Fourth of July weekend was unlike any I’ve experienced as a musician and it was phenomenal in every musical sense of the word. In the span of three days, Lazy Summer Home (LSH) played 6 sets of music. I’m talkin’ bout rocking out to 50 songs without a single repeat. On each day, we packed it in, mic’ed it up, rocked it out, packed it up, and headed to see Phish play Folsom Field in Boulder (for the first time ever). This was a weekend all of us will remember for a long time. We were tight as a band and we were living our dreams watching new fans and old fans dance to the sweet, sensational sounds of each and every tune we chose.
The Backstory. It started this past winter when Lazy Summer Home was called upon to perform for a birthday party at Esters Denver. Paul, the owner, threw a birthday bash at the Holly Street location for a longtime friend. That night was a hit for us. We had a great, fun-loving crowd that knew all of our songs and danced the night away. There is nothing like playing to a group of people that love the same music you do; it makes you feel like you’re doing things right.
Fast forward a few months – Paul hit us up, asking if we were interested in playing his pre-show Phish parties this year. Usually held at Holly Street, Paul moved the event to Esters at Gold’s Marketplace in Wheat Ridge. Paul always threw epic pre-parties whenever Phish played at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, but with this year’s run on 4th of July weekend in Boulder, he mixed it up. EstFest ’25 would provide a great atmosphere with libations and pizza, shuttle services to/from Boulder, and the music of LSH. As our band typically goes to all the Phish shows, we had to prepare ourselves for a full overload of performing, combined with enjoying the unrivaled music Phish would provide at Folsom Field for three days. We had the will, we had the drive, and we had the music. This was to be a musical marathon for LSH and all of phans of Ester’s that dared to join us for 72 hours of music loving.
The Plan. We would all meet up between 11am and noon to set up. We recently purchased a new mixer and have begun multi-track recording all of our shows (Thanks to Brian from Built To Last for loads of mixing advice). It takes awhile for the band to load in, set up the equipment, individually mic the instruments, and sound check because we do it all ourselves. These are the moments I think how lucky bands with crews must be; walk up, jam, and walk away. It’s a labor or love, our passion for music.
A short lunch before 2pm and we would start off energized and excited! On day one we performed with our drummer, Tommy, as James had prior obligations. Tom has a long history with Dillow and Joe Bob, and was a former drummer of The Buzz, a psychedelic funk/rock quartet. He has a knack for intricate rhythms and a fiercely creative improvisational mind. The set was going to be a mixed bag of Dead, Ween, Zeppelin, country/bluegrass, and LSH songs, sprinkled with some Phish – we had to be careful not to play too much Phish because we didn’t want to end up playing the same songs they would crush that evening.
The Music. Highlights of day one were the Ween jam of Exactly Where I’m At that we transitioned into Ocean Man. It felt like we nailed the complex Rubin and Cherise, as Jack said, “I finally got all the words right!” Another of Jack’s songs we hadn’t pulled out in a while is Acid Squirrel. It has a quick-paced country form, light hearted and a solid warm up song the whole band enjoys playing. Set 2 opener is always popular as Joe Bob jumps on and starts the acapella portion of Halley’s Comet. It’s a real eye-catcher for those not well-versed in Phish material. It has a bit of a barbershop quartet feel. By the time we got into Jack’s stellar song, Gam Gam, we felt a heated yet excited calm. The crowd had grown to double as fans using the shuttle were arriving. A sleeper of ours seems to be our Dire Straights version of In The Gallery, with Joe Bob on lead vocals. The mixed time signature and the jam we melt into just kept getting more exciting. We performed a beautiful rendition of Terrapin Station toward the end of the set, which always gives me chills as we melodically harmonized the instrumentation of the Lady with a Fan section. Tommy’s request of Dirt was a perfect idea, as it may have brought a few tears out of both the band and a few fans. It seems like every show we play, we grow more in tune with each other’s thought patterns and are getting really creative when it comes to following our melodic lines and improvisational paths during our jams.
