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Lutheran Medical Center lobby

Sure, it may sound like nightmarish DTs to a barfly in the prime of his life, but there are people out there who actually enjoy listening to the tinkling of the ivories without the cacophony of rattling ice cubes and expectorating stool-clingers. And you just may find those people settling into the comfy chairs surrounding the white baby grand piano in the lobby of the Lutheran Medical Center. The piano was donated by hospital volunteers, who could see the healing power of music. Anyone with the gift is welcome to play the instrument -- except for the times when professional musicians volunteer to warm the bench, the keys and the hearts of hospital patients.

Readers' choice: 16th Street Mall

Best free entertainment

Lutheran Medical Center lobby

Sure, it may sound like nightmarish DTs to a barfly in the prime of his life, but there are people out there who actually enjoy listening to the tinkling of the ivories without the cacophony of rattling ice cubes and expectorating stool-clingers. And you just may find those people settling into the comfy chairs surrounding the white baby grand piano in the lobby of the Lutheran Medical Center. The piano was donated by hospital volunteers, who could see the healing power of music. Anyone with the gift is welcome to play the instrument -- except for the times when professional musicians volunteer to warm the bench, the keys and the hearts of hospital patients.

Readers' choice: 16th Street Mall

Best specialty film festival

Aurora Asian Film Festival

Among the Denver area's several intriguing new film festivals, which address everything from jazz on celluloid to the pan-African experience, the Aurora Asian Film Festival has the most variety and the largest reach. This spring's third edition of the fest screened over four days at the graceful Aurora Fox Theatre and featured a dozen new films from Hong Kong, Japan, China, India, the Philippines and the United States. The roster included the heartwarming Fly Me to Polaris (Hong Kong), in which a blind saxophonist who is killed by a motorist returns to earth with a second chance to express his unspoken love for the nurse who cared for him. Musical performances, Oriental cuisine and an art show augment the festival.

Best specialty film festival

Aurora Asian Film Festival

Among the Denver area's several intriguing new film festivals, which address everything from jazz on celluloid to the pan-African experience, the Aurora Asian Film Festival has the most variety and the largest reach. This spring's third edition of the fest screened over four days at the graceful Aurora Fox Theatre and featured a dozen new films from Hong Kong, Japan, China, India, the Philippines and the United States. The roster included the heartwarming Fly Me to Polaris (Hong Kong), in which a blind saxophonist who is killed by a motorist returns to earth with a second chance to express his unspoken love for the nurse who cared for him. Musical performances, Oriental cuisine and an art show augment the festival.

Best split-personality club

La Rumba/Trinity

Last year, when Ninth Avenue West became La Rumba, the club shifted its focus from swing to salsa, a move that reduced the number of wing tip wearers in the crowd while upping its quotient of Latin-music lovers. Now the club is sometimes known as Trinity, a progressive dance environment that has welcomed glow-stick-carrying denizens, international acts like the Basement Jaxx and also spinning sessions from the fabulous Freakbeat DJ duo. Sound like an identity crisis? Nah. It's a smart use of a great space. Let's get ready to Rumba.

Best split-personality club

La Rumba/Trinity

Last year, when Ninth Avenue West became La Rumba, the club shifted its focus from swing to salsa, a move that reduced the number of wing tip wearers in the crowd while upping its quotient of Latin-music lovers. Now the club is sometimes known as Trinity, a progressive dance environment that has welcomed glow-stick-carrying denizens, international acts like the Basement Jaxx and also spinning sessions from the fabulous Freakbeat DJ duo. Sound like an identity crisis? Nah. It's a smart use of a great space. Let's get ready to Rumba.

Best impromptu karaoke in a Mexican dive bar

Satire Restaurant & Lounge

Sure, it sounds better after a couple (or several) tall drafts and maybe a bowl of chips. But regardless of your sobriety level, it's a pretty safe bet that on any given night, the Satire will be filled with folks who've been there for a while -- folks who are ready to sing like Ethel Merman on Xanax. Bar-wide renderings of all the hits from the Beatles, the Doors, Jimi Hendrix and James Brown are almost as much a part of the Satire scene as the saucy bartenders and Joe the waiter's warning that your plate is hot. Just don't forget to raise your glass when you raise your voice in song.

Best impromptu karaoke in a Mexican dive bar

Satire Restaurant & Lounge

Skyler McKinley
Sure, it sounds better after a couple (or several) tall drafts and maybe a bowl of chips. But regardless of your sobriety level, it's a pretty safe bet that on any given night, the Satire will be filled with folks who've been there for a while -- folks who are ready to sing like Ethel Merman on Xanax. Bar-wide renderings of all the hits from the Beatles, the Doors, Jimi Hendrix and James Brown are almost as much a part of the Satire scene as the saucy bartenders and Joe the waiter's warning that your plate is hot. Just don't forget to raise your glass when you raise your voice in song.

Best place to pretend it's 1940

Turk's Supper Club

Most of the week, Turk's Supper Club is a friendly blue-collar joint where you can get a decent burger and a beer for about six bucks. On Monday nights, however, the pool tables are moved to the side to make way for an old-fashioned bandstand and the twenty-person-plus Denver Jazz Orchestra, which uses the historic tavern as a practice and performance space. Led by trumpeter Sam Bivens -- who came to Denver by way of New York City and has spent nearly sixty years as a professional jazzman -- the DJO finds both young and older musicians traversing a repertoire of Big Band-era classics alongside more modern sounds. The free weekly events are simply music to the ears.

Best place to pretend it's 1940

Turk's Supper Club

Most of the week, Turk's Supper Club is a friendly blue-collar joint where you can get a decent burger and a beer for about six bucks. On Monday nights, however, the pool tables are moved to the side to make way for an old-fashioned bandstand and the twenty-person-plus Denver Jazz Orchestra, which uses the historic tavern as a practice and performance space. Led by trumpeter Sam Bivens -- who came to Denver by way of New York City and has spent nearly sixty years as a professional jazzman -- the DJO finds both young and older musicians traversing a repertoire of Big Band-era classics alongside more modern sounds. The free weekly events are simply music to the ears.

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