A Place to Bury Strangers

A Place to Bury Strangers at Larimer, 11/11/12

A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS @ LARIMER LOUNGE |11/11/12 It's never boring when you go see A Place to Bury Strangers play, and last night at the Larimer was no exception. The band overwhelmed the senses for the bulk of the set. A tasteful layer of fog drifted around the stage, sliced through with strea ... More >>

Oliver Ackerman of A Place to Bury Strangers on the joys of creating Total Sonic Annihilation

A Place to Bury Strangers makes the kind of guitar rock that doesn't just carry melody but is rather a palpable, elemental presence in the room. From early on, the act drew immediate comparisons to My Bloody Valentine, Jesus and Mary Chain, the Cure and Big Black, as critics searched for adequate an ... More >>

The ten best concerts this weekend: Nov. 9-11

Welcome to the weekend! You ready to toss a few cold ones back and get a little loose? Thought so. Us, too. As always, there is ton of good music and a wide variety at that to dazzle and delight you this weekend in our fine city. If you're a completist who prefers to craft your own itinerary, we've ... More >>

Backbeat's top five spins: This is what we're listening to this week. What's on your playlist?

As people who think about, talk about, write about, listen to and make music, it shouldn't be surprising to find that the most common (and mutually favorite) topic of conversation among us is the same: "What are you listening to right now?" Stick a quarter in us, and, boy, wouldn't you know it, off ... More >>

Denver music field guide, chapter two: Five kinds of music fans and how to spot them

The city of Denver is known for its various species of beer geeks, outdoor enthusiasts and sports fans, but the varied climate of the Denver music scene cultivates a diverse cluster of fans, from metal heads to hippies to Juggalos. Here, in the first of several chapters in our handy field guide, you ... More >>

Denver music field guide, chapter one: Five kinds of music fans and how to spot them

The city of Denver is known for its various species of beer geeks, outdoor enthusiasts and sports fans, but the varied climate of the Denver music scene cultivates a diverse cluster of fans, from metal heads to hippies to Juggalos. Here, in the first of several chapters in our handy field guide, you ... More >>

New Colorado Concerts: Smashing Pumpkins at 1STBANK, Yonder Mountain at Boulder Theater

Smashing Pumpkins leads this week's new show announcements. The '90s alt rock band fronted by Billy Corgan will make its way to Colorado this October for a show at 1STBANK Center. Tickets for the show go on sale this Friday. Yonder Mountain String Band, Aesop Rock, the Faint and Mayer Hawthorne are ... More >>

The five most listened-to songs and albums of the week, August 20 through August 27

Well, lookie here. What you do know? It's the return of Heavy Rotation. Longtime readers of Backbeat will remember this feature as one in which we shared our weekly listening habits in hopes of giving you some insight into our individual sensibilities. It's been dormant for a while, but starting tod ... More >>

New Colorado Concerts: Kreayshawn at the Fox, Sleigh Bells at the Boulder Theater and more

See also: - Alanis Morissette, State Radio, Adventure Club and more - Bruce Springsteen, Waka Flocka Flame, Chevelle and more - Gov't Mule two nights in September, Primus in November and more - The Who, New Order, the Script, Minus the Bear, Cursive and more - Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, Odd Future ... More >>

New Denver Concerts: Alanis Morissette, State Radio, Adventure Club and more on sale Friday

See also: - Bruce Springsteen, Waka Flocka Flame, Chevelle and more - Gov't Mule two nights in September, Primus in November and more - The Who, New Order, the Script, Minus the Bear, Cursive lead this week's shows - Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, Odd Future, Atmosphere and XX lead this week's shows ... More >>

New Denver Concerts: Bruce Springsteen, Waka Flocka Flame, Chevelle and more

See Also: - Gov't Mule two nights in September, Primus in November and more - The Who, New Order, the Script, Minus the Bear, Cursive lead this week's shows - Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, Odd Future, Atmosphere and XX lead this week's shows - Afghan Whigs, Amanda Palmer, Aimee Mann and Seether lead t ... More >>

UMS 2012: Bad Weather California delivers an old-fashioned rock show

See Also: People of UMS 2011 Kicked off the first day of UMS by catching Bad Weather California in a very humid 3 Kings Tavern. People were packed in pretty tight in the middle of the room and mostly on the flanks. BWC played a loose, relaxed set like the guys had a group meeting beforehand and all ... More >>

Afghan Whigs, Amanda Palmer, Aimee Mann and Seether lead this week's new shows

See Also: - Mumford and Sons, Brother Ali, Henry Rollins and Melvins Lite lead this week's shows - Morrissey, Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube, Dinosaur Jr., Jackson Browne lead new shows - Wiz Khalifa, Mac Miller, Shinedown, Godsmack, Steve Vai and Kimbra lead new shows Oh, man, what a fall we have to look ... More >>

Review: The Joy Formidable and A Place to Bury Strangers at the Bluebird Theater, 3/17/12

THE JOY FORMIDABLE @ BLUEBIRD | 3/17/12With a sample of spoken words as an intro, one of the moments in the set where The Joy Formidable shined the brightest was during "Buoy." From its moody, murky beginning to its steady, rapid progression into something altogether more bombastic and expansive, th ... More >>