On day two, the crowd pumped into the patio earlier than the day before, as shuttle-goers now knew what we sounded like and the hit July sunshine was worth the music we were putting out. Our drummer James rejoined us on stage for the second day and being that it was Independence Day, we opened with US Blues. Back on the Train had great moments with the crowd as did Shakedown Street. The band really fell into a groove with our original, Troubadour, and its gypsy feel with the speedy jam outro. By the time we hit second set, we were playing to a packed patio and restaurant. The energy was as hot as the thermometer on this Fourth of July! Another holiday nod occurred when we did Jack Straw, one of our faves as Dillow gave a little more oomph on the lyric, “Leaving’ Texas, Fourth day of July!!” Closing the set, we chose a Derek and the Dominos classic, Let it Rain, before setting up the Phish euphoria with a crisp First Tube. Perhaps my favorite moment was watching my 3 year old niece, in town from Texas, dancing to First Tube and pumping up the crowd.
The final show on day three had arrived and we could see the finish line with Phish’s final night on the horizon, patiently waiting for us to play our set. Sidenote: I have this silly habit of inviting musicians to our show if we play while they’re in town. I jumped on instagram and invited Mike Gordon to come see us, writing to him, “You’ve always kicked ass playing for us all these years, we’d be honored if we can play for you.” These delusions of grandeur have never come to fruition but of the four Phish members, Mike is probably the most likely to venture out for a bit of daytime music festivities. During our first set, we were getting a little bit of rain, but nothing too terrible. Perhaps we shouldn’t have opened with Cold Rain and Snow, because it ended up raining and hailing mid-set… Cities had a sick, funky jam, and Rust was a hoot and a holler. We pressed on into West LA Fade Away and boom! Thunder and hail hit us, causing us to pull the plug until it passed. Although it eventually did pass, we had a few circuit breaker battles. During Bird Song we lost power, but we handled it well. We fixed the problem and rather than restart the song we jump right into the chorus in true jukebox fashion; the crowd went wild and loved every minute through to the very end of our run. If you get to hear Bird Song on our website, you may enjoy a surprise interlude during the time of the power outage.
Like I said, this was a weekend the band will not forget. We worked hard, we drilled our material, we had a blast, and we were true to our sound. Truth is we always have a blast when we get to play as a band and especially when our crowds are loving the same music we love. Getting off the stage each day, we received great feedback but most prominent were comments from friends and strangers alike about how much they enjoyed watching us communicating on stage through the music and the eye contact.
We give a huge Thank You to Paul and everyone at Esters Gold’s Marketplace! Our meals were amazing and the entire staff made us feel welcome (even helping us carry our gear onto the patio). Gotta thank Elroy as well – always jumping to help with the live sound and filming songs whenever he comes to see us. What an opportunity to share our music and grow the friendships. We’re all looking forward to the next time we get to work with you.
Day One Set List – Bertha, Bananas and Blow, Boogie on Reggae Woman, Exactly Where I’m At->Ocean Man, Gotta Jibboo, Acid Squirrel, Rubin And Cherise, Mama Tried, Funky Bitch —SET BREAK— Halley’s Comet, Big River, Gam Gam (fires it up), I Don’t Wanna Leave You On The Farm, In The Gallery, Dirt, The Lemon Song, Terrapin Station, Going Down The Road Feeling Bad->Not Fade Away –Soundcheck: Old Home Place
Day Two Set List – US Blues, Midnight Moonlight, They Love Each Other, Pinky Doodle, Gumbo, In My Life, Back On The Train, Jack Straw –SET BREAK— Shakedown Street, The Golden Eel, Help Me Scrape The Mucus Off My Brain, Bug, Me And My Uncle, Tulsa Time, Let It Rain, First Tube
Day Three Set List – Cold Rain and Snow, Cities, Rust, You Were The Fool, West LA Fade Away, Viola Lee, Baboon Caboose, Bird Song —THUNDERSTORM SET BREAK— Roses Are Free, Crosseyed and Painless, A Tear For Eddie, Loving Cup, Possum **During Day Three, a Thunderstorm struck the Patio Hard, causing a few circuit breaker power outages in the middle of Bird Song, causing a delay and shorter set.
Now! If you made it this far down and read the entire post, here is the link to the tapers’ unofficial mix of the entire 3 day run!! Enjoy and thank you for your continued support of our band and thank you for sharing our love of these songs. https://lazysummerhomeband.bandcamp.com/album/estfest-25
