Deep Banana Rattles the Mountains
The Campout in Colorado

by Bill Kuntz and Aimee Welch-Kuntz

Night one: 7/13/00 Fox Theatre - Boulder, CO

The crowd was going BaNaNaS in Boulder as DBB took the stage for the first night of a four night run in beautiful Colorado. You could feel the peel as people began to boogie down to the Fun-ky sounds that filled the FOX.  The first set was fun as special guest percussionist from the Boulder, CO band MOTET sat in on a couple of songs helping the band drift Deeper into the FUN-k.

The floor was wet with sweat as the first set ended. Everyone stepped outside into the cool Colorado night to get a breath of fresh mountain air before the beginning of the second set of the evening.

SET II started with a BAM! as the band cranked up ZAPPA's I'm da slime.  Fuzz was in complete control of the crowd with his heavy guitar licks and FUN-ky stage presence.

Da' Slime segued nicely intoB-fast>Getchall>VERGE. That  song had every ass in the joint movin'.  I could see Nothin' but booty shakin' and smiles from stage front to the back doors. With the close of VERGE, the percussionist from the Motet and Jessica the sax player from Living Daylights joined the band on stage for a full frontal funk assault. With special guest on stage the band went from the latin sounds of La Familia > Super bad. The keyboard player from Motet joined the band  on stage for an amazing key solo. The entire band had their eyes on this guy  as he took control of the song with his trippy, funky stylin's. Everyone  was watching this guys fingers dance across the keys.

EL Sol followed with a mind blowing solo from Jessica from Living Daylights. She had soooo much style. The solo was like an Egyptian style jam, and it was awesome. Jessica and Somerville were tradin' licks back & forth. The smiles on their faces grew and were contagious to the crowd, as everyone had on that "happy face".....sometimes known as funk face.

Fuzz's guitar playin' was on fire this night.  The band had the whole crowd under their spell as the entire Fox was singing the lyrics to the encore CUM-2-Getha'.

After being hit with this full-frontal funk attack, I must say, I was truly lookin' forward to the nights ahead.

Night Two: 7/14/00 The Gothic Theatre - Englewood, CO

First I want to say big props to The Living Daylights who opened for DBB in Boulder and Denver. That band is great, the three of them make so much noise and it was a great experience to see them. Thanks for the music and thanks DBB for turning us on to them.

What a Funktabulous venue. The Gothic Theatre in Denver is the perfect place to see a show. We were truly amazed not only by the beauty of the place but by the incredible sound, not only on the floor but in the balcony as well.  A five-tier balcony with a 1/2 moon shape bar at the top, plenty of seats, a good view, and terrific sound make the Gothic a unique venue.

Down to the front Bill and I scurried as the band took stage. Cy and Rob were playin' with some wind up toy baby that shot flames from it's mouth as it traveled across Cy's cosmic orgy. The band must have been ready for some fun.

Dale the drummer from The Living Daylights joined the band for what Bill considers to be Camp DBB's theme song Comin' around the Mountain > Homo Lingo which was followed by Hear my Song and then by Etta James' soulful Blind. For Blind Jen introduced Jessica from the Boulder band Chief Broom. As I heard her belt out "I would rather be blind" you could see the pain in her face and hear the pain in her voice. You could feel the soulfulness illuminating from her and pouring from her voice. YOU COULD FEEL IT if you know what I mean. Beautiful, soulful, and moving was what I thought when the song ended.  Thank you Jessica for such a wonderful addition to the evening it brought tears to our eyes.

The second set was energy packed. Sick Cy solo during Universal shortly after Dale and Jessica w/ The Living Daylights came on for B' Gock.  The sax jam was soooooo spacey. The crowd was going wild as Jen moved us once again with Acension and then put the funk in our trunk with Saturn. Getchall was next with Fuzz and Somerville trading licks with sax and guitar and gettin' crazy.

The band came back to the stage for a stirring rendition of Marvin Gaye's Can I Get a Witness with Cy doing a nice James Brown impression and Jen pointing out funk witnesses in the crowd.

What an incredible evening, hinting towards good things to come with Deep Banana Campout!

Nights Three and Four: Statebridge Lodge - Bond, CO

Where to even begin?

This place is located on the banks of the Colorado River some 30 miles north of Vail in the middle of the mountains.

We took the scenic route from Boulder up through the National Forest and then caught a 30 mile dirt road that took us directly to the lodge. What an amazing drive. We were two miles above sea level and the view was nothing short of breathtaking. The rain on the drive up dampened and plans for a hike on the way, but the sight of a massive elk with a rack of horns bigger then any I have seen made up for it.

As we rounded the corner we could see the camping area and, down the hill just a bit, The Statebridge Lodge and the adjoining cabins. The Statebridge Lodge is an old two story house that has been converted into a bar/restaurant with a patio deck/bar and a stage for live music. The venue is outside and still small enough to be considered intimate and right next door are kayak/raft rentals for trips down the Colorado. This little venue surrounded by the beautiful Rocky Mountains and nestled on the bank of the Colorado River is a must see for any music lover.  The only downfall are the trains that go by almost every hour. BTW if you are into the Jam Band scene check out this place's website. During the summer they host many weekends of music with the likes of Leftover Salmon, Darkstar Orchestra etc.

