Michael Gira

The five best concerts in Denver this weekend

HANEYSTOCK @ GOTHIC THEATRE | FRI, 5/3/13 Although the lineup for this show would otherwise be considered pretty great, with Havok, Speedwolf, the Limbs and Lola Black, the reason everybody will be heading down to the Gothic Theatre tonight is to celebrate the life of Chris Haney, a dearly departed ... More >>

Devendra Banhart

Sunday, May 5, Gothic Theatre, Englewood, 888-929-7849.

The ten best concerts in Denver this week

PURITY RING @ GOTHIC THEATRE | MON, 4/8/13 Purity Ring came together when Megan James and Corin Roddick started writing electronic songs together after having served as touring members of experimental pop band Born Gold. Rather than rushing to put out material, this duo has spent the last couple of ... More >>

Backbeat writers sound off on the year's best national albums

See also: Moovers and Shakers 2012: Backbeat writers praise the year's best local albums

The thirty best concerts of 2012

While 2012 will be remembered as they year that Red Rocks hosted the most shows in its history, it's also going to go down as one of the best years for concerts in Colorado in general. As we reflected on all the incredible shows we took in this past year, there were an astounding number of what we'd ... More >>

Swans at the Gothic Theatre, with Xiu Xiu, 9/24/12

SWANS @ GOTHIC THEATRE | 9/24/12 "I know it's a Monday night, can you tolerate one more?" Michael Gira asked the crowd more than two hours into the show. It wasn't really even a question because Gira already knew the answer. Swans then played its final song: the sprawling, apocalypse-eclipsing "The ... More >>

Win tickets to see Swans tonight at the Gothic

Swans and Xiu Xiu are performing at the Gothic Theatre tonight. If there was ever a show to obliterate a case of the Mondays and entice you out on the first night of the work week, this is it. If you and a guest would like to be our guests at the show tonight, we've got a pair of tickets to set you ... More >>

Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu on non-Western sounds and his affinity for Suicide (the band)

Xiu Xiu got its start in 2002 when Jamie Stewart and his friend and longtime musical collaborator Cory McCulloch started writing songs in a more experimental vein, making extensive use of non-Western percussion and tones. The group's debut album, 2002's Knife Play, anticipated more widespread use of ... More >>

Ten Best Concerts This Week: Sept. 24-28

It's officially fall now, according to the calendar -- and, well, the thermometer -- but that doesn't mean things have cooled down here in the Mile High City. While most of the shows have moved indoors, there's still plenty to choose from, including Rise Against at the Fillmore tonight and tomorrow ... More >>

Swans

Monday, September 24, Gothic Theatre, Englewood, 303-788-0984.

Weekend's best live music bets, 4/20 edition: Levitate, Cypress Hill, Das Racist and more

See Also: A 4/20 playlist from Westword's marijuana critic William Breathes Happy 4/20! Welcome to the end of another work week. As always, there are plenty of music options to consider this weekend -- and that's whether you're living the Mile High life or not. The second edition of the annual Levi ... More >>

Audio: Michael Gira tells chatty audience members to get off his lawn

Michael Gira's show on Saturday night at the Oriental Theater with Wovenhand included a few chatter-boxes with which the 58-year-old Swans mastermind just couldn't abide. Page down to hear Gira tell the more vocal members of the crowd to "go read Pitchfork," after demanding that they kindly "shut th ... More >>

Review: Wovenhand and Michael Gira at the Oriental Theater, 3/24/12

WOVENHAND @ ORIENTAL THEATER | 3/24/12 One song into Saturday night's set at the Oriental Theater and Michael Gira told the crowd, "Okay, shut up. Shut the fuck up. Time to shut up." He'd opened with brooding and droning "Jim" from Swans' latest effort, 2010's My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To T ... More >>

Weekend's Best Live Music Bets: The Autumn Film, Wovenhand, the Hive Dwellers and more

Welcome to the weekend! Spring has officially sprung, and just as you can count on a another delightful couple of days weather wise, there's some great music awaiting you in the Mile High City. Locals rule this weekend. Tonight at the Walnut Room, the Autumn Film celebrates the release of its new al ... More >>

Wovenhand with Michael Gira at the Oriental Theater March 24

Tom MurphyDavid Eugene Edwards of Wovenhand last year at the Marquis Theater.​Well, this should be nothing short of amazing: If you haven't heard, on Saturday, March 24, Wovenhand, led by the masterful David Eugene Edwards, is sharing a bill with Michael Gira at the Oriental Theater. Every tim ... More >>

Network Awesome is here to remind us what television was like before it sucked

​This week, Nickelodeon has been running some of its favorite shows of the '90s, finally tapping into what the Internet has been saying all along: People like old television programming. And, as Netflix continues to make its customers increasingly irate with price increases (information releas ... More >>

Akron/Family

Tuesday, March 29, Marquis Theater, 1-866-468-7621.

Swans at Summit Music Hall, 2/22/11

Tom MurphySwans​ SWANS With Wooden Wand 02.22.11 | Summit Music Hall Last night, James Jackson Toth, aka Wooden Wand, was joined by two other guitar players -- Brian Lowery and William Tyler. And although there were three guitars and the guys were playing through Orange amps, they did not pr ... More >>

Michael Gira of Swans on the new album and his time as a bassist

Owen SwensonSWANS​ Emerging in the milieu of the No Wave scene in the New York underground in 1982, Swans became known for the kind of music that was forbidding, terrifyingly intense in its execution and lyrically uncompromising in its depiction of the darker side of human existence. Although ... More >>

Win tickets to see Swans tonight at the Summit

Owen Swenson​Have plans tonight? You do now, perhaps. We've got three pairs of tickets to the Swans show tonight at the Summit Music Hall with Wooden Wand. Would you and a guest like to be our guests? To see the show on us, let us know which directors Michael Gira mentions that he'd like to wo ... More >>

Reunited Swans play on February 22 at Summit Music Hall

Sound Bites

Capsule record reviews

Lisa Germano

Wednesday, December 13, Larimer Lounge, 303-291-1007.

Stand by Mi

Mi and L'au's quiet songs speak volumes.

Akron/Family & Angels of Light

Angels of Light & Akron/Family (Young God)

Whirled Music

Devendra Banhart has plenty to Crow about.

Stephen Malkmus/Smog

Face the Truth (Matador)/A River Ain't Too Much to Love (Drag City)

Bad Luck City

Bad Luck City (Self-released)

Neurosis

The Eye of Every Storm (Neurot Recordings)

Faun Fables

Friday, June 18, hi-dive, 720-570-4500

To the Rescue

Though still somber, Windsor for the Derby moves toward pop and away from convention.

Ulan Bator

Ego: Echo (Young God Records)