All About the Brass opens Rock & Rails

The Rock & Rails concert opener Aug.11 was the high energy sound of All About the Brass, a Longmont-based group.

The band played favorites from a wide variety of genres, ranging from James Brown's "I Got You" to "You and Me and the Bottle Makes 3" by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy to "Smooth" by Santana. Other tunes included Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper" with "more cowbell" from Niwot native Katie Warren, Pat Benatar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot," and Vance Joy's "Riptide," with the ultimate "Niwot" lyric, "I wanna be your Left Hand man."

Evonne Pierce's lead vocals were backed by Michael Caron on lead guitar, John Edwards on bass guitar, and Carol Hamm on drums. The brass section included Mike Pierce and Jason Baldwin on trumpet, with Warren on baritone.

The band was impressed by the size of the crowd, which gathered early to get good seats for the headliner, Face. "I think that's the largest crowd we've played for," Mike Pierce said. He and Warren will return to Rock & Rails Aug. 18 as part of the Niwot Community Semi-Marching Free Grange Band, which opens for Quemando.

All About the Brass can be reached at [email protected].