Tea Leaf Green fills the Bottleneck, shakes it, and pops the lid

I can barely remember the last time I saw the Bottleneck so full of so many happy, dancing, laughing people.
Pre-partying with some friends down the street, I didn't arrive at the show until the opener, Elmwood had already finished. However, the show was packed with friends of mine, and they reported that Elmwood had rocked hard and gotten the crowd going with some very good tunes. I wish I had seen them, but luckily a good friend was so impressed that she bought a CD, which I look forward to hearing.
Before even entering the Bottleneck I saw that this was going to be a great show because of how many friends there were, and the friendly, social vibe of the crowd. Sure enough, the band was soon on stage, and we were all clustered together on the dance floor, too eager to hear the music to leave any space for more than dancing in place.
The jam band leaped right into some great grooves, showing a variety of sounds that I forgot the band had. The talent and variety of the different band members comes together for a strong, exciting blend. Songs grow into heavy jams, ridiculous riffs and solos, then calm back to more ambient sounds that you can lose yourself in.
Tea Leaf Green is a relatively famous band, with a strong fanbase. Cool kids traveled from all over, including Kansas City and Omaha, just for the show. It was listed at $13 on Lawrence.com, but sure enough it was actually 14. Still, completely worth it.
The venue was barely big enough to fit everyone, and things got a little cramped sometimes, but with a steady flow of people going outside for cigarettes, and others resting in the bleachers, booths, and playing pool, it was do-able. Walking around from friends to friends, I saw that the entire crowd was able to get into the music easily, and there was a great, friendly vibe at the Bottleneck.
I left during the encore because I was already tired from dancing, and for more personal reasons, but I know that from first to last, every song was great. I look forward to seeing Tea Leaf Green again!

For the future: both my friend Josh Inman's band Potbilly, and Sonic Sutra will be playing this Friday night. I'm pretty sure I'll be seeing Josh' band, but if for any reason I cannot, Sonic Sutra should be a great show.
Looking ahead a while, I heard today that Galactic would be in town this February. Sure enough, according to Lawrence.com, Galactic and Karl Denson's Tiny Universe will be playing the Granada at 9 p.m. The price is "$19-$21". I'm pretty excited about this show!