The Blog

Last week Zen Mustache played back-to-back shows on Saturday night at the Laughing Goat in Boulder, and again on Sunday afternoon at the South Platte RiverFest in Denver. Both dynamic, energizing and fun shows! Some stark differences, too.

I’ve written before about the tight stage at the Laughing Goat. The venue’s small space and eclectic adornments, along with close proximity to the audience, inject energy into the performance. To fit the entire band on stage I can’t bring my usual keyboard rig and instead play the house acoustic piano. Fortunately it is always in tune. The odd thing in the Goat is the piano faces the wall, away from the band and away from the audience. Consequently, for me this show became a highly audio experience; rather than making eye contact with band mates I needed to listen closely to the others and feel the changes in the music. It’s a different experience altogether and one I appreciated. I also love playing acoustic – feel I can play harder and faster and my confidence is higher moving fingers over real ivory.

One other note. It’s satisfying to introduce new material and on this night we performed ‘In A Day’ for the first time. This is a vocal-focused song with 4-part harmony supported by simple piano and guitar lines.

Laughing Goat Set List 6-28-2014
Awakening
Barton Hollow
Baby Hold On
Hey Jane
I Can’t Stay Here
Patriot
In A Day **
September
Hunger Strike
The Valley
Can’t You See
Best I Can
If You Won’t Wanna Love Me
Women & Wine
Hallelujah
Cripple Creek
Loving Cup
I Know You Rider ++

**First time performed
++ Encore by request

If Saturday night was cool, Sunday afternoon turned hot at Confluence Park in Denver! The RiverFest was a great way to cool things down. The festival was well-organized and the friendly staff were so helpful making us feel comfortable and welcome. What a terrific event!

In contrast with the previous night, my takeaway from this show was all the visual scenery. Keyboards were positioned stage left which provided a vantage point to view not just the people who pitched blankets in the grassy area in front of the stage, but also all the kayaks, tubes, paddle boards, and people generally enjoying the river. Ted came over to this side of the stage to play bass on ‘September’ and gawked at the fantastic view from this side of the stage. My favorite was looking across the river at the people on the opposite side. After our set I crossed the water to check it out and those spectators had a wonderful view of everything – the stage, the water, the vendors and people. If Ted was gawking from the stage, he should have made his way over there – that was the place for onlookers to truly gawk!

RiverFest Set List 6-29-2014
Left Work Early
The Valley
Come Together
I Can’t Stay Here
Hey Jane
Why You Been Gone So Long?
Barton Hollow
September
Awakening
Sweet Inspiration
Best I Can
Hunger Strike
Hallelujah
Mountainside

It’s good to see the movement toward more originals. For this set the original:cover ratio was 1:1. In past shows this has been as high as 1:4! The process of writing and introducing new original music continues, and we look forward to the goal of an entire original show!

Final note: The sun and heat was intense on Sunday. In fact my Korg keyboard, positioned at the front of the stage, was not protected by shade and the LED screen on this keyboard got fried during the performance! Hoping it’ll come back but luckily that day was the final performance for the Korg – switching to the new Hammond XK-3 this summer and repurposing the Korg for home recording. Whew!

We had a blast playing music last night at the Upslope Brewery tap room. The band had been off stage for a few months, so getting back in front of the crowd with a live performance was like taking in lungfuls of fresh outdoor mountain air. Breathing life and energy into the soul! The staff at Upslope was incredibly friendly and attentive – seriously, people, if you need a pick-me-up go find those friendly Upslope faces, grab a chair and kick back — they’ll be your great friends for at least a couple hours.

The evening was a balancing act. On one hand, leaning into the music and listening; on the other, relentless enthusiasm from the crowd that simultaneously energizes and distracts. On one hand, finding space for each instrument and trusting each other; on the other, external drama that competed for our attention. On one hand, seeing friends and fans in the crowd who we’ve missed dearly; on the other, missing the faces of others we wished could be there. It’s the great balancing act of the performer – staying connected to the moment and the people and the environment while still reaching inside to tap into the passion and give it away.

