Well, it’s the end of the week and time to wrap up this little tutorial on how to begin sinking slowly, satisfyingly and inextricably into the local music scene. We’ve barely scratched the surface, of course, but it’s time to move on to other pressing issues. So far, we’ve talked…
Chairlift Does You Inspire You Columbia Records Though it’s no fun to watch talented Colorado musicians leave our fair state for glimmering destinations like Portland or Brooklyn, it is fun to watch them succeed. Such is the case for Boulder-founded synth poppers, Chairlift. Shortly after lighting off for the hipster Disneyland of Brooklyn,…
As I mentioned yesterday, it can be pretty damned daunting and difficult for a well-intentioned person to start exploring Denver’s almost embarrassingly fertile local music scene. Sure, you can pore over Westword’s listings, but how do you figure out what’s both worth checking out and up your proverbial alley? In…
On its latest album, Boston progophiles Irepress (say “ear press”) frequently wander beyond the seven-minute mark, exploring atmospheric, intricate and even jazzy approaches to heavy metal. These folks clearly aren’t interested in mindless headbanging and devil horns, so traditional metalheads might find the group’s adventures (tech-house beats?! a piano solo?!)…
Anyone who has cast even a cursory glance at Westword’s calendar recently will see that the media hue and cry over the death of music is greatly exaggerated. In spite of economic and emotional depression, music piracy and General Qaddafi, the Denver music scene is alive and kicking the crap…
In a beautiful collision of altruism, more musicians are donating their time and talents to help kids this week. Instead of helping the children of Denver, as the Denver Gives March Music Jam will, these musicians will benefit kids on the other side of the world. On Friday night, March…
Towering rocker and singer-songwriter Mike Marchant has a well-documented penchant for giving away music. When his band, Widowers, released its debut album, Marchant couldn’t give away copies of the painstakingly recorded beauty fast enough. Little has changed since then, as evidenced by a recent e-mail the psych-pop tunesmith sent. The…
Nothing makes me happier than seeing Denver musicians donating their talents to a worthy cause. As I observed back in October, the most generous contribution an artist can make is his or her art, especially when it just might draw in a crowd of folks with some deeper pockets. This…
I’m a little stunned by the controversy surrounding ridiculous screamo-hip-hop also-rans, BrokenCYDE. If you haven’t heard, earlier this week, a post on Loud Hawk Press called for the removal of the band from this summer’s Warped Tour, on the basis of two offenses: 1) they suck, and 2) their lyrics are…
Picking up a thread I started on Tuesday, in which I confessed to judging a band’s performance based on elements that, honestly, had nothing to do with the music, I’d like to turn now to the flip side. Last weekend, I decided I liked an act before it even took…
This Santa Cruz-based trio warps time and space by mining the traditions of bluegrass, Appalachian folk and a smidge of ragtime to produce throwback roots music that deserves the country designation far more than anything coming out of Nashville. Guitarist Cooper McBean, upright-bassist Lucia Turino and guitarist/lead vocalist Pete Bernhard…
Just received word that the five members of Houses will be roaming around on the 16th Street Mall tonight, playing guitars, singing and entertaining the mall-walking troops. While we’re not entirely sure which five members of Houses will be on hand — the act is comprised of Andrew James Hamilton,…
Ever find yourself disliking a band for reasons that have nothing to do with the music? Maybe you heard that the frontman eats meat. Maybe you saw an interview in which the drummer referred to herself in the third person. Maybe the artwork on the band’s latest CD included unicorns. Regardless,…
DJ Beretta, D. Allie, Dante, Air Dubai, Mane Rok and the Pirate SignalMarch 13, 2009Marquis TheaterBetter Than: Puking up green beer outside Scruffy Murphy’sEntering the Marquis Theater on Larimer Street on Saturday night was like stepping into a warm, dry bungalow after being drenched by freezing rain. In this case,…
Max3.com, Morning After Records, Gigbot, Indie 101.5FM and FuelFriends will be throwing one heck of a Denver showcase party at South By Southwest next Friday. The lineup includes the Epilogues, Meese, the Photo Atlas, Young Coyotes, Born in the Flood and the Overcasters. This isn’t the first time there’s been a…
When DJ K-Nee and Style-N-Fashion started doing So What! The Club back in 1993, at the old City Spirit Cafe on 15th and Blake, the point was to get away from the straight-up club music and hip-hop of the usual DJ scene, and focus on jazz-influenced cuts and rare grooves. I…
I was very sad to hear that we might be losing last year’s Best of Denver winner for Best Non-Conventional Venue. Laura Goldhamer, hyper-creative mastermind behind the diverse programming that happens in the basement of Brooks Center for Spirituality, sent an e-mail last week to her mailing list, explaining that,…
Tauntaun, Kingdom of Magic and Wetlands Friday, March 6, 2009 Bluebird Theater Better than: banging your head against your steering wheel Friday night’s Bluebird crowd came prepared to rock, and they certainly weren’t disappointed. As metal reasserts itself in the mainstream Denver music scene, fans of nosehair-singeing rock are lucky…
Israel Nebeker and Ryan Dobrowski know something about getting back to basics. Before they put together their brilliant debut full-length, 3 Rounds and a Sound, the two men who make up Portland-based Blind Pilot conducted a strictly human-powered tour of their home coast. The same austere spirit that had the…
Well, I’m a little late on this one, but had to let you know. Photo Finish Records, home of Colorado’s own 3OH!3, declared March 3rd “3OH!3 Day” (Get it? 3/03?), and in honor of the occasion, launched a bunch of promos and fun stuff on their blog. There are package…
Last night, hundreds of invited guests drank for free at a private party at the Larimer Lounge. Good thing, too. Lots of those folks were as broke as you are, and though Miller High Life might not be your preferred lager, it tastes mighty good pro bono. The night before, I ran…
Boy, does this economy suck! If you’re like most people I know, you were already broke before the market took a dump in September, and making your bills was hard enough then. Artists seem to always be up against challenges financially, but now, things are just plain ridiculous. Even people…
