Medeski, Martin and Wood come to CU
Flowing flowery skirts and dreadlocks filled the Balch Fieldhouse on Saturday in anticipation of Program Council’s last event of the year, a concert from Medeski, Martin and Wood.
Last year, Program Council brought Cake to the Coors Event Center. Medeski, Martin and Wood have a pretty different sound, but were well received.
The New York based group gained popularity in the early 1990s for their experimental, avant-garde and jazz sound. All three members, John Medeski, Billy Martin and Chris Wood, are exceptional musicians alone. Together, they form the kind of jam band groove that many compare to the likes of the legendary Grateful Dead. Anyone hoping to hear some vocal lyrics would be sorely disappointed. This band uses a keyboard, drums and a bass flawlessly for lyrics instead.
The band is touring after the release of their newest album Let’s Go Everywhere. They are accompanied by The Wood Brothers, which features MMW’s Chris Wood and his brother Oliver, who are natives of Boulder.
The Wood Brothers started things off with their jazz-funk infused sound as more people trickled into the Fieldhouse. By the end of their set they had a multitude of hippie-dancing CU students and Boulder community members alike swaying and ready for more.
The MMW trio hit the stage and started right into their riffing, rambling music. They played songs from their newest album first and then moved onto some older releases and the crowd loved it all.
“I just really like this kind of music that you can dance to however you want,” said Christopher Deatrick, a freshman English major.
The crowd was very diverse. Next to a group of students stood a mother and father who swung their daughter back and forth to the music throughout the show.
“I didn’t know much about the band, but it’s right on campus so I thought I’d just go,” said Nicole Sandoval, a freshman pre-journalism and mass communication major. “I really enjoyed it though; they were awesome!”
Contact Campus Press Reporter Emma Dessau at Emma.Dessau@colorado.edu.
