13 Creepy Moments – Leftover Salmon at the Stanley Hotel

Last year’s first annual Leftover Salmon Shindig at the Stanley Hotel fell on Friday the 13th, adding to its creepy factor.  I’m no calendar expert, but for some reason the 13th didn’t fall on a Friday this year.  However, in the hotel known for its haunting inspiration for The Shining, the creepy factor is always in full effect, regardless of the day.

So, here are the 13 creepiest, spookiest, scariest moments from Leftover Salmon at the Stanley Hotel:

1. Gipsy Moon

The crowd arrived at the Stanley ready to party on Friday (after some serious adulting, of course.  I mean, we were ready for business!)  Gipsy Moon kicked the party off with their ‘Welcome’ set, and Leftover Salmon put things into full swing with their Friday night show.  Gipsy Moon really set the tone for the weekend, returning to the McGregor Ballroom with a late night show that followed Salmon’s get-down and didn’t miss a beat. 

After a long day of travel, checking in and getting our bearings, Gipsy Moon really let us know what we were in store for!  It was super scary.  Really spooky stuff.

2. Larry Keel.  Broke a string.  I don’t give a f#@%!

The Saturday Mystery Matinee show was truly a mystery to just about everyone there. (Nothing is spookier than a mystery.  Just ask Scooby and the gang.)

Speculation ran rampant with rumors, but the truth was even better than we could have imagined when Larry and Jenny Keel, dressed all in RedRum Red took the stage!  (spooky!) They were joined by an assortment of the weekend’s talent, including Vince Herman, who managed to conjure the ghost of Larry Keel with the impromptu line “Larry Keel…broke a string…I don’t give a f*#%!.  Culpepper Woodchuck!” 

Vince then graciously handed his guitar to Larry and left the stage.  Like, yoinks!

3.  The Message

Continuing on the Keel tip… Video had surfaced of Larry Keel busting out this Grandmaster Flash classic earlier in the month, and some of us had our fingers crossed it would pop up at the Stanley.  Sure enough, when Larry took the stage with Leftover on Saturday night, we were all treated to an instant classic.  That gravely, sexy ass voice busting out the verses of the Furious Five took the dance party to new heights.  Instant classic.  Totally creepy. 

4. The Hardest Working Rhythm Section in Show Biz

Alwyn Robinson and Greg Garrison must have the hardest jobs on the planet.  Keeping the rhythm going and not missing a beat with so many different musicians coming and going into the jam like they do is amazing! 

At the Stanley they took it to the next level, each also with a turn to showcase their talents in other forms (see below).  When all of Salmon left the stage except for Greg, Alwyn and Erik Deutsch (on keys) things got downright funky and weird!  Super spooky. 

6.  Jazz Brunch (Jazz and Jammies?!)

What could be scarier than Bloody Mary’s?  As if we hadn’t been through enough already, we had to kick off our last day of the weekend with this frightening event!  Greg Garrison led the jazz ensemble that tried to chase away the evil spirits as we all chased the hair of the dog and got ready to kick one more day’s ass. 

The hotel lobby was extremely spooky during this event, as there was a really creepy mix of festival attendees and pedestrian tourists mingling about.  We propose that next year this event be changed to “Jazz and Jammies.”  All the festy-goers should come in their PJs so we can distinguish ourselves from the citizens.

7.  The Emmitt Family

Oh, man, did things get really scary on Sunday.  Just when we thought we were safe, Vince called Willow Emmitt, Drew’s daughter, to the stage.  She graced us by completely owning a very soulful rendition of “Deep Elem Blues”, with dad looking on proudly.  Brought a little tear to my eye.  Then things got super spooky when Eli Emmitt, Drew’s son, took the stage to show off his chops on a couple of jams.  Nothing creepier than a super adorable incredibly talented family. 

8.  Alwyn Robinson late night

Alwyn Robinson led a super-funky and creepily frightening late night jam on Saturday night.  It was a freaky dance party, and got so weird that we weren’t able to capture any photos or give an accurate account of the musical events.  Things like this just tend to happen at the Stanley Hotel. 

9.  The Bigwheel Race

Nothing is scarier than adults on big wheels.  Team Hooterville looked to defend their contested title from last year, but ended up taking 3rd.  (They were winning the weekend in so many other ways, it would have been unfair for them to walk away with this title). 

10.  Super Spooky Special Sets

Throughout the weekend we were treated to several sets of music that transpired into something larger than the individual songs.  On Friday night, Salmon scared the pants off of us by playing Euphoria in its entirety.  What a treat!  Saturday evening was really creepy, as Leftover hit us with an entire set of Bob Dylan tunes.  The set was highlighted by Greg Garrison’s rendition of Dylan’s classically haunting tale of murder and the undead, “When I Paint My Masterpiece.”  So scary.  Sunday afternoon rounded out the theme with almost an entire set of John Hartford tunes.  It doesn’t get spookier than that.

11. Jeff Coffin

Jeff Coffin, saxophonist from the Dave Matthews Band, sat in with Leftover Salmon throughout the weekend.

Salmon and Saxophone??  Not much more needed to say about this!  It was so scary I almost peed myself.

12.  Sunday Pick

The precedent was set in 2015, so many of us knew to save some gas in the tank for the intimate (and incredible eerie) Sunday night pick, led by Vince Herman.  Vince opened up the “stage” (we were actually seated in a semi-circle around the pickers) to anyone who wanted a chance to show their stuff, and we were once again treated to a number of impromptu jams from some really talented musicians.  Vince even managed to conjure an apparition of Bonnie Paine (Elephant Revival) to haunt us with her beautiful a cappella song “Raven.”     Man, that was scary!  The spookiest moment of the evening was when the infamous “Couple #3” was called on to defend their crown as reigning champions in Vince’s dance competition.  As far is this writer is concerned, they easily retained the title.

13.  Everyone looking soooo damn good! (and Spooky!)

You’ve seen the pictures.  They really do speak for themselves.  Everyone brought their A+ game for the weekend and made it classy as hell with their formal garb.  Formal Night is definitely a favorite as far as theme nights go.  Seeing the halls of the Stanley filled with beautiful people in tuxedos and gowns was super scary!

There you have it!  I hope you don’t have nightmares from such a creepy, scary, bone chillingly frightening post!

All work and no play make Vince a dull boy.

All work and no play make Vince a dull boy.

All work and no play make Vince a dull boy.

All work and no play make Vince a dull boy.

All work and no play make Vince a dull boy.

All work and no play make Vince a dull boy.

All work and no play make Vince a dull boy.

Check out our 2015 Leftover Salmon at the Stanley Hotel review!