On Thursday evening, The Magic Beans hit Mile High Spirits in Denver, Colorado, marking their last Colorado gig before embarking on an extensive fall tour across the Eastern seaboard. The hometown crowd made their presence felt, packing the intimate distillery downtown Denver to maximum capacity. Coming off a high from two exceptional sets at Colorado’s own YarmonyGrass festival, The Magic Beans ripped through their two set show, offering the debut of three new Magic Beans originals along with playing a cover of Childish Gambino’s “Redbone” for the first time. Following two sold-out performances by Pigeons Playing Ping Pong last weekend in Colorado, bassist Ben Carrey decided to vacation before their highly anticipated LOCKN’ debut next weekend and assisted The Magic Beans on a second bass to close out the first set.

Shawn Swain of the Kitchen Dwellers got the night started off, debuting his newly formed side-project Halfway to Heinous, comprised of five talented bluegrass pickers trading off twangy solos with Montana’s finest mandolinist. With a venue packed shoulder-to-shoulder, alongside a jam-packed outdoor patio, the bluegrass sextet got the crowd on their feet in anticipation of a jam-filled night.

“Mr. Scientist” served as the shredder set opener, marking its debut as a brand-new and never-heard Magic Beans tune. The heavy and loaded jam is definitely one to add to your watch-list for the future, going out for a twenty-plus minute ride into dark and unknown bubbly territory, before abruptly diving into the biggest surprise of the night, a cover of Childish Gambino’s 2016 hit “Redbone.” Serving up unique and unexpected covers is one of The Magic Beans specialties, and this time was no exception, inviting the 400-person room to get down and boogie as keyboardist Casey Russell added the finest touch to a beautiful three-part harmony alongside guitarist Scott Hachey and bassist Chris Duffy.

With Hachey front and center with the infamous illuminating grin, the band dropped into “Always Cool,” setting a laidback vibe for the evening, as Russell locked in and led the quarter through a tropical and breezy rendition. As the favorite reached an accelerated peak, the band dove headfirst into “Country Girl,” a rarity that seems to almost never get dusted off the shelf. With full-fan approval and the band in full force, drummer Cody Wales kept it tight in the pocket as the playful and humorous lyrics brought an array of responses from faces throughout the crowd.

Another debut “Here On Out” made its Magic Beans debut, with Duffy leading the way backed by punchy bass lines and a feel-good groove, before Russell jumped into a swirling and fiery solo to bring it all back together. Hachey stepped to the front of the stage and boisterously invited up Pigeons Playing Ping Pong bassist Ben Carrey to close out the first set with double basses, kicking into “Hanky Panky” before gliding into the rather new fan-favorite “Dr. Bubbleman”, that has received the proper treatment time and time again that The Magic Beans have played it this year.

The Magic Beans returned after setbreak with “Gefiltefunk,” coasting through a psychedlic and sexy jam that set the tone for the remainder of the evening. With Hachey roaring on guitar, the four jedis navigated through expansive territory before landing back into “Gefiltefunk’s” bouncy main theme. “Mission” was up next, led by the bass heavy backbeat that Duffy and Wales have proven are the key-ingredient for The Magic Beans to psychedically transcend through time and space.

As Russell showered the crowd with sweet and delicate loops on the organ, Hachey brought it all back together before abruptly flying into “Sucka Blues.” The Magic Beans offered up the triumphant and bold rager, as Hachey commanded a precise and energized solo that climaxed through the roof of Mile High Spirits Distillery. The night came to a close with the third and final debut of the evening, “Inventor,” that continued to build and mirror the energy that The Magic Beans harnessed throughout the entirety of Thursday night’s journey. The four-song second set came to a halt, and the band thanked everyone for coming out, as some amazing sets simply don’t have time or space for an encore!

You can now listen to and purchase the full show audio here, exclusively on nugs.net.

Check out a full photo gallery from The Magic Beans’ intimate Mile High Spirits show below, courtesy of Gary Sheer.

Setlist: The Magic Beans | Mile High Spirits | Denver, CO | 8/17/2017

Set One: Mr. Scientist*, Redbone^> Always Cool, Country Girl, Here On Out*, Hanky Panky^^> Dr. Bubbleman^^

Set Two: Gefiltefunk> Mission> Sucka Blues, Inventor*

*Magic Beans Original Debut
^Childish Gambino cover (First Time Played)
^^ w/ Ben Carrey on second bass