Billy the Kid

Photos: Denver Now showcases Mile High businesses -- as of 1982

Back in 1982, the Mile High City-set series Dynasty was the most popular show on TV, but only establishing shots were regularly filmed here. So what was Denver really like back then? We stumbled upon a regular time-machine of a book that shows us: Denver Now, described as "Denver's Business Showcase ... More >>

Bill Koch could create a real Western heritage for Denver and the Stock Show

How to put profit back in the non-profit National Western Stock Show -- enough to keep it corralled in its current location? That's the question a group of NWSS officials, business types and city representatives are studying, and their mission includes the possibility of establishing a Western herit ... More >>

Photos: William Havu Gallery's Toy Stories II is not just for children

In this week's review, Michael Paglia visits William Havu Gallery for the second installment of its Toy Stories exhibit -- the first half of which came around in the summer of 2011. The group show features paintings, ceramic works and sculptures that are all inspired by toys -- though not necessaril ... More >>

Garryowen, Montana: Historic town pulled off the auction block

I've seen a lot of Western history auctioned off over the last year. I watched as billionaire William Koch bid $2 million to buy an original photo of Billy the Kid, and traveled up to Buford, population one, to see that tiny Wyoming town get sold -- for $900,000 -- to a man from Vietnam who'd never ... More >>

Central City bet pays off for Boulder developer, who bids $525,000

People have been paying big for little pieces of Western history. William Koch bid more than $2 million for a tintype of Billy the Kid, and paid about that much for the old town of Buckskin Joe. A Vietnamese national shelled out $900,000 for the town of Buford, Wyoming,, population one.

Buford, the one-person Wyoming town, sells for $900,000

Long before Buford -- the tiny Wyoming town with its own zip code but a population of exactly one -- became an international sensation, it was a road-trip must-stop for my family. We'd discovered it one morning when we'd zipped past Cheyenne and realized we might need gas before Laramie. Buford, loc ... More >>

Five misinformed rock songs

Of all the occupations listed on Bono's resume (humanitarian, hotel owner, British Knight, world bank advisor, anathema to any rock fan under thirty), one that has never been considered was historian. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated 44 years ago today, an event the U2 singer attempted to ... More >>

The Smiths' Louder Than Bombs turns 25 years old today

Tony Wilson (the Andy Warhol of Manchester, England) once made the hackneyed statement "Morrissey is a woman trapped in a man's body," to which the dandified frontman of the Smiths eventually replied, "Tony Wilson is a man trapped in a pig's body." The two were friends and icons of the Manchester mu ... More >>

Old Cow Town Ranch going to auction -- don't tell William Koch

​Last year, billionaire William Koch bought Buckskin Joe for $3.1 million, and moved the buildings to his private ranch outside Gunnison. But now you've got another chance to buy an old-timey Colorado town... if Koch, who also dropped $2 million on a Billy the Kid tintype, isn't there with his ... More >>

Billionaire Bill Koch buys the town of Buckskin Joe and moves it to his ranch

William Koch buys another piece of Western history: Buckskin Joe

​Turns out that William Koch, the Florida billionaire who bought the tintype of Billy the Kid for more than two million bucks at a Denver auction in June, isn't just interested in photos of the Old West. He's interested in Old West towns, too. And he just bought himself a big chunk of Colorado ... More >>

Buffalo bull! Steve Friesen gets a visit from Pawn Stars

Cowboys, aliens and the five worst "vs." movies of all time

​Cowboys and Aliens, out today, tells the charming and classic story of what happens when cowboys meet aliens: They all shoot each other. It stars Daniel Craig, who's British, which makes sense because while Wyatt Earp was shooting dudes in Tombstone, the Brits were drinking crumpets or whatev ... More >>

National Western Stock Show heading to Aurora? Hold your horses!

