Olivia Jean, Hallie Spoor, and Jesse RS at The Summit Moon Room in Denver, CO on 3/21/18

Olivia Jean - Photo by Greg Cocks

Armed with black lipstick, black dangerous high heels, and a black Gretsch guitar, Olivia Jean played her first headlining show in Denver on Wednesday.  With a bare bone crew, Olivia Jean manned her own merch table as the diverse crowd entered the intimate Moon Room.  The concertgoers were a mixture of unnaturally dark haired fellow Goth rockers, friends of the opening bands, and one pony-tailed homeless looking guy in sweatpants.  After offering to buy Olivia Jean an adult beverage, we learned she doesn't consume alcohol.  But Olivia Jean confessed her vice is Redbull (her tour bus is loaded with it).

Olivia Jean with her band - Photos by
The Rock and Roll Princess

After joining Jack White's Thirdman Records when she was nineteen, Olivia Jean has proven to be a multi-faceted artist.  She fronted the Goth girl garage band The Black Belles, played guitar with Kate Pierson from The B-52's (even styled Pierson's hair for a photo shoot), and performed with Jack White (on stage and in the studio).  Olivia Jean also acted in HBO's True Detective series staring Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey as … a singer.  Now performing as a solo act, Olivia Jean has proven to be unstoppable musical force.

Olivia Jean

After changing from a leopard print blouse with a black leather jacket ensemble into a 1960's inspired red dress, Olivia Jean took the stage with a rock and roll attitude. She led her band through several The Black Belles songs including the Dick Dale surf guitar inspired The Wrong Door and a spooky dance song The Tease. Olivia Jean played an obscure cover song entitled Orange that she was obsessed with as a child. Olivia Jean mesmerized the crowd with her own song Haunt Me (the first tune she wrote on an acoustic guitar).  Her signature track Reminisce (Olivia Jean played every instrument on the recording) was definitely the highlight.  New material Garage Bat and Can U Help Me previewed her yet to be finished sophomore album.  After the show, Olivia Jean stated she would return to the studio after Jack White ends his current tour (White took her producer with him on the road).

Hallie Spoor

Denver folk singer Hallie Spoor and her band performed a very non-Goth type of music before Olivia Jean took over the Moon Room.  Sadly, Ben Van Horne, who played bass for them, lost his life a few weeks ago.  In his memory, the band donated their share of ticket sales to Van Horne's favorite charity Youth on Record.  The organization had representation at the show allowing audience members to give even more to the worthy cause. Their playing of the title track to Spoor's debut album The Brave Ones and Sheryl Crowe's If It Makes You Happy would of made Van Horne proud.

Jesse RS

Morphine (the 1990's band with the baritone sax not the drug) was played over the house speakers when the band Jesse RS was setting up.  It was the perfect preview of what was about to happen.  Lead singer Jesse Soward took his band through songs that left space for long jams. The improvisational elements were heightened when Chris Whiteley played multiple saxophones (at one point at the same time).

See you at the next show.  I'll be drinking Redbull and avoiding the guy in the sweatpants.

Glen Hansard at the Boulder Theater in Boulder, CO on 3/14/18

Glen Hansard and the string section

Before the concert Glen Hansard went into his favorite hangout in Boulder, Colorado the Beat Book Shop.  He purchased a vintage copy of The American Mercury magazine that featured stories from famous American writers from the 1920s and 1930s for inspiration. When touring first brought the Irish singer to Boulder, the shop owner Thomas Peters introduced him to the work of Boulder born author John Fante.  The writer's emotional descriptive stories detail the struggles and humor of everyday life.  The same can be said about Glen Hansard's songs about lost souls, the broken-hearted, and redemption.

Guitarist Rob Bochnik and the horn section

His impressive band included a string section that layered lush sound and horn players that brought powerful soul to the music.   Hansard played guitar, piano, mandolin, and even a loot throughout the evening.  The altitude affected his multiple instruments tuning, Hansard's running joke was blaming it on his guitar tech each time he had to tune them.  The set list was a combination of his solo albums, the soundtrack to the film Once, music from his rock group The Frames, and an altered Woody Guthrie cover.

