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Best Political Show

Weather Report
Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art

Sometimes shows that take on political topics have the character of earnest class projects in a high-school corridor, but that was hardly the case with Weather Report: Art and Climate Change, a mammoth show organized by curator and art theorist Lucy Lippard. It not only filled the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art to capacity, but spilled over to the Boulder Public Library and various other places. Lippard tapped some of the most famous environmental artists in the world along with Colorado artists of the same ilk. The resulting show was as provocative as it was beautiful.

Best PowerPoint Presentations for Hipsters

Pecha Kucha Night

Twenty slides, twenty seconds each: That's the challenge issued to creative types in this international phenomenon, wherein invited presenters may expound upon their private worlds, credos, outlooks or whatever in a visual quickie with strict restraints. Denver is a new spot on the Pecha Kucha map; watch for these structured slide jams quarterly at Buntport Theater. To prepare yourself, visit the P-K website.

Best Prologue

Erik Edborg
Moby Dick Unread
Buntport Theater Company

No other company in town matches Buntport's humor and inventiveness, and the group's take on Moby Dick was no exception. But perhaps the funniest bit occurred at the very beginning, when Erik Edborg re-enacted the entire leviathan of a novel using nothing but a red plastic fish and a round fishbowl.

Best Purveyor of Artsy Rock

Denver Art Rock Collectivewww.myspace.com/denverartrockcollective

The term "art rock" conjures up so many negative connotations that most groups influenced by the style tend to prefer the word "progressive." But the Denver Art Rock Collective, also known as D.A.R.C., is devoted to resurrecting the label, as well as the movement's often loopy spirit of adventure. D.A.R.C. promotes concert appearances by such members as New Ancient Astronauts, Yerkish, Amphibious Jones and the Inactivists; it also compiled recordings by the various acts on Denver Art Rock Collective Vol. 1, 2007, which embraced the most intriguing aspects of the genre while avoiding its excesses. Finding that balance is a real art.

Best Purveyor of Electro-Pop

Jen Pumo

Adding electronics to traditional songs isn't exactly new. Decades after the form's pioneers began experimenting with Moogs and other doodads, however, many musicians still find it difficult to use this technology in an expressive way. Not so Pumo, whose most recent disc, All Over the Moon, finds her and collaborator Graham Pearce using the inherent chilliness of electronic accoutrements to enhance the atmosphere of such compelling tracks as "Sandstone" and "Space Girl." For both her sound and her future, the sky's the limit.

Best Reason to Go to Boulder for a Show — Still

Fox Theatre

Brandon Marshall
It may seem redundant to continue heaping praise on the Fox Theatre year after year. After all, the venue hasn't undergone any major renovations in recent memory. But it doesn't need to, because the Fox is still the best place along the Front Range to see a show. The sound is flawless, the sightlines unobstructed, and the talent is as compelling, relevant and diverse as ever. Nothing's changed at the Fox — and that's a good thing.

Best Reason to Go to the Springs for a Show

Piano Warehouse

The Piano Warehouse, which is located in Colorado Springs's arts district, hosts semi-regular, all-ages shows whose cover donations go directly to the bands. While a lot of those shows are punk rock, the venue welcomes performances from a full range of underground musicians. And it's truly a piano warehouse, with the bands setting up on one side of the spacious room and the audience mingling amid the piano models. We can make beautiful music together.

Best Reason to Stop Smoking and Start Exercising

Monolith Music Festival

Monolith was a killer last year. But to truly enjoy it, you had to be in good — if not great — shape, because more than half the stages were located at the top of the stairs that ring Red Rocks. Sure, we could have just plopped down and enjoyed the offerings on the main stage, but then we'd have missed incendiary performances from local heroes and other up-and-coming indie acts. After the fourth or fifth trek up those endless steps, it became clear that the pack-and-a-half daily habit we've been nursing isn't such a hot idea. We've since quit and are now in training for this year's festival. If you're considering attending, you should follow suit.

Best Record Label

Rope Swing Cities

Since its launch a little over two years ago, the quirky, eclectic Rope Swing Cities has issued nearly thirty releases in a variety of genres, ranging from the spacey electronic abstractions of Loafeye and the intricate mind-fuck programming of Ten to Tracer's IDM soundscapes and the emotional indie rock of Roger, Roll. Every release is distributed as a free download from the label's website, with select high-profile releases getting deluxe, limited CD treatment. A well-kept Denver secret, Rope Swing Cities has nonetheless established itself as a place for adventurous listeners to discover something new without risk, carving out a fantastic niche for itself even as the traditional concept of a label becomes more irrelevant.

Best Recording

Ian Cooke
The Fall I Fell

Next to death, unrequited love is perhaps the cruelest of life's inventions. Few things are as euphoric as the rush of endorphins you feel the first time someone truly steals the breath from your lungs — or as soul-crushing as later realizing that the one you love doesn't love you. On The Fall I Fell, Ian Cooke does a masterful job of articulating the poignancy of such a scenario over the course of a dozen tracks. From the chamber-heavy instrumentation to Cooke's unique vocal style, this disc is as compelling musically as it is thematically, and its packaging was both unique and perfect. Hands down, Fell was the best local recording of the past year.

Best Of Denver®

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