album and from prior posts we know who's in the touring band). Nonetheless, so good; buy on bandcamp.com HERE or review all available Molly Tuttle studio works there.

Update 26Aug25 ~ Live versions affirmed. I know I questioned above whether she'd pull off the songs from Sunshine on tour with the band I saw in Vail. Fail me. The accompaniment on the 3 songs played from Sunshine at at free show in NY recently were spot on (sure, featuring keen aspects of Molly's offer).

The Last Wild Buffalo ~ New band alert! A day after I met LWB at Keystone they dropped a keen field recording of "Go Down Easily" above Dillon Rez ~ hear HERE how I speak truth on Ella's vocals. The band's entire full voice kit is killer and hard to do. Plus kudos to field engineering to grab this great recording all acoustically!

Christina Vane @ Western AF ~ Sure, long a fan of Christina (dive on the blog if there's a question). The woman has the blues. Notable here though too is that Western AF and sub-channel Live AF are emerging for me as genre-relevant favorite studios for delivering me what I like. I don't know if it's AI driven or whatever but I subscribe and they deliver... check it out. Back to Vane, a completely superior songwriter and guitar player... I loved her again on her recent drop at WAF HERE. Listen through to Getting High In Hotel Rooms. Who doesn't want CV to shred her resonator with her lyrics and superior round voice accompaniment?

MIpSO ~ Sure, there's a little p in their MISO. I really like this NC Americana band who, on their last stop in CO, didn't have Libby (lead & backup vocals and fiddle) with them. I missed her. Touring again this summer, she's back; I have tickets. I sense it's a lucky event timing as their merch is showing they may disband for a bit a least.

Nonetheless, they are playing from deep in the catalog to all new HERE on a recent NC NPR event. Awesome.

Jade Bird ~ One of the best full voice singers I’ve ever heard. One of the strongest one-woman shows I’ve ever observed (Molly Tuttle is the only other modern star). Solid accompaniment with full ranging Gibson, keenly appointed. Alt-pop, alternative, alt-country vibe from an artist who’s been touring for >10 years now, but she’s only 27. She’s from Manchester but who knew an English woman could deliver alt-American playing and singing like this. She’s a consummate performer with a pretty big catalog for such a young adult. Plus, she knows/covers Big Star! She’s completely a fav artist ~ heading to Red Rocks for her, not the headliner.

• Jade Bird on Peak Summer on 107.1 @ The Barley Beach House ~ 24Sep2… Full performance of pre-latest songs.
• Jade Bird on SoCal Sound ‘Nobody,’ ‘Save Your Tears,’ ‘Dreams’ 23May25
• Jade Bird @ Sunset “Avalanche” 17May25

Random Front Range Stuff ~ Boxster PPF, Rare Trout, Urban Animal, Black Magic, A Ride Downtown, Visiting With Court, & OTA Play In DEN 06Aug25-12Aug25

Kala & I rode early to avoid the heat. We didn't even stop for long even given same. Still plenty of folks on the trails.

We had a nice visit with Courtney over dinner at Blodgett with Scooter's wine choice. Fun eve' but no pics. My Apple BT mouse died and so I bought another but got the cool Black Magic mouse to match my desktop.

I got out with BobR for a short rip and an Urban Animal beer, as well as nice items at Sushi Row, before he heads to WI for the rest of the summer...

While prepping for the blog I found and enjoyed Rare Trout (had to do it), a new tasty EPA from Cerebral...

We don't know if it was me or someone else but the Ceramic Pro PPF on the Boxster saved the day. No paint damage! Here are the before and after...

My sister bought a place in Denver and she needn't be required to buy cable or over-the-top streamed local TV channels to get ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, PBS, or CW IMO. However, despite good wiring throughout her unit, an antenna connection to the "feed" delivered naught ~ it was a cable company connect. She already has Internet from bonded twisted pair via the phone company. I studied the issue (via DTV & AntennaWeb resources), understood she'd skirt the downtown buildings to the transmitters and would do well with a moderately sized UHF/VHF directional for full over-the-air (OTA) coverage. We could have installed in the attic but the run to the nearest COAX connection would've been kind of ugly. We chose the 2nd best spot in the upstairs guest bedroom and placed the excellent ClearStream 2V antenna in the upper corner properly oriented. Verifications of COAX runs through the house (using a COAX end-point toner) and signal strength on antenna locations (using a tiny TV I could tote around easily) were done throughout the install. COAX wiring in the unit is good but needed to be terminated properly in locations we wanted to receive OTA) at TVs. The family room required a jump from one COAX to another to get to the TV. At the end of the day she now receives over 70 channels where nothing was on... however, hiding most of these to get the "big 6" in solid 1080p with 5.1 audio will let her see the published NFL games in Colorado "for free."

Now she just has to deal with whether to get ESPN ala carte and how their purchase of the NFL channel will impact pricing and services... 'cause who doesn't want the college games and Peyton & Eli on Mon nights?