Neko Case and The Space Lady at Gothic Theater in Englewood, CO on 7/11/18.

On a scorching hot summer night, Neko Case was having a wardrobe emergency. Her sports bra's zipper broke minutes before she was about to go on stage. She called her manager in a panic. Luckily, Case found another undergarment and was able to start on time. She confessed it was the result of being on the road for over two months supporting her new album (and her breasts). After describing the pain of dealing with her "boob meat" to the audience, the singer-songwriter continued playing her first club show of the tour.

The night before Neko Case and her band opened for Ray LaMontagne at Red Rocks Amphitheatre (they have been his supporting act since May). After her last solo album in 2013, Case recorded and toured with the legendary K.D. Lang and folk singer Laura Veirs as case/lang/veirs. She also contributed to a new LP with indie rock band The New Pornographers (she has collaborating with the band since 1998). Her latest solo album in entitled Hell-On. Case's house in Vermont burned down while she was recording it in Stockholm, Sweden. Only a few songs allude to the tragedy.

A picture of instructions for no pictures

Neko Case, dressed in a sleeveless t-shirt with checker pants, took the stage with her talented band. They started with Pitch or Honey from her new album (eight of the twelve tracks from the new release were played). The set list had a good mix of her older material incorporated such as Deep Red Bells, Hold On, Hold On, and Rag Time. The audience roared with great enthusiasm after every song. Her band played through the heat, sweat, and lights to showcase Case's amazing voice and poetic lyrics. The backing vocals during Bad Luck provided sweetness to the melody as the dark lyrics repeated, "So I died and went to work." In contrast, Neko Case informed the crowd that she felt "f*cking gross."

Pictures were not allowed during the show. It could be due to Case's lyrics in her new album's title track Hell-On - "But you'll not be my master/You're barely my guest/You don't have permission to take any pictures/Be careful of the natural world." Case ended with the powerful gender identity song Man from her fittingly titled 2013 album The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight.

The Space Lady - Photo by Greg Cocks

The Space Lady from La Junta, CO was the opener. Her performance could be described as an acid trip or a fever dream. The Guardian named her LP one of the strangest selections on Spotify in 2014. After being introduced by her manager/grandson, seventy-year-old Susan Dietrich Schneider took the stage. Wearing her signature silver winged plastic helmet with a red siren on top, Space Lady mainly played covers of "space jams." Stan Jones' Ghost Riders in the Sky and Peter Schilling's Major Tom were performed on her Casiotone MT-40 keyboard made in the early 1980's. The Space Lady also played her own composition The Ballad of Captain Jack.

See you at the next show. I'll be the one having a wardrobe emergency with my siren helmet.

Cowboy Junkies at Twist and Shout Records in Denver, CO on 7/8/18

Cowboy Junkies - All Photos by
The Rock and Roll Princess

Cowboy Junkies have been playing melancholy heart breaking music for over thirty-years. I first saw the band at Denver's Tower Records in 1996 (R.I.P. Tower Records). I remember singer Margo Timmins confessing she was scared nobody was going to show up. It turned out to be standing room only. I saw them five years later at the Kinetic Challenge at the Boulder Reservoir in 2001. (R.I.P. Kinetic Challenge). They played Cause Cheap is How I Feel conveying Margo Timmins state of mind at the time. She was wearing drugstore makeup because the airline lost her luggage. I remember her explaining that men don't know the anguish women feel when they lose their cherished makeup (we don't). Seventeen years later, Cowboy Junkies are back promoting their sixteenth studio album All That Reckoning that will be released this Friday.

Margo Timmins

On a blistering hot Sunday afternoon, siblings Margo Timmins and Michael Timmins along with multi-instrumentalist Jeff Bird wandered into Twist and Shout to play an acoustic set. Margo Timmins' son was combing through the store's treasures and making a stack of his finding at the back counter.

Margo Timmins wore a flowing blue sundress with sparkling sandals. Throughout the performance Michael Timmins strummed his acoustic guitar slowly with his hair covering his face while Jeff Bird played the mandolin and harmonica giving the songs an extra layer of depth. The short set included covers of Vic Chestnut's Supernatural and Townes Van Zandt's Lungs. Margo Timmins urged those in the crowd that didn't know the legendary artists to find their records in the store and purchase them immediately. They played two songs from their 1992 album Black Eyed Man including a song about a woman fantasizing about running away from her husband with a hoofed creature entitled A Horse in the Country — "One day I'll saddle up/And the two of us will ride away." 

Michael Timmins

Cowboy Junkies only played one song from their new album named Shining Teeth - "I'm Going Down to the River/It's a place where I can breathe/Lash the waters, miss my daughters/Focus on the retrieve. Work on my reprieve." Margo Timmins joked, "It's a sad song because all of our songs are sad."