Set List:

Left Work Early
The Valley
Come Together
I Know You Rider
Awakening
Sweet Inspiration
Best I Can
Hunger Strike
Whiskey, Wind & Wheat
If You Don’t Wanna Love Me
September ++
Bouncin’ Round the Room
Baby Hold On
Hey Jane
Cripple Creek
All These Things I’ve Done
Loving Cup
Boogie On Reggae Woman
Mountainside
Soulshine

++ Featuring Phil Moss on trumpet

Today we set a record for our coldest outdoor performance ever at WinterFest on Old South Pearl in Denver. None of us were too worried about our body core temperature – it was the extremities, in particular the fingers, that were of concern. Single digit temps have a way of slowing down the performance, when there’s no way to play with gloves and there’s no chance to keep those digits truly warm. Even keeping instruments in tune proved to be a challenge. That we pulled off any solos can only be attributed to some spiritual intervention. It’s all part of the adventure of live music, and thankfully our set was 90 minutes, just within the pain tolerance threshold.

With hand warmers in our pockets and propane heaters lit, we took the stage and enjoyed the company of other adventurous folks who navigated the icy streets for a bit of shopping, hot cider, sleigh rides, and tree finding. We even had visits from an 8-ft snowman and a funny walking Christmas tree. With incomparable sound technician Allen Noftall of Space Recording and Live Sound on the job, we made the best of a cold situation. Thanks, Allen, for making the sound seem so easy! And many thanks to Marilyn, Allison, and Nicole at HobNob Events for inviting us to WinterFest. We hope to be back again next year – hopefully about 40 degrees warmer…(!)

By the way, with a performance like this under our belts, I think we’re ready to play Frozen Dead Guys Days in Nederland in March. That’s right people! Look for Zen Mustache on the FDGD stage – so pumped!!

Set List:

I Know You Rider ##
The Valley ##
Cripple Creek ##
Come Together ##
Left Work Early ##
Feelin’ Alright **
Hey Jane **
Baby Hold On **
Hunger Strike **
Barton Hollow **
Patriot **
Awakening **
Hallelujah ++
Why You Been Gone So Long ++
Loving Cup ++

## Finger temperature = uncomfortable
** Finger temperature = complete loss of feeling
++ Finger temperature = are you kidding?!?

Short but sweet set last night at the Balistreri Vineyards in Denver. ZM got invited to play a benefit concert to help front range farmers who were affected by the floods this past September. A long afternoon load-in was rewarded with meeting lots of terrific, authentic, local people and sharing a meal that everyone raved was over-the-top amazing. The space over at Balistreri Vineyards was impressive, too. Cathedral-like vaulted ceilings supported with huge glulam timber beams; tasteful furnishings and finishes in every aspect; it was worth the trip just to view the space and I hope ZM has an opportunity to play there again some day.

Set List:

Call Me Al
Baby Hold On
Cripple Creek
Come Together
You Ain’t Going Nowhere
Feelin’ Alright
Why You Been Gone So Long
Sweet Inspiration
Loving Cup

Great energy last week at Bands on the Bricks last week. Thank you Boulder! It was a real pleasure to be out there on stage with the crowd feeding back positive energy all night. I especially enjoyed looking behind the stage at the beat dancers that had their own crowd going. Break dancing to bluegrass – who’d have thunk it?

We’ve got one recording posted for download. Hopefully more coming soon – thanks again people!

Set list:
Loving Cup – Rolling Stones
The Valley – Zen Mustache original
Come Together – Beatles
Barton Hollow – Civil Wars
Sweet Inspiration – Derek Trucks
Boogie On Reggae Woman – Stevie Wonder
Left Work Early – Zen Mustache original
Feelin’ Alright – Joe Cocker
Baby Hold On – Leftover Salmon
Black Water – Doobie Brothers
Women and Wine – Martin Sexton
Awakening – Zen Mustache original
Hunger Strike – Temple of the Dog
Can’t You See – Marshall Tucker Band
Patriot – City Folk
Why You Been Gone So Long – Newbury, Perkins & Clark
Sample in a Jar – Phish
Hallelujah – Leonard Cohen
I Know You Rider – Traditional
Drift Away – Dobie Gray
Call Me Al – Paul Simon
Soulshine – Warren Haynes ++

++ Encore by request