King Crimson

Paer

Paer
Self-released

Colorado Public Radio's OpenAir gets NY Times mention -- but how about donations?

OpenAir, an indie-music affiliate of Colorado Public Radio, debuted in October 2011, creating new content for the underutilized 1340 AM signal. Since then, the station's developed into one of the small pleasures on the traditional dial, and its love for local music paid off with a mention in yesterd ... More >>

Peter Gabriel at Red Rocks, 9/30/12

PETER GABRIEL @ RED ROCKS AMPHITHEATRE | 9/30/12 Shortly before launching into an epic set that spanned nearly three hours at Red Rocks last night, Peter Gabriel took the tack of a well trained maître d', explaining that the program would come in three courses, kicking off with a four-song acousti ... More >>

Ian Williams of Battles: "Humbly, I am simply happy to be able to play music and have somebody go to the show and appreciate it"

Battles (due tomorrow at the Westword Music Showcase on the main Stage) first came together when Ian Williams, a former guitarist in math rock pioneers Don Caballero, moved to New York and got lured back into playing live music. He ended up working with like-minded musicians with their own backgroun ... More >>

Westword Music Showcase 2011

The Westword Music Showcase celebrates seventeen years, a lifetime for some of 2011's performers

Kurt Elling on his new album and working with Don Was

​With a number of Grammys under his belt, and being named "Male Singer of the Year" by the Jazz Journalists Association six times in the last decade, Kurt Elling is one of the world's top jazz vocalists. On his latest effort, The Gate, released in February on Concord, Elling teamed up with leg ... More >>

Slim Cessna, A. Tom Collins, Serious Moonlight and DJ MU$A 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?" 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 al ... More >>

Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer of the Posies talk about fame, Shatner and Big Star

Julian Ochoa​The Posies (due tonight at The Gothic Theatre) had the good fortune -- or bad, depending on your perspective -- of being a non-grunge rock band in Seattle that came into its own during the era when, for far too many people, "alternative" became synonymous with "grunge."

UMS Night Two Travelogue: Pink Hawks at the Skylark, Achille Lauro at Club 404 and more

A.H. GoldsteinNon from Oklahoma City set up shop on the sidewalk​ UMS Travelogue, Night Two 7.23.10 | Baker District/South Broadway I started my tour of South Broadway relatively late in the evening, heading south from the 404 Lounge at around 9:45 p.m. Turns out I still had plenty of time t ... More >>

Tool

Tuesday, June 29, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 303-295-4444.

Q&A with Annie Clark of St. Vincent

​Performing as St. Vincent, Annie Clark is a writer of lush, adventurous pop music. As a teenager she was the tour manager for her uncle's band, Tuck & Patti, where she learned not only a great deal about the music business but also a bit about musicianship and effective performance. In her ... More >>

Heavy Rotation, our top spins for the week of December 7, 2009

​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. For t ... More >>

Heavy Rotation, our top spins for the week of October 26, 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 >>

Seeing Adrian Belew in an intimate space like the Toad Tavern is a special treat, and that's the way he likes it

Heavy Rotation, our top spins for the week of October 19, 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 >>

Q&A with Adrian Belew

​Adrian Belew has lead something of a charmed existence as a musician for the last thirty years, from his first high-profile gig as a guitarist for Frank Zappa in 1979 to his later work with Talking Heads, Trent Reznor, David Bowie and King Crimson. Though possessed of preternaturally able technic ... 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 >>

Last Night: Prog Nation at the Buell

Big Elf​Progressive Nation Dream Theater, Zappa Plays Zappa, Big Elf, Scale the Summit August 25, 2009 Buell Theater Better than: Reliving high school memories by flipping through a yearbook. Let me admit to a strong bias up front: I spent at least three of my teenage years with a diet almost excl ... More >>

Built to Spill flashback: Our 1997 Doug Martsch interview

Built to Spill back in the day. Our new profile and Q&A with Built to Spill's Doug Martsch, whose band headlines this Saturday's Westword Music Showcase (click here for more information), are built on a sturdy foundation -- an interview conducted with Martsch back in 1997, shortly after his band, t ... More >>

Last Night: Minus the Bear, the Helio Sequence and Grand Archives @ The Gothic Theatre

Minus the Bear

Planet of Ice
Suicide Squeeze Records

Sgt. Pepper on Trial

Blast Beats, Dark Harmonies and Monstrous Melodies

The Top 10 Heavy Metal Albums of 2006.

Sound Bites

Dangerous Sounds

The Experimental Playground blasts classical-music cliches.

Machinehead

The Secret Machines locate the sweet spot between heartache and head rush.

Critic's Choice

Colonial Excess

Critic's Choice

Plastic Parachute

Circling the Drain

Exploring the beauty of sadness, Orbit Service spins tales best heard sitting down.

Making Progress

Dave Kerman thinks prog rock is good business.

Tin Men

Tintin packs an epic, spacious sound into a modest frame.

The Mars Volta

De-loused in the Comatorium (Universal)

Neil Haverstick

If the Earth Was a Woman

The Home Team

Local artists put out a wealth of good music this year. Step right up and read all about it.

Vincent Gallo

Recordings of Music for Film (Warp)

Culture Clash

Alex Paterson returns from Orblivion with a disc that inspires passionate responses.

Boulder Rocks

Plans are in the works for a musical retrospective of the People's Republic.

Playlist

Primus, The Go, At the Drive In, Method Man/Redman

Getting Out of the Led

Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones goes it alone.

Wretched Success

The northern Colorado punk scene gets a boost from Wretch Like Me.

Feedback

Night & Day

October 22 - 28. 1998

The Three Weissman

Learning jazz from the ground up with the Perry Weissman 3.

Lighter Than Air

On its new long-player, Helium gets ethereal.

Building for the Future

Built to Spill's Doug Martsch searches for the happy medium between fatherhood and rock and roll.

Thrills for the week

THRILLS

CRIMSON TIDE

THIS YEAR'S MODEL OF KING CRIMSON IS A BLAST FROM THE PAST--AND THE FUTURE.

YOU ASKED FOR IT

OUR READERS REVEAL THE OTHER OVERPLAYED CLASSIC-ROCK SONGS.ONCE MORE WITH FEELING

THRILLS