Formed in 2007, North Wales’s Joy Formidable could just as easily have come together ten years earlier. The trio’s sound is, at times, reminiscent of a Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness-era Smashing Pumpkins, carried by guitarist Ritzy Bryan’s anthemic vocals. But its sonic trickery goes beyond genre; with a…
RuPaul might be the smartest man on the Internet. She dispenses advice to her Twitter followers (Ru says we shouldn’t take our personal pronouns so seriously) on a daily basis that can actually be applied to one’s regular old life. Yes, unlike the usual self-inflated shit that comes from famous…
Although metalcore was born (and is still very much centered) in the suburbs of America, Asking Alexandria (due tonight at Summit Music Hall) plays it convincingly well for a bunch of Brits. These dudes, who got together in 2008, have spent a good amount of time touring and recording stateside…
Remember those awesome commercials in the ’80s for Barbizon, the school where you could train to be a model, or just look like one? Well, Bettina May brings her version to Beauty Bar at 3 p.m. this afternoon, with a program that goes way beyond the model “look.” In fact,…
A rambunctious throwback to that time when the Kinks were first birthing some of the truest rock and roll in existence, the Strange Boys have been creating their own jangled jams for almost a decade. Guitarist and vocalist Ryan Sambol sounds slightly brattier than Ray Davies ever did (in a…
No doubt, Denver is down for a dance party any time of the year. There’s something about the warming temperatures, though, that makes us want to get out and shake our asses just a little bit more. Enter Damn Gurl!, a new night of booty bass, pop and funky house…
This weekend, local dancer Tara Rynders is opening her home to the public for two days of live, intimate performances incorporating movement, music and visual art. Well, the in-house shows have long been sold out, but Rynders will be broadcasting the one-artist-to-one-audience-member interactions in real time via her own ustream…
This is the kind of city we live in: Last weekend, local band conglomeration Hot Congress organized a benefit at the Skylark to help friend and longtime music supporter, Erica Beegle, with some hefty vet bills. After her pup Anton spent a rather expensive day at the animal hospital, her…
Proto-pop punks Smoking Popes have always existed like two bands in one quartet’s shared body; compositionally, the group creates powerful and speedy melodies with classic punk instrumentation. But lead singer and guitarist Josh Caterer’s voice swings smoothly like a cross between Bobby Darin and Morrissey, and it’s this sonic divergence…
After watching the Jersey Shore crew drink and fight and tan together just like a real family, they moved out of the house last week in a rather deflated thirteenth and final episode of the show’s third season. Though the group is still supposed to go to Italy for another…
Dance pop is alive and well in Colorado, and Kill Paradise has been gleefully spearheading the movement for almost a decade. Celebrating the release of its latest single, “Party With My Best Friends” at the opening of 2011, mastermind Nick Cocozzella and Bryce Hoops fluidly move their bouncy electro-infused energy…
Today, Four Mile Historic Park invites you to its first afternoon tea of the season, a fancy Victorian affair involving wagon rides, hot drinks and dolls. Along with the traditional relaxing midday snacking ceremonies, the park welcomes renowned fashion illustrator Jim Howard, who will be speaking on clothing trends of…
So, Disney on Ice the Princess Classics edition starts its five-day jaunt in Colorado tonight with a 7 p.m. opening show at the Denver Coliseum, and we are excited. Apparently, this fancy ice show thing (that began its run all the way back in 1981) is still going strong, we…
Things are moving along swimmingly for The Epilogues, due tonight at the Bluebird with fellow locals My Body Sings Electric and Input (both celebrating new CDs this evening), Monroe Monroe and Mr. Right. So swimingly, in fact, that tonight’s appearance was added after the show this Friday (an official Westword…
The Twitterverse is a vast and vacant one, a expanse muddled with one-liners, chunks of internet “wisdom” and lots of inappropriate ass-shots courtesy of certain famous people’s wives (we’re looking at you, Ice-T and Coco Austin). So, how does one go about deciding which A, B, C (and especially) D-List…
Just one of the many generations of heavy acts on the Metalliance Tour stopping in Denver tonight, Helmet perfectly represented the era from which it emerged. Formed in 1989, the band first found prominence in the mid-’90s when the “alternative” blanket covered every band from the Afghan Whigs to White…
Still reveling in the genre-bending goodness of Air Dubai’s 2010 release, Wonder Age? Well, the septet has decided to give you a little more where that came from — this time in the form of an excellent ten-song remix effort, the aptly titled RemixTape , available now for free download…
After Piyush Tewari’s cousin was killed in 2007 in a road accident in Delhi, India, that could have been prevented, he decided to do something about it. His family member’s life could have been saved, the now 29-year-old discovered, because his death hinged upon the fact that no one helped…
Singer-songwriters are a dime a dozen these days. It’s like they’re being churned out on a never-ending assembly line, manufactured with the same blueprint: rough-hewn voice, tattered button-up shirt, handsome face, guitar. Rocky Votolato is like the original of those copies of copies, and he has the lyrical integrity and…
March 26, 2011 Update: See photos from Drama Drag last night at Tracks The life of a drag queen is an expensive, high profile existence, and Joel Valenzuela, aka Angelina Essex, knows this routine all too well. The madam of many faces is making his final appearance tomorrow night at…
Nice Myspace photo, Charn.For the second time in a month, a multi-million dollar sexual harassment and assault lawsuit against American Apparel founder and CEO Dov Charney has surfaced, this time by four former employees. This is hardly a surprise, but there is something to be said for the fact that…
Pulling a page from the Shania Twain handbook on pop country, The JaneDear Girls create glossy, hook-heavy songs with an underlying flavor of Bluegrass. As an accomplished fiddle and electric mandolin player, Susie Brown brings the the hoedown feel to guitarist Danelle Leverett’s traditional rock style, while the duo’s similar…
