Not enough can be said about how great this band really is.  Their unique mixture of jazz, funk, afrobeat and latin genres really congeals together nicely both in the studio and live on stage.  I find myself consistently scouring their tour dates to find any time they are remotely close to Colorado.

Having said that, this wasn’t one of their greatest shows, imo.  The band was a little looser than normal; horn lines slurred over beats rather than the preciseness that usually dominates throughout the melodies, the rhythm section didn’t quite have the tightness it normally has, and the sound was a bit muddy (not their fault though, Ogden Theater!)  I would also say that the band seemed very reserved, both in individual solos and the compositions overall.  If I’m honest, it looked like there was a little tension on stage, which may have been the reason that the full “Snarky Puppy” performance was barely over an hour long (minus the opening artist).  Did it have anything to do with the addition of Sirintip?

As is typical with an ever changing line-up, the band personnel was a little different than last time.  They’ve added a newer drummer–Jamison Ross, who seems to be equally as amazing as Larnell, JT and Robert.  Mark was the only guitarist (and my favorite), but didn’t really play a whole lot compared to other performances.  All three keyboardists were present, and the highlight was definitely seeing Shaun Martin throw down on his talk-box.  They pulled out a few tunes from their latest album, “Culcha Vulcha”–I’ve been waiting a bit to hear “Big Ugly” live, but then no epic keyboard solo with Shaun in the house?  They also played a few classic tracks from “We Like It Here”, including “What About Me?” and “Lingus” which did finally have the killer Shaun moog/talk-box solo we all had been waiting for.

The real juggernaut for me was the addition of Sirintip as the opener, with Snarky doing the backing band thing.  She is originally Thai, living her teen years in Sweden before coming to the U.S. and attending the Manhattan School of Music.  She certainly has some cool original stuff and sings in this haunting Bjork meets Stereolab style.  However, the music was super laid back and almost put me to sleep by the fourth number.  I get that Michael League just did an album with her and he is actively showcasing new artists (if not also promoting his record label) but imo, not the best choice of opening act.  Personally, I prefer to see the Puppy all on their own–it’s really difficult to open for such an incredible band, so why have an opener at all?

I gave this show 3.5 out of 5 stars.  Until next time I guess!