Bluegrass band keeps audience on their feet
There were plenty of people willing to brave the cold to catch the band Hot Buttered Rum play at Fox Theatre Friday and Saturday night.
While most fans are older men as well as CU students, some of the bluegrass music fans at Fox Theatre were a bit younger.
Three-year-old Seda, even at such a young age, was not a stranger to the bluegrass scene.
“This will be our seventh time seeing them,” said Lane Convell, Seda’s 26-year-old mother. “This is Seda’s third time. She likes to dance. She loves bluegrass.”
In this bluegrass setting, a concert isn’t simply a concert; it’s a family affair. The audience members yelled to one another like old friends, even to those who said they had only met that night.
Ben Tzinberg, a 20-year-old sophomore with an undecided major at CU who attended Saturday’s Hot Buttered Rum performance, said he expected nothing less of the camaraderie that was in the air.
“There are no handshakes here,” Tzinberg said. “I kept hearing the saying, ‘Hugs not handshakes.'”
By the time the opening band Head for the Hills got on stage, the venue was swimming with dreadlocks and long skirts.
Hot Buttered Rum, the five-man bluegrass ensemble, went on stage after Head For The Hills was given an enthusiastic welcome by screaming fans. As soon as Bryan Horne, Nat Keefe, Zachary Matthews, Aaron Redner and Erik Yates made their presence known, the crowd began the rhythmically bobbing and flailing their limbs, a sight that continued through the entire show.
No single band member crowded the spotlight, due to every member’s unique talent on each instrument. Each member sang lead vocals on at least one song and each instrument was given gratuitous time for improvisation.
The set started with the upbeat “Honey Be” along with what appeared to be the well-received “Amanda Lynn,” in which the audience screamed after every verse.
The band was not limited to playing classic bluegrass style. Songs like “Waiting for a Squall” and “The Crest” incorporated techno and jazz elements that added variety to an established style.
The first set ended with “Possum,” a song with the power to make a large crowd unanimously scream, “Possum, your end is in the road.”
The energy at the show grew as the band played “Beneath the Blossoms” and “Golden Days” before leaving double bass player Bryan Horne alone on stage to perform the final song.
However, the final song did not mean the show was over just yet. The band returned to the stage and said their goodbyes to a wailing audience well after 1 a.m. on Sunday while the crowd screamed for one more song.
“We’re feeling right at home in Boulder,” said fiddle player Aaron Redner.
To learn more about the band, visit their Web site.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Carolyn Michaels at carolyn.michaels@colorado.edu
