Date Change

This show falls smack-dab in the middle of a busy four night-stretch at three Colorado locales. It was the band’s third show at a Z2-owned venue, but was originally scheduled for 4/14 before shifting a day up to accommodate the next two nights at OTP. I had tix for the night as originally scheduled, but had to miracle them off to a first-timer due to the date change (I made up for it by trekking out to Steamboat for the next two). Like the show at The Ag, a local band (Mr. Mota) opened, truncating the Dogs’ portion to an extended single set. While it doesn’t reach the peaks of the following nights, there’s still a lot to appreciate about this gig.

The Fox shares a lot of similarities with the Aggie: it’s predominantly a venue that caters to the local student body (Buffs>Rams), and serves as a proving ground for jam acts. It’s right across Broadway from campus, and my partner and I used to walk to this venue from our apartment in the city to avoid parking headaches (we had to end this tradition after we moved out of Boulder, much to my chagrin). SCI, Billy Strings, and Goose all played memorable shows here, and the locals are always willing to sample the offerings of both up-and-comers and established niche acts alike. The sound at the venue is always exquisite—the qual here was second only to 4/7 during this tour—making the location a must-see for any live music enjoyers, even those that aren’t fully invested in the band(s) playing.

One Set. This is the best Can’t Wait of the CO tour, and the song kickstarts a great six-tune sequence without any drop in quality. Jimmy nails the outro solo on Little Things, leading into another soaring Royals. B4B starts after a dead stop, and feeds into a short Carpet Ride—this tune had been shelved for 77 shows, and wouldn’t return afterward until ‘24 (check 2/16/24 for a more developed jam). The sound takes us away into LJ1, which stomps on the 3/29 version from two weeks earlier. Appleseed—the only song repeated from the night before—is the fourth of five ‘23 renditions in Colorado, and concludes in a blissful jam. Go Set takes a minute to culminate, but the fireworks at the end are well-worth the wait. Things remain solid, if unspectacular, through G Song. Screwtop comes out for a second-straight night to deliver Clint Eastwood, which (as of the time of writing) hasn’t appeared on a setlist since. Bent Strange is also the fourth of five CO versions in ‘23, but not the best of the bunch (4/5). All The Same, however, is the best-ever rendition in the state. Listen to Joey during Bubble and be amazed. Jerm throws in some killer vocal FX into the encore, which ends the show on a great note.

One Set: 7/10

Overall: 4 stars

 

Highlights:

Can’t Wait for Tonight - best of tour

Little Things>Royals - check Jimmy

Look Johnny - extended jam, also best of tour

All The Same - beats 4/7

Bubble - Joey “The Hulk” Babick

The Music Never Stopped - Fireworks in the outro jam

No Quarter - Jerm on fire

 

Sources: The SBD sounds great. No recordings exist of Mr. Mota’s set, and no full vid of the show has surfaced (yet).