Glen Hansard - all photos
by the Rock and Roll Princess

Glen Hansard asked the audience, "Do you mind if I get a little hippy for a moment?"  The Boulder audience of course obliged (it was like asking if Willie Nelson would mind if you smoked marijuana on his tour bus). Hansard explained that the energy generated from the crowd was reflecting what the band was giving back to them (he admitted it was cliche). The theater's energy resulted in Hansard pouring his soul into gut-wrenching songs that touched the heart of everyone in the theater.

Hansard's new album Between Two Shores has more of a rock feel than his last two folk albums.  The song Roll on Slowly morphed into a cover of fellow Irishman Van Morrison's song Gloria.  Pianist Romy sang and played Marketa Irgolva's part beautifully on his Academy Award winning song Falling Slowly.  He dedicated it to his ex-singing partner Irgolva like he does every time he performs it without her.  Hansard started the chorus too early, but admitted to the mistake making the ladies in the string section laugh.

Glen Hansard with the band

Woody Guthrie wrote the song Vigilante Man about his landlord Fred Trump (President Donald Trump's father).  Hansard altered the lyrics to include lines about the wall, Big Macs, and the size of … buttons. The Boulder audience applauded and giggled at every hysterical line.

The three hour concert concluded when the entire band came to the front of the stage to sing the folk standard Passing Through - "I was with Franklin Roosevelt's side on the night before he died/He said, one world must come out of World War Two/ Yankee, Russian, white or tan. He said, a man is still a man/We're all on one road, and we're only passing through." When Glen Hansard was leaving the theater, he recommended the John Fante novel The Road to Los Angeles to one of his fans.  He wanted to share one of his sources of inspiration while he was … just passing through.

See at the next show.  I will be reading a John Frante novel for inspiration to alter Woody Guthrie song lyrics.

Margo Price and Particle Kid at the Fox Theatre in Boulder, CO on 2/20/18

Margo Price

A few years ago Margo Price and her boyfriend (now husband) Jeremy Ivey found themselves living in Colorado in a tent performing for spare change on Boulder's Pearl Street Mall.  She now lives in Nashville (assuming not in a tent) as a successful musician.  She has performed with her idols Kris Kristofferson, John Prine, and Willie Nelson. Price even played with my Lord and Savior Jack White (she is on his Thirdman Records label). Her Nowhere Fast tour is currently traveling the world supporting her second album American Made.

Margo Price - All photos by
The Rock and Roll Princess

The show at the Fox Theatre was sold out despite it being on a cold snowy Tuesday night. Before the performance began, a roadie placed burning incense on the stage.  The smoke lofted over the crowd (the smell is still in my clothes). Price came out wearing a fringe jacket, bellbottoms with rose embroidered patches, and a big floppy brown hat (I almost wore the same exact outfit).  Her mustached bass player Kevin Black held up the band's country music reputation by donning a black cowboy hat.

A large majority of the set list were songs from her new album.  They were political (Pay Gap, Heart of America), philosophical (A Little Pain, Loner), and confessional (Wild Women, Weakness). The few songs performed from her debut album were reworked from their original version such as the haunting Four Years of Chances.

Margo Price

Margo Price played shakers, tambourine, guitar, keyboards, and drums throughout the night.  Many singers just stand awkwardly while each member solos.  Not Price.  She played a small drum kit right next to Dillion Napler's normal size drums.  Price banged along with the band with a giant smile.  One of the most impressive moments of the night was the song All American Made.  The band left the stage leaving Price behind the keyboards. Gut wrenching lyrics poured out, "All the Midwest farms are tuning into plastic homes/And my uncle started drinking when the bank denied the loan/But now it's liver failure and his mad cows being cloned."  The band came back to play her signature song Hurtin' on a Bottle combined with Willie Nelson's Whiskey River.  The show ended with Credence Clear Water Revival's Proud Mary (Ike and Tina Turner's version). She pranced around the stage and encouraged the crowd to sing along.  The Retro-Country artist transform into a Rock and Roll powerhouse.   

The Particle Kid

Particle Kid opened up the show.  I discovered a few things during his set:

• Particle Kid is not a kid or particles, but a twenty-seven year old man.  
• He had chess pieces on his socks (one had a hole in the toe)
• His real name is Micah Nelson. 
• He is Willie Nelson's son. 

