Fourth of July

Barry Fey is dead: Towering figure in Denver music scene passes away

We've just learned that Barry Fey, a larger-than-life figure who helped put Denver on the music-business map, has died. At this writing, the circumstances of Fey's death have not been made public, but he has been ill of late. His personal Facebook page features a March 11 post that reads, "I am hap ... More >>

New Denver shows: Kid Rock's $20 tour, Muse at Pepsi Center, 311/Blues Traveler at Red Rocks

Ever the equal opportunity rocker, Kid Rock is bringing his Best Night Ever tour to Fiddler's and every seat in the house is $20. "Everyone knows the economy is still hurting people across the country," he says, "but I didn't want that to be a reason why everyone couldn't get out and enjoy themselve ... More >>

Denver Cruisers season preview: Brad Evans on Social Ride Summit and more

The Denver Cruisers know how to stir things up. Rather than simply announce the 2013 themes for the mega-popular Wednesday rides, Brad Evans and company released an April Fools' Day version first -- one that turned heads via concepts like "Skid Marks & Seamen Stains." Behind the edgy irreverence, o ... More >>

Skiing deaths confirm old proverb: Mother Nature can be a real bitch

Three times now, I've received a phone call that I never anticipated I'd get even once in my life. Two times, the call was from a friend who delivered the news; one time it was my mother. Though all three were different voices, each had a similar, haunting pitch and carried the same devastating mess ... More >>

Ski Town, USA

Video: Serial bike thief has been on the loose for nearly two months

Your bikes are not safe -- even inside your apartment building. After writing about a new smartphone app designed to help cyclists retrieve stolen bikes, we heard from one Denver user whose custom-made bike was stolen in July from inside his apartment building. Turns out he's not the only victim.

A love letter to the town (I mean city) of Brighton, Colorado

For much of my childhood, I led a double life. Okay, that's a super-dramatic way of saying that from age seven to age seventeen, I went between two households: one in Brighton and one in Denver. This wasn't because my parents were divorced (not yet), but because my best friend, who'd lived next door ... More >>

The Dushanbe Teahouse's long, strange trip

Wildfire victim benefits include IKEA discount, yoga classes

Colorado's urge to do something, anything, to help those affected by the wildfires has spread like, well, wildfire. Caravans of cars have descended on Colorado Springs, heading right past that IKEA sign on I-25, with piles of donated goods for victims of the Waldo Canyon fire. If the state were fi ... More >>

Photos: Eight all-American alternatives to fireworks

Thanks to a statewide fireworks ban, Independence Day could be a real downer for most of Colorado's children and pyromaniacs. Luckily, there are options -- some of which can be made at home in your kitchen! Searching for homemade explosives is a good way to get a virus on your computer -- so we've s ... More >>

Aspen Art Museum's Fourth of July float spoofs on LACMA installation

The Aspen Art Museum will unveil its "Levitating Mass" float, featuring the work of Los Angeles-based guest artist Mungo Thomson, in Aspen's Fourth of July parade tomorrow. Thomson's "Levitating Mass" is a playful take on artist Michael Heizer's "Levitated Mass" installation, a 340-ton granite mega ... More >>

Round two with Randy Balch, chef of Wazee Supper Club

Randy Balch Wazee Supper Club 1600 15th Street 303-623-9518 www.wazeesupperclub.com This is part two of my interview with Randy Balch, chef of Wazee Supper Club. Read part one of my chef and tell interview with Balch. Favorite dish on your menu: The meat-over pizza, with Canadian bacon, pepperon ... More >>

Dog the Bounty Hunter store? That's hotter than an M80 on the Fourth of July

How the presence of an official Dog the Bounty Hunter merchandise store within 3.5 miles of my home has escaped my knowledge until now, I'm not sure. I've always had an affinity for the show, which is unexplainable by any stretch of the trashy imagination. But man, do I fucking love this show. Maybe ... More >>

Saturday Night Live: The best, worst and most controversial performances

Update: 10:39 a.m. Sunday The Shins were on Saturday Night Live last night night weekend's musical guests. Being invited to be the musical guest on an episode of SNL has been a benchmark of commercial success for any band of the last forty years. And for good reason: From Andy Kaufman annihilating ... More >>

Review: Blues Traveler and Ruthie Foster at Boulder Theater, 2/26/12

BLUES TRAVELER / RUTHIE FOSTER @ BOULDER THEATER | 2.26.12 Apart from the band's annual Fourth of July show at Red Rocks, it's tough to imagine a better local setting for a Blues Traveler show than the eTown radio concert series on the Boulder Theatre stage. The intimate feel of the venue, the conv ... More >>

Over the weekend: Blues Traveler, Daniel Junge, Matt Selby and Buffalo Bill

Big pics below.​You were busy this weekend. We know, because we've been keeping track of the phone you had on our Show and Tell, Backbeat Online and Cafe Society blogs, as well as our slide show page. Look below for samples featuring Blues Traveler, Oscar winner Daniel Junge, Matt Selby and B ... More >>

John Popper of Blues Traveler: "I'm not sure what it was, but the air was thin with ganja."