After their performance, the musicians gave out autographs and took pictures with the crowd. Fans adored Margo Timmins with flowers, books, and marketing advice (I know, right).

See you at the next show. I'll be the one singing sad songs about the loss of Tower Records and the Boulder Reservoir Kinetics Challenge.

Camp Cope and Petal at the Marquis Theater in Denver, CO on 6/29/18

There are a few things you never do at a concert. Never take your toddler to a rock show (it's like bringing your baby to a drunken dive bar). Never use the flash on your camera (the light show is on the stage not from your i-phone 4). Never turn your back to a mosh pit (medical bills are expensive). And never, NEVER wolf whistle (a two note whistle that is high and then low) at a feminist. That mistake was made when Petal, the music project of Kiley Lotz, was performing Friday night at the Marquis Theater. Petal asked the crowd to identify the offender. When nobody came forward, she declared, "That does not happened at my show. Sorry. Not sorry."

Petal

Besides shaming the inappropriate whistler, Petal performed an emotional intimate set. Her cover of Fleetwood Mac's Silver Springs featured her heartbreaking falsetto and her exceptional keyboard playing. Petal's newly released album Magic Gone is about struggling with her mental health and coming to terms with her sexuality. She introduced the song Shine by revealing it's about her being queer. A jazzy drum beat begins as Petal sang, "Maybe I'm just the parrot on your shoulder/Maybe I'll be your next favorite placeholder/But Baby - I'll just shine." She ended with Heaven a crowd favorite from her 2015 album Shame. I'm hoping that title wasn't named after another wolf whistler.

Camp Cope

Camp Cope from Melbourne, Australia headlined. The trio's debut album was nominated for a J award for album of the year in 2016 (the Australian version of the Grammys). After coming into the spotlight, the band has been vocal about discrimination, sexism, and unjust practices in the music industry. Their latest album is sarcastically named How to Socialize and Make Friends. Coming out in black Adidas shorts and a tank top, singer and guitarist Georgia "Maq" McDonald oozed rock rebellion. Bassist Kelly Dawn "Kelso" Hellmrich and drummer Sarah "Thomo" Thompson kept the ruckus on the rails. After finishing the title track from their new album, Maq asked the crowd, "Are we on top of a mountain? Are we high up? I am feeling a little bit weird." The band fought through their altitude sickness and continued their personal and political punk refrains. A fan from the bar kept shouting for them to play Lost: Season One (Yes. It references the television series). The band obliged and dedicated the song to the intoxicated individual (rewarding bad behavior). The crowd pleaded for Camp Cope to play more. Maq replied with her charming Australian accent, "We have been in a van all day. Thank you for being so nice. But we don't have any more songs." They left without an encore because … they really didn't have any more songs.

See you at the next show. I'll be the one not wolf whistling.

Float Like a Buffalo, Chloe Tang, and SIR at Westword Music Showcase in Denver, CO on 6/23/18

Float Like a Buffalo

One Saturday every summer the creative district in Denver known as the Golden Triangle transforms into the Westword Music Showcase with two main outdoor stages and eight indoor venues. It's a day filled with music, people watching, and alcohol. Local Denver band Float Like a Buffalo converted the Latin club La Rumba into a Palace of Funk. They brought horns, bongos, and plaid (every member wore a plaid shirt). After an extremely long sound check involving an i-pad, the Colorado version of Parliament-Funkadelic got the audience into a groove. Cory Pearman led the band through covers of Ike and Tina Turner's Proud Mary and Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall. Their original songs did not disappoint either. Smile for the Camera brought everyone to the dance floor while instructing them to … "Smile for the camera." It was heart warming to see percussionist Garrett Achten's family bring him bottles of water between his bongo solos. Everybody knows funk makes you thirsty.

Chloe Tang

#VYBE provided an entertaining spirit to the showcase with their MC dressed in a shiny silver ensemble with a lizard tale and a gorilla named DJ Ape (or maybe a poor bastard in a monkey suit) spinning records between bands. Chloe Tang brought her diverse pop sound to the club. The classically trained pianist played songs about love and heartbreak from her EP Stranger. She's Not Me was a highlight with powerful lyrics crying out, "I am doing better than the threads we were holding on to/ I wanna know just how it feels when I am not banking on you." The performance was bittersweet since it was guitarist Payden James Widner's last show with the band.