Nelson shared his concern about sneezing outside in the cold.  "Frozen boogers might become destructive missiles."  Being from California, he was excited to be experiencing inclement weather (he got to wear a stocking hat).  His set consisted of steam-of-consciousness songs about Hollywood, the ocean, and how the reality of the world is out of control. Nelson used looping and foot petal effects to create a fuller sound.  The Particle Kid came back during Price's set to sing the duet Learning to Lose. His father sung with Price on the original recording.  The Particle Kid captured the tone of Willie Nelson perfectly while guitarist Jamie Davis recreated Willie Nelson's playing (it was like Willie and his legendary old beat up guitar Trigger were there).

See you at the next show.  I'll be the one in the fringe jacket lighting incense on stage.

The Killers, Albert Hammond Jr., and Amanda Brown at the 1st Bank Center in Broomfield, CO on 2/5/18

The Killers

The flu was slowly working its way through members of The Killers crew for weeks during their Wonderful Wonderful Tour.  The morning of the 1st Bank Center performance, front man Brandon Flowers awoke with the sickness.  The audience was surprised when he confessed he was under the weather in the middle of the show.  Flowers sang, danced, and occasionally played the bass and keyboards while channeling Tom Jones, Elvis Presley, and Bruce Springsteen. I can't form complete sentences when I am sick never mind performing a high production rock show.  And it was a SHOW with incredible video images that appeared to be popping out of the screen, lights probably stolen from an alien spaceship, confetti cannons that covered the entire arena with …. confetti, and sexy scantily clad background singers.

Brandon Flowers

Brandon Flowers is the youngest of six children raised in a Mormon family. After moving to Las Vegas in his teens, he became involved in the local music scene.  Two years after graduating from high school, Flowers formed The Killers.  A few years later they were headlining Madison Square Garden and Wembley Stadium.  Drummer Ronnie Vannucci, Jr. and Brandon Flowers are the only official members in The Killers currently performing.  Bassist Mark Stoermer and guitarist Dave Kenuing are still in the band, but decided not to tour (bassist Jake Blanton and guitarist Ted Sablay replaced them).  Three background singers and two other additional musicians complete the current touring line up.   Despite the band member shuffle, fans were there to see Flowers returning from a five-year hiatus from The Killers music.

The Killers - All photos by The Rock and Roll Princess

Dressed in an expensive dark suit, Brandon Flowers looked more like a 1940's crooner than a rock star.  He took his place in back of a blue neon male symbol placed across his keyboard.  The background singers (two wore suit jackets without shirts and a lot of two sided tape) were behind pink neon female symbols.  The politically charged Run from Cover started the show with an intense energy that remained throughout the night.  One of the most memorable moments was during the song The Man (the neon gender symbols finally made sense) when tons of pink confetti fell from the rafters.  Flowers sounded like Tom Jones as he sang, "I got gas in the tank/I got money in the bank/I got news for you baby, you're looking at the man."  The main set ended with All These Things That I've Done with the crowd chanting, "I got soul, but I not a solider" when another batch of confetti mixed with red, white, and blue streamers rained down upon the masses.

The Book of Mormon/King of Rock

The encore combined Brandon Flowers' faith and hometown of Las Vegas together in the song The Calling.  The introduction had the voice of actor Woody Harrelson reciting Matthew 9:10-12 (as he does on the album).  Flowers came out dressed in a shinny metallic gold suit dancing like Elvis Presley singing, "I walked into town with a message for my old man/I've got the last two chapters of Matthew in my hand."  The Book of Mormon/King of Rock persona changed when he brought out his inner Bruce Springsteen for their anthem When You Were Young. The guy behind me was belting out the song louder than Flowers who had a microphone.  The night ended with Mr. Brightside one of the first songs The Killers ever wrote and their biggest hit.  As the band left the stage and the house lights went up, Johnny Mathis' Wonder Wonderful played.  The audience left the venue covered in streamers and confetti hoping they didn't catch the flu from the guy in the gold metallic suit.

Albert Hammond Jr.

Supporting act Albert Hammond Jr. (best known for playing guitar in the band The Strokes) was one of the supporting acts. Appearing in a red and black striped suit (unfortunately not a metallic gold one) Hammond performed a set of guitar driven songs featuring material from his soon to be released solo album entitled Francis Trouble.  The subject matter concerns his twin brother Francis being stillborn.  Despite the tragedy, the songs came across as upbeat.   Hammond started his own line of men's suits (he really did) that will keep the rocker looking sharp singing about the dead for years to come.  R.I.P. Francis.

