Tim Heidecker and The Very Good Band – Live in Boulder Review

They are very good, are they not? Rising to their feet, that Boulder, Colorado crowd bring out the best of Tim Heidecker and his collection of tracks. A discography with reams of interest, experimentation and folk sentimentality, the Live in Boulder set is a formidable set. Vic Berger and company groove through that opening, setting up the guitar work and vocal presence Heidecker brings to the fold. When I Get Up starts with upbeat and crowd-involving charms. Heavy on the High School tracks from Heidecker’s latest album, this Live in Boulder release is a riff-ready piece that brings the vocal talents of the comedian-turned-musician right to the forefront.  

Cheery momentum moves on through Come Away With Me and splinters for the rush that opens Property. Gliding back to that country styling is inevitable and welcomed. Heidecker has a voice of gold, a pitch and style that leans into its Americana roots with natural style. Coffee shops, parking lots and a heavy bit of his own history from High School tracks later in the set. Heidecker holds firm, displaying a vocal range that would give Elvis Costello and Randy Newman a run for their money. Live in Boulder gives way to those sudden moments of improvisation. Whines and screams that would not fit on the structure of an album. Property marks those yelps well, while Buddy gives way to impressive guitar work that follows on from the dedication to Pink Floyd and Queen.  

Touching sentimentalities are the core of Heidecker’s music and the experience Live in Boulder gives successfully marks that intimacy. Live music has that quality to it already, but the lyrical positioning Heidecker brought on High School is worked over on Live in Boulder. Stupid Kid has a nice mix to it, the constant, traditional acoustic charms blurring nicely with those whining electric riffs bring that essential, warm feeling. Consistent, moving and creative. That is the triple blend Heidecker and The Very Good Band bring here. Comparisons to this artist or are futile, they are just the parts of music listeners like that this collection of musicians have mastered through decades in the recording studio, working over what they are attracted to. Sirens of Titan is given a post-American Dream LCD Soundsystem twinge to it, harsh electronics and muffled explosions backing isolated vocals.  

Once Heidecker and The Very Good Band hit their groove, there is little backing down. Incredible work not just for the selection of tracks but for the shifts of tone. “Don’t get too excited now…” Backwards notes. Heidecker’s voice provides an understanding of the tone he sets; his music creates and how to bring those to an audience. High-pitched keyboards begin closing out the show on Work From Home, a groove that takes a natural presence on stage to that Steve Nieve level of quality hooks that compliment, as ever, the feel and appeal of a live set. No set is complete without “one more”, and Heidecker douses his crowd with Hot Piss, an amazing Nashville rock scene piece that is exactly what the title suggests it would be. Heidecker and The Very Good Band blur their musicianship with humour, fun and the essential energies of performance.