SIR

Another memorable performance from #VYBE was SIR with their powerful inspirational lyrics passionately sung by SA (Sarah Angela). Guitarist Kim O'Hara's background vocals blended in beautifully while drummer Luke Mehrens kept it all under his rhythmic control. The music was full of hope while empowering yourself in the moment. Kim O'Hara infectious smile throughout the showcase was charming. SA introduced their ballads as "couple slow dance roller-skating songs." SIR has already played at Red Rocks Amphitheatre and showcased at South by South West in Austin, Texas. The musicians requested the crowd to buy their merchandise, but more importantly spread the word about the powerhouse trio.

DJ Ape

Other highlights include:

• Hearing Wildermiss singing Carry Your Heart with joyous hand clapping. 

• Magic Giant's lead singer Austin Bisnow urging the crowd to jump up and down during a festive jam session. 

• Winning tickets for Against Me! (look for a write up in October).

See you at the next show.  I'll be the one thankful about not dressing up as a monkey in the summer heat.

Elle King at Denver Day of Rock in Denver, CO on 5/26/18

Elle King and her band The Brethren

Denver Day of Rock has become a Memorial Day weekend tradition. An entire day of live music on multiple stages spread out through the 16th Street Mall (over a mile of shops on a pedestrian pathway).  It raises money for Amp the Cause that works with over 50 charities to improve the lives of local children and families. Similar to past years, it brought local and national acts to entertain the masses. However, this year the headliner was a swearing, smoking, drinking, breast flashing musician named Elle King.

Elle King - All photos by the
Rock and Roll Princess

King is the offspring of actor/comedian Rob Scheider (the Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo comedian) and formal model London King.  Her musical style is a combination of Wanda Jackson and Mae West.  King appeared on stage in a jacket embroidered with rainbows, mushrooms, and, marijuana leaves. She wore a hookah pen on a chain around her neck.  I am guessing the electronic vaporizer was full of "rainbows" that she smoked throughout her performance. The Brethren, her five-piece band, wore all white with tan jackets looking like country versions of Andrew W.K. 

After starting her show with the anthem Baby Outlaw, King noticed some young people in the crowd.  She promised to be on her worst behavior on their behalf.  King also stated, "Altitude is a thing here. And I forget that every time I drink.  If I talk some sh*t, it's not my fault."

Elle King and The Brethren

After playing a set of literally good songs (Good for Nothing Woman and Good to be a Man), it was time to play the blues.  The biographical Chain Smokin' Hard Drinkin' Woman showed off her passionate voice while The Brethren channeled their inner John Lee Hooker. During the dance/rap song It Girl, King advices, "Next time they talk some sh*t/All you have to do is blow them …. a little kiss/Or you show them your t*ts." That's when she flashed her pink bra to the delight of the crowd. King changed things up again with the gospel inspired Ain't Gunna Drown from her Grammy nominated debut album Love Stuff.

That's when some technical issues almost derailed her incredible performance. King introduced her favorite song The Beatles' Oh, Darling.  That's when her microphone feel apart making her sing unplugged while encouraging the audience to sing-along.  The sound guys got her mic working just in time for her to finish the classic song beautifully with amplification.  King ended with her hit Ex's & Oh's.  When she was leaving the stage King quoted Joan Jett, "Give them what they want and leave them wanting more." And that's exactly what she did.

See you at the next show.  I'll be wearing a hookah pen full of rainbows.

Nikki Lane and Carl Anderson at Globe Hall in Denver, CO on 5/15/18

Nikki Lane and Jon Shoemaker

It was an eventful first day of the tour. The band was testing out a different set list while breaking in their new bass player. Nikki Lane was wearing a newly acquired hat that was "just a little too small."  The opener Carl Anderson and his guitar player Sam Wilson were playing Denver for the first time. They performed on empty stomachs due to the venue selling out of barbecue before they could order. The food shortage could of also contributed to the crowd being too drunk for a Tuesday.

Nikki Lane - All photos by
the Rock and Roll Princess

A break up and an unexpected encounter at a flea market shaped Nikki Lane's career. After working in the fashion industry, Lane decided to become a singer out of spite after splitting up with a country musician. After she met Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys randomly at a flea market, Lane convinced him to produce her second album. That record received high praise from the music industry.  She was declared the First Lady of Outlaw Country. That gave her the opportunity to open for Loretta Lynn and Chris Stapleton.  Now she is touring in support of her third album Highway Queen.

The song 700,000 Rednecks set the tone of for the evening with Nikki Lance confessing "I travel around from town to town/I do the best I can everyday/I drive long hours and I don't get to shower and I ain't going to brag about the pay." After playing a number of songs from her latest release, Lane switched to All or Nothing from her first record.  Her breathy vocals inspired many of the women in the audience to sing-along. An enthusiastic fan with a light-up boa and a cartoonish tiny hat belted out the lyrics with such passion it almost stole the spotlight from Lane.

