Twiddle threw down in Denver, CO this weekend for two epic nights. Coming off of a notable show in St. Louis featuring two four-song sets the night before, the boys continued to bring the heat and offered up some deep jams in diverse styles that the Vermont band is known for. Within the Ogden Theatre, the energy was contagious, and there were smiles all around, both on stage and in the crowd. Fans lucky enough to be in attendance were treated to four heater sets across both nights as well as some awesome sit-ins from frends including Jaden Carlson from the Jaden Carlson Band, Taylor Frederick from Yamn, and their tour openers, the Kitchen Dwellers.
After the Kitchen Dwellers closed their set with “Rockin’ the Free World” (Fun Fact: Neil Young, who was also playing in Colorado for a two-night run in Telluride, also played this song toward the close of his night), the crowd was visibly amped for Twiddle’s first show back in Colorado since opening for the Disco Biscuits at Red Rocks in June. Twiddle kicked Friday night off with “Apples”, a lively way to start the evening and a crowd favorite, establishing that they were planning on bringing the heat for the weekend.
Following “Apples,” the band moved into “Amydst the Mist” and “The Caterpillar,” both of which featured particularly long improvisational sections that allowed the band to get deeper and more exploratory. Keeping on with the extended jamming, “Every Soul” also featured a particularly syncopated, slower, and rhythm-heavy sections that had the crowd’s stoke levels on high. The boys finished out Friday’s first set with “54-46,” a Toots and the Maytals cover, a tune that they’ve busted out in Colorado for the past four years.
Friday’s second set opener was “Atlantic Mocean” into “BBQ,” an ALO cover, into “White Light.” In keeping with the first set, “White Light” provided heavier, syncopated jams before pulling back into a lighter sound, and the band sounded particularly locked in for the tune. Keeping the energy building, the band moved into “Frankenfoote,” another crowd pleaser which had the whole Ogden grooving. Twiddle closed out the second set with “Hattie Jam’s” into “When It Rains, It Pours,” which they hadn’t busted out since their festival, Tumble Down, at the end of July. As with both nights, for the encore, the crowd was treated to the Kitchen Dwellers joining them on stage to close out the show. Together, Twiddle and the Dwellers played a bluegrassy version of “Mamunes the Faun,” which Mihali Savoulidis introduced as a “traditional Vermont drinking song.” This version showcased some energetic banjo, mandolin, guitar, and pianos solos, and fans left the Ogden amped on what Twiddle had planned for the next night’s show.
Watch Twiddle’s “Mamunes the Faun” with the Kitchen Dwellers below, courtesy of Adam Straughn.
Building off the excitement from the night before, Twiddle did not disappoint for their second and final night in Denver on Saturday. They started the night off with “Dusk ‘Til Dawn,” which featured Brook Jordan up front and center on the guitar, and the crowd was obviously very down with Brook stepping out from behind the drums. The band moved into the second song of the night, the dancey, upbeat “Bronze Fingers.” “Lost in the Cold” was another crowd favorite of the night, which was followed by “Grandpa Fox,” which was used as a vehicle for another long, improvisational jam. Twiddle closed out Saturday’s first set with a highly memorable and all-around super dope and jammy “Latin Tang” with some epic bass madness from Zdenek Gubb. During Tang, they invited their first friend of the night to join them in playing, Taylor Frederick from Yamn. Frederick took Savoulidis’s place on stage and treated the crowd to some epic shredding on the guitar before Mihali returned to finish out the song and the first set. The guitarist is also joining Eminence Ensemble as a new band member.
The second set of Saturday night kicked off with “Cabbage Face” and continued the momentum the band had built up during the first set and night before with a deeper and heavy jam. For Be There, the band welcomed Jaden Carlson to the stage. Carlson regularly sits in when the band is in Colorado, and always wows the crowd with her young age in addition to her extremely versatile musical talents. On Saturday, she threw down on guitar and finished out her appearance throwing down on the keys alongside Ryan Dempsey. To finish out their three-song second set, Twiddle went into a “Polluted Beauty,” which had the whole crowd smiling and grooving to end the night. For the encore, as with Friday, the Kitchen Dwellers joined them on stage, and they played a bluegrass-y rendition of “Mad World,” a Tears for Fears cover, which was the perfect way to close out the weekend.
If the Denver shows are any indication of what Twiddle’s got planned for the rest of their fall tour, fans residing in the west can expect the boys to bring their A-game. Twiddle will be hitting Durango, CO on Tuesday and Grand Junction, CO on Wednesday to finish off their last two Colorado dates before moving on to Salt Lake City, UT. You can find tickets and get more info on where the guys are headed on their website.
The full setlists can be seen below, as well as a full gallery courtesy of ATS Photography.
Setlist: Twiddle at The Ogden Theatre, Denver, CO – 9/30/16
Set I: Apples, Amydst The Mist, Caterpillar, Every Soul, 54-46 (What’s My Number) [1]
Set II: Atlantic Mocean > BBQ [2] > White Light, Frankenfoote, Hatti’s Jam > WIRIP
Encore: Mamunes [3]
[1] Toots & the Maytals cover
[2] ALO cover
[3] with the Kitchen Dwellers
Setlist : Twiddle at The Ogden Theatre, Denver, CO – 10/01/16
Set I: Dusk ‘Til Dawn [1], Bronze Fingers, Lost In The Cold, Grandpa Fox, Latin Tang [2]
Set II: Cabbage Face, Be There [3], Polluted Beauty
Encore: Mad World [4,5]
[1] Brook on guitar
[2] featuring Taylor Frederick on guitar
[3] featuring Jaden Carlson on guitar and piano
[4] Tears for Fears cover
[5] with the Kitchen Dwellers
