Concert Review: Lampedusa: Concerts for Refugees 10/6/16 at the Boulder Theater

Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Buddy Miller, and the Milk Carton Kids kicked off their 11-stop “Lampedusa: Concerts for Refugees” tour with a tremendous, intimate performance Thursday night at the Boulder Theater. Seated together on stage, the artists swapped stories, played one another’s songs, and joked with the audience giving the show a balanced atmosphere of lightheartedness while still addressing the more serious purpose of the tour: shedding light on the continuing global refugee crisis of over 65 million people forcibly displaced from their homes.  After spending time in Ethiopia last year with the Jesuit Refugee Service, Emmylou Harris took it upon herself to champion this critical cause and even named the tour after the Italian island Lampedusa off the Sicilian coast that serves as a waypoint for refugees from North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia wanting to enter Europe. 

Taking turns playing songs by themselves and at times together, Emmylou Harris was as ravishing and fantastic as I’ve ever seen her, Earle sounded terrific especially in a beautiful performance of “Pilgrim,” Buddy Miller’s guitar playing was magnificent, and the Milk Carton kids were an excellent complement to their storied counterparts, bringing a gorgeous acoustic sound and sprinkling in witty banter that had the audience and fellow artists laughing throughout the entirety of the evening.  Hearing this lineup together on stage was truly a treat and a unique experience that will likely never happen again in quite the same manner.  This short tour through the month of October is surely one not to be missed and is a terrific opportunity to support an organization working to address a serious and deadly humanitarian crisis.

            -Kevin Powers

Steve Earle - Twist and Shout May 5, 2011

This was our third in-store with Steve Earle and as soon as he entered the store with trusted road manager and sound engineer he seemed at ease and friendly. He is comfortable talking about normal stuff like baseball, guitars, burritos and TV, but he is equally at home with geo-politics, chaos-theory or union history; he is a thoughtful, intelligent, interesting man. Armed with his never-absent diet Dr. Pepper he took the stage at 7:05 p.m. for a spine-chilling 45 minute set that leaned heavily on his new album I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive, but also included songs from all phases of his career like “Jerusalem,” “Copperhead Road” and the unreleased cover of the Hank Williams song that is the title of his new album. As usual he had plenty on his mind. He talked about the death of Osama Bin Laden, the immigration issue, New Orleans - you name it, he had an opinion and he wasn’t ashamed to share it. That ultimately is Steve Earle’s greatest strength; he has a conscience and it isn’t compartmentalized from his art. He walks the walk and talks the talk. I for one am glad we have him - there aren’t enough like that anymore. The crowd ate up every second of it, staying after to have him autograph and shake hands, his audience totally gets what is great about this guy. We had over 300 people for the event and sold 46 deluxe and 115 regular versions of the new CD. In addition we sold 6 copies of his Record Store Day 7” and 16 copies of his new novel. I can honestly say we love Steve Earle.

- Paul Epstein

Photo by John Hendrickson from http://www.heyreverb.com/

Steve Earle at Twist & Shout

Sometimes you just run out of superlatives. But let me give it a try. Steve Earle came to Twist and Shout last night and proved to be one of the absolute greats. He showed up a bit early, so I had a chance to talk to him for a few minutes. What an incredibly humble and approachable guy. For someone as multi-talented (Singer/Songwriter, actor, writer, poet, etc) he has almost no star pretension. He just seems like a very normal guy. Obviously his colorful past belies that he was always thus, but now he was most interested in talking about green chile, fishing and sports. After watching him sign about two hundred autographs I heard him speak expertly about a lot of subjects with no hesitation. He is a smart and engaging person.
When he has a guitar in his hands and is standing in front of an audience, he is an extraordinary person. Last night, he played about an hour-long set that had the audience holding its breath in ecstasy. Focusing heavily on songs from his new album of Townes Van Zandt songs Townes as well as a few of his own - most of them about Townes or Colorado - he put every ounce of feeling and heart into every moment, singing with his eyes closed and kicking the wooden stage with his boots to punctuate songs (and knock over water bottles). It was magic. I have to say I think it might have been the best in-store ever. I don’t know, I often feel that way right after an in-store, but this one was really a different animal. The audience of over three hundred was in the palm of his hand as he talked about his friend and mentor Townes as well as his feelings about politics. He is a truly committed liberal who doesn’t just speak out when it is safe. Shortly after 9-11 we hosted him on his The Revolution Starts Now tour and he was just as outspoken - at a time when it wasn’t so safe. But that is Steve Earle. He is never worried about what people want or expect, he is true to his heart and his art.
All the parts came together to make it a special evening. The label (New West) and distribution company (RED) did a lot with few resources and the audience responded by buying over a hundred and fifty copies of the new album. Steve Earle himself gave his time and talent generously and performed a set that nobody in the room will soon forget.