Q&A with The Joy Formidable: "It's important to always push people to feel something"

The Joy Formidable (due this Saturday, March 17, at the Bluebird Theater with A Place to Bury Strangers) is one of the most aptly named bands of the last several years. Its dream pop atmospheres and sheer exuberance as a live band have wowed audiences wherever the band plays. Part of its charm, too, ... More >>

Mile Highlights: Denver/Boulder area concert news, local radio playlists and top album sales

​ Here's what's hot this week in music on the Front Range: On the concert front, new shows featuring Madonna, Jeff Mangum, the String Cheese Incident, Jane's Addiction, B.B. King and more were announced; Lola Black, Fresh Breath Committee and the Autumn Film got spins on local radio; and recent a ... More >>

Mile Highlights: Denver/Boulder area concert news, local radio playlists and top album sales

Here's what's hot this week in music on the Front Range: On the concert front, new shows featuring Girl Talk, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Battles, Bon Iver and Feist, LMFAO, Destroyer, Anders Osborne and Classix were announced; the Swayback, Coles Whalen and Strip the Stars got spins on local radio; ... More >>

Mile Highlights: Denver/Boulder area concert news, local radio playlists and top album sales

Here's what's hot this week in music on the Front Range: On the concert front, new shows featuring the Beach Boys, Florence the Machine, the Walkmen, Passion Pit and Justice were announced; Coles Whalen, Caleb Slade, FaceMan and the Apples got spins on local radio; and recent albums from Adele, Te ... More >>

Review: ManCub at the Hi-Dive, 7/9/11

ManCub last night at the hi-dive.​Nothing you've heard about ManCub can probably prepare you for ManCub. It would be easy to compare the duo to Daft Punk because both make groove-heavy electronic music and have an arresting visual element to their shows, but ManCub seems more tied-in with a ... More >>

Good Friday: A Place To Bury Strangers, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. and more this weekend

A Place To Bury Strangers​The summer concert season is in full-swing, and it seems that every venue in town is booked though the weekend. With seemingly endless options, we've put together a list of shows we think are worth checking out, starting with A Place To Bury Strangers, back in Denver ... More >>

2011 Westword Music Showcase Ballot

​Seventeen years! It's hard to believe we've been doing the Westword Music Showcase for that long. I can still remember being at the first one in LoDo nearly two decades ago. And when I think back, it seems like that cold, rainy Sunday night was just a few years ago.

Mile Highlights: Shows announced/on sale this week, local radio playlists and top local sellers

Here's what's good in the Mile High City this week. On the concert front: Alison Krauss is coming to Red Rocks, while Godsmack, Megadeth and Disturbed are due at Comfort Dental for the The Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival and Wiz Khalifa brings his Rolling Papers World Tour to the 1STBANK. Me ... More >>

The Body brings the apocalypse to Blast-O-Mat, 3/7/11

Kyle SmithThe Body​ THE BODY With MjolniirDXP 03.07.11 | Blast-O-Mat "That seemed quiet to me. I dunno, was that loud?" Body guitarist Chip King asked us this earnestly after his band's set last night, worried that one of his bookcase-sized amps wasn't quite pulling its weight, perhaps due t ... More >>

Beside Rick Ross and Big Boi, we're all listening to completely different stuff this week

​As people who think about, talk about, listen to and make music, the most common question we encounter is, "What are you listening to right now?" So whether you're looking for recommendations, trying to get a feel for our individual sensibilities, or are just curious, we've compiled a list of ... More >>

The Chain Gang of 1974, Jónsi, Wire Faces and more top our weekly playlists

​As people who think about, talk about, listen to and make music, the most common question we encounter is, "What are you listening to right now?" So whether you're looking for recommendations, trying to get a feel for our individual sensibilities, or are just curious, we've compiled a list of ... More >>

The Big Pink does its best to follow A Place to Bury Strangers at the Bluebird

A Place to Bury Strangers​ The Big Pink • A Place to Bury Strangers • lo Echo • Boyhollow 04.11.10 | Bluebird Theater Boyhollow opened the show and set the stage for the rock bands that followed with a selection of songs that included some of the latter day melodic post-punk bands. He ... More >>

Beer, baseball and Swedish rock: Over the Weekend

Aaron Thackeray​We call these Monday-morning roundups TWIB Notes. As in, The Weekend in Beer: • It started Friday with Opening Day festivities, which Aaron Thackeray captured. • It continued Friday night when the Swedes of Miike Show rocked the Ogden -- and then after the party made thei ... More >>

The Weekend Showdown: Experience the FoCoMX

​ We would hate for you to miss out on all the awesome that happens every weekend in our fair city, so we've decided to run down five of the best shows in one easy-to-swallow post, with video and audio. Tell us -- and the rest of the world -- what we missed in the comments. This week, the F ... More >>

Hey, DJ! Q&A with boyhollow

Every Friday we spotlight the hottest cats (and kittens) behind the decks in the MHC, grilling them to gain some insight on what it takes, exactly, to get the party rocking, to find out about their most treasured crate digging experiences and what they really think when we stumble up to them half co ... More >>

