Combining the altruistic non-profit enterprises of the Conscious Alliance with a variety of talented local musicians, Boulder came alive for the first true night of winter at the annual all-star benefit concert, the Rebel Alliance Jam. Justin Baker and his staff at Conscious Alliance work wonders and during this time of year, with the support of both the charitable and the live music communities, make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate. 

Hosted again this year at the Fox Theatre, 2007’s show brought together a myriad of musicians who call Boulder home. Before the Rebel Alliance Band hit the stage, DJ Rootz warmed up and welcomed the incoming crowd with a variety of beat-bumping mixes and cuts from his new album. For the evening’s main course, various artists rotated in and out, with a core band consisting of the String Cheese Incident’s Kyle Hollingsworth, Fareed Haque (Garaj Mahal) and The Motet’s rhythm section: little drummer boy Dave Watts and bassist Garrett Sayers. Throughout two sets, sounds both foreign and familiar filled the Fox. A version of The Meters’ “People Say” and a Hollingsworth, Michael Kang and Keith Mosely-led rendition of String Cheese Incident’s “Sometimes a River” fit into the former category. As for the latter, the dynamic combination of Hollingsworth, Haque and The Motet duo along with the Pnuma Trio’s Alex Botwin and Lane Shaw, ushered the sounds into a deeply textured and unforeseen electronic realm, which provided a welcome contrast to much that had preceded it. While certain musical moments fell a bit flat, for instance SCI’s Michael Travis solo acoustic foray, even with this all-star grouping, the night was more about the cause than it was about the music.

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