Date: Thursday, January 24th, 2013
Line Up: Tribal Seeds, Stick Figure, The Maad T-Ray
Venue: Fox Theatre. Boulder, CO
Fans migrated to Boulder, Colorado’s renowned Fox Theatre from all parts of the “Silver State” to experience
Tribal Seeds and Stick Figure—their respective first time live in Colorado! With this being the second leg of Stick Figure’s first-ever national tour, and the tour’s headlining band, Tribal Seeds, currently regarded as one of the best live acts to witness in person, few fans truly had the clairvoyance to predict such an awe-inspiring performance on an ordinary Thursday evening.
With doors opening at 7:00pm and the music beginning an hour later, that did not stop fans from gathering bright and early with the sun still shining to wait in line and purchase the last remaining tickets for the night’s show. The crowd demographic for the evening was college aged male and females, as the prestigious University of Colorado at Boulder is a hop, skip and a jump from “The Fox”, as well as a short road trip from downtown Denver and neighboring mountain towns in northern Colorado. Needless to say the 750-person capacity venue was Sold-Out, a routine for Tribal Seeds and Stick Figure’s Winter West Coast Tour.
The early arrivals were not greeted with the traditional opening act from the local town, but rather Tribal Seeds’ keyboardist, back-up vocalist and producer, Tony-Ray Jacobo’s solo project, The Maad T-Ray. Spinning a dubstep, dance infused twist on classic reggae hits from Don Carlos and Black Uhuru, Israel Vibration and, of course, the legendary Bob Marley.
It wasn’t long before the infamous reggae-dub outfit known simply as, Stick Figure, took the stage. Originally, 
Scott Woodruff, the man, musician and producer behind Stick Figure was going to perform on this current West Coast tour with Tribal Seeds and the fall East Coast tour with The Green, completely acoustic. For music lovers that are not aware of Stick Figure’s sound, one word to describe it would be, robust. In its entirety, Stick Figure’s music has a lot of moving parts, sounds and layers that one man’s acoustic guitar and vocal chords would not be sufficient, or proper for the die-hard fans that have been begging to see Stick Figure live since their inception.
Luckily, Woodruff gathered his roommate, Tommy Sulliman (bass), Kevin Bong (keyboards/vocals) and veteran touring drummer, Kevin Offitzer (Outlaw Nation/Micah Brown/Kat) to bring the fans the best live sound possible, recreating Stick Figure’s most recent album release, Burial Ground.
Spanning over an hour in length, the four-piece band’s set list featured plenty of Burial Ground favorites and past studio gems like “Shelter”, “Breathe”, “Rocky Road”, “Burial Ground”, “Break of Day” before closing out with “Hawaii Song”. For the first time in Boulder, and performing all these songs for the first time live across the country, the live presence that Stick Figure displayed should dispel the notion of being a studio-only recording band. The crowd fed off the energy being propelled from the stage, as Scott Woodruff threw up his hands, egging on the crowd, Kevin Bong jumping out from behind his dual keyboard rack and swinging a towel in the air, all the while the rhythm rang on through the night. One aspect of Stick Figure’s performance that the crowd in Boulder was withheld from was the special guest appearance from Woodruff’s beloved dog, Cocoa a.k.a. “The Tour Dog”. Aside from Jackson, Wyoming and Boulder’s respective shows, all the venues on this tour allowed the dog onstage, much like Sublime’s Bradley Nowell did with “Lou Dog” nearly two decades ago.
Although, the show must go on,
with a man’s best friend at one’s side or not; Stick Figure’s first performance in Boulder left an impression on both the bands and the fans present. With ten of the twelve dates on tour selling out, it was clear the demand for both acts were equal, potentially warranting a co-headlining spot on Stick Figure’s next stint on the road.
Even though, Stick Figure’s performance was worthy of a headlining act, Tribal Seeds laid down a musical statement for fans in attendance. One facet of Tribal Seeds’ live performance–no matter what the venue or city happens to be, the San Diego natives combine their songs, one-after-one, rarely allowing the beat to drop. Almost 15-minutes passed before both the crowd and the band were able to take a breather, as show opener, “The Garden” meshed with “All I Know”, “In Your Eyes” and “Beautiful Mysterious”.
Still, with a brief introduction to the fully-aware and growingly satisfied capacity crowd, the fans that filled the venue urged for more! And, more is what they received, as Tribal Seeds continues to fuse together traditional roots and reggae rhythms with current, popular dance club infused dubstep qualities splashed throughout their set list.
Also, Tribal Seeds recently welcomed an accomplished solo-artist and producer, E.N Young, to the Tribal Seeds family. Whether E.N is playing the keys, his melodica or singing into the microphone, he is an attention grabber from the moment the band walks onto the stage. However, Tribal Seeds is not playing music live to grab attention, 
but the sound that the band is playing with the current lineup is receiving more and more accolades, preparing to upgrade from mid-sized concert venues and clubs to large, full-scale auditoriums on their upcoming tour with Slightly Stoopid.
There is no question fans will be anticipating that joint tour between San Diego Reggae-Rock locals, but a duo containing Stick Figure and Tribal Seeds proved to be well worth the price of admission, and then some. As the majestic musical evening approached closing time, inside the Fox Theatre’s walls, Tribal Seeds and Stick Figure came together for a few more songs. Much to the appreciation of the almost uncomfortably over-sold venue, Scott Woodruff joined Tribal Seeds on one of the headliner’s most recognizable tracks, “Vampire”. Known as a musical tactician, playing multiple instruments, Woodruff displayed as much in Boulder. Once his verse within Vampire concluded, Tribal Seeds’ drummer, Carlos Verdugo, dropped the beat and suddenly handed his sticks to Woodruff, who soon began pounding out beats in consistent time like he was behind the kit the entire night. The crowd erupted, while being left somewhat speechless by the spectacle.
By this point, if concertgoers present did not know Tribal Seeds’ “Run The Show”, performing that particular song for a grand finale was the lasting impression fans desire from a live event. With every single date in Colorado being classified as “Sold Out” during this last tour, Tribal Seeds will be back for their biggest performance to date on April 20th, 2013.
Fans that didn’t make it through the doors to the sold out shows, get your tickets for Red Rocks now!
Tribal Seeds Set List:
The Garden
All I Know
In Your Eyes
Beautiful Mysterious
–New Song—
Island Girl
Creator
Love Psalm
Night And Day
Rasta, Refuse It
Dawn of Time
Vampire
Encore:
Dark Angel
Run the Show
Article By: Kris Siuta
Photos By: Trevor Albair
Check out MORE photos from the show!!!
