The Subdudes @ Boulder Theater

 97.3 KBCO presents THE SUBDUDES
w/ guests
Over the course of 20 years and eight albums, the subdudes have quietly become one of America's national music treasures.

The New Orleans-formed group is a living encapsulation of American music, a vibrant cauldron of sounds that stirs together meaty grooves and jazzy dynamics, souful R&B swagger, easy vocal harmonies, cheeky rock 'n' roll attitude and folky social consciousness -- not to mention some of the sharpest musicianship and ensemble playing you'll ever hear from any five musicians. It's tight enough to be loose, but never gratuitously sloppy.

Those virtues have seldom been displayed better than on STREET SYMPHONY, the subdudes' third album since regrouping in 2002 after a five-year hiatus. Richly crafted and fiercely executed, it's the document of a veteran band that's still learning, growing and getting better at what it does.

STREET SYMPHONY maintains the joyous, life-affirming vibe that's part and parcel of the subdudes' music as the group muses about the mythical (but certainly desired) "Fountain of Youth," channels a bit of street corner soul into "Work Clothes" and finds redemptive love in the gorgeous "Absolutely," that both belies and complements the more serious outlook on several of the 12 songs here. This is, after all, the subdudes' first set of new material post-Katrina and the devastation it caused to the band's home town in 2005, and it would seem unnatural if it didn't impact on the music.