The eleven cabins were rustic yet comfortable, no running water but they did have electricity and a bath house was available. Perched on the mountain above the cabins were 3-4 teepees that the seasonal employees lived in.  These were not your typical teepees but I believe they were built in the traditional sense. Some had carpets and king sized beds and looked to be an incredible way to spend the summers in Colorado. Camping was FREE and primitive and hard to find a flat spot but the key word is free.

After fueling up with some food and meeting up with some friends, the Camp DBB experience was about to truly get under way.

The music, fun, and friends we were to meet that evening were superfunkalicious. The band hit the stage around 9:00 p.m. and played till around 2:00 a.m.

Saturday night the joint was packed. Partyin' people everywhere you looked and the deck was a bouncin'. First set was fun but only the beginning of the evening. Set break you expect everyone to disappear to their own places but everyone stayed on the deck sharin' stories, and smiles. This definitely set the mood for set II.

Second set was good stuff with highlights being Jen's beautiful pipes on Ballade>The Weight. Just Kissed My Baby was a fat set-ender.

The encore brought us God Made Me Funky > Red Hot Mama.  At one point I turned around to see the entire deck bouncin' up and down.   I thought the deck may collapse  it was shakin so hard. The energy for this was just OVER THE TOP and fueled  by the crowd, the band just jammed it out ssooooooooooooooooo hard on this  one.

The early morning hours after the show brought on sharing of the Colorado green very nice and kind is the word that comes to mind.

Up in the campground the party continued with some rave music, parties kickin' till dawn even the owners and employees.

The only rules at Statebridge Lodge are you can't leave the patio with beer or liquor.  Other then that everything goes.  and I mean EVERYTHING GOES. It was so completely cool.  Doing your own thang was more than cool as long it wasn't intruding on any one else. How beautiful to be able to share the green with some friends in a public place with no hassles or issues.

The people that who run the place and the people that worked there were nice, fun loving, partying people. Everyone who worked there seemed way into the music and the band as much as anyone who were there for the Campout. A special thanks to all the folks at Statebridge for "sharin' in the groove" with all of us.

Also a big whopping smooch to everyone we had the good fortune of meeting and hanging with this weekend. Every one of you made what was inevitably a great experience even more incredible. The best side effect of DBB shows are all the incredible folks you have the opportunity to hang with.

Sunday morning brought us a beautiful sunshine that chased the clouds away at least until late afternoon. Statebridge was a buzz not only with DBB fans but people there for the day just for some rafting. We were fortunate enough to be able to get a 2 man raft and made a short trip on a small part of the Colorado. No big rapids but lots on fun stuff that just added to the beauty of rafting down something like the Colorado River, not to mention tons of wild sage grows up in the mountains and the air is soooooooooooo fragrant that you just want to take big deep breaths all the time.

we were in our raft and we round the corner and saw all these people floating down the river in tubes as we get closer I saw many of the tubes were tied together and those are all tied to a 2 man raft such as the one we were in ourselves. Then I get closer and low and behold it was Fuzz paddling down the river with Cy, Somerville, Richie, Volo and many others trailing along.  We were still on the river at 4:00 when the show was supposed to start but no worries because we know that at least half the band is behind us on the river. The clouds begin to build and the sky looks like some ominous storms are in the near future. We got off the river and dried off and cleaned up for the evenings festivities which didn't end up starting until about 5:30 - 6:00 p.m. but this seemed to work into everyone's schedules perfectly.

I have to say I was incredibly beat-ass tired by Sunday because lack of sleep will usually do that to you but Sunday's show was the best of the four as far as I was concerned. So much fun dancing around the deck with fellow funk mobbers and Colorado locals alike.

Layin' the funk down early Jen stepped up to the mic and started off the evening with Rolling on the River lyrics with Somerville piping in with "Wasted". It seemed obvious that all had a great time cruising down the Colorado earlier in the day. The place was a rockin'. Doin it > Gotta Getcha was tore up. James Brown's I Feel Good 75 was so funked up. Shortly after, Jessica from Chief Broom was called to the stage for the second time in the Colorado run to sing Mercy Mercy (make everything all right).  Again this girl has got some lungs, and we got a chance to see the funkier side of her then the few nights earlier in Denver. She rocked the house.  The set ended a little Sanford and Son treat just as a sprikle of rain set in.

Taking to the stage for set II the rain had almost ended. B'Gock>Pass It Down>Rock Steady. Freaking mind blowing as Jen belted out Rock Steady and a full Rainbow appeared and stretched from mountain to mountain. The crowd and the beauty of the "Rock Steady Rainbow". What a grand site to behold this rainbow, the band, and all the groovin' people. This was a wonderful moment for all. Later in the set we were once again treated with Acension(sick Cy solo) followed by Preacher Man > Hits From the Bong. OOOOOOOOH the crowd goes NUTS as Johnny Wu takes the mic for the bong lyrics. Memphis>Move Over closed the set. Jen just sounded fabulous.

It was only appropriate that the Boot come down in Statebridge as there were hundreds of pairs of cowboy boots lining a shelf high above the Statebridge bar. As the Boot began a chair with boots painted all over it was passed to the stage and this was followed by Fuzz dropping his guitar to run in the bar and grab a Boot. The crowd was fueling the fire by singing the boot before the band even started to bring that boot down.

The final tune was a Merl Saunders song, instrumental, a beautiful tune to end a beautiful run of Deep Banana Blackout shows.

DBB just rocks the partay.  There ain't no two ways about it. If you are ever in Colorado check out the Statebridge and big thanks to everyone that made the Campout happen. We are ready for next year.