History of the Barnburner
2001
Locations
The Blue Heron, Missoula MT
Sean Kelly’s Bar, Missoula MT
Bands
Garaj Mahal
Strut
Signal Path
Moksha
The Ghost Jam
Djs
Kurtis
Abraxas
Leeza
Beyonda
Lien
Tobin
Overview
October of 2001, following September and 9/11, was a very trying time for us and all of America. People were not themselves it seemed and we had to do our best to fulfill the needs of The BarnBurner with all the life sucked out of the people.
We started out by coming up with a venue that complimented us and was also easy for everyone to imagine themselves attending. So we decided to take it downtown again at The Blue Heron (formerly the club known as 140 West) and next-door at Sean Kelly’s. It felt right, we were used the spot (140 West) throwing shows and making an underground/alternative hang out. The Blue Heron was setup and ready to go.
Getting Garaj Mahal more than sufficed the out of town talent that we needed, they packed serious heat with a cultural diverse sound message that jammed with thunderous harmony from throughout the globe. Adding good friends Strut (from Asheville, NC.) to the bill was the butter on the popcorn ball. It gave a great grass roots appeal with the outer space fusion sounds of Signal Path (formerly Abendego) and the local jazz-hop flavor of Moksha (Oddability), added a blend that made this BarnBurner more robust than ever.
From top to bottom, from wall to wall, this BarnBurner was snap, cracklin and poppin. The DJ’s hit it steady all night in the basement of The Blue Heron. The bands managed to make ghosts and goblins rise from their graves to do their monkey dance in SK and BH three band areas. The Ghost Jam (a BarnBurner exclusive) combined the likes of musicians of BarnBurners past with musicians playing in The BarnBurner of the now. It was a great representation of the modern improvisational jam odyssey.
It was a great year, despite the hardships of dealing with the 9/11 tragedy. The world’s largest popcorn ball (created by the Enlitenment Project Crew), became The BarnBurner mascot of freedom and patriotism. It helped to allow us to prevail in trying times and shed light on all that made us make this dream come alive. It was a triumph and a definite in line continuation of the spectacle created, known as The BarnBurner.