Amanda Brown

 The reality television show The Voice (the one with spinning chairs) got Amanda Brown noticed when she wowed the audience with her version of Aerosmith's Dream On.  This led to background singing gigs with Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, and Adele.  Now she is stepping in front of the spotlight as one of the opening act for The Killers.  Brown wore all black with silver boots (unfortunately not a metallic gold suit).  Her vocals silenced the crowd who were bursting in anticipation to see Mr. Brightside.    Brown's new single Believers could easily be played on mainstream radio, but the slow acoustic number Amen impressed me the most. Brown's set was short, but she returned as one of The Killers' background singers wearing a suit jacket without a shirt.

See you at the next show.  I'll be the one pulling pink confetti out of my hair wearing a gold metallic suit without a shirt.

Marilyn Manson and Amazonica at Fillmore Auditorium in Denver, CO on 1/20/18

After two decades of observing the controversial artist who has been blamed for inspiring horrific acts, I have come to one definitive conclusion... Marilyn Manson fans do not know how to dress for the weather.  When I saw the shock rocker open for Alice Cooper at Red Rocks, his fans came out on a sweltering hot summer day decked out in Goth wear.  Their journey up the amphitheater's many steps was extremely difficult because they were dressed like they were attending the wicked witch's funeral.  Five years later on a cold winter night, I found myself standing outside waiting for the doors to open to witness his latest production.  A large number of his fans were shivering in their black t-shirts and dangerously short skirts (Industrial Goth Metal fans do not believe in coats).  Don't they understand the flu vaccine is only 32% effective this year?

Marilyn Manson fans 

Brian Warner AKA Marilyn Manson started to shock America when Nine Inch Nails' lead singer Trent Reznor produced his first album and recruited him to be the opening act for their Downward Spiral tour in 1994.  Since then Manson had a number of hit songs, married and divorced burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese, and acted in a variety of movie and television roles.  Saturday's show was originally scheduled in October, but a stage prop fell on Manson and broke his fibula in two places (Rock and Roll is a dangerous business). This delayed his Heaven Upside Down tour until the beginning of the year.

Before the theatrics begun, the auditorium filled with thick fog.  The crowd started to chant, "Manson, Manson, Manson." The haze started to dissipate and the house lights went dark.  A Marilyn Manson's cover of Cry Little Sister from the 1987 Lost Boys movie soundtrack played over the PA.  The crowd suddenly shoved closer to the stage throwing bodies across the auditorium.

Marilyn Manson

Manson entered the stage in an electronic wheelchair (shaped like a throne) with his stage-hands dressed in medical scrubs.  It was a perfect way to incorporate his injury into his act.  Manson set a dark mood immediately with the song The Reflecting God from his Antichrist Superstar album. "Saw heaven and hell were lies/When I'm God everybody dies."

Manson stood up for the next few songs showing his cast for his broken leg.  He continued to use the wheel chair off and on throughout the night.  Manson looked like he was in pain, but he has always seemed distressed.  Mobscene had the crowd singing, "Be obscene, be be obscene" like demonic cheerleaders.  This lead to a few songs from Manson's new album Heaven Upside Down.  Surprisingly, a large percentage of the crowd already knew the lyrics.  It got a little scary during Kill4 Me.  Manson chanted, "Would you kill, kill, kill for me?/I love you enough to ask you again/Would you kill, kill, kill for me?"

Manson with his Sweet Dreams

After every song, Manson would drop the microphone and the stage would go dark.  His roadie would hunt for the mic with a green light and place it back in Manson's hands before the next song.  Manson introduced The Dope Show by having his "medical" crew bring him something to smoke on stage.  He shouted with a voice that didn't sound all that sober, "I don't like the drugs but the drugs like me."   During the Eurythmics Sweet Dreams, Manson was placed on a hospital gurney while his ""doctors" tried to sedate him.  After attempting to tap the rhythm on his bass player's guitar, he ended the night with The Beautiful People with no encore. His followers left the venue quickly because they didn't have jackets to retrieve from the coat check.

