Belly Up and Dillon Amp are two of the very best venues in all of Colorado, so it was a great privilage to see one of our favorite groups, Elephant Revival, at both venues. Each show was very different with Saturday perhaps going out with a bang with many different things going on at once. Each show saw the many talents of lead singer and multi instrumanetalist Bonnie Paine.
Each night, Thursday, September 17 and Friday, September 18 were fantastic, and we ended up seeing many folks who attended both nights in the audience and some either mentioned they were even going to night #3 when the band performs at Swallow Hall in Denver this weekend. Every member of the group was fantastic, especially Rising Appalachia guitarist David Brown and fiddler Bridget Law, who's been in the group since the beginning.
The Belly Up experience was much more intimate, and it was absolutely wonderful being a part of a small club of only a few hundred people to see Elephant Revival. Everyone was up close and personal, and it was the group's first date on their new tour. Only the four members of the band were present for this more acoustic show, and they performed a 1 hour and 30 minute set that include hits like Remembering, When I Fall, Drop and Ring Around The Moon as the final song.
Bonnie performed mostly on the washboard for night number one, which was different from the second night at Dillon Amp. She truly jammed out on the instrument throughout the night, doing multiple solos. However, one of the highlights of the first night was acoustic guitarist David Brown from Rising Appalacian, who was truly really enjoying himself and did several solos himself throughout the evening.
However, the biggest surprise of the entire evening was everyone saw mama bear and her cub only a few blocks away from the venue. "Can someone please get a plus one in for the bear," joked drummer Darren Garvey.
The setlist was similar for both nights but played very differently. For night number two at Dillon Amp, the group performed a great cover of Gnarly's Barkley's "Crazy," while night one saw an impressive version of "Have a Cigar".
Night two saw more people at the outdoor venue Dillon Amp, but there wasn't more than 2,000 at the lovely ampitheater next to Lake Dillon. However, the second night was a grand spectacular display and was more entertaining. It was an interesting mix of bands with electronic group Desert Dwellers opening up the show and even joining them on stage for a song. However, the highlight of the second night were the dancers and back up singers MaMuse. "We've been wanting to sing with Mamuse for a very long time, and Desert Dwellers," proclaimed Bonnie. The two dancers even got married on stage which was an absolute delight to see.
Bonnie played the chello and even the musical saw and multiple drums for the second night, which was very different from Thursday at Belly Up when she just played the washboard. The band performed a new song which included Bridget performing a weird bowl type instrument that made things interesting and weird. The group was trying to mimic the sounds of a nearby stream where they had wrote the song this summer.
Overall, both nights were fantastic. Although the band performed shorter sets that didn't exceed more than 1 hour and 30 minutes, sometimes you do not need a super long concert for an epic time. Elephant Revival are a folk group afterall and not a jam band, so it would make sense the group doesn't perform for an extended amount of time. Nonethless, everything about each night was perfect including great sound at both venues with an incredible visual display at the Dillon Amp.
A+
Photos by Jessica Lewis for Belly Up show coming soon
Setlist for night number one: Thursday, September 17 at Belly Up in Aspen, CO:
The Rakers
Stolen
Remembering
The Pasture
Furthest Shore
Hello You Who
When I Fall
Falls Rain>Will Carry On
Done wiht the Dimming
Tamlin
Oiamer Ni Mi
Rogue River
All Sides
Have a Cigar
Drop
Ring Around The Moon
Night Two: Friday September 19 at Dillon Amp all photos taken by Leo Pareti with a Samsung S26 Ultra:
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