BoDeans at the Codfish Hollow Barn -- September 2.
Saturday, September 2, 8 p.m.
Codfish Hollow Barn, 5013 288th Avenue, Maquoketa IA
Their beloved hits including “Good Things,” You Don’t Get Much,” “Idaho,” and the iconic Party of Five anthem "Closer to Free," BoDeans headline a September 2 concert event at Maquoketa's Codfish Hollow Barn, the alternative rockers lauded by the Post Crescent as "one of the most successful, and best known, bands to come out of the Milwaukee area," and the musicians enjoying a permanent installation at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland.
Formed by high-school friends and guitar-playing singer/songwriters Kurt Neumann and Sam Llanas in 1980 under its original moniker Da BoDeans, the group began playing around Milwaukee's East Side music scene in 1983, adding full-time drummer Guy Hoffman in 1984 and bassist Bob Griffin in 1985. Later in 1985, the quartet received interest from multiple major labels and chose to sign a contract with Slash/Warner Records. After signing, the label suggested that they shorten their name to simply BoDeans, and under the guidance of producer T Bone Burnett, they entered Hollywood's Sunset Sound Factory in October to record their first album. Burnett focused on capturing the band's natural sound without many additional overdubs, and Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams, the band's critically acclaimed debut album, was released in 1986. The following January, a Rolling Stone reader poll voted BoDeans the Best New American Band.
Following the releases of 1987's Outside Looking In, 1989's Home, and 1991's Black & White, for their 1993 album Go Slow Down, the musicians reunited with Burnett and took a more homemade approach, with Neumann playing many of the instruments himself. The first song from the album, "Closer to Free," brought BoDeans to a much larger audience after it was selected as the theme song to the television series Party of Five in 1994. Due to the newfound exposure, "Closer to Free" became the group's biggest pop hit, peaking at number 16 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1996. In 1995, Joe Dirt Car, a two-CD live set, was released, the album including live tracks recorded between 1989 and 1995, some of which were acoustic. The next year, BoDeans released Blend, with its single "Hurt By Love" achieving chart success and the song "Hey Pretty Girl" used in an episode of Dawson's Creek.
Given the band's sought-after discography, BoDeans music has gone on to land hundreds of television and film placements. Meanwhile, they transformed into a proven live phenomenon by supporting the likes of U2, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Tom Petty, the Pretenders, and David Bowie in addition to gracing the bills of Farm Aid, Summerfest, and ACL. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame permanently entrenched BoDeans in its Midwest Artists exhibit, while 2017’s Thirteen arrived to widespread acclaim from outlets including the Chicago Tribune and Glide magazine, which spotlighted the music’s “understated grace - an attribute that no doubt fuels the steadfast approach Kurt Neumann has employed of his thirty-plus years as a ‘BoDean’.” Along the way, Netfilx’s The Ranch utilized more than 70 of Neumann's tunes, and he launched his own podcast titled Staring at the World.
BoDeans headline their Maquoketa engagement on September 2 with additional sets by guest artists Marques Morel and Diane Patterson, admission to the 8 p.m. concert is $35, and tickets are available by visiting CodfishHollowBarnstormers.com.
