While listening to the contemplative tribute “Windfall,” which came early in Son Volt’s Sunday night set at the Fox Theatre in Boulder, it was hard not to wonder if Jay Farrar was singing about his time spent in Uncle Tupelo or in his current band.
The ode to touring is a beautiful song, one the multitalented Farrar penned not long after he and Jeff Tweedy split Uncle Tupelo to form their own projects. (Tweedy’s venture, Wilco, had just headlined a June 17 show at Red Rocks Amphitheatre.)
Weird timing, Tweedy and Farrar in Colorado on the same weekend – only this time, touring their disparate projects. While Tweedy’s much larger show had Philadelphia hip-hoppers The Roots opening, Farrar’s enjoyed Fort Collins’ Drag the River as its kick-start. The rootsy combo worked wonders for a sold-out Fox crowd that was ready for Farrar’s traditional country-rock music.
Son Volt has two distinctive sides: The melancholy alt-country of “Tear Stained Eye” and the brash Southern rock of “Route,” and it’s rare that the two meet in Farrar’s songwriting. It’s fair to say he’s best on the alt-country front, where his voice – which recalls Michael Stip’s at times – can step out front and reign over the instrumentation.
Even then, Farrar has never been the most original songwriter. Listen to Wilco’s last few records, and it’s obvious Tweedy was the more creative of the two. Farrar fell into a midset slump on Sunday that treaded some monotonous territory. It wasn’t terrible, but the level of sameness dominating the middle of the 90-minute set was borderline obnoxious.
But Farrar had a hit-laden encore cooked up that roused the audience from its slumber. Doing what he does best, Farrar sang of the familiar and the foreign in equal tones, not singling out a golden child but treating every song – and every audience member – with the same respect and attention to detail.
– Ricardo Baca
The Symptoms
This frenetic post-punk trio wasn’t about to leave the Hi-Dive stage Saturday night. Not without an encore. Not without playing the righteous “Yr Cool,” which name-drops the Hi-Dive, one of the rock club’s former bartenders and her band.
And so the trio – guitarist Josh Bergstrand, drummer Rob Burleson and bassist Sonya Decman – came back for a quick encore that sonically brought down the intimate room and closed out its release party for the new full-length album, “Middle Finger Romance.”
Bergstrand’s high-strung voice collided with Decman’s gritty alto, creating the thoroughly unique palette against which the band’s sharpened guitar-attack operates. The group’s infectious energy was more than contagious, with fans and members of multiple local bands out in support.
With Decman raging on “Leda Hyena” – a driving punk track about her dog – it was impossible to question her and her bandmates’ passion. It was there all over the place: the spilled beer on the stage, the sweat on their backs, the ringing in their ears.
The Symptoms’ next show is July 2 at the Larimer Lounge with Suzi Homewreker, Ghost Buffalo and and the Kirk Rundstrom Band.
– Ricardo Baca
