Update 10/9/12: Contest is over. Congratulations to our winners, Leigh Kinealy and Hermes Solomon. Check your email for details on how to claim your tickets -- and thanks to everybody else for the other entries and for reading Backbeat. Good morning! And, oh, what a good morning it is! If you haven ... More >>
Last week, we shared our ten favorite item from the You know you're from Colorado When Tumblr. When we shared the post on the Westword Facebook page, we asked for your favorite ways to complete this sentence -- and you definitely came through. In fact, many of your answers were arguably better than ... More >>
Fall is less than a week away, and the mountains of Colorado glitter with gold. But the culinary scene glitters just as bright this time of year. Here's a taste of what's on the menu:
There's a cornucopia of culinary events this weekend -- from farm celebrations both urban and rural to beer olympics, wine festivals, a toga party and more. Here's a taste of what's on the menu:
Remember Spencer? He was that gorgeous gay man I was going to marry this past May to protest the fact that it's 2012 and we, as Colorado residents, still can't legally commit to the loves of our lives through the public and legal acknowledgement of marriage, civil unions or whatever the hell else th ... More >>
Seven weeks to the day since the Aurora theater shooting, the sort of James Holmes tribute pages that popped up in the immediate aftermath of the massacre are showing unexpected staying power on Facebook. Most (like this one) are mainly about shock value. But the largest Facebook group we've found - ... More >>
Dish, Westword's eighteenth annual food-and-drink festival in Sculpture Park at the Denver Performing Arts Complex, is only hours away and our mouths are watering just thinking about all the delicious eats that will be featured there. Here's a sampling of more on the menu:
When Greeley's Treff Carpenter, a field engineer for Noble Energy, died Sunday after a fall in Boulder Canyon, he was doing something he loved. That's clear from his Facebook page, which is dominated by photos and videos of mountain climbing -- a couple posted just days before his tragic death. See ... More >>
Okay, speaking from experience, having seen Colorado's most exotic band once upon a time at Red Rocks on a cool September evening not all that long ago, this will surely be an extraordinary night to remember, the highlight of the fall, if we may be so bold. And we may, considering that DeVotchKa wil ... More >>
Update 8/31/12: Contest is over. Congratulations to Katherine Windheuser. You and a guest will be our guest at SummerGrind tomorrow at the Gothic Theatre and Moe's. Check your email for details of how to claim your tickets. Feel like getting punk in drublic? Man, oh, man, you came to the right pla ... More >>
This week's feature centers on two emerging labels/collectives focused on elevating the local electronic music scene. While one of those outfits, Dirty//Clean, is on its way to becoming pretty well established, the other, Holy Underground, is just getting underway and will be celebrating its launch ... More >>
If you are interested in both snow sports and live music -- and let's face it: If you're reading this, you live in Colorado -- you could do no better than stopping by any of the Snowboard Films premieres at Summit Music Hall throughout the month. For free. Hosted by Snowboard Colorado magazine, each ... More >>
It's a quintessential Colorado week on the culinary calendar, with lots of local beer and wine, plenty of excuses to chill outside -- and a bike race. Here's a taste of what's on the event menu:
Most toilet seats are meant to be sat upon. But once in a while, there comes a throne cover fit to decorate a wall. And that's the case with the seats going up for auction tomorrow night at the Sh%ts & Giggles Charity Art Show -- though event organizer Adam Rose of the Fallen Owl Tattoo shop says m ... More >>
Businesses across the country are coming out with stances on gay marriage, including Chick-Fil-A and Lakewood's own Masterpiece Cakeshop. The bakery does not create cakes for gay ceremonies. The decision, publicized by rejected couple Dave Mullins and Charlie Craig, made waves across the Internet, ... More >>
Arvada's Voss Farms is looking for volunteers to harvest its hops -- and whoever shows up will be able to brag about how they helped supply some serious flavor for Black Shirt Brewing (opening in September), Wynkoop Brewing, Strange Brewing and Arvada Beer, all of which will use the hops in their be ... More >>
The sudden proliferation of James Holmes Facebook tribute pages exemplifies the outlets for venom the Internet provides in the wake of tragedies like the Aurora theater shootings. But the web can also serve as a valuable gathering place for people in mourning, as witnessed by a far more positive Fa ... More >>
Rory O'Rourke thinks traditional dating sites are too static. "You talk about yourself or fill out a bunch of survey questions, and throughout your experience online, you don't change that," says O'Rourke, who works in software. "Everybody says they like to travel but nobody updates their page wit ... More >>
Looking for something memorable to do this weekend with your sweetie? Oh, boy, have we got just what the doctor ordered. Aaron Neville -- you know him as the swoon-worthy owner of perhaps the most distinctive vibratos in all of music -- is performing this Saturday, July 14 at Boulder's Chautauqua Au ... More >>
While this year's endless summer has kind of turned into a bit of an endless bummer for the sun worshipers among us who loathe the rain (we couldn't be happier for the reprieve, personally), here's some news that should help temper the effects of the soggy weather: The Beach Boys (with Brian Wilson! ... More >>
The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, where movies and beer dwell together in perfect harmony, won't open its doors at Aspen Grove until early next year, but the much-awaited franchise is already serving that community by hosting a Wednesday-night outdoor film festival at the Littleton mall this summer.
