Twiddle lit up the Rockies during their three night run in Frisco, Colorado, dubbed “Somewhere On the Mountain”. January 17-19, the boys played six incredible sets at 10 Mile Music Hall for the first time. With whiteout conditions rolling through the mountains on Friday night, travelling into Frisco proved treacherous for some, but once the weather broke and the band played, there was not a care in the world for the 750 or so people who had made the journey for this momentous occasion.

They started off the night with “River Drift”, segued into the beloved “Jamflowman.” Wedged in there was a stormy rendition “Dinnerfork.” You could feel the fatigue and cold that had been tracked in with us from the outside start to melt away, and as the band kicked it into gear with “Carter Candlestick”, the crowd went crazy. The epic tale of “Frankenfoote” was up next, while sing-a-long favorite “Earth Mama” followed, and the set closed with a beautiful performance of “Honeyburste”.

They wasted no time getting right to the heart of the audience during the second set. “Syncopated Healing” boasted a lovely, extended jam between Mihali Savoulidis and Ryan Dempsey, slowly building up to an explosion of blissful light that parallels the song’s uplifting lyrics. From there, the boys put a brick on the gas pedal, not letting up until the night was over. The jazzy, rarely played “Beehop” segued into “Mamunes the Fawn” that included a sit-in by the band’s friend Scott Rednor on guitar. “Wasabi Eruption” led into a fiery version of “The Box” that included “Eye of the Tiger” teases, amping up the audience for the funk fest that was about close out the night. “Every Soul” went into the brand new song, “Slippin the Kitchen”. Zdeneck Gubb really cleaned up during the last two songs, dropping bass lines that left the crowd completely floored. They encored with “Lost in the Cold”, leaving us with warmth in our hearts and anticipation of what was to come tomorrow.

Saturday’s show was sold out, resulting in a packed venue and sky-high energy levels. First up was “Enter”> “Orlando’s”, which got us grooving. They went into a wicked “Apples” then “Funky Town”, which was mostly instrumental. “Dr. Remidi’s Melodium” was a nearly 20-minute ride that continued the dance party, with showcases from every member of the band. They wrapped up “Apples” then finished “Orlando’s”, followed by “Admyst the Mist”. The last song of the set was “Life Back Now’, which is new and was played for the first time out west.

“Ricky Snickle” started off the second set, followed by a beautiful “Moments”. “White Light” segued into the rare treat “Atlantic Mocean” and a “Barbeque” sandwich. “Latin Tang” is always a mind-blowing demonstration of each of their skills. Gnarly and heavy, this was an absolute highlight of my evening and was a perfect precursor to the raging version of “Polluted Beauty” that followed. They slowed things down a bit with “Be There”, but didn’t let us rest long, as they went straight into Talkings Heads cover, “Burning Down the House”. Looking across the room, I don’t think you could see a single person standing still. “Beethoven and Greene” was the encore, which includes the lyrics “Somewhere on the mountain…” that the run is aptly named after.

There was quite a bit more room to dance on Sunday night, which was good for those of us that were there. We were definitely going to need it. They finished this three night run by throwing down a heater of a performance. The typically light “Daydream Farmer” included a tease of Papdosio’s “Find Your Cloud” and was wedged with the heavy instrumental “Blunderbuss”. Brook Jordan’s song, “Second Wind” was beautiful and smooth, and gave us a chance to breathe a bit before they unleashed their new tune, “Mistakes”, leading into the Beatles’, “Rocky Raccoon” and finishing the set with a rowdy “Tiberius”. 

So here we were, facing the last set of six, and the energy was erupting  from floor to ceiling. We knew we were heading toward something special, but what actually ensued I don’t think we could have been fully prepared for. Beginning on a country note, “Fat Country Baby” was the first song, followed by the stomping “Hattibaged McRat”. Next was the most epic version of “Subconscious Prelude”, segued into “Cabbage Face”. The dance party was just getting warmed up when “Brown Chicken Brown Cow” laid down the funk, while the “Ghostbusters” theme song had everybody moving. Gubb and Brook crushed  “Doinkinbonk!!!” which went in and out of the instrumental groove “Just Gravy” and a cover of Primus’ “Too Many Puppies”. They encored with “Hattie’s Jam” > “When it Rains it Pours” with “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” worked in. Mihali’s voice sounded nearly angelic, while Ryan’s playing echoed the heavenly mood of the room and the lyrics. This moment was magic for everyone who was lucky enough to witness it.

“It’s nice to have things go in a progression,” said Gubb after Sunday night’s show. “Usually the first night can be pretty rusty because you haven’t played in a while, or you’ve had a week off or something like that. So you get the rust off, and then the second night was really fun. Tonight was my favorite though, comparably… When everybody’s tired and they’ve enjoyed their time out here on the mountain, snowboarding and skiing… It shows a lot, at least for me, to know that we can still perform really well even though we’re really tired. To leave it on the court, as they say, and come together to put on a great show. That’s why tonight was the best for me.”

Gratitude, adventure, and love were the themes of this beautiful weekend in Frisco. With Twiddle’s growing popularity across the country, intimate performances like these are that much more special. There was a unified feeling of joy that was felt across this gorgeous mountain town, and the memories that we shared will be sure to move us upon reflection for a long time to come. I believe that we have a lot more to see from Twiddle, as they have grown and continue to grow together, and we will be anxiously awaiting the next musical adventure they have up their sleeves.

Twiddle’s Winter Tour is now under way. To find tickets, check out their website here!

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