Ropeadope

10,000 feet above sea level, Skerik & Co. (Brian Coogan on keys and Simon Lott on drums) brought the rage to the 2008 Telluride Jazz Celebration in Telluride, CO, sharing the town park stage with legends Dr. John, The Neville Brothers, Maceo Parker, Joe Lovano and others.  The crowd of wine and cheese eating jazz afficinados interspersed with stoned ski bums was in for a real shocker when Malestrom ditched its in-the-pocket NOLA funk for industial tones and textured dissonance. After a 45-minute set of bizarre, otherwordly noises the crowd emerged disoriented yet dumbfounded by the sheer power and brillance of the Maelstrom ( [MALE-strum] n. a powerful whirlpool in the sea or a river). Dun dun dun...

Later that night, the trio took the stage at Fly Me To the Moon Saloon, where the Hammond B3 reigned and funky grooves prevailed.

Telluride Town Park. photo by greg aiello

photo by arthur shim

photo by arthur shim

photo by arthur shim

Late night at Fly Me to the Moon Saloon. photo by greg aiello

photo by greg aiello

For more fun from Telluride dig the photos by Arthur Shim and Greg Aiello