There are plenty of dates to mark on the culinary calendar this week -- including a free, independent film screening sponsored by New Belgium Brewing in Boulder. Here's a taste of what's on the menu:
Looks like props are due Rachel James & the Kings (due at this weekend's Westword Music Showcase), who have been named as the winner of Ford's second annual Gimme the Gig competition. The outfit, which recently added Tickle Me Pink vets Joey Barba and Stefan Runstrom to the fold, and whose profile h ... More >>
This past Friday night at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, West Metro Fire Rescue was called to the venue's upper north parking lot during a show featuring Ghostland Observatory to aid a woman who reportedly fell from the rocks. The woman, 27-year-old Alicia Brauer, later died from the injuries she sustained ... More >>
Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant is donating 10 percent of sales from all six of its locations to High Park fire relief today. The chain, which is famous for its strong margaritas (limit three per person), got its start in Fort Collins 26 years ago.
Tonight, Ghostland Observatory brings its mesmerizing light show to Red Rocks with MiM0SA, Zion I, Free the Robots and Lunice for a massive dance party beneath the stars that's sure to have masses grooving like no other. If you remember when the Austin-based act graced the Westword Music Showcase st ... More >>
By now you've probably read our interviews with Ministry mastermind Al Jourgensen and longtime guitarist Mike Scaccia, which means you're probably getting hyped for the show this Sunday at the Ogden Theatre. If you haven't already bought your tickets, here's a chance to win some. We're giving away a ... More >>
Great Divide will celebrate eighteen years in Denver on Saturday with the brewery's annual block party on Arapahoe Street -- an event that will feature several special, one-off brews made on Great Divide's six-month-old pilot brewing system. And all of the brewers on staff can take credit for the r ... More >>
To call Free School Denver "grassroots" is almost too mild: Like a relic of the '60s, DFS has no hierarchies. Formed in that nascent spirit of community education, the school offers all classes for free, and anyone can attend or teach one. Sessions tend to go down in private homes or welcoming venue ... More >>
Just because you walk out the door of your favorite brewery doesn't mean you can't take the good times with you. The majority of Colorado's craft brewers sell growlers -- 64-ounce brown glass bottles, for the most part, topped with a screw-off cap. Most will sell you the vessel for anywhere from $5 ... More >>
Jacquie Van Horne believes that artists who are mothers, too, need to stick together, because -- as she writes on her Facebook page -- "Motherhood is not the time to put the paintbrush down." That's why she created Artistic Mamas, which is as much a celebration of mothers who paint and sing and dan ... More >>
OneRepublic drummer Eddie Fisher likely didn't have "humiliating mug shot" on his rock star bucket list. But he posed for one anyhow this week owing to his bust on suspicion of assault and more related to an incident involving his model girlfriend, Lonnie Weygant, aka Loni Rae. Yesterday, he pleaded ... More >>
Ten Facebook Tips: It started as an informational list on Mashable to help people optimize their Facebook usage, but it's become a top trending topic on Twitter, full of helpful and not-so-helpful -- and some of it quite telling -- advice about Zuckerberg's site. Most of the tweets, which only seem ... More >>
One of TACtile Textile Arts Center's most colorful exhibits is back: World Threads III: Preserving Textile Traditions, featuring -- as in the past -- a beautiful global palette of fiber-arts handiwork to both look at and to buy. Even more beautiful is the humanitarian purpose behind the show -- to s ... More >>
Washington State wants to donate forty pounds of cherries to an "iconic" restaurant in every state in the nation, in hopes of inspiring recipes that push their product. A Washington PR company asked Cafe Society's help in coming up with the right restaurant in Colorado for a fruit-filled delivery -- ... More >>