Amazonica

There are definitely ways to win crowds over when you are an opening act.  You could compliment the audience's enthusiasm, cheer for the local sports teams, or admire the city's beauty.  But there is one sure way to turn the people against you.  It's saying the wrong name of the city.  That's exactly what supporting act Victoria Harrison stage name Amazonica did shortly into her set.   She asked if Salt Lake City was excited to be there (the tour played in Utah the previous night).  That's when the crowd booed the London DJ. Amazonica has been spinning records for after parties for the likes of Liam Gallagher, Deftones, and U2. During her set, Amazonica spun records from Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine, The Beastie Boys, and The Doors.  The crowd seemed to like her pick of songs. It was almost enough to forgive her from thinking Denver was anything like the land of the Mormons.  Amazonica posted, "Denver!!! … not salt Lake City #Blonde #British #doh" on her social media.  Later I noticed that Marilyn Manson mentioned "Denver" an unusual amount of times during his performance.

See you at the next show.  I'll be the one not dressed for the weather strapped down on a hospital gurney.

St. Vincent and Tuck & Patti at The Fillmore Auditorium- Denver, CO 1/15/18

St. Vincent

I can appreciate a beautiful painting while not grasping its symbolism. It doesn't stop me at marveling at its appealing colors. That's exactly what I felt during the St. Vincent's Fear the Future concert on a cold Monday night. The solo art piece had Annie Clark, AKA St. Vincent, dressed as a futuristic sadomasochistic superhero.  She performed in front of video clips of her eating moving sushi, rolling in orange shredded fax paper, and having plastic surgery during a Hollywood press conference.  It was over my head like my college philosophy class, but it was beautiful (unlike my college philosophy class).

St. Vincent showing off her assets - Photo
by the Rock and Roll Princess

The first set of music was reworked arrangements of St. Vincent's better-known songs.  Appearing on one side of the stage dressed in thigh high hot pink latex boots and a matching bustier, St. Vincent started with her earliest material from 2007's debut album Marry Me and worked her way through her 2014's Grammy award winning self titled album.   She sang and played guitar to backing tracks that had lush string arrangements mixed with drum machines and synthesizers.  The crowd was memorized.  Besides cheering and applauding between songs they were silent until the chorus of Strangers when they sung, "Paint the black hole blacker."  After a few more songs, St. Vincent would change stage positions along with her different colored guitars until she was finally near my side of the stage.  That's when she turned her backside my direction (I didn't know if this was an insult or maybe the best view of the night).

St. Vincent and gifted underwear

After the first set, St. Vincent appeared on a platform center stage in a silver mini-skirt with green latex sleeves (I guess it was the futuristic superhero sadomasochistic prom look).  She performed her latest album Masseduction in its entirety. The songs were played along with bizarre videos and seizure inducing strobe lights during her guitar solos  In the middle of the set, "fancy underwear" were tossed on stage. St. Vincent stopped and pondered to the audience if the undergarment was clean. She also educated the crowd about the non sexiness of Gilligan & O'Malley Target brand underwear.  St. Vincent informed the giver of the garment that she would knit a quilt with it and give it to her mother.

St. Vincent in front of images of St. Vincent

One of the themes I understood from Masseduction was addiction.  The horror jingle Pills and the haunting Happy Birthday Johnny illustrated the monstrosities of drug addiction. St. Vincent is donating a dollar from every ticket sold from the Fear the Future Tour to the Phoenix House.  That organization assists individuals and families with substance abuse problems and mental illness.  Before closing the show, St. Vincent thanked her aunt and uncle, Tuck & Patti, for opening the show.  "They provide much needed compassion to this world."

Tuck & Patti

Before transforming into St. Vincent, a fifteen-year-old Annie Clark toured with her uncle Tuck Andress and auntie Patti Cathcart better know as the jazz duet Tuck & Patti. Clark returned the favor and had them open for her this time. The couple has been married for thirty-two years and performing together for thirty-five.  They took the stage dressed to impress in white.  The crowd who were there to see an indie rock goddess dressed in latex listened politely.  Cathcart told the audience a heart-warming story about helping a struggling single mother at a grocery store. It was the introduction to the song Strength that she wrote about the experience.  Andress played a solo instrumental version of Stevie Wonder's I Wish on his 1953 Gibson L-5.  It made it obvious that amazing guitar playing is in the family genes.  Patti Cathcart came back to join him for Jimmy Hendrix's Castles Made of Sand/Little Wing medley.

See you at the next show.  I'll be in thigh high latex boots with my backing tracks.

  

Video Recap of all the Old Guy at the Show Concerts of 2017