One of the beautiful things about being a fan of a relatively young genre such as electronic dance music is that many of the early masters are still performing. Take Frankie Bones, who plays July 31 at the Church. Bones was playing dance music when the ’80s were still a…
Photo: Tom Murphy The Pseudo Dates The Pseudo Dates and teamAWESOME! Sunday, July 27, 2008 Lion’s Lair Better Than: The average benefit show put together to raise awareness. I didn’t get to the Lion’s Lair in time for the drag show, but, frankly, drag shows aren’t my thing, so it’s…
Photo: Tom Murphy Primasonic Boss 302 w/Primasonic and The Geds Saturday, July 26, 2008 3 Kings Tavern Better Than: Or rather, more fun than, a barrel full of monkeys. Primasonic had played a few songs by the time I got to 3 Kings and they were very much a different…
Photo: Tom Murphy Action Packed Thrill Ride Breezy Porticos w/Action Packed Thrill Ride Friday, July 25, 2008 Old Curtis St. Bar Better Than: Spending the rest of the night trying to wrap your mind around the Jandek show. After leaving the Jandek gig, I headed back through downtown and remembered…
Photo: Tom Murphy Jandek Friday, July 25, 2008 The Bug Theater Better Than: Having to see Jandek at some big theater. I didn’t even recognize Andrew Lindstrom or Milton Melvin Croissant III when I ran into them outside the Bug before the show. Lindstrom looked like he’d gotten off bus…
Photo: Sean Sullivan Boris, Torche, Lair of the Minotaur Friday, July 25, 2008 Marquis Theater Better Than: Any other communal sweating, fist-pumping, and shouting in Denver Boris makes no sense. Literally, the band sings their lyrics in Japanese, but how four people can create so much noise and power simply…
Here’s a guide to all the great content you might have missed this week on Backbeat Online while you were busy shaking your head in disgust and amazement at the announcement that mall-punk heroes My Chemical Romance will be covering a Bob Dylan song for the Watchmen soundtrack…..
Tom Petty? Dave Matthews Band? John Mayer? The Black Crowes? Headliners? You call those headliners? Pfffth! While those acts may have drawn nearly a hundred thousand people as the main attractions at last weekend’s Mile High Music Festival, those cats have got nothing on Heaven Fest’s headliner. The Son of…
50 Cent suing Taco Bell Last month a letter from Taco Bell addressed to 50 Cent went out to various media outlets asking 50 to change his name to 79 Cent, 89 Cent or 99 Cent, to help promote their menu and “Why Pay More” ad campaign. But ironically, the…
This is not John Common and you’ll never see him do this This is my Personal Anti-Dancing Manifesto (PADM). It is a point-by-point, painfully honest examination of my dancing disability. My hope is to lay bare the ugly truth of this disability and in doing so, motivate you, the Reader,…
Mile High Makeout, Rolling Stone, Beth Patterson, Eryc Eyl
Black Kids, CSS, The Scenic, Sugarland, Thorin Klosowski
Thao Nguyen and the Get Down Stay Down with tUnE-YaRdS, A Weather Thursday, July 24, 2008 Hi-Dive Better than: Mixing ukulele melodies, African tribal chants, honky-tonk half-steps, plaintive vocals and straightforward drum beats on your home stereo system. I’m a sucker for the tones and timbres of old-timey country music…
Photo: Tom Murphy Hot White Yellow Fever w/Hot White and Motel Saints Thursday, July 24, 2008 Rhinoceropolis Better Than: Actually having yellow fever. Due to the ongoing highway refurbishing and the contractors’ wonderfully inept signaling of lanes merging to a single lane on I-70 (I guess they didn’t hear about…
Every year, about this time, I find myself getting philosophical. Don’t worry. I won’t bore or torture you with the countless inane, pretentious, half-baked or downright silly thoughts that flood my brain. Still, as I approach yet another birthday, I feel like I’m standing outside my body, watching myself stroll…
Electric Skychurch, appearing July 24 at the Church, is one of the seminal live electronic outfits to rise from American soil in the ‘90s. Inspiring vocals, funky bass lines, and smooth, flowing, trance-like textures are staples of the sound created by Skychurch founder James Lumb and his rotating lineup of…
The Palsies, Aesthetic Anasthetic, The Copyrights, Cicadia Wednesday, July 23, 2008, 3 Kings Tavern Better than: Talking to a schizophrenic on Broadway. Quite a strange selection of music to be had at 3 Kings this evening. First, the club itself definitely lends itself to some loud rock and roll. Wednesday…
Photo: Tom Murphy Only Thunder Russian Circles w/Only Thunder and Eyes Caught Fire Wednesday, July 23, 2008 The Black Sheep, Colorado Springs Better Than: Not seeing Eyes Caught Fire before their hiatus to write new songs. Unfortunately I got to the venue toward the end of Only Thunder’s set. Their…
I love beer. Ales, stouts, pilsners, lambics — I love them all. In the summer heat, my love affair with beer evolves into something like a full-blown obsession. Lucky for me, I live in Colorado, where a great many folks share that obsession, so I get to go to lots…
Explore the sounds of Eastern Europe filtered through a contemporary lens tonight when the Swallow Hill Music Association brings the sounds of Luminescent Orchestrii, Los Lantzmun and Fishtank Ensemble to Denver. These groups represent three distinctive, vibrant takes on traditional folk music of the Balkans and beyond — traditional Gypsy…
I like it weird. I like the twisted, dirty, completely gonzo sounds that a good producer can squeeze out of an old synthesizer or a brand-new DSP package. And I love a DJ who can recognize the best tracks that use those sounds and build great mixes from them. Finding…
Photo: Tom Murphy Married in Berdichev! My Feral Kin w/Married in Berdichev! and French Quarter Tuesday, July 22, 2008 Rhinoceropolis Better Than: Missing out on one of the most important tropical-pop bands by going to another show. The opening act, Greenery, didn’t make it for reasons unknown to anyone at…
