photos and video by Kyle Green (BakedFreshDaily.com) and Brett Johnston (TAG)

TAG Team party pics from Gillioz

Matisyahu at Gillioz Theatre

Matisyahu

Matisyahu Unplugged

Jah Roots Band

Jah Roots Band 2

SSLYBY, The Skeletons and New Monsters Collective kept a full Outland Ballroom moving on Saturday night.

On the tail end of the release of their new album Let It Sway, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin teamed up with classic SGF rock band The Skeletons and the up-and-coming New Monsters Collective for a great night of music at the Outland Ballroom.

With a little duct tape for a broken bow New Monsters Collective revved the Ballroom engine as the crowd started to fill the room. The differences in instrumentation (moving cello and classical piano riffs) are refreshing. It’s always a high energy show with emotion oozing from Melissa the group’s “singing guitar monster”.

The Skeletons jammed the Andy’s Frozen Custard theme song, and joked with the much younger crowd, including some playful flirting which provoked a lot of laughter. But the bottom line is these guys still shred a couple decades after their “peak”. It was fun to see the kids with “M”-marked hands react to the sounds. If looked like they didn’t know what to expect, but ended up dancing their asses off. As SSLYBY guitarist and singer John Robert Caldwell told the crowd, “a lot of you don’t know that you just witnessed a piece of history.” If you missed this show, you might have to bide your time for the next one. They played their last free Monday show at the Outland after a summer chalked full of the weekly party.

SSLYBYs Phil Dickey (left) and John Robert Caldwell playing "In Pairs" at the Outland Ballroom.

SSLYBY played a good balance of songs from their trio of albums, though the bulk of the set showed from the new (becoming) highly acclaimed, Let It Sway. The Broom classics are slowly getting stacked on the shelf as it only appeared a couple times. Pangea and House Fire drew the usual explosive response, before they pulled out Anne Elephant for the encore. Back in the Saddle, In Pairs and the title track, Sink/Let It Sway led the way off the newest album which, as mentioned earlier, has great reviews pouring in.

TAGsgf.com music editor Chris DeRosier was among the first to review Let It Sway, but here’s what national writers have been saying (as compiled on the SSLYBY Facebook page):

Enough talk, here’s nibbles of what you missed at the show:

Drury

Oh, the monotonousness! Holiday programs get so old so quick every winter. It’s hard to stomach more than one children’s choir or Andy Williams special in just one season. But, ALAS!, each year holds one concert that consistently breathes fresh life and people are starting to notice.

Drury’s annual Christmas Vespers concert is what the director of DU’s music program, Dr. Allin Sorenson, calls a “coming together of a community of musicians.” Sunday’s concert hosted a packed house in its move back to Stone Chapel. A series of renovations to the historic site allowed the return which was so well received many latecomers got turned away when standing room crowds lined even the stairwells. “I wonder how much of that was because we went back to chapel. When the news hit, people started coming back out of the woodwork. It’s such a great space for (Vespers).”

The concert has a long-running tradition, but records can’t keep up historically. Sorenson said he’s unsure of how long it’s run, but can confirm there have been at least years of Vespers. Maybe “show” isn’t appropriate for what took place on Dec. 6. That term may better suit other regional holiday music programs, most of which perform a play or a rendition of “Messiah” with no participation. Part of Vespers’ charm is the give-and-take. Viewers aren’t merely that. “People get to participate. They get to sing carols. We perform music people like and is familiar.”

There are 81 singers included among three choral groups (Concert Choir – ensemble open to all Drury students; Drury Singers – a select group which travels, including yearly world tours; Chamber Choir – a 12-member group auditioned from Singers), all of which keep very flexible, as they added music just days before. One member of Singers heard the Concert Choir was performing a rendition of “Carol of the Bells” and wanted to join. “It was a last-minute addition, something everybody knows and is a lot of fun for both the performers and the audience.” Vespers ran just more than an hour and closed with the floor-level crowd surrounded by all singers to a classic medley of “Night of Silence” into “Silent Night” – in which everybody joined.

“(Vespers) is something we can give to the community that we enjoy as well,” Sorenson said. “It’s really nice to see so many people from the community and Drury get together.” While a great holiday concert can be tough to find, pencil Vespers into your 2010 calendar.

Come back to this post, as an MP3 from Sunday’s performance should be here in the next couple days. (nudge, nudge Doc)