With the memory of that excellent roasted chicken at Palettes (see review) still fresh, what should I find waiting for me back at the office? The long overdue confirmation that Kevin Taylor will indeed be taking over the old Theatre Cafe space in the Denver Performing Arts Complex and turning…
Clyfford Still Unveiled. A master and pioneer of mid-twentieth-century abstract expressionism, painter Clyfford Still was something of an eccentric in the artist-as-egomaniac stripe. His antisocial behavior led to a situation where 94 percent of his artworks remained together after he died — a staggeringly complete chronicle of his oeuvre that…
Contemporary art is in a strange period right now. Conservative approaches, notably conceptual realism, have taken center stage, while more progressive tactics, such as abstraction, have been pushed to the side. Contemporary German, Japanese and Chinese art, which have played increasingly important roles in the international scene, seem to be…
Before 2006, juveniles charged as adults and convicted of first degree murder in Colorado faced one sentence: Mandatory life without parole. Last summer, the state legislature showed some mercy by changing the law to allow “juvie lifers” to at least be eligible for parole after forty years. But the law…
In the two years since Westword first profiled Nate Ybanez, top, and Erik Jensen (“Headed for Trouble,” July 7, 2005), their story has gone national with pieces on Frontline and in Rolling Stone that inspired support from around the globe. But the two remain locked up in Colorado state prisons,…
Here’s a brief look at some of the items Americans are desparate to learn about today: Don’t tase me, bro This story has been all over for days. A guy asks a screwball question to John Kerry at a speech and gets arrested and tasered for it. Ask a weird…
Winston Churchill had a saying: “Arguing over the internet is like competing in the Special Olympics – even if you win, you’re still retarded.” Well, maybe it wasn’t Churchill who said it, but any web surfer who’s suddenly found themselves spending hours crafting witty cyber comebacks over topics such as…
Day One: New Socks Two weeks into the three-week summer program, I get a call from one of my creative writing students. She’s running late and she needs directions. “I just got off the train at Colfax, which way do I go?” I instruct her to walk southeast. She doesn’t…
Perry Ferrell Satellite Party and Mink September 18, 2007 Apple store at Cherry Creek Mall Better than: Any other show I have seen at a retail store in Cherry Creek. For some strange marketing reason, the Apple store in Cherry Creek Mall hosted acoustic performances by Perry Ferrell Satellite Party…
St. Vincent and The National September 18, 2007 The Ogden Theater Better than: Anything else I’d be doing on a Tuesday – or almost any day, for that matter. Due to a series of unfortunate events, I missed most of St. Vincent’s opening set. What I caught was certainly intriguing…
Anti-abortion protesters rallied outside the Pepsi Center yesterday, giving Denver just a taste of what’s going to hit this town next August, when the Democratic National Convention convenes here. The city got another preview earlier this month, when CEDIA (Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association) filled the Colorado Convention Center…
On Friday, September 21, at Shove Chapel, on the Colorado College campus, a memorial will be held to remember Mario Valdes, the man largely responsible for turning Colorado Springs’ KRCC-FM into the city’s foremost public radio station. He died of lung cancer on September 14. He was just 54. As…
Now it looks like Colorado’s latest celebrity arrived in this state by accident. . According to his attorney, fugitive financier Norman Hsu was “sick and confused” and may have mistakenly gotten out of an Amtrak train heading to Denver rather than the Bay Area Rapid Transit train that would have…
Jonathan can’t fold his socks into pairs. He can match one with its partner, but he physically can’t unite the sock mates into a ball of cotton. “Will you show me that again?” I pick up two white crew socks, one in each hand, line then up straight and tuck…
Everyone complains that the Emmy Awards—heck, most Award shows—are staid, over-long affairs that just don’t earn their three-plus hour block of prime time anymore. Viewers (not to mention reviewers) look for anything that’s remarkable—whose dress sucked (Hayden Panettiere), who made the best unscripted quip (Elaine Stritch), and who brought the…
Hotel Colonial Grenada, Nicaragua Subject: The Nicaraguan Pistol Team “Do you want to shoot an AK-47?” I was perusing the racks of brochures in the hotel lobby here in Grenada, about 45 k’s south of Managua, when the man asked me this question. He was obviously a “Nica”—a local—but his…
View larger image Delaware Total Number of Delegates: 23 Pledged: 15 Unpledged: 8 How to Recognize a Delaware Delegate: The Quakers who ruled Pennsylvania originally wanted to annex Delaware to expand Philadelphia’s southern suburbs, but the Catholics in Maryland refused to let them. While these two states bickered, the Methodists…
Arcade Fire, with LCD Soundsystem September 17, 2007 Red Rocks Amphitheatre Better than: Uh, just about anything else in recent memory. Slide Show Epic. Grandiose. Those are fitting descriptors for Monday night’s unreal double bill at the Rocks featuring LCD Soundsystem and Arcade Fire. Soundsystem got things going a little…
Monolith Festival, Day Two Saturday, September 15 Red Rocks Amphitheater Better than: Sweating to the Oldies Bob Log III walked on stage wearing a motorcycle helmet with a telephone attached to the visor and black Elvis-inspired studded jumpsuit. “I’d like to introduce the band,” he said. “My left foot on…
Monolith festival, Day One Friday, September 14 Red Rocks Amphitheatre Better than: Seeing a band you know nothing about and really digging them By the time I got to the top of Red Rocks, all sweaty and wheezy, I realized that I’d just missed Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band, which…
Here’s a brief look at some of the items America is desperate to learn about today: Spiral Frog Free music that won’t get you slapped with an RIAA subpoena! This ad-supported service promises unlimited downloads of music from its 700,000 song library. It works for TV, so why not? Of…
Matt and Kim, The Brian Jonestown Massacre September 15, 2007 Monolith Festival, Red Rocks Taking the stage with huge smiles on their faces, Matt and Kim sat down to their drums and keyboards and started their Monolith set on Saturday with a fuzzy, spacey synth intro that Matt milked for…
