(Friday, April 28th 2023): The main auditorium at The Alberta Abbey is an impressive room. Looking up at the stage from the crowd, you see the towering ceiling and grandeur of a space designed in the 1920s to channel some sort of higher power. The once altar-bearing dais at the front of the room has been repurposed but achieves largely the same effect today.
Coloradan jam bands Rado and The Buzz showed up to the Abbey to open up a bill for hometown shred-lords Lost Ox. They quite literally brought the house down, loosening one of the wall panels above the stage nearly falling right on top of the drummer. Luckily no walls, instruments, or people were significantly damaged. The sound and feel of the night was explosive.
The rocky mountain boys were spacey, funky, ethereal, and electric. The Buzz, composed of two guitarists, a bassist, and a drummer, got things started. Rado, substituting a second guitarist for a keys player, followed up. One might’ve thought upon seeing Lost Ox take the stage at the end of the night as a three-piece that they might struggle to produce a sound as full as the previous acts. All doubters were silenced.
Lost Ox at its core may only be three thirty-something jam band dudes, (lead guitarist Dylan DiSalvio, drummer Scot Cowherd, and bassist Reed Bunnell) but together they ascend towards nirvana, complimenting each other perfectly. Dylan can do it all, Scot bangs and Reed is nasty with it. Oh, and they all sing lead too. Rhythm, harmony, and melody come in force from each limb of the tree.
That being said, sometimes they say “f*ck all that” and bring up other incredible musicians to support them. They brought up trombone and sax players Jeff Chilton and JD Erickson for a few tunes. The horns provided a really nice boost and a fresh breath of timbre. Lost Ox is a band that guarantees people in the crowd will be on their feet dancing and having a good time. In a repurposed church hall, there’s not much more one could desire.
