It seemed that ours moods, before the show, were a little peculiar. This was especially the case after I had come to realize that this was not going to be the first Samples performance that I had been in attendance of. My roommates Bill and Rob had mentioned that they played at school (Syracuse University) on Earth Day of 1997. After reflecting on it, I could remember the day as being a festive one. The potent smell that permeated the air around the field in front of Lawrinson Hall, reminded me that the exact date of that warm spring day was April 20th. None of us really knew much about them at the time, but were drawn to the field by the soothing tunes they played. After that day I buried the memory of the obscure band from Colorado until about a year ago. Rob started to listen to them again with a strong intensity. It aroused my curiosity, whenever I walked into his room and the album "Landing on the Sidewalk" was playing. When I saw the line-up at The Fox theatre (through www.foxtheatre.com), the prospect of seeing them again intrigued me. They were scheduled to play on a blustery Wednesday night in Boulder.
Despite a warm and moderately sunny day, a mild snow began to fall while we stepped towards the entrance. It was sending under dressed college students and people slightly older (like the author) scrambling for shelter. Inside, the crowd seemed very mainstream in orientation. There were plenty of the standard well-groomed co-eds that I had seen in any campus bar across the States. For a band that many would consider along the lines of neo-hippie-jam, the mix of fans here was almost yuppie. The few heads of dreadlocks I saw were easily matched by fleece vests, backwards baseball caps, and cargo pants. Once securely inside we settled by a spot next to the sound engineer's station.
In terms of musical quality, The Samples put on a fine show. Most of their songs were executed with intense precision and crisp sound quality. The acoustics at the Fox were stellar, which allowed for their Reggie laden rhythm to be heard crisply in any corner of the building. The set-list offered songs that featured a delicate balance between lead-man and guitarist Sean Kelley, and acoustic guitarist Rob Somers. The steel drums and quick keyboard of Alex Matson and Sam Young took many in attendance to a sunny beach in the Caribbean. Behind them a screen flashed random images of dolphins, trees, home videos featuring the band itself; esentially a continual feedback loop of images that related to them in some way or another. At one point between songs Somers even gave a brief plug to an animal rights organization for which he belongs.
