Fergie and the Black Eyed Peas played a crowd-pleasing set at Jazz Aspen Snowmass that departed from the heritage rockers’ previous sets. Photos by .
Aging rockers and electrifying hip-hop made odd bedfellows on Labor Day weekend at , the three-day summer-closing music festival set at the base of Snowmass Village. Performances over the weekend were uniformly strong, but the truth is even mediocre performances might get a pass given the spectacular mountain views and the relaxed vibe.
We missed the Friday night performance by Michael Franti and Spearhead, which got rave reviews from fans who made the show. We showed up mainly to catch Elvis Costello and the Impostors on Saturday night. The only slight disappointments were a mix that at times drowned out the vocals, Costello’s slightly ragged voice and that he didn’t play longer.
He ripped into a set that featured some newer tunes, but plenty from his older catalog, including from his debut “My Aim Is True” album, such as “(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes” and “Watching the Detectives.” He charged through a 90-minute show that also included favorites “(I Don’t Want to Go to) Chelsea,” “Everyday I Write the Book,” “Radio Radio,” “High Fidelity,” frequently extended with long jams. Give Costello credit that even at 55 and looking every bit his age he didn’t back down from screaming guitar solos and wailing vocals.
As is often the case at festivals, the crowd spent a lot of the set talking and paying little attention to the stage until the nearly half-hour encore that include “Alison,” “Pump It Up” and “Whatap So Funny ‘Bout Peace, Love and Understanding.”
The Black Eyed Peas could hardly have been a more abrupt change of tone, but it was a transition that got the crowd pumped up and on its feet for much of the group’s nearly two-hour set. The started off with the ubiquitous “Letap Get It Started.” Forgive, will.i.am, Taboo and apl.de.ap hurtled through their set in a nonstop rush that was the hit of the weekend.
Flanked by two blow-up androids that looked right out of the original “The Day the Earth Stood Still” — the original version, not the new lame one — and a spectacular video mix, BEP knocked out smoking versions of “Imma Be” and “Big Girls Don’t Cry” that included Fergie doing one-handed handsprings. She is definitely spending some serious time in the gym.
On Sunday, the Doobie Brothers served up an aural flashback to the ‘70s and ‘80s with a string of long-ago hits, including “Jesus Is Just Alright,” “Blackwater,” “China Grove,” and “Listen to the Music.” They even trotted out a new tune, “Back the Chateau,” coming out on a CD in 2010. Patrick Simmons, John McFee and Tom Johnston still had their chops on some scorching guitar solos and Marc Russo’s soaring sax solos got the crowd on its feet.
There was a moment of sublime irony when the crowd in the one of the world’s most affluent communities was on its feet rocking out to “Take It to the Streets.” Take it to the Gucci boutique or the cosmetic surgery clinic, maybe. The streets? Not so much.
The evening closed out with a two-hour plus set from the durable , celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. This is not the band some of us listened to in the days of “At Fillmore East” — you can’t replace Duane Allman or even Dickey Betts — but they churned through a fine set nonetheless.
The guitar team of Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks traded respectable licks during some extended and sometimes meandering jams. Gregg Allman, who looked to be suffering a bit from the nearly 10,000 feet in altitude, showed a strong voice at times, especially when he switched from organ to electric piano to knock out a superb “Statesboro Blues.” The band opened with “Midnight Rider” and made its way through “Hot ‘Lanta,” “Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More,” “Melissa” and “The Sky is Crying.”
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Ed Smith is the managing editor of magazine, the former arts and entertainment editor for The Denver Post and an occasional Reverb contributor.
Lewis Cooper is a Denver freelance photographer and regular contributor to Reverb. See more of his work and follow the jump for more Jazz Aspen Snowmass photos.
MORE PHOTOS: Elvis Costello
Black Eyed Peas
The Doobie Brothers
Allman Brothers Band
Michael Franti
Drive By Truckers
Citizen Cope
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