Following their headlining performance at Winter Wondergrass Tahoe this past weekend, mandolinist Paul Hoffman and dobro player Anders Beck have set aside some time to focus on a special side project dubbed the Phoffman/Beck Quartet before resuming their extensive touring schedule with Greensky Bluegrass. For the quartet, the duo has also tapped guitarist Billy Strings and bassist Samson Grisman, with the stacked ensemble commencing their four-night Colorado run yesterday at the Fox Theatre in Boulder.

Last night’s show in Boulder was a fiery way to start the PHAB Four’s run, setting the bar high with the quartet shredding through a Greensky-heavy setlist chock full of fun teases. The four musicians are all accomplished in their own right, but together they were a powerful force. Seeing that level of high-caliber musicianship is always a pleasure to watch, with the crowd enraptured as they handily tossed solos between them and built songs to a frenzy.

While many Greensky songs were featured throughout the night, mostly from If Sorrow Swims, Handguns, and Greensky’s latest album, Shouted, Written Down, and Quoted, the setlist by no means was constrained, with some of the highlights of the evening being the group tackling “Johnny B. Goode” as a tribute to Chuck Berry and sandwiching “Them Changes” within “Don’t Lie.” Perhaps one of the most exciting moments of the night was a “Tweeprise” tease during “Meet Me at the Creek,” which had phans in the audience freaking out for Phish. Billy Strings won many fans last night as well, both with his agile guitar stylings and a newer song of his, “Tinfoil & Turmoil,” which ended the first set and was teased during the second.

The feeling of the night was jovial, with all the musicians in high spirits, joking around with one another in between songs and clearly glad to kick off the Quartet’s mini-tour. The audience was clearly loving it as well, with the crowd singing along to songs and filling the Fox with a general sense of camaraderie. Toward the end of the second set, Paul Hoffman admitted to having a cold, which was somewhat of a shock considering his consistently powerful vocals throughout the evening. For “Windshield,” he asked fans to help out with the chorus of the Greensky tune, and fans enthusiastically obliged, serving as a perfect way to begin to wrap up the evening. The show ended with a two-song encore, during which Lindsay Lou, Joshua Rilko and Mark Lavengood of opening act, Lindsay Lou & The Flatbellys, joined the Quartet on stage as a communal way to send off the audience.

The ensemble will continue on to Fort Collins tonight for a performance at the Aggie Theatre before heading westward tomorrow, where they’ll spend their Friday night with a sold-out show at Frisco’s Barkley Ballroom with Coral Creek. To wrap up their Colorado run, the Phoffman/Beck Quartet will hit Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom with Grant Farm. You can check out a gallery from the Quartet’s show at the Fox last night, courtesy of photographer C. B. Klein, as well as a full setlist from last night’s show, courtesy of Lucas White from Camp Greensky.


Setlist: Phoffman / Beck Quartet with Billy Strings and Samson Grisman| Fox Theatre | Boulder, CO | 4/5/2017

Set One: The Four, Dust in a Baggie, Burn Themseeds, Fixin’ to Ruin, Meet Me at the Creek (1), Nine Days, Johnnie B Goode, Breaking Thru, Tinfoil & Turmoil

Set 2: Takin’ A Slow Train, In Control, Broke Mountain Breakdown 》That’s How Strong My Love Is, A Letter to Seymour, I’d Probably Kill You, Red Rocking Chair (2), Windshield, Don’t Lie (3)(4) 》Them Changes 》Don’t Lie

Encore: Two Hands (5)(6)(7), Sittin” On Top of the World (6)

(1) “Tweezer Reprise” jam, (2) “Purple Haze” tease, (3) “Tinfoil & Turmoil” tease, (4) “Foxy Lady” tease, (5) Single Mic, (6) With Lindsay Lou, Joshua Rilko and Mark Lavengood, (7) “Them Changes” tease