With the warm western winds now at their backs, the CRB carried its cosmic crew into Telluride, Colorado for the second time this year. February had just seen the freaks commandeer Telluride’s sold out Sheridan Opera House for two nights amid the towns heaviest snowfall of the season. When the band hit the stage on Sunday afternoon the water was still falling from above. Only this time it was met with warm temps and an even warmer crowd at the towns RIDE music festival. Adjusting the set for a particular slot has never been an issue for this band and with just 8 songs to deliver they did just that. Measured enough to give the newcomers a nice introductory dose while still setting the trip nicely for the die-hards. “Good To Know” opened and eased everyone into the scene. It’s psychedelic echo and narcotic pace ended up being the slowest groove of the night and the sails were firmly set. The funky strut of “Narcissus” was a sort of early crest and the whole show seemed to rest on its breeze, effortlessly weaving around or through any would be vibrational resistance. “Behold The Seer” was once again a runway for the songs big scorching jam. Lifting the crowd and showering sparks late as it bounced along the tracks down the mountain with a powerful, locomotive set closing “Shore Power” following close behind. One hour just wasn’t enough for our Father Groove and later, during JRAD’s set, CR emerged from the wings for a soulful but breakneck “Bertha.” Then once again when String Cheese waded into Al Green’s “Take Me To The River.” Always a great time, Telluride never disappoints. With a day off before the bands next date in Omaha, the bus drifted lazily east up I-80 with spirits high.
Tuesday night found the tour in Eastern Nebraska, setting up shop along the western banks of the Missouri River. Omaha’s, Waiting Room, would see the band return from its day off fresh and ready to stretch its musical legs with two full sets of Freak Americana. There was no easing into things for the weeknight crowd as the band opened with one of its signature organic pharmacies of sound and exploration, “Vibration/Light Suite.” The jam reached critical mass before imploding into “Venus In Chrome” and capping a seamless 20 minute opening burst. The Phosphorescent Harvest classic “About A Stranger” provided a gauzy glide back from the cosmos where the whirling weirdness of “Blue Star Woman” sidestepped all confines and convention. Opening up into a jam heavy “New Cannonball.” Early in the second, CR’s reverb soaked “hogs get hungry” rap in “Lizzie Mae” acted as a sort of shamanistic call to arms for the heartland heads in attendance. Once again “Seer” found its deep, dancing shoes groove as the jam blazed deep into the sets ominous glowing oracle, “Burn Slow.” The Wizard brought it all back from that smoldering edge with his defibrillating “Rosalee” intro and everyone danced it off together, in time. VU’s less-than-lucid Sedgwick serenade “Femme Fatale” sparkled in the encore spot. This song is becoming a perfect encore and showcase for the delicate guitar work and vocal harmonies the band is capable of. Even after 3 hours of psychedelic sonic sojourns.
Constructed in 1929, Green Bay, Wisconsin’s historic Meyer Theatre (Formally the Fox) played host to the traveling band of Brotherhood on Wednesday night. Taking the stage for the second straight evening, and now in their second week of tour, the band showed no signs of slowing down or faltering in the summer heat. They started with an upbeat and electric first set built around the ever-upward pathways and mind melting leads of “Meanwhile” > “Tulsa.” 20 minutes of cosmic country cool bursting out of passing planets gravitational pull. Trailed by a brilliant dimensional dust and glittering through the crowds collective minds eyes. Finally arriving at the return of “Shadow Cosmos” and it’s steel guitar terrestrial twang. The second half of the evening was packed with cool covers (“Rock & Roll” “Little By Little”) new Barefoot Classics (“Seer” “Blanket” “Good To Know”) and road tested set closing rave ups (“Rosalee”). But it was the yet unreleased original “Chauffeur’s Daughter” that stood out here as it’s done so many times before. A fan favorite from the start, this one grooves along effortlessly to the DJ of our dreams before switching gears into a passage of “oooohs” and a muscular Bay Area vibe that would have been right at home bouncing off the Fillmore West walls, 50 years ago. And with the Byrds timeless “I Am Pilgrim” in the encore spot it would all come together nicely at the end. That perfect freak formula that keeps us coming back night after night for more.
Cleveland was next, home to one of the bands favorite record stores (Blue Arrow Records) and the city’s House Of Blues. You can always count on this show to be one of the best of each tour and that trend continued on Friday night. “Coming Round The Mountain” the summers second first time played, opened up a first set of mostly mid tempo magic with “Sunday Sound” perched right in the middle of it all. Our Hallucination Nation’s anthem just keeps getting bigger, jazzier and more free with every trip around the sun. Closing out the first with a “Poor Elijah/Robert Johnson” is always a sign the band is playing well and a sure smoke signal that a big second is on the horizon. The nucleus of that monster second here was the fusion of “Tough Mama” > “Ride”. The CRB has built onto Dylan’s classic get down where the Garcia Band left off. Taking all their momentum and, lucky for us, stretching it into the present. Always a blank musical canvas, you never know just how the jam out of “Tough Mama” is going to unfold. You can however, firmly count on it being one of the shows most powerful moments and one that will ultimately lead further into whatever groove they’ve conjured. Here its out of the frying pan and into the fire as it lands in a furious “Ride.” For me the first thing I want to revisit from this night is the pairing of “Blonde Light” > “Glow.” When this comes up consider yourself lucky and just sit back and enjoy. A true showcase for the band. Delicate, precise and always a masterclass in the instrumental prowess they posses. “Seer” is one final closing blast of boogie before one of the bands all time greatest covers, “They Love Each Other” sets us down softly in the encore. A Friday night that I think we’ll look back on at the end of this tour as one of the true high points among many still to come.
Scranton, Pennsylvania’s Peach Fest was the site on Saturday. The festival’s beautiful setting and laid back weekend of music made it a perfect location for an afternoon spaced out sock hop! These one set journeys can’t be measured in mere time. It’s the collective cosmic coalescence that counts. A mind vacuum or reality fold that separates us from all outside variables while the band is on stage. Where 1 earthly hour (9 songs) can seem like an eternity lost inside the Unicorn, California bliss. Opening with the hypnotic heights of “Good To Know”, the transcendental troubadours instantly had everyone under their control. Guiding the communal trip through the sets early energy source “Narcissus” and the new cosmic freedom cry “Rare Birds.” The shows furious final stretch no doubt required intense body and soul hydration in order to navigate its pure perpetual motion. A set closing run of “Seer”, “Rosalee”, “Shore Power” and “Hog For You” left everyone in a puddle of colorful light and without question converted any newcomers caught out sightseeing in the sound!
To be continued….*
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*(The next weekly rundown will pick back up with the bands Sunday night in Hartford, CT)
