Jon Spencer Blues ExplosionReturning to Denver
by: Sal Christ
Saturday night at the Bluebird Theater was not an evening for the vertically challenged, but one didn’t need to see Jon Spencer, Judah Bauer, or Russell Simins to experience the heart-stopping, ear-splitting adventure that is the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. With a sweaty, almost punk-fueled kickoff, the band bent the energy around an almost full house where even the floor vibrated under the weight of every foot stomping in time with the beat.
When their album, Acme, hit shelves in 1998, I’d never heard anything quite like their brand of rock and roll. Amidst whatever cassette tapes and vinyl I’d pilfered from my folks, what came out of the speakers left stardust in my eyes. In short, for the loner in Wonder Bread suburbia who listened to college radio, the record found a place among all the classic rock I inherited from an uncle whose tastes ranged from Jimi Hendrix to Steppenwolf. Although the band hasn’t toured for a new studio album in several years, Saturday night was a conversation among old friends.
Gravelly guitar riffs paired with Simins’ unfailing schizophrenic drumming were spooning companions to Bauer’s exceptional harmonica seething and the oft warm and orange twang of old material and new: “Chicken Dog,” “Blues X Man,” and “Magical Colors” all made savory appearances over the course of the night. As Saturday night bled into Sunday morning, the band reiterated the point they’ve made since introducing the world to their deliciously rough turn on tunes: these musicians still create the blood that pumps through the veins of blues rock…in essence, they make and perpetuate the pulse.
Category: National News
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