‘Got this 737 rocking like a G6’

Sunday was hands down the best day, top to bottom, of the 2024 Jazz Aspen Snowmass Labor Day Experience. The War and Treaty, The Black Crowes and Dierks Bentley were all fantastic.

For a long time, I’ve felt Chris Robinson was a jerk. He criticized Taylor Swift as “horrible, not talented” in 2010 when Swift was 20 years old. She was just getting started in her career, she wrote and sang all her songs. Who denigrates a 20-year-old woman? I could go on about other things that I’ve heard about him that do not shine brightly on his character and I’ve not heard much better about Rich (his brother). Former Black Crowes drummer Steve Gormon had little nice to say about the Robinson brothers in his book, “Hard to Handle: The Life and Death of the Black Crowes.”

But I freaking love the band. The Black Crowes are in my top five groups of all time for me to absolutely GDT (get down to). Over time I realized, “I don’t need Chris and Rich Robinson to be my friend. I just want them to rock my face off.” And yesterday they absolutely did. I had to go back to Snowmass Town Park on Monday morning to pick up pieces of it.

They opened with “No Speak No Slave” and followed with “Twice as Hard” and continued to put on a display of straight-ahead rock ’n’ roll fury for what felt like a long festival set.

Some of their high-octane rockers included “Sting Me,” “Remedy,” “Sometimes Salvation,” “Soul Singing,” “Hard to Handle,” “Jealous Again” and “Thorn in My Pride.” They played their masterpiece “Wiser Time,” the sweet-sounding “She Talks To Angels” and a new song called “Bedside Manner” from “Happiness Bastards,” their first new album in 15 years.

I’m glad I got over my hang-ups on the Robinson brothers. The Black Crowes set was a serving of New York strip — pure USDA-certified rock ’n’ roll. 

Dierks Bentley

Dierks Bentley’s charisma is off the charts. Imagine an old stereo where you can watch the sound waves, and on the right side of the scale is a large red zone, and the stereo is measuring charisma. Dierks (which is how everyone refers to him) would occupy the entire red zone.

Dierks is currently on his Gravel and Dust Tour. He opened up with the song that bore the name of the tour. It was about a Chevy truck that’s gathering dust. I was a little worried. How country would this set be? The answer was a perfect mix of country and rock ’n’ roll; he even covered Tom Petty’s “American Girl.” 

He also did “Calling Baton Rouge” — a song popularized by Garth Brooks and New Grass Revival — and several other covers that had the audience singing along. There were plenty of people singing along to Dierk’s songs as well. 

The show was a lovefest for Colorado. Dierks has a home in Telluride (my old stomping grounds, and everyone there talks about how cool he is). Several of his songs were odes to the Centennial state, including the song “My Sun Sets in Colorado.”

I saw several families with small children kicking up dust in the crowd. It was beautiful. My favorite Dierks song was “Burning Man,” a total ripper. But he saved the best for last when the stage was converted to a cockpit and Dierks came out and sang his epic song “Drunk on a Plane” — “got this 737 rocking like a G6” is one of my favorite party lines.

Dierks handed out beers to the general admission crowd. He showed a video depicting his band as a hockey team (even though none of them could skate); he showed a video of his crew. He comes off as the coolest, nicest guy — all the women want to date him and the men want to be his best friend.

I got a text from my best girlfriend after the show that said, “I’m going on Dierks’ tour!” What a great way to end the 2024 Jazz Aspen Snowmass Labor Day Experience.