Freedom & Liberties, the new show at Capsule Gallery, leaves a lot of room for interpretation. "I have wanted to do a show on the theme of freedom and liberties for a long time because Bush, in his State of the Union speech, used those words an ungodly amount of times," says Capsule owner Lauri Lynnxe Murphy. "They get repeated over and over until they are almost meaningless. So I wanted to open up that can of worms."
And dozens of artists took the challenge, submitting their works to be judged by celebrity juror Ivar Zeile, who runs + Gallery. "I expected all this political art, and I got some of that, but I also got a lot of boobs," Murphy says. "Really personal stuff. But I love doing juried shows because I see what people bring, and it's a good way to find new talent."
New talent such as Mark Tyler, who received Zeile's Juror's Choice award. "Some of the artists may feel a little jaded because they may have appeared to be obvious choices for inclusion, but I looked at everything from an aesthetic of what seems to be the most exciting, the most creative. What seems to be the most fresh," Zeile says. "[Tyler] submitted two or three paintings that were approached from a manic-obsessive direction, but they had a content and general craziness to them. They really felt unlike anything I'd seen for a while locally."
Come and see Tyler's work -- which is done on Styrofoam boards -- and Zeile's other choices at the opening reception tonight at Capsule, 554 Santa Fe Drive, from 7 to 11 p.m. The show hangs until December 3. For more information, call 303-623-3460. -- Amy Haimerl
Double Dare
Can't make the show? Hit the Bauhaus after-party.
SAT, 11/5
Whether or not they know it, an entire fleet of today's "alternative" musicians tread ground first stomped by Bauhaus. Sprung from the appropriately melancholy landscape of Northampton, England, in 1979, the British band birthed the goth-music movement, channeled T-Rex and Bowie, and melded melodramatic electronica with heavy metal. Though it broke up in 1983 -- vocalist Peter Murphy pursued a solo career, and founders David J and Daniel Ash went on to form Love and Rockets -- Bauhaus spawned a cult following that long outlasted its career.
Bauhaus fans have had little to go on since 1998, when the band surprised everyone with a reunion tour. Seven years later, they've decided to give it another go, with a stop in Denver tonight. And though the main event takes place at the Paramount Theatre, the band will play a special after-show party at Rock Island, 1614 15th Street, at 11:30 p.m. Tickets are $5. The LoDo club -- which has helped keep local goths happy and dancing for nearly two decades -- will donate all proceeds to Urban Peak and the Foundation for the Lights On Afterschool! Initiative, two organizations that serve Denver youth.
The sky hasn't gone out, after all.
For more information, call 303-572-7625. -- Laura Bond
It's a Mod, Mod World
FRI, 11/4
Taking a cue from The Rolling Stones' Rock and Roll Circus, the Walnut Room, 3131 Walnut Street, is whipping up a variety of acts for Rising Up!, its monthly mod-inspired arts-and-music showcase. Tonight, Sir Ralston Purina is ringmaster of the show, which features photography from Thomas Ackermann, disc jockey nonsense from Magic Cyclops and music from the Start Ups, King for a Day, Red Glow Aviator and Color of Sound. Bring a canned-food item to benefit the Food Bank of the Rockies and get $2 off the $7 cover. Scooterists always get in for just $4. For information, log on to www.myspace.com/risingup denver. -- Tuyet Nguyen
Whiskey River
The bourbon flows with Jim Beam's great-grandson.
THURS, 11/3
If I said that my great-grandfather Harold was a veteran of World War II and that he always made my cheese sandwiches by buttering both pieces of bread first, nobody would care. But when 48-year-old Fred Noe tells people about his great-great-great-great-grandpa Jim and about the family gatherings back in the hills of Kentucky, people act like Pavlov's dogs, drooling a little and getting that itchy feeling in the back of their throats.
What gives? Well, Noe's great-granddaddy is Jim Beam. "He's a seventh-generation distiller -- your true, down-home Kentucky representative of the brand," says Jennifer Christopher, a Jim Beam brand representative.
Noe is in town this weekend to promote the family's line of small-batch bourbons. Tonight, he's hosting a free meet-and-greet-and-bourbon-tasting at Bull & Bush Pub & Brewery, 4700 Cherry Creek South, at 8 p.m., and at Gibby's, 1555 South Havana Street in Aurora, at 10 p.m. Tomorrow night, he'll meet with the ladies only from 4 to 6 p.m. at Cool River Cafe, 8000 East Belleview Avenue. For more information, visit www.knobcreek.com. -- Drew Bixby