Red Rocks Amphitheatre

July 27th 2008

By DJ Hippie

Being the legendary performer he is there was never any question whether or John Mellencamp was going to be putting on a good show on this pleasantly overcast Sunday night. Instead, given the dark stripped down tone of his new album, the question became how was Indiana’s best export going to balance the new material with his lengthy collection of upbeat sing-alongs?

At first, following a somewhat long and tedious set by Lucinda Williams, after opening with a version of “Pink Houses” that was verbatim to the album version it appeared Mellencamp was going to use the Tom Petty method of playing it safe and sticking to the hits.

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:: Grace Potter and the Nocturnals ::

:: Mile High Music Festival ::

:: July 20 :: (2:45 p.m.) ::

By Timothy Dwenger

Grace Potter and The Nocturnals are one of the hottest acts to come out of Vermont since Phish. Fronted by their striking namesake, the band has stealthily clawed their way up the rungs of the music industry with a retro sound that injects their sultry jazzy blues with just the right amount of ragged glory to appeal to a huge cross section of music fans.

Seemingly unfazed by her recent surge in popularity, the songstress took some time to speak with The Marquee on the eve of her 25th birthday. As she spoke, she set the scene of her surroundings and painted a picture of the idyllic life of a New Englander. “All I see right now is leaves. I have a panoramic view of the woods and these are not dark and creepy woods, they are very beautiful. There’s lots of sunshine and there is a little river that flows right by me here. It is a nice place to be settled, I’ll probably never leave,” Potter said.

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:: Grace Potter and the Nocturnals ::

:: Mile High Music Festival ::

:: July 20 :: (2:45 p.m.) ::

By Timothy Dwenger

Grace Potter and The Nocturnals are one of the hottest acts to come out of Vermont since Phish. Fronted by their striking namesake, the band has stealthily clawed their way up the rungs of the music industry with a retro sound that injects their sultry jazzy blues with just the right amount of ragged glory to appeal to a huge cross section of music fans.

Seemingly unfazed by her recent surge in popularity, the songstress took some time to speak with The Marquee on the eve of her 25th birthday. As she spoke, she set the scene of her surroundings and painted a picture of the idyllic life of a New Englander. “All I see right now is leaves. I have a panoramic view of the woods and these are not dark and creepy woods, they are very beautiful. There’s lots of sunshine and there is a little river that flows right by me here. It is a nice place to be settled, I’ll probably never leave,” Potter said.

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:: Mile High Music Festival ::

:: July 19 :: (4 p.m.) ::

By Jeffrey V. Smith

Denver’s obsession with its homegrown hip-hop act Flobots is catching on outside the city’s limits, and in a big way. Recent appearances on late night television, a major-label release, national radio play, massive digital sales, and a tour of sold-out shows are indications the band’s conscious, uplifting, message-driven songs are outgrowing their roots and generating a buzz on a national scale. It is ultimately those Denver roots, however, that the band’s members credit for Flobots existence and on-going success.

“Denver has one of the most thriving music scenes in the entire country, and very few people know about it, bassist Jesse Walker told The Marquee. “The scene is ripe with amazing musicians who are not afraid to experiment. It’s not at all unusual to see a band with non-traditional instrumentation not only pushing boundaries, but also writing great songs.”
And, that’s just what the Flobots do — push boundaries, employ unusual instrumentation and write first-rate songs.

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:: Martin Sexton ::
:: Mile High Music Festival ::
:: July 20 :: (time slot tba) ::

By Timothy Dwenger

In many ways, Martin Sexton is a new breed of soul singer. His music is an amalgam of folk, pop and gospel that blends effortlessly to create a feel-good sound that immediately transports the listener to another world. While Sexton’s introspective lyrics and intricate song structure have won him the recognition of critics and fans alike, it is his delivery that truly sets him apart from other artists. Sexton sings from his heart and bares his soul onstage. He is an inspiring performer whose energy and passion are channeled through his voice.

