“The Musical Roots of Kerouac’s Prose”
Not since Winston and Brad Marsalis performed at El Chapultepec more than a decade ago has the LoDo jazz landmark been as jammed as it was Saturday night. Some 700 jazz and Jack Kerouac fans braved snowy, slippery streets to create a wall-to-wall turnout for “The Musical Roots of Kerouac’s Prose” concert.
The free show was the musical arm of an all-weekend tribute to Kerouac and his Denver muse and speedfreak driver Neal Cassady, hero of Kerouac’s novel “On the Road” – all coordinated by the Denver Public Library. Organized by composer and Kerouac collaborator David Amram and John Cassady, Neal’s son, the concert featured Denver favorites Freddie Rodriguez – now 78 – on tenor sax; bassist Artie Moore; and drummer Tony Black along with Amram on flute and several other instruments.
To an appreciative crowd that ran from iPod kids to gray beards, they played songs like “Blue Monk” by Thelonious Monk, “Lester Leaps In” for Lester Young, George Shearing favorite “I Remember April” and Gershwin’s “Summertime,” which Charlie Parker favored.
No music Amram composed was played Saturday, but he did a “scat” dedicated to Denver radio KUVO program director Carlos Lando, who helped coordinate the concert. The magnet of Kerouac and the music he loved made it, to all age groups, “like the old days at El Chapultepec,” said bartender John Martinez. “It’s amazing the fire marshals didn’t step in.” | J. Sebastian Sinisi
The Hollyfelds
Even with Colorado’s proliferation of bluegrass and folk, a solid show of that ilk is always welcome. The Hollyfelds’ boisterous set at the Meadowlark on Saturday satisfied completely, sneaking out from the warm, intimate stage and mining a vein of traditional country-folk that invigorated the crowd.
After a heartfelt set from multi-instrumentalist Heath March, the Hollyfelds – a quintet led by silk-voiced singers Eryn Hoerig and Kate Grigsby – ran through a set of originals and covers that helped the subterranean Meadowlark feel like a summery back porch. Hoerig’s crisp autoharp work and Grigsby’s guitar mingled nimbly with the backing dobro, electric bass and traps.
An unexpectedly poignant moment came when the band performed “Tonight You Belong to Me,” a 1926 ukulele tune made popular in Steve Martin’s classic comedy “The Jerk.” Shortened from its original version, the Hollyfelds navigated the song’s charming vocal harmonies with the grace and skill of stunt pilots. |John Wenzel
Newfound Glory
Just how fickle are the fans of pop- punk? Do we even have to ask? Think about Fall Out Boy’s FM coming-out a couple years ago, and Newfound Glory before them. Either band could have filled two Fillmore Auditoriums, quite recently even.
But in 2007, or Monday to be exact, the two playing together couldn’t even fill half of the Fillmore’s 3,600 capacity. Newfound Glory’s set was solid and uneventful – capped with their popular cover of Peter Cetera’s “Glory of Love.” This is a band that obviously has history and training, but while they were once relevant, they’re more of an anachronism in the ever-evolving world of FM-friendly music.
Dance-pop-punk has taken over, cutting some of the more mediocre pop-punk bands from the fray. And even though Newfound Glory is now playing as a septet with a focus on the keys, the band’s fanbase fall-out is understandable, given the recent flat performances and the band’s lame new record, “Coming Home.” |Ricardo Baca
