TV on the Radio

The best concerts in Denver this weekend

YO GABBA GABBA! @ PARAMOUNT THEATRE | SUN, 2/24/13 Sesame Street couldn't handle mixing kids' programming with Katy Perry cleavage, but Yo Gabba Gabba! gets it right every time. Perhaps it's because one of the show's creators, Christian Jacobs, is MC Bat Commander of the Aquabats. After becoming a f ... More >>

Weekend's best EDM: VS, Chris Malinchak, Roger Sanchez, Michal Menert and more

Hallelujah! It's finally Friday. Feel like cutting loose this weekend, having a few cocktails and then cutting a rug like nobody's watching? You've come to exactly the right place. As with every week around this time, we've put together a full rundown of the best EDM options available to you, and th ... More >>

Phish at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, 8/31/12 - 9/2/12

PHISH @ DICK'S SPORTING GOODS PARK | 8/31/12 - 9/2/12 Telluride '88, Red Rocks '94 and Denver '97 -- these aren't just places and years to Phish fans. They're monuments, pivotal parts of Phish's Colorado legacy. Out of nearly eighty concerts that the band has played in the Centennial state and more ... More >>

Five best concerts in Colorado this weekend

See also: - Brennen Bryarly goes Into the Night as option4 - Parting words: A Sauna Q&A before its farewell show - Sharon Van Etten Q&A: "I get nervous sometimes that my songs are too personal" - Q&A with Brendan Perry of Dead Can Dance - Q&A with Derek Vincent Smith of Pretty Lights Welcome to the ... More >>

Sharon Van Etten: "I get nervous sometimes that my songs are too personal"

Sharon Van Etten (due this Wednesday, March 28, at the Bluebird Theater) saw more sides of the music industry than most of her peers before embarking on her musical career. She moved to Murfreesboro, Tennessee as a teenager to go to school and became involved with Red Rose, a coffee shop/music venue ... More >>

Sharon Van Etten

Wednesday, March 28, Bluebird Theater, 888-929-7849. 

Review: Snoop Dogg at SnowBall Music Festival, 03/03/12

SNOOP DOGG @ SNOWBALL MUSIC FESTIVAL | 03.03.12 At times, it seemed like the entire weekend pointed toward Snoop Dogg's Saturday night set. Diplo mentioned Snoop's immanent arrival during a Friday night set, and showed off an exclusive drop the Doggfather had recorded for Major Lazer. Periodically ... More >>

David Bumgardner, exec chef of Williams & Graham, on moving your ass

David Bumgardner Williams & Graham 3160 Tejon Street 303-997-8886 www.williamsandgraham.com This is part one of my interview with David Bumgardner, exec chef of Williams & Graham. Part two of my chat with Bumgradner will run in this space tomorrow. The executive chef of Williams & Graham is leani ... More >>

Mid-Winter Punk Film Festival kicks off on 2/4

Those looking for a little rowdy cinema to warm up those dreary final months of the season should look no further than Growler Distro's Mid-Winter Punk Film Festival, which features only the most hard-core selection of underground punk-rock movies of the '70s and '80s through today. The series is a ... More >>

The best national music releases of 2011

Annabelle Forrestal, exec chef of Vine Street, Mountain Sun Pub and Southern Sun, on food critics, the French Laundry and hot sauce

Lori Midson​ Annabelle Forrestal Vine Street Pub, Mountain Sun Pub & Brewery and Southern Sun www.mountainsunpub.com This is part one of my interview with Annabelle Forrestal, exec chef of Vine Street Pub in Denver and Mountain Sun Pub & Brewery and Southern Sun in Boulder. Part two of that ... More >>

Snowball 2012 Music Festival Lineup: Ghostland Observatory and Gauntlet Hair just added

Snowball 2012 lineup ticket info, Big Boi, MiMOSA, BoomBox, Ghostland Observatory, Gauntlet Hair, the Head and the Heart, TV on the Radio, Bassnectar, Rusko, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Elephant Revival, Avon Colorado

Mile Highlights: Denver/Boulder area concert news, local radio playlists and top album sales

​Here's what's happening in music on the Front Range this week: On the concert front, shows from Paul Simon, Amos Lee and Matisyahu were announced. On local radio specialty shows, Whiskey Bottles, Petals of Spain and Hot IQsall got some spins. Meanwhile, at our local record stores, new and rec ... More >>

Seven ways to exploit Denver's proposed paid sick leave ordinance -- and your employer

​It wasn't until I found a guide to the definition of "stalking" in Initiative 300, Denver's Paid Sick and Safe Time proposal (Section 18-9-11, page 7) that my interest in the actual wording of the proposal developed into a plan to just plain exploit it. As the newest staffer at Westword, it' ... More >>

Review: Phish at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, Night Two, 09/03/11

PHISH at DICK'S SPORTING GOODS PARK | NIGHT TWO, 9/3/11Brandon MarshallTrey Anastasio of Phish at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City on Friday night. See tons more pics in the full Phish at Dick's, 9/2/11 slide show, and if you missed it, read review of night one.​ On the second nigh ... More >>

Mile Highlights: Denver/Boulder area concert news, local radio playlists and top album sales

Here's what's good in the Mile High City this week: A pair of new October dates have Smashing Pumpkins at the Ogden and Bush at the 1STBANK Center, with Chevelle and Filter, while November brings Tedeschi Trucks Band to the Fillmore. On local radio, Air Dubai, Le Divorce, Bop Skizzum and Signal Path ... More >>

Tommy Metz re-masters and remixes Tommy Metz

​The internet age just got a little weirder. One of Denver's most prolific musicians, Tommy Metz (AKA Iuengliss) decided his 2010 album, Blossom Frontier, wasn't up to snuff, so he pulled it, remixed it, re-mastered it and redid the artwork. He even renamed it to Frontier, which we're pretty s ... More >>

Arcade Fire, Bruno Mars, Disco Biscuits shows announced. Tix on sale this weekend.

