2015 was an interesting year in music. I spent time with many releases, across a spectrum of sounds, and I enjoyed every minute of the adventure. That being said, when I tried to define my favorite albums, I found myself in a difficult position. How does someone rank Jason Isbell in association to Grimes? How does Chris Stapleton’s obliteration of the pop country… Read more →
Nikki Lane. Bluebird Theater. 12.06.15 My wife and I got married on a cold December night in Denver, Colorado. We went down to the courthouse, said our vows, and then found our way to the Grizzly Rose to meet some friends. A young country artist named Miranda Lambert performed that night. The honky-tonk off I-25 was pretty packed, but nowhere… Read more →
Sturgill Simpson. Ogden Theatre. 11.05.15 As the old-timey sounds of The Osborne Brothers’ “Listening to the Rain” bled into the glammy jam of T. Rex’s “The Motivator”, the man who has been called the Savior of Country Music didn’t have much to say about anything at all. It had only been twenty-four hours since Chris Stapleton embarrassed the status quo… Read more →
Jason Isbell. Ryman Residency. October 2015 You made some new friends after the show But you’ll forget their names In 24 frames We were halfway through the first Jason Isbell performance of the weekend when his latest single found its way into the setlist. The song (which uses frames per second as a metaphor for how fast life can change)… Read more →
Drive-By Truckers. Alabama Shakes. Red Rocks. 08.16.15 Let’s start this out with some statistics. Drive-By Truckers have been a band for 19 years. Patterson Hood turned 50 last year and Mike Cooley has 13 months until he hits that milestone. Before last night, they had performed at Red Rocks 0 times. (edit – DBT actually opened for The Black Crowes… Read more →
As I’ve said before, this blog no longer focuses on album reviews or news or anything of that sort. The sole purpose of ILSUDH2 is to share my ‘live’ music experiences. I do my best to recap the shows I go to, but I just don’t have the time or energy to do much else these days. That being said,… Read more →
2014 was a very good year in music. I wouldn’t say it was great, but it was very good. There were only a few perfect albums, but there were countless attempts that came close to hitting the mark. It was the year of introspection. It was the year of the singer-songwriter. It was the year of stories (as is evident from my… Read more →
Keeping a band together for two decades is no small achievement, but continuing to support a band through that kind of run isn’t easy either. How many bands can you say you’ve loved through your 20’s and 30’s…and even into your 50’s and 60’s? And I’m not talking about that one CD you played in your first car, or that song… Read more →
Lion’s Lair is just another dive bar in a parade of dive bars that trudge up and down East Colfax Avenue. Positioned a little too far from the Fillmore and Ogden Theater, and not far enough east to benefit from the Bluebird crowd, the unremarkable stain on a street of stains is truly a locals only haunt. It’s the type of place… Read more →
October turned out to be a HUGE month for new music. The return of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, a double album of original material from Neil Young & Crazy Horse, the debut from Kendrick Lamar…Death Grips bypassing their label with the graphic NO LOVE DEEP WEB, hardcore shit from Pig Destroyer, Enslaved and Converge…the return of Bat For Lashes, Chelsea Wolfe… Read more →
September more than made up for August’s lack of color. Maybe there wasn’t anything as dense and mindblowing as The Seer, but I seriously doubt I could’ve handled another one of those anyway. What follows is a fitting goodnight to the long days of summer. And as much as I hate grouping these albums into posts like this, other aspects… Read more →