Alex Munos and Nikki Lane

The show suddenly stopped because of technical difficulties with bass player Jon Shoemaker's equipment.  Lane quickly went backstage to retrieve a bottle of whiskey and a glass bottle of Coke.  She talked to the audience while enjoying her spirits and chaser.  When the problem was finally fixed, Lane passed the bottle (of whiskey not Coke) to the crowd. This is the second time I witnessed alcohol being distributed to the fans by the headliner at Globe Hall. It might be some kind of unspoken tradition.

Jack Pot ended the set with a clever comparison of love and gambling (it even had Viva Las Vegas in the chorus).  The band came back for the encore playing Mickey Newbury's Why You Been Gone So Long. As Nikki Lane left the stage, her bottle of Coke spilled at the base of her microphone stand while the crowd poured out into the blackness of the night.


  

Carl Anderson and Sam Wilson

In the middle of his set, supporting act Carl Anderson heard a voice in the crowd requesting Different Darkness. The song describes the similarities Anderson has to his estranged father. "Same wanderlust, met with a different darkness/I can see his face in mine."  His dad was a drifter/folk-singer who Anderson last saw him when he was just six years old.  When he was a teenager growing up in a small town in Virginia named Wolftown, Anderson discovered he shared his father's gift of music. He sang songs with melancholy themes accompanied by Sam Wilson's atmospheric haunting electric guitar playing.  Despite his somber lyrics, Anderson appeared delighted about his Denver debut. He smiled at the crowd, showed off his dancing skills, and even made John Denver jokes.

See you at the next show.  I'll be the one asking the singer to pass me the bottle.

Pokey LaFarge and The Constant Tourists Globe Hall in Denver, CO on May 3, 2018

Pokey LaFarge and Adam Hoskins - all photos by 
The Rock and Roll Princess

Globe Hall, the former Slovenian and Croatian meeting hall built in 1908, was the perfect venue to see Pokey LaFarge. His timeless style and classic sound are reminiscence of the historic building. The employees permitted a fan named Christina to lavish the headliner two bottles of red French wine before his last show of a two-night engagement. LaFarge appreciated her generosity so much he dedicated the show as well as toasted her several times throughout his performance.

Pokey LaFarge

The band has been performing without their multi-instrumentalist Ryan Koenig since a horrible accident in December.  He was hit by an automobile while walking on a sidewalk in Charleston, SC. Donations were accepted for his recovery at the merch booth. There was also an open space on stage in his honor where he sang, played the harmonica, and scratched the washboard. Here is the link to the Ryan Koenig Recovery Fund: www.youcaring.com.  Despite missing Koenig, Pokey LaFarge was in a jovial mood fueled by the gifted wine.

The band started out with Better Man from the Manic Revelations album released last year.  Followed by his crowd pleasers Something in the Water, Goodbye, Barcelona, and Pack It Up. The set list was sprinkled with new songs written for an upcoming album. LaFarge stated, "We are working on it.  Not necessarily knowing when we are going to record it."

Pokey LaFarge

Some boisterous members of the audience interrupted the show to inform LaFarge that a member of their party was celebrating a birthday.  That's when the band played Kansas' Carry On Wayward Son.  It didn't make any sense, but it silenced the obnoxious concertgoers immediately.  This might be an anti-birthday mind trick LaFarge acquired by playing music for a living since he was seventeen-years-old.

The band ended their main set with Devil Ain't Lazy, Central Time, and Hard Times Come and Go. They came back for an encore that included a flawless version of Fats Domino's It's You I Love.  LaFarge declared the band only rehearsed it once that afternoon. The show ended with Roger Miller's King of the Road.  LaFarge urged the audience to sing with him karaoke style, "Trailer for sale or rent, room to let, fifty cents/No phone, no pool, no pets, I ain't got no cigarettes."  It was an ideal song at a classic location sung by a traditional musician.

The Constant Tourists

Married couple Nate and Cassie Sanchez announced their band The Constant Tourists were playing for one night only from the far away land of Thornton (a Colorado suburb).  They played a whimsical set covering several genres. Hey Diddle Diddle introduced the band's playful lyrics and Cassie's glorious trumpet playing. Nate switched to an Irish brogue for the song Green as Stone scattered with Mariachi like yells. Cassie sang in French for her part of the duet Love is Dumb while Nate played a kazoo solo.  To mix the styles up even further, Cassie brought out her accordion for their tango song entitled wait for it …. Tango. Nate sang the lyrics in Spanish and English.  After their set, the couple asked the audience to buy some merchandise because their three-year-old child needs some new shoes. The band's next performance is at the Mile High Flea Market on June 9th. 

See you at the next show.  I'll be the one expecting Christina to bring me some French wine.