Concerts return to the Balch Fieldhouse with Medeski, Martin and Wood.
By WENDY KALE, Colorado Daily Staff Writer
Friday, April 25, 2008
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FurlCU's Balch Fieldhouse has been the site of some pretty interesting concerts. The gymnasium-style venue has hosted everything from Eddie Vedder's (Pearl Jam) attempt to spark a campus riot to Spearhead's call for world peace.
It's been two years since the CU Program Council hosted a show at the fieldhouse, so PC is psyched to bring jam and jazz masters Medeski Martin and Wood to the campus venue Saturday. As an extra perk, Boulder native Chris Wood (MMW bassist) will be opening the show with his duo The Wood Brothers. MMW is flying in to Colorado to specifically play this concert, so get ready, get set, get your groove on.MMW has redefined the scope of modern jazz and jam music. The group's experimental grooves have earned this act international fans, as no two shows are ever the same. These days the band plays select tour dates and each group member has his own side-projects.
"We've been doing this for 16 years," said MMW drummer/percussionist Billy Martin. "We have this special chemistry that let's us create things together and keep it fresh. We're also close friends and we work really hard. The music's constantly evolving -our new record will feature Klezmer-inspired music. We're also releasing a series of CDs this year that will reflect each season."
MMW is one busy band. In 2008 the group plans to head out on three separate tours and release three different CD's. Last year the band released a kid's CD called "Let's Go Everywhere," and this summer the trio will host Camp MMW. The August 5-10 retreat will let fans of all ages study with the experimental group in the mountains of New York state.
"We're also going to go over to England in May, and we've got a children's concert set for Norway," said Martin. "We're all working on our own solo projects, too. That keeps us all busy and creating more music. We have our own label now, so we can release what want to."
Martin says that MMW is ready to release a new barrage of music on Boulder.
"People coming to the CU show will hear a lot of music in the mix," revealed Martin. "We're in between things now, so they'll hear things from the past couple of records and some new stuff. Since this is a college show, you can expect this is going to be a pretty lively concert!"
It's great to see the Balch Fieldhouse being used again as a concert venue. Call the PC office at 303-492-7704 to find out about student ticket deals.
Colin Meloy of The
Decemberists
Sometimes you have to take a break from your band - even if you're the lead singer. Colin Meloy loves his band The Decemberists, but the singer/songwriter is traveling solo for this tour. Locals will get to hear Decemberists tunes in raw, acoustic form, as well as Meloy's own solo material when the musician plays the Fox Saturday.
"The rest of The Decemberists are at home letting their gardens bloom," joked Meloy. "We're going to be in the studio this summer and we'll be working on the next CD. I've never been so uncertain as to which direction a CD will take, but we also never had this much material to work with. It's really a question of direction -- we may be going into some pretty crazy directions for this new record."
The Decemberists' spring break is giving Meloy plenty of time to work on his solo project and tour. However, there is one element that sets this artist's CDs apart from the pack; for his past two solo records Meloy has covered material from completely different artists. In 2005 the musician released the EP "Colin Meloy Sings Morrissey." This time around, the artist released the EP "Colin Meloy Sings Sam Cooke." For generation-next music fans - Cooke was a 50s-60s soul performer who released Top-40 radio hits like "Cupid," "Chain Gang," and "You Send Me."
"My solo shows are like sings-alongs," explained Meloy. "I do a lot of Decemberist songs, but then I add a few covers and some new things. I decided to record songs by Sam Cooke for this EP -- he wrote songs like 'Cupid' and 'Let the Good Times Roll.' I wanted to do something very American and I've always loved his R&B songs. They're smart and they're melodic, but I put my own spin on the songs."
Tuesday indie popsters Rooney headline the Fox. The band's opened for everybody from Keane to Weezer, and now the group's hitting its own stride. Thursday Radio 1190's Basementalism show host a DJ and hip hop show featuring People Under The Stairs and Audible Audities.
One week later, the buzz is still on about Ghostland Observatory's unbelievable show at the Fox. Fusing tribal beats, a hyper-kinetic stage show and one of the most phenomenal laser rave-meets-disco light shows around, Ghostland Observatory made one of the most powerful band debuts that Boulder's ever witnessed. Bring this band back!
Contact Wendy Kale about this story at (303) 443-6272 ext. 128 or kale@coloradodaily.com
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