John Popper seems stunned by the fact that Blues Traveler boasts a longer lifespan than a legal drinker. Popper, who helped launched the band as a quartet in a New Jersey garage in the mid '80s, has seen the outfit go through fundamental changes. The commercial success of the album Four in 1994, the ... 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 Avett Brothers, James Taylor, Blues Traveler and Gogol Bordello were announced; Gauntlet Hair, Hindershot and Fierce Bad Rabbit got spins on local radio; and recent albums from Van Halen, Dr. ... More >>

Hunter Pritchett, exec chef of Luca d'Italia, on bum piss and fried fish

Hunter Pritchett Luca d'Italia 711 Grant Street 303-832-6600 www.lucadenver.com This is part one of my interview with Hunter Pritchett, exec chef of Luca d'Italia. Part two of my chat with Pritchett will run in this space tomorrow. Hunter Pritchett and his kitchen crew are thumbing through an Ita ... More >>

O, Barnum! An ode to Denver's least desirable neighborhood

Front porch chillin': A favorite occupation of what I like to call "the Barnumployed."​If you happen to find yourself in Barnum and you don't live there, chances are you're lost. And not just because it's not a neighborhood that lends itself to being found -- find one of two streets that make ... More >>

Beautiful Ordinary

Colorado Inside Out makes it a three-peat at Heartland Emmys

​Every year for the past decade, Colorado Inside Out, the weekly Colorado Public Television public-affairs show on which I'm a regular, takes a trip back in time. And for the last three years, those journeys have been awarded with a regional Emmy -- including one announced Saturday night.

Baker green peas movement inspires direct action: Kenny Be's Hip Tip

​ Developed by hippies in the early 1970s, Baker green peas have been specially adapted for the cooler climate of the Baker neighborhood lifestyle. Guaranteed to produce a diversity of sustainable and nurturing pods, gardeners in all Denver neighborhoods are encouraged to give Baker green peas ... More >>

10 things to do for $10 this weekend, July 1-4, 2011

As great as it is, don't let this be your only company this weekend.​This 4th of July weekend, no one should be left watching the tube, sitting on the couch and drinking a Pabst Blue Ribbon all by themselves. No sir. There are plenty of things to do on this three-day weekend, and not all of th ... More >>

Purple Mountain Majesties

Rally Round the Flag

Five Colorado wines (finally!) worth drinking by the case

​Have you ever gotten the impression that Colorado wines kinda suck? If you're really, really honest with yourself, you probably answered yes - and you're not the only person who feels that way. A glance at the wine list of many of Denver's top-rated dining destinations routinely reveals fewer ... More >>

Homeless Diamond, Joe Carabello stage softball games for people living on the streets (PHOTOS)

Joe Carabello.​A group of homeless men mulled playing another inning of softball this morning at Sonny Lawson Park. One man gestured to his nonexistent watch. Another joked, "My accountant can wait." So the game went on, thanks to the Homeless Diamond program created and sponsored by local rea ... More >>

Little Edie's top ten outfits from Grey Gardens

Little Edie's fashions inspired designers Isaac Mizrahi and Marc Jacobs. ​Though she was a nearly penniless hermit living in squalor, "Little Edie" Beale still managed to look good. The cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis who, along with her mother "Big Edie" Beale are the subject of the 1975 ... More >>

Elitch's lights up the night...every night

In the new True Grit, Jeff Bridges makes a better Rooster than John Wayne

Colorado BBQ team heading to Lynchburg for "The Jack"

Jack Daniels BBQ Media​2 Lil' Macs BBQ is the little piggy of "The Jack." The Broomfield-based team is now en route to Lynchburg, Tennessee, for the 22nd Annual Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational Barbecue. The contest will be smokin' today and tomorrow, with teams competing for $30,000 ... More >>

Anniversary Gift

Steve's Snappin' Dogs is holding a doggone good contest to benefit Project Angel Heart

​Steve Ballas doesn't believe that the fact his birthday coincides with the beginning of National Hot Dog Month is a coincidence. "I believe in fate and everything happening for a reason." Ballas, who owns Steve's Snappin' Dogs, 3535 East Colfax Avenue, is hoping diners will bank on their ... More >>

Marijuana ministry plans injunction to treat dispensaries like churches

Roger Christie.​Roger Christie, head of Hawaii's THC Ministry, is in Colorado for a series of events to promote using religious exemptions to get around new medical marijuana laws. And he hopes to take action in court by Independence Day to make the concept stick.

Westword Music Showcase headliners: Ghostland Observatory's live show is as mesmerizing as it is unforgetable

Chad Wadsworth​ From the beginning, Ghostland Observatory has gone into its musical endeavors with a certain level of personal ambition to make it the kind of band they've always loved themselves. Mixing a variety of electronic music styles with rock, soul and funk, this Austin-based outfit i ... More >>

Summer Guide 2010

Byrne, Baby, Byrne

A Doggone Good Contest

A Block of Fresh Air

Put Me In, Coach

Funny's friends throw him a curveball.

Mapping the Future of Urban Sprawl

Dave Theobald fights sprawl by charting it, one ranchette at a time.

Horseshoe Lounge

The games people play.

Bite Me

All I Need

The Bite

Markets mark the spots in Vail Valley and beyond.

Mouthing Off