Retroactive

During a recorded Cowboy Mouth performance of "Jenny Says" (available for a full, free listen on the band's website), vocalist Fred LeBlanc announces: "When the world is coming down, we're gonna play a solo." That slim statement -- a twist on a key line in the song's chorus -- is telling in terms of both the band's philosophy and its music. Cowboy Mouth, based in laissez-faire Louisiana, has a natural talent for turning even woebegone words into up-tempo rockers, and lyrics filled with heartbreak and sorrow are often backed by rollicking beats. Much of the music's spellbinding power comes from the skillful songwriting of its three original members, who still display the influences of their early careers in the '80s -- including guitarist John Thomas Griffith's stint in the Billboard-charting Red Rockers and LeBlanc's turn with the moderately popular Dash Rip Rock, which he left to found Cowboy Mouth in 1989. Today the Cowboys -- along with a recently added cowgirl -- play a lot of rousing "rocka" peppered with "billy" flavor and let the good times roll. While the band's albums are irresistible -- a bewitching voodoo brew of pop, alt/country and blues -- its infectious live performances are what keep fans so fervid. It might seem impossible to make each show fresh when an act plays over 150 times a year, but Denver doubtfuls can experience Cowboy Mouth's magic when the bayou-bred band opens for Robert Earl Keen this Saturday, September 25, at the Fillmore Auditorium.