No one's saying you have to go meatless just because it's Monday -- but as incentive to join the growing movement, every week we're offering an animal-free recipe. The stores are starting to stock fresh, fat blueberries, which are perfect for muffins. These vegan offerings contain juicy blueberries ... More >>
Update: At this point, neither representatives of the Denver Post nor the folks at the Denver Newspaper Guild seem eager to talk in detail about a plan to lay off two-thirds of the copy editors at the paper of record. However, we've gotten more information about the likely fallout. In the end, as ma ... More >>
You don't have to go to Kentucky to find a reason to wear a fancy hat on Saturday: Places all over town are hooking parties to the Kentucky Derby. And even if you're not into horse-racing, there will plenty of other things to appreciate: the fashion, the boozy mint juleps, the old-timey slang...and ... More >>
Looking for a new Facebook profile picture? Brooke Howell can help. Her company, *LoL* Caricature Company, celebrates its grand re-opening on the 16th Street Mall this weekend and for just $12, you can get a digital caricature (drawn on an iPad), e-mailed to you to use on social media sites, or howe ... More >>
Little Man Ice Cream, 2620 16th Street in LoHi, is celebrating May with new hours and a variety of events throughout the spring and summer. "We really view Little Man as a gathering place for the community," says Little Man manager Loren Martinez. "It's a place to not only grab some great ice cream ... More >>
No one's saying you have to go meatless just because it's Monday -- but as incentive to join the growing movement, every week we're offering an animal-free recipe. This is a fast, easy substitute for tuna salad that requires no cooking and harms no fish. We served it up on rye bread with arugula fo ... More >>
If Denver four-year-olds make small talk about literature, surely Maybe a Bear Ate It! would come up. The picture book has been selected as the book in the state's One Book 4 Colorado preschool reading campaign. In theory, every kid in the sandbox will be reading it. The story by Robie E. ... More >>
Santa Fe Drive has an old American diner, a new American diner, an Ethiopian restaurant...and lots of Mexican options. And now there's sushi, too. iSushi opened yesterday at 801 Santa Fe; the Japanese restaurant is offering "simple classics," as well as dishes with "a more creative twist." View the ... More >>
As stated on the sign, this is made in America: Home of the brave, and land of the free. Nothing spells that out quite as good as a large billboard in an alley with a massive bald eagle adorning it. The neighborhood surrounding this patriotic location is full of power, and delivers it all over the c ... More >>
No one's saying you have to go meatless just because it's Monday -- but as incentive to join the growing movement, every week we're offering an animal-free recipe. This salad is easy to make and a great way to liven up some leafy greens -- while still filling you up at lunchtime.
Ever since Longmont's Left Hand Brewing released its Milk Stout Nitro in a bottle before the Great American Beer Festival last year, pouring a pint has been a favorite party trick. Stand on someone's expensive rug with a bottle and glass and upend that sucker: You'll hear some gasps, but if you do i ... More >>
Denver's comedy community despaired when heckler-ready Squire Lounge comedy night open-mike host Greg Baumhauer decided to call it quits. The comedy night was mean, it was ugly, it was the toughest crowd in town -- if you could even get them to listen to you in the first place. But for many fledgl ... More >>
Update: "For all those who are worried.... I'm ok. Just dealing with some shit but I will be fine." That's a Facebook message posted a short time ago by John Severe, a Colorado Springs resident who's worked for the military. And he is indeed dealing with some shit: He's one of five people arrested t ... More >>
Got plans tonight? You do now. There's a killer show tonight at the Fillmore: JJ Grey & Mofro and Toots and the Maytals with special guest Eric Krasno of Soulive. Wanna go? Ah, yes, running low on funds. Know the feeling. Tax time, when Uncle Sam drains the old bank account and leaves you with lint ... More >>
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