Home Live For Live Music Spafford Invites Jaden Carlson For Sit-In For Sold-Out Denver Show

Spafford Invites Jaden Carlson For Sit-In For Sold-Out Denver Show [Video/Photos]

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Spafford and Mungion made their way to Denver, Colorado, over the weekend, performing at The Bluebird Theater on Saturday. I was lucky enough to make it to their Saturday performance, a sold-out show that packed the Bluebird. As someone who had never seen Spafford live before, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect; while I’ve met many self-proclaimed Spaffnerds, I’d never previously taken the time to get a true sense of what the band is all about. I realize that was a mistake now, following the smokin’ Saturday show.

To kick off the night, Spafford started out their April Fool’s show with the opening riffs of Phish’s “Mike’s Song,” a power move that had the crowd roaring at the start of their set before the band quickly but decisively dropped into “Backdoor Funk,” with guitarist Brian Moss grinning and announcing “Gotcha!” From this quick transition on, the members of Spafford were truly dialed into one another, treating the audience to a consistently tight performance.

As this was my first show, one thing that stood out was the group’s remarkable ability to change their sound on the drop of a dime without the transitions feeling jarring or abrasive. The range of the genres they covered during the show was expansive, with jams infused with nods to reggae, funk, classic rock, metal, and jamtronica throughout. What’s interesting about Spafford and what sets them apart is that they distinctly honored each of these sounds, with a given jam dropping from a frenzied, shred-heavy climax into a funky bass-driven groove with decisiveness and clarity.

Evidenced throughout the night was also the fact that Spafford draws inspiration from a bunch of other jam bands on the scene; however, while this is probably true of many jam acts, Spafford made clear these musical influences. After the “Mike’s Song” tease, the jam segment of “Backdoor Funk” settled into a smooth and laid-back, electronic-tinged groove reminiscent of the Disco Biscuits, with Red Johnson on the keys leading the way with his cascading synth. Later in the show, as the band jammed from “Parody” into “It’s A Bunch,” you could clearly hear the influence of Umphrey’s McGee calculated prog-rock imbued at points into the improvisation.

Halfway through the first set, Jaden Carlson, the Boulder-based prodigy, joined Spafford for a take on “All In.” Carlson dropped a number of soaring guitar solos in between verses of the triumphant song before the song’s improvisational section, which mediated between more fluid segments emphasized by tumbling guitars and forceful rock-fused recapitulations. Following the song’s end, she departed the stage to thunderous applause, leaving Spafford to continue to do their thing on the track “Beautiful Day.”

Seeing Spafford on Saturday was a treat, leaving no doubts as to why the band has been so steadily moving up the ranks of jam bands on the scene. While other bands may try to take all their various influences and mesh them together, Spafford celebrated a diversity of genres while putting their own special twist on them. Many groups mumble but Spafford enunciates, and it’s clear that their fans love them all the more for it. Plus, the group was beyond tight, with the high-caliber musicianship of their members allowing them to pull off such a range of styles in a way that was not just effective, but also refreshing.

You can check out photos from Saturday’s show below, courtesy of Peter Wallace. You can also watch a video of Jaden Carlson and Spafford during “All In” below, courtesy of the Jaden Carlson Band. Spafford continues their tour through to the summer, with a bunch of dates across the Midwest and East. You can check out their website to see if they’ll be hitting a town near you.


Setlist: Spafford | Bluebird Theater | Denver, CO | 4/1/2017

Set One: Backdoor Funk [1], People, Minds Unchained, Parody > It’s A Bunch, All In [2], Beautiful Day

Set Two: Take Your Mama, The Postman > Palisaides > Electric Taco Stand > Leave The Light On

Encore: Galisteo Way > Electric Taco Stand

[1] Mike’s Song fake out intro, [2] With Jaden Carlson,


 

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