Fun fact: this set was supposed to include Rum and Roses between Samba for Sam and Mr. Tooker, but it was cut for time. STILL, such an incredible show. The crowd loved every second, and multiple people came up to me to say "this band is so good!" I got a lot of hugs and dance partners that night. The Dogs really know how to set a fantastic vibe.

Penultimate CO

This is the third of three shows at Steamboat’s OTP in ‘23, and the performance acts as a good starting point to gauge the band’s sound during Spring ‘24. It’s the fourth show in as many days (the penultimate residency show), but still very jam heavy—there are nine(!) songs in the 10+ minute range if you include the split Stranger. Every member of the band shines at some point, and several songs from this show have remained in my listening rotation ever since.

A handful of us got to the venue pretty early—there’s not much to do in Steamboat once the sun sets. We split a table in the restaurant in the hopes that we’d get to hear the soundcheck like the night before, but they didn’t bother testing out anything this go-around. Sam, Jeremy, and Mr. Tooker were hanging around for part of the dinner rush. I got to talk setlists with the former, who mentioned that they were trying to play through as much of their catalog as they could before their trip to Cali. I noted that R&R was the only tune from the latest release that hadn’t been played in CO, and Sam said no promises. Like the preceding night, this show didn’t start until well after 10 PM.

First Set. No warm-up necessary, the heat’s already present for Westward (Jerm throws in some tasty fills in the back half) and Brian’s vox is much better mixed this night. This Nicolette jam is tight, but isn’t as adventurous as 4/8 in FoCo. The smooth-as-butter extended transition into IGB is well-timed and reminds us that Jerm’s latest entry into the Dogs’ canon keeps getting better, but we’re still almost 7 months out from Idaho’s whopper. Still, Jimmy and Jeremy both put in a great shift. Listen with headphones to catch the crowd wishing Brian a Happy Birthday right before Ugly Song—Jeremy’s solo helps to make this iteration the best one of the residency. The band teases Rikki Dont Lose That Number in the back half of Stranger after coming out of Around The World. The next one stumbles a bit thanks so some vocal flubs and equipment issues, but the band recovers and is firing on all cylinders by the conclusion. Way To Be is required listening—I have a hard time picking between this one at 4/7.

Second Set. The crowd was ready for the second set this time around, and B4B gets funky (check Jerm). Frosty keeps the energy up, and precedes a great example of a shorter Go Set (NY-bound)—listen as Jimmy throws in some unique fills during the verses. There are hints of Money For Nothing and Bird Song (both played earlier in the residency) in the jam out of Green Earrings. It sounds at first like the music will fall into Creep, but Jimmy revs up Bent Strange instead. The hoopin and hollerin around 6 minutes in comes after a crowd member handed Brian a massive hat fit for Tarrant Hightopp. The ensuing jam briefly samples Morning Dew, and Brian gives back the hat before they turn it up to 11 for the climax. The next one’s dialed back a touch, but there’s still plenty of good music to be played. S4S is standalone and up there with the best of ‘23—the crowd really dug this performance, and Brian+Sam feed off the energy (hit up the VOD to note the good vibes). Rum&Roses was originally planned to fill in the space before Mr.T, but was cut for time. See if you can pick out one of the staff members steering the crowd from the “one more song” chant to “one more set” before the encore. Say Something sent us home happy, well after 2 AM, still thirsty for more.

1st Set: 7/10

2nd Set: 8/10

Overall: 4 stars

Highlights:

Westward - tight

Ugly Song - best of tour

Way To Be - two distinct peaks

Blues For Brian>4th of July

Go set - short+sweet version

Green Earrings - great outro jam

Bent Strange - featuring a Morning Dew jam

Samba For Sam - contends with the best of the year, worth a spot in your Dogs playlist

Say Something - All left on the stage

Sources: With the vox issues mostly ironed out, the board is much better this night than the last (this board’s release was pretty delayed, perhaps to iron the mics out?). The entire show was livestreamed on YouTube, and the VOD is still up for your watching pleasure.