I wanted some "me time" so I went alone to the Canyons Ski Resort to hear Dangermuffin, from South Carolina. As I sauntered very slowly up the hill from the parking lot, I caught up with my brother by phone about everything from sorority rush (his daughter/my niece), the stock market (trading is tough, folks), and social media (is it possible to tweet your way to a customer base?). I saw gondola'ed passengers heading for the concert venue above me.
The Canyons' website's indication that this was to be a 2.5 hour concert now made sense. There was at least one warm up group before Dangermuffin. Most bands (Dave Matthews aside) don't/won't/can't play for over two hours a gig.
Dangermuffin was being introduced when I got to the concert area, I felt validated immediately. The place was packed. Okay, so this really is going to be great, I said to myself. Families, grandmas and grandpas, kids of all ages, singles, old, young, in between. The chairs in the front were full and people were blanketed on the lawn with glasses of wine and other BYOB beverages in hand. And food vendors with more than hot dogs and burgers were plentiful for those who forgot to pack. (Remind me to share my snack bar pretzel drama sometime.)
I didn't track the opening few songs as I was in the bathroom getting paper towels on which to take notes. Far be it from me to remember paper, but frankly, clean paper towels are a superior writing medium anyway.
About the time Dangermuffin began to play "Moonscapes," from their new album, I'd situated myself on a large, wobbly rock with an unobstrucked view of the stage and dancing area. The group's southern roots shone with lots of hillbilly rock numbers. By the time they played "Gutter Dance," I knew I belonged in the dancing area, though I had no concert posse members with me. That's okay, I danced next to a sleeping dog who like the rest of the undulating mob was enjoying the cooler weather and Dangermuffin's bluegrass rock. This is proof sleeping dogs can lie anywhere. Actually I'm wondering if the dog was deaf. He/she seemed quite old and blocked out the world around, which is something a senior dog does, as I know all too well.
The concert was relatively fluff-free. The Canyons stage is small and upon close examination, was crowded, even for three musicians. No fireworks, streamers, banners, giant screen backdrop. But what better backdrop than a mid hill at a Utah ski village overlooking the beautiful mountains with an almost full moon rising in the sky? And fortunately, my fellow concert goers and I had no trick dog acts to endure.
Towards the end of the set, Dangermuffin played "Sitting On Top Of The World."
Was all the summer, and all the fall,
Just trying to find my little all in all
But now she's gone, and I don't worry
Lord I'm sitting on top of the world
And they closed out the concert with the encore "Shake Shake Shake, Senora," not original but definitely a crowd pleaser. As I walked to my car, I concluded I'd definitely be going back to the Canyons for another concert soon. Maybe I'll even invite a friend or two next time.
Disclosure: Admission price for this event was FREE. I received NO compensation for this review.
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