Burlington, Vermont experienced a double dose of Greensky Bluegrass over the weekend as they banged out two steamy performances at Higher Ground. With their sixth studio album release, Shouted, Written Down & Quoted, the band busted out a slew of new songs for fans to savor.
Both shows featured Portland, Oregon based quintet, Fruition, slaying away at their instruments as the show opener. During their rockin’ sets, Anders Beck of Greensky joined in for the fun with his dobro. They were a perfectly matched opener to warm up the crowd before the main event. On Saturday night, Fruition’s keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Kellen Asebroek wore a “Don’t Let Anders Sing” t-shirt, clearly poking a little fun at Beck of Greensky. On both nights, this band tore up the house, making sure fans got charged up from the energy their music was throwing out. Tunes off their latest album, Labor of Love, made it on to the set both nights, kicking the vibe into high gear. Greg Burns, who runs sound for Greensky, jumped on stage and busted out “Santa Fe” on vocals. Saturday night was the final show of a three night run with Greensky, so they made sure to get the crowd riled up with their spirited sets, crammed with raw, harmonious melodies.
Greensky Bluegrass opened up the Friday show with two debut songs off their new album, “Run or Die,” followed by “Room Without A Roof.” What a way to begin the first of two nights in the Green Mountain State. First set brought out highly charged tunes, including “The Four,” heavy fan favorite “Windshield,” and a few more of their new songs, including “Miss September” and “Living Over.” Mimi Naja of Fruition joined the band on stage, and took the lead on vocals for “Wings For Wheels,” and remained there as the group took the set to a close with “Worried About The Weather.”
Several songs off their last album, If Sorrows Swim, showed up second set, beginning with quick paced “A Letter To Seymour.” It took things off with a bang, before sliding into a tender “In Control.” Mid-set was jammed with intensely tight tunes. Greensky has a way of creating beautifully crafted melodies, heavy with energy that exude emotions, captivating fans in a way that no other band can do, simply based on their crisp and authentic jamgrass style of music. Tyler Thompson joined in on drums with “Jaywalking” before The Allman Brothers “Midnight Rider” brought the set to an extraordinary end. Encore on Friday had Thompson remaining to help bring the show to a close with Rayland Baxter’s powerful “Yellow Eyes,” featuring lyrics that hit the audience to the core. Night one was just a robust taste of what night two would bring.
Saturday night was simply unbelievable. Once again, they unleashed songs from the new album they’ve never played before, including “Hold On” and “More of Me.” A delightful version of Traveling Wilburys’ “Handle With Care” peaked around the corner, keeping the audience guessing and cheering with elation. Joshua Davis’ “Dustbowl Overtures” creeped up, keeping the party going in the venue. The audience was dripping with animated emotion, going nuts with every tune that cranked along.
Townes Van Zandt’s “White Freightliner Blues” steamed along, slamming into “Forget Everything,” followed by “Broke Man Breakdown” which evolved into Jimi Hendrix’s “The Wind Cries Mary.” Holy hell what a sick song to blow up before bringing first set to a close, allowing the audience to catch their breath.
After a short half hour break, the show got underway with a barn burning “Take Cover” before strolling into “Fixin’ to Ruin.” Tight tones, and serious interaction with each musician made it impossible not to dance around the room. These guys know how to get an audience up and at ’em with their raw energy and unbelievable talent. Who would have guess that Dire Straits would emerge throughout the evening, but that’s exactly what happened. Everyone in the place was singing along, including the bartenders and security staff.
Towards the end of second set, the members of Fruition came out, bringing the house down with a packed stage. Fruition’s “There She Was” had the venue literally throwing up their arms and hollering out excitement at what was seriously going down on stage. All members stayed on stage to help bring the set to a thundering close with “Demons,” followed by “Frederico.”
The most incredible encore they’ve probably ever performed blew fans away. Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” into “War Pigs” was jaw dropping. There wasn’t a person in the place who was not in awe of the musical moment they were experiencing.
Watch video of the covers, courtesy of Troy Laur.
The brilliant light displays all night long, added with the crazy insane set list, had fans leaving on a high note with minds blown. They continue to produce dazzling shows with a beautiful array of lights and lasers bouncing off the walls. Now that Greensky Bluegrass has a new album on the shelves, make sure to hit up one of their shows in the near future. Prepare to be mystified.
The full setlists from both nights can be seen below, courtesy of Camp Greensky’s Lucas White.
Setlist: Greensky Bluegrass at Higher Ground, Burlington, VT – 9/23/16
Set 1:
Run or Die (1)
Room Without a Roof (1)
Living Over
The Four
A Day in the Life >
Windshield
How Mountain Girls Can Love
For Sure Uh Huh
Miss September
Wings for Wheels (2)(3)
Worried About the Weather (2)
Set 2:
Letter to Seymour
In Control
Can’t Stop Now (4)
Burn Them
Against the Days (5)
Train Junkie (6)
Merely Avoiding
Leap Year
Jaywalking (7)(8)
Midnight Rider (7)
E:
Yellow Eyes (7)
(1) First time played
(2) With Mimi Naja
(3) Mimi Naja on lead vocals
(4) Anders on vocals during call and repeat
(5) Lyric change “For Sure Uh Huh”
(6) “The Other One” tease prior to song
(7) With Tyler Thompson
(8) “Foxy Lady” tease
Setlist: Greensky Bluegrass at Higher Ground, Burlington, VT – 9/24/16
Set 1:
Past My Prime
Hold On (1)
More of Me (1)
Handle with Care (2)
Dustbowl Overtures
Bottle Dry
White Freightliner Blues
Forget Everything Else
Broke Mountain Breakdown 》(3)
Wind Cries Mary 》
Broke Mountain Breakdown
Set 2:
Take Cover
Fixin’ to Ruin
Money for Nothing
Before Bring Our Your Dead 》
Bring Out Your Dead
For Sure Uh Huh
Old Barns (4)
While Waiting
Don’t Lie (5)(6)
There She Was (7)(8)(9)
Demons (7)(10)
Frederico (7)
E:
Whole Lotta Love (11) 》
War Pigs (11)(12) 》
Whole Lotta Love (11)(13)
(1) First time played
(2) “Runaway Jim” teases
(3) “Miss September” teases
(4) Fast version
(5) “While Waiting” tease
(6) “War Pigs” tease
(7) With Fruition
(8) “Shakedown Street” tease
(9) Without Mike Devol
(10) Jay Cobb Anderson on lead vocals
(11) With Jay Cobb Anderson, Kellen Asebroek and Tyler Thompson
(12) “Whole Lotta Love” quotes
(13) “War Pigs” verses sang on top
For more information on the band, along with tour dates, please visit their official website.
Photography and words by Sarah Bourque.