Heavy Rotation, our top spins for the week of February 8, 2010

​As music critics -- and people who generally think about, talk about, listen to and make music -- the most common question we get asked (and ask each other, for that matter) is, "What are you listening to right now?" The pervasiveness of this query is precisely what inspired Heavy Rotation. ... More >>

Backbeat writers weigh in on the year's best national releases

This Just In: Jay Farrar & Benjamin Gibbard, Michael Buble, Nick Jonas shows announced

​While recording songs for Jim Sampas' documentary about Jack Kerouac, Son Volt's Jay Farrar and Death Cab for Cutie's Benjamin Gibbard realized they both shared an affinity for the famed Beat writer. After recording songs for the film, the pair continued to work on songs using words from Kerouac' ... More >>

Lightning Bolt grabs top spot at Wax Trax

​Noise rock duo Lightning Bolt grabbed the top spot at Wax Trax with Earthly Delights for the week ending November 1. Investigate Witch Cults of The Radio Age, Broadcast and the Focus Group's collaborative mini-album came in at number two while Shrinebuilder's self-titled debut came ... More >>

Heavy Rotation, our top spins for the week of November 2, 2009

​As music critics, the most common question we get asked (and ask each other, for that matter) is, "What are you listening to?" The pervasiveness of this query is precisely what inspired Heavy Rotation. For the benefit of those who happen to be curious, we've compiled a list of all the things we'r ... More >>

Heavy Rotation, our top spins for the week of October 12, 2009

​As music critics, the most common question we get asked (and ask each other, for that matter) is, "What are you listening to?" The pervasiveness of this query is precisely what inspired Heavy Rotation, our latest feature. For the benefit of those who happen to be curious, we've compiled a list of ... More >>

Air top seller at Wax Trax

​French electronic duo Air grabbed the top spot at Wax Trax with its latest effort, Love 2, which was released last week on Astralwerks. A Place to Bury Strangers' There is No Enemy and Built to Spill's There is No Enemy, both issued last week, nabbed the second on third slots, while New Model Arm ... More >>

Heavy Rotation, our top spins for the week of October 5, 2009

​​As music critics, the most common question we get asked (and ask each other, for that matter) is, "What are you listening to?" The pervasiveness of this query is precisely what inspired Heavy Rotation, our latest feature. For the benefit of those who happen to be curious, we've compiled a list ... More >>

Built to Spill, Brother Ali, Colbie Caillat shows announced

​Built to Spill, who headlined this year's Westword Music Showcase, will come through town again, this time with Disco Doom at the Bluebird Sunday, September 20. Minneapolis-based rapper Brother Ali makes stops at the Ogden Theatre Tuesday September 29 and the Fox Theatre on Wednesday, September 3 ... More >>

Westword Music Showcase: How I saw thirty bands in five hours and lived to tell about it

Photo by Bert Ross For this year's Saturday's Westword Music Showcase, I told myself I was going to take it easy. No running around like an idiot, trying to see as many acts as possible. Instead, I would move at a leisurely pace, sampling and savoring instead of trying to gorge myself on as much mu ... More >>

A band-by-band guide to the 2009 Westword Music Showcase

Update: Westword Music Showcase line-up

Update: As with year's past, before the ink's even dry on the schedule, we've had to make made some minor more changes. Among the recent ones: We've moved the metal showcase from Andrew's to Broadways (two doors down from Bar Standard, next to the pawnshop), and moved the punk line-up to Bannock Str ... More >>

From Mile High to Monolith, breaking down Denver's summer music fests

The Mile High Music Fest returns to Dick's with Tool, Widespread Panic and the Fray. With so many music festivals to fill up your summer and drain your pocketbook, we put together a handy rundown of Denver's fests, in order of their appearance on your calendar. Which are you looking most forward to ... More >>

This Just In: Cursive added to Westword Music Showcase lineup

Wendy Lynch RedfernAll right, just when you thought it couldn't get any better (or at least that's what we thought), it has. Talking about the 15th annual Westword Music Showcase here, an event that already includes more than fifty of Denver's best and brightest and a main stage offering that featur ... More >>

This just in: A Place to Bury Strangers added to Westword Music Showcase line-up

All right, so by now you've heard that Mudhoney had to opt off the Westword Music Showcase due to a scheduling conflict, which bummed some folks out, ourselves included. Well, our spirits have subsequently been lifted with the confirmation of A Place to Bury Strangers, who has signed on to perform a ... More >>

Mile Hi-Fidelity recast playlist - 01.21.09

Update: Wednesday night's show has been posted after the jump.Well, we made it through another show. What are we at, like, seven now? Kind of lost count. Somebody's keeping track, right? Anyhow, it was a good one, but like I said at the beginning of the show, you'd hardly expect to hear otherwise fr ... More >>

Live Review: A Place to Bury Strangers

The (literally) deafening buzz of A Place to Bury Strangers

If you're a music fan, you'll be at Monolith this weekend — and this is what should be on your must-see list

Monolith Announces 22 More Acts

Monolith Line Up Announced