Reviews
Reverend Payton + Brianna Straut @ Globe Hall
August 28th, 2021
Words by Martin Smith
Photos by Melissa Evans
The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band brought their high energy country blues to The Globe Hall in Denver, CO on Saturday night. They got right down to business as Reverend Peyton said “we’re going to keep going and play as many as we can in the time allotted” and they surely did, playing several tunes from their recently released album ‘Dance Songs for Hard Times’ including “Ways and Means”, “Too Cool to Dance”, “Come Down Angels” and others. The band has only three members, Reverend Peyton singing and guitar, Washboard Breezy on, of course, the washboard, and Max Senteney on drums which incorporate a 5-gallon bucket. Their sound is so much bigger than a three-piece maybe in part to Reverend Peyton’s style of guitar playing where he plays the bass line with his thumb while still playing lead and mixes in the guitar slide on almost every song. It makes it sound like three guitars when it is only just one. It is safe to say that Reverend Peyton loves his guitars, bringing a total of seven on stage which he switched between for nearly every song. He admitted his current favorite is the handmade custom cigar box style one. Look for these guys to be touring with ZZ Top soon. They are extremely excited about it. Rev even has a voicemail from Billy Gibbons he might play for you.
Brianna Straut opened the show with beautiful folk tunes. She is a brilliant singer songwriter and played a wonderful stripped down set with just her and another guitarist. She had recently cut her foot so she had to play from a seated position which you could tell was not her favorite as she looked like she wanted to jump up out of her seat and dance around the stage as she sang her songs. She surely made some new fans on the night with her captivating voice, emotional storytelling, and sweet americana folk songs. She is local so look for her around the Denver area.
Jeshua Marshall + Grant Sabin + Andreas DeValera @ Goosetown Tavern
August 26th, 2021
Words by Martin Smith
Photos by Melissa Evans
Jeshua Marshall with his older brother Jamin along with Grant Sabin and Andreas DeValera took to the stage on Wednesday night at Goosetown Tavern for a very intimate rock n' roll show. The Marshall brothers were founding members of the fast paced americana acoustic punk band Larry and His Flask, and they brought that same energy to the kickoff tour of Jeshua’s solo venture. Jeshua danced around the stage at a frenetic pace rockin’ out with his guitar, throwing his long hair around, and literally bouncing off the walls while Jamin jammed out on the drums. The brothers formed LAHF in Oregon, where Jeshua still lives, but the Denver show felt like a home-game. Jamin, who now lives locally, packed the place with friends, family and fans from all around Colorado. Jeshua played a lot of new music from his album “Shoot the Moon”, coming out later this year, including his single “No More” which is a great protest song he collaborated on with Pedro Erazo of Gogol Bordello. To the delight of the crowd, they even played several LAHF songs, a Gogol cover, and Grant Sabin joined them on stage for a few.
Grant Sabin played an awesome electric blues set before Jeshua came out. This guy has a lot going for him, resembling Freddy Mercury and playing some truly powerful blues. He always had his guitar slide at the ready and threw in a harmonica from time to time. Jamin joined Grant on stage offering drum accompaniment. It is safe to say Grant definitely made a lot of new fans after this performance.
Andreas DeValera opened the show with his beautiful singer songwriter folk tunes. He played some of his original tunes, including some of his earlier work, that he claimed had juvenile lyrics but ended up being very relatable. He said he loved the sound so he plays them anyway. Andreas also covered a John Prine and a Townes song that endeared him to the crowd so much that he played an unexpected encore, which is not the most common occurrence for a show opener.
Charley Crockett + Jenny Don’t and The Spurs - Night 2 @ Globe Hall
July 24th, 2021
Words by Martin Smith
Photos by Melissa Evans & Brock Masterson
Cowboys, hippies, and punks young and old descended on the Globe Saturday night in Denver to see Charley Crockett perform in an intimate venue far smaller than he usually plays these days. The Globe Hall only holds 250 people, so those in attendance were treated to an amazing up-close and personal performance. The staff at the Globe even joked that they were not sure where they would be able to park a sixty-foot tour bus.
The floor was shaking as the crowd was stompin’ their heels and singing along with Charley’s unique style of country music which is mixed with a little bit of soul, blues, funk, and western swing. He looked cool as hell in his vintage style western shirt and polyester pants as he danced around the stage playing his guitar in a way reminiscent of Dwight Yoakam. The San Benito native is one hell of a storyteller too. He entertained the audience between songs with stories from his childhood in his strong southern texas drawl that is almost hypnotic. Charley and his band sang hits like his “Hard Times”, Tanya Tucker’s “Jamestown Ferry”, and paid homage to James “Slim” Hand with “Midnight Run” and there was even a sweet moment during the show when Charley dedicated his rendition of “How I Got to Memphis” to his girlfriend who was standing on the side of the stage. Crockett’s backing band killed it with guitar, drums, bass, pedal steel, keys, and trumpet. When the band came out for the acoustic encore they all huddled around the mic and brought out the squeezebox. He joked about how the band members are “fined” if they mess something up and he holds himself to the same standard saying he screwed up so many times that night he might not have any money left from the show, but the crowd was having so much fun that nobody seemed to notice or care. Charley even got a little controversial as he made jokes about CO vs TX BBQ and that the only way he could eat CO BBQ was with some hot sauce. (Editor’s note: Everybody knows KC BBQ is actually the best.)
Jenny Don’t and the Spurs, out of Portland, OR, opened up the show with a country-heavy rockabilly sound. Jenny has an amazing voice and it was on full display Saturday night as she sang sweet Patsy Cline-esque traditional country songs, faster honky tonkin' tunes, and murder ballads. She has a great stage presence with a silly sexy vibe and it's easy to see that she and the band are insync and polished after playing together for several years. She belted out her country tunes and made a lot of new fans, especially when she changed the lyrics of her “California Cowboy” song to “Colorado Cowboy.” She also debuted one of her new songs, “Right From the Start”, which will officially be released later this year.
This show was an extremely unique opportunity to see a huge national act and country star like Charley Crockett who has no problem selling out venues with a much larger capacity. The Globe Hall, unlike many other venues of its size, puts on a seriously professional show. The sound quality alone is worth the price of admission. I can see this quickly becoming one of Whiskey and Wax Trax’s favorites venues in Denver.