​Having just won a Grammy for Album of the Year for The Suburbs, the Arcade Fire kicks off its North American tour at the 1STBANK Center on Saturday, April 9, a week before the Montreal-based band headlines Coachella. Local Natives opens the show. General-admission tickets ($40) go on sale thi ... More >>

Placing odds on Danger Mouse's next collaboration

​Danger Mouse just announced he will be collaborating with Jack White, which makes White the billionth musician Danger Mouse has worked with after Beck, the Gorillaz, MF Doom, Cee-Lo, James Mercer, U2, the Rapture, Sparklehorse, Black Keys and, oh, just about everybody else. He's the hottest c ... More >>

Behold the awesome absurdity of Total Ghost

Snowy weather got you feeling glum? Yeah? We hear ya. Luckily, we've got just thing to turn that frown upside down. Meet Total Ghost. We don't know where in the hell these dudes Chön and Biktor came from -- they claim to be from Germany, but we suspect they're about as German as a Wisconsin lumbe ... More >>

The Glitch Mob at the Fillmore, 10/31/10

Britt Chester​ THE GLITCH MOB With Beats Antique & Prefuse 73 10.31.10 | Fillmore Auditorium LA's Glitch Mob comprises three members -- DJs edIT, Boreta and Ooah (founding member Kraddy left last year) -- who use laptops and MIDI controllers to create the hip-hop influenced, bass-driven elec ... More >>

The National, Bassnectar, Sleigh Bells, the Slits filled our playlists this past week

​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 >>

Phish getting comfy on night two at the 1STBANK Center - 10/11/10

Boyd Fletcher​ PHISH - NIGHT TWO 10.11.10 | 1STBANK Center Settling in for night two of three at the 1STBANK Center, the crowd and the members of the band seemed to be making themselves at home. Anastasio flashed a smile before sending the opening chords of "Runaway Jim" bouncing around the ... More >>

Big Boi hits the nail on the head with Sir Lucious Left Foot

​Since Speakerboxxx/The Love Below showcased Outkast's individual talents, André 3000 has generally been regarded as the auteur of the duo. And while that might be true -- André 3000 does tend to be weirder than his colleague Big Boi -- there's something to be said for consistency, as the la ... More >>

Heavy Rotation, our top spins for the week of November 23, 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 >>

Q&A with David Frederickson of the Prids

Some bands wear a style like a trendy fashion statement, and others embody what that music is about by creating their own artistic identity while expanding and building upon what has come before them. The Prids, from Portland, Oregon, are among the latter. Incorporating elements of synth-inflected ... More >>

Music director John "Whip" Wilbur fights to save 101.5 FM

John Wilbur, better known to Denver radio listeners as Whip, loves KTNI/101.5 FM, marketed as "Denver's Independent Alternative." In fact, he's so devoted to the smart, highly entertaining station, for which he serves as music director and morning-show host, that he's willing to admit publicly tha ... More >>

Top 10 Indie Rock Albums of 2008

Over the next few weeks, Backbeat will feature some Top Ten lists from around the Village Voice Media chain. Today, our own Michael Roberts runs down his favorite indie albums of 2008. In 2008, independent rock returned to the underground, where it belongs. Given the grand catastrophe that is tod ... More >>

The (literally) deafening buzz of A Place to Bury Strangers

The glass was half full at Red Rocks' Monolith

Monolith Festival: The eight bands you can't miss

The Fest of Times

Mini Reviews

Last Night...the Kooks and the Morning Benders @ the Ogden Theatre

Monolith Announces 22 More Acts

Battles Fights for Originality

Behold the demigod rulers of math rock.

Style to Spare

Need a little black dress? How about a flippy summer frock? Denver's fashion designers have you covered. Just ask Cydney Payton.

Cydney Payton Challenge: Tricia Hoke

Cydney Payton Challenge: Tricia Hoke

A Very Special Cat's Pajamas Challenge

A Very Special Cat's Pajamas Challenge

Crave

Play what you love.

It Was Free Cuz I Stole It

The year in unfair shares.

Stage Managers

Stage Managers

Freestyle Fellowship

Awesome live bands sometimes make magic in the studio, too.

Orenda Fink

Monday, November 14, Larimer Lounge, 303-291-1007.

The Beatdown

Get out of Denver, baby, go!

Smells Like Indie Spirit

Music that made the world safe for the word "alternative" again.

Nationalistic

Backbeat scribes weigh in on their favorite national releases from 2004.