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Live at Twist and Shout CDs from Jason Isbell, Ben Harper, and John Butler!
Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit - Live At Twist and Shout
The third release bearing the “Live At Twist and Shout” moniker, and
the quality just doesn’t let up. Former Drive-By-Trucker Isbell is a
superb songwriter and a totally distinctive vocalist. His band The 400
Unit just tears it up and this release will prove that to a lot of people.
Every time I have played this CD either alone, or at the store or for
friends it has created a kind of mystical emotional gauze that fills the
room with a warm honeyed hue. It really does make people stop and
say “who is this guy? This is great.” The “Live At Twist And Shout” disc
gives the most well-rounded view of this important artist yet. It
contains 3 Drive-By Truckers songs, 2 songs from his great solo album
Sirens of The Ditch and a spot-on cover of Van Morrison’s
“Into The Mystic.” His choice of Van Morrison is appropriate because, at
his best, Isbell occupies the same rarified space as Morrison. Southern
fried instead of Celtic soul, but an artist who is capable of transporting
the listener to a unique and special place. I have loved each of the Live
at Twist releases, but this one could be the most important because it
helps define a great artist. I highly suggest it to all.
Paul Epstein
Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals - Live At Twist & Shout
This indie-store only exclusive contains a CDC/DVD of Ben Harper and
the Innocent Criminals, performing from the new album
Lifeline at Twist and Shout in Denver Colorado on August 30,
2007. A must-have for any Ben Harper fan this holiday season (and
beyond!)
Denver is a storied live music town. The industry names — Barry Fey,
Chuck Morris, Paul Epstein and others — are as important as the
legendary local venues, past and present, including Red Rocks, the
Rainbow Music Hall, the Fillmore Auditorium, Ebbets Field and the 15th
St. Tavern.
And so it's fine news to see more music coming out of Colorado, not
only in terms of local acts such as the Fray, Photo Atlas and Meese —
but also in the form of international acts recording live CDs here and
spreading the good word of Denver and its intense love of music.
These two releases are tight examples of what can be done with some
solid relationships and a lot of drive. Twist & Shout records, in its new
location on East Colfax Avenue for more than a year now, is a
legitimate venue, with mobile record racks making room for the fans
and framed rock pictures and posters adding some ambience.
Kudos to Twist & Shout's Epstein and Dawn Greaney for making it such
a pleasant place to see a rock show.
Butler's six-song EP is a must-have for fans, a tight recording of a
lively, brisk set. But the Harper two-disc set is especially impressive.
The six-song EP, including a soulfully moving "Fool For a Lonesome
Train," has crisp sound that will undoubtedly encourage other bands to
record here. The accompanying DVD, directed by local filmmaker Mike
Drumm, captures the exciting, stripped-down performance with a
knowing elegance.
- Ricardo Baca, Denver Post
Click
here to watch a Youtube video of Ben Harper's thoughts on Twist &
Shout.
John Butler - Live At Twist & Shout
On Friday, June 29th at 6:00 P.M. we opened the doors to a MUCH
bigger crowd than we had anticipated. Almost 400 people crammed in
and exploded when the little guy with the big heart and bigger talent
stepped on to the stage. He held the crowd rapt for an hour, playing
guitar, slide guitar and banjo and mesmerizing all in attendance with
his instrumental chops, skill and moving lyrics. We really can’t
remember an instore that was as much of a success as this one. The
music was great, the crowd responded with roaring enthusiasm (and
by buying a hundred John Butler CD's), and the entire proceedings
were recorded professionally for the Live At Twist & Shout
release. This was a great one.
- Paul Epstein
One of the reasons Twist & Shout has been Denver's premier music
store for the past couple of decades is its tendency to look to the
future and give music fans the things they really want. Thus it provides
plenty of in-store music performances to bring out the hard-core.
Now it's taken it a step further with the release of the first two discs in
the Live at Twist & Shout series. Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
get the full treatment - audio disc, DVD, the full band in unplugged
mode. John Butler performs solo acoustic on a one-disc affair. Both
performances prove that they should definitely be preserved - and
besides, all these in-store performances are taped by fans, anyway.
Why not give it professional sound and presentation?
Butler is a fantastic guitarist, and he makes the most of just over 40
minutes of playing time, wasting not a minute to cut into vibrant
versions of Used To Get High and Treat Yo Mama.
But the Harper package is a delight. Denver video producer Mike
Drumm oversaw the DVD shoot, wisely choosing to go low-tech
(there's not even a menu). Carefully selecting camera angles and
avoiding the cliches of swooping camera shots, he manages to capture
the in- store feel at Twist & Shout - to use my own cliche, the next-
best thing to being there. There are six audio songs and seven on the
video, but only two repeat, so it's a total of 11 strong live
performances.
More releases are in the pipeline for a series that one hopes will stick
around for a long, long time.
- Mark Brown, Rocky Mountain News