​Back in the wild, wild West, rustlers were shot for stealing your property. Here in the mild, mild West, they hire lawyers and lobbyists and ask you to help build their new corral. Because now it looks like Denver will not only lose the National Western Stock Show to Aurora, but may pay for t ... More >>

Koch brothers: Tea Party funders' meeting near Vail draws progressive protesters (PHOTOS)

Big pics below.​While William Koch was paying $2 million for a photo of Billy the Kid, his brothers, conservative lightning rods Charles and David, were meeting at the Ritz-Carlton resort at Bachelor Gulch near Vail -- a get-together that spurred a protest stirred up in part by ProgressNow Col ... More >>

Billy the Kid photo really worth $2 million? Ask Billy the Koch

​It's safe to say the auction exceeded expectations. The only known photograph of William McCarty, alias Billy the Kid, was expected to draw bids around $400,000 over the weekend at Brian Lebel's Old West Show & Auction in Denver. Instead, it went for a jaw-dropping $2 million to oilman and ya ... More >>

Billy the Kid photo snapped up for $2 million by Willam Koch

Billy the Kid (full photo below)​The only known photo of Billy the Kid was predicted to sell for $300,000 to $400,000 at the 22nd annual Old West Show & Auction in Denver tonight. But the circa 1879 tintype went for five times that in spirited, and speedy, bidding that ended at $2 million. Tha ... More >>

Denver PrideFest: What was your proudest moment? (VIDEO)

Video below.​Earlier this week, we shares a slideshow of coming out stories at Denver PrideFest. But while similar references pop up on occasion in a new video featuring PrideFest participants sharing their proudest moments, they don't dominate -- an indication of how wide-ranging and all-enc ... More >>

Martha Stewart glass table explodes, and not for the first time (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

Martha Stewart.​Martha Stewart drew blood on Father's Day. Or at least a glass patio tables marketed under the Martha Stewart Living brand did. According to Arvada's Nancy Passarella, she and her family were sitting down for a meal when the table shattered for no particular reason -- and they ... More >>

Billy the Kid photo for sale in Denver: Price tag $400,000?

Big pic below.​A credit-card-sized tintype of William H. McCarty, alias William Bonney, alias Billy the Kid -- arguably the single most famous photograph to emerge from the Wild West -- will be up for public sale for the first time ever in Denver next weekend. And no, the young desperado in th ... More >>

SXSW Travelogue: Danielle Ate the Sandwich checks from the road in route to Austin

​ Thursday, March 18 Uh, hey. It's Danielle Ate the Sandwich. I've been on the road and away from home a couple of days now, and am officially one hour from Austin and ready to go. Today, I play at Bar 512 for the Spokesbuzz Showcase. I'm excited to play with a lot of great bands from Fort C ... More >>

Justify My Love: Defending '50s and '60s country

​Okay, we all have some skeletons in our closet, shit we dig -- be it music, movies or television shows -- that we'd just as soon nobody else knew about. "Guilty pleasures" is what most people term these sort of inclinations. Well, here at Backbeat, there's no shame in our game -- assuming, of ... More >>

Ten eleven albums for your summer road trip

With the passing of Memorial Day we can finally say summer is here. And with summer comes summer camp, vacations and tours -- and how do we get there? We drive. That's how. This is America, after all. In celebration of seemingly endless sunny days and left-arm tans, we've picked some of our favori ... More >>

A Billy Come Due

Like a Complete Unknown

I'm Not There and the changing face of Bob Dylan on film.

I'm Not There

The elusive Bob Dylan, masterfully considered.

A Bounteous Bunch

Bringing It All Back Home

Take a peek inside the nation's unlikeliest Bob Dylan archive.

Dirty Work

The Dirty Three make instrumental music with plenty to say.

KRIS AND TELL

A REMINDER FROM KRIS KRISTOFFERSON: HIS LIFE ISN'T ONLY AN ACT.

VIOLENCE IS GOLDEN

PSYCHO ANALYST

THRILLS