Sexton’s laid-back style and unrushed pace are hallmarks of his lifestyle. He and his family make their home in the quaint Massachusetts town of Northampton and spend their summers on a lake in the Adirondack Park of upstate New York. “I think the Adirondack Park is the most beautiful place on earth,” he said in a recent interview with The Marquee. “I would live up there year round if I could.”

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Hill Country Revue

Saturday, July 19

Hill Country Revue was launched by Cody Dickinson and Chris Chew of the North Mississippi Allstars. It also features the talents of Garry Burnside and Kirk Smithhart on guitars, as well as the vocal treatment of Dixie Hustler’s Dan Coburn.

Dickinson and Chew are better known as the rhythm section of the three-time Grammy nominated North Mississippi Allstars. Dickinson is known as a powerful and creative drummer who occasionally graces the audience with his psychedelic electric washboard performances.

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Dan Tyminski

Friday, July 25

Dynamic onstage, down to earth off stage, Dan Tyminski has the voice, instrumental chops and charisma to be counted among the most recognizable and popular male vocalists on today’s bluegrass and country music scenes. Since 1994, his ace instrumental skill (mainly on guitar, but also on mandolin) and burnished, soulful tenor singing has been a key component of Alison Krauss and Union Station, arguably the most visible and successful bluegrass band in the modern era. Prior to that, he rose to national prominence as a member of bluegrass favorite, the Lonesome River Band. With Union Station on hiatus for most of 2008, Tyminski has formed a new incarnation of the Dan Tyminski Band, with whom he is currently recording a new album and preparing a national tour of festivals, arts centers and listening rooms. This new edition includes longtime Union Station associate Barry Bales (bass), former Union Station and Mountain Heart member Adam Steffey (mandolin), sideman extraordinaire Ron Stewart (banjo, fiddle), and newcomer Justin Moses (fiddle, Dobro).
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:: Marquee Magazine presents ::

:: Robert Earl Keen ::

:: Boulder Theater :: August 5 ::

:: PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS SHOW HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED

FROM ITS ORIGINAL DATE OF JULY 2 ::

By Alex Samuel

July 4th weekend is the perfect time to toss back a Budweiser and shamelessly soak in an hour-and-a-half of good ole’ American music — songs drenched in aw shucks-style storytelling with an unapologetic hint of country twang mixed with rock. Or, more simply, Robert Earl Keen’s music.

In the last 25 years, Keen defined alt-country Americana with tinny ballads, rowdy revelries, and bluesy storytelling. Now, the Houston-born icon, who talked with The Marquee just moments before taking the stage for a Texas gig, said that he is putting an album together, working on a novel, and continuing to tour.

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We’ve become a really half-assed society, to a sickening degree.

This month’s industry profile on Gus Skinas from Super Audio Center proves that. Skinas has developed a system that makes digital audio sound like an analog recording, bringing warmth and emotion back into digital music.

I’ve heard it. I sat in his room as he played me an SACD (Super Audio CD) surround master of Elton John’s “Rocket Man.” It’s safe to say that I’ve probably heard that song more than a couple hundred times in my life, but hearing it there was like hearing it for the first time all over again — only better.

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By Brian F. Johnson

Every time I meet a true audiophile, I love to ask them this little bit of trivia that I picked up somewhere along the way. Of all the people I’ve ever asked it to, Gus Skinas is the only one to have answered it correctly, without hesitation. And, it wasn’t a lucky guess.

The question is this: Why did the CD end up being 80 minutes long? “Beethoven in the car,” Skinas shot back when I asked him. Yes! When Sony was developing the compact disc, an executive pushed for the 80 minute length because it was his goal to listen to Beethoven’s 9th in the car, without interruption.
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Phish 3.0? — In the last few months, rumors about Phish’s reunion have been more prevalent than dank buds at an actual Phish reunion. Although the four members were on stage together in May for the Jammy Awards, legions of crispy-crunchy heads had their dreams shattered when the band chose not to perform. But a new report from Jamtopia.com brought so much attention that even Billboard picked up the story. The report stated that producer Steve Lillywhite would be working on a new Phish album this year. Lillywhite worked on Phish’s 1996 album Billy Breathes. Lillywhite has offered a “no comment” on the subject.

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