photo courtesy of Lori Wolfson”It just makes me crazy!” my friend said as we watched the local star-studded family affair that was Born in the Flood’s second annual holiday extravaganza on Friday night. And she meant it in a good way. As members of Meese, Dust on the Breakers, Dormir,…
Sometimes, I feel like I’m alone in my passion and enthusiasm for the Denver music scene. I can go on and on about how I believe we have something truly unique and valuable here, and when people just stare blankly back at me, I get the feeling that I’m the…
Every week, I receive several friend requests on MySpace. About 70% of them are from siphylitic spambots, masquerading as hot, lonely, Russian jailbait. Another 20% are from bands I’ve never heard of, who live in cities I’ve never heard of, and make music I’ve never heard of. The final 10% come from bands that live right here in Colorado. And a shocking percentage of these are completely new to me.
As Matthew Wilder once said, “Last night, I had the strangest dream.” I was at some sort of educational and/or military compound, and in the main dining hall there was a musical performance. My friend, a local photographer, was with me, and we were excited about the show. In some ways, it could have been any Friday night at one of my favorite Denver venues, but this space was large, and it was not unlike the mess hall in MASH. When it came time for the show, it turned out it was the Killers, except, as dream logic would have it, this band looked nothing like the Killers.
Bad Luck City’s amazing 2008 album, Adelaide, opens with an absolutely stunning cover of the Lee Hazlewood song, “The Night Before,” from his 1970 hard-to-find album, Cowboy in Sweden. Though it’s surprising for a unique and creative outfit like Bad Luck City to introduce itself with someone else’s song, the…
Every year, I hear people talk about the period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day as a dull and lifeless time for live music. If you went to college, you’ll remember that they sometimes called the study period just before finals “dead days” because nothing would be happening on campus…
When the chips are down and the musical heroes of our bovine metropolis launch their salvos into the wider world, we stand by cheering and back-patting because that’s what we do — we support our own. People always say there’s strength in numbers, but I say there’s potentially greater strength in unity and optimism.
I recently spotted a rare MySpace bulletin from Nathaniel Rateliff, aka the Wheel, about a show he was doing in Portland. Now, I know Nate doesn’t exactly need my help to draw a crowd, but I’m such a strong supporter of his work that I wanted to pimp him a…
‘Twas the night before Thanksgiving, and I found myself at Forest Room 5, where several local filmmakers were screening their works, a friend and local artist named Claudine Rousseau had hung her poignant and pint-sized paintings, and Mike Marchant of Widowers was performing a solo set…
I received an email a couple weeks ago from the 1090 Club, the delightfully unique indie rock outfit from Billings, Montana. The band was offering its new album, Natural Selection, for digital download for free through amiestreet.com. I had never heard of the website, but, after having gone all gooey…
Last Tuesday night’s headliner at the Larimer Lounge was the amazing Dub Trio. I was absolutely astounded by the outfit’s instrumental collage of math rock, Jamaican dub and progressive metal. If you missed that show, or the next night’s set at the Fox Theatre in Boulder, kick yourself…
I’m calling for a revitalization and renewal of that time-honored cheapskate gift: the mixtape.
One of the great challenges of our time lies in accurately and earnestly expressing one’s emotions without simply regurgitating words that have been received through the music, TV and films of our ubiquitous and intrusive popular culture.
You probably know Jason Cain as the emotive auteur who stands — or, lately, sits — in front of Astrophagus. On his first solo CD, the singer-songwriter worked with Brian Gerhard at Helmet Room Studios to strip four thematically related songs down to their core of Cain’s minimalist strumming and…
Lannie’s has a delightfully theatrical vibe of faux decadence that is equally comfortable for night creatures like myself and for the don’t-get-out-much older folks who make up the bulk of the audience. The real joy of the show, though, is the gypsy jazz quartet that backs up Ms. Garrett’s salty, hammy performance. Inspired by Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grapelli, guitarist Elliot Reed and violinist Dimitri Fisch lead a smoking quartet through period-perfect arrangements that retain their vitality and authenticity, in spite of Garrett’s intentionally campy leadership.
Last week, I attended Meese’s whiskey-and-magazine sponsored show at the b.side Lounge in Boulder. The free event only allowed about 100 people into the Lounge’s less-than-optimal room, making for the most intimate show this skyrocketing group will be giving for a long time to come. While the band’s recordings rarely…
Squirt some Binaca, pucker up and apply a fresh coat of that Dr. Pepper lipgloss because, after almost exactly one year, we’re gonna be making out every day! That’s right. As of today, right now, this instant, the Mile High Makeout is a daily event. No more will you have…
There are so many albums I buy where people try to put in electronic sounds,” says Jeffrey Stevens, “and it sounds like a cheap sticker on a wooden desk.” It might not sound like it, but Stevens is celebrating. The electronic alchemist, who is one half of Denver experimental pop…
The press conference preceding Monday’s Rock the Vote show with Tenacious D and the Beastie Boys was a strictly Q-and-A affair, which meant that the musicians hadn’t prepared anything to say, and the success of the event hinged on questions from the handful of journalists in attendance. Thankfully, my intelligent…
“Maybe I could be the first rapper-slash-doctor!” As he applies to medical schools for next year, Nathaniel Motte — beatmaker and one half of Boulder crunk-rock duo 3OH!3 — is getting psyched about the cred this will win him in the hip-hop game. “Let’s put this down in ink,” he…
It came in so fast that I barely remember it,” says Murray Lightburn, recounting the origins of the title track from his band’s newest album, Missiles. “I remember I was downstairs in the studio cleaning up, and suddenly I heard this tune.” As he continues, Lightburn — frontman and auteur…
In a match made in piano-rock heaven, Dresden Dolls vamp Amanda Palmer teamed with fellow ivory-tickler Ben Folds to produce this strings-and-spinet stunner. Originally, the singer had planned a low-budget project, showcasing some songs she felt sounded better without Dolls collaborator Brian Viglione’s distinctive drumming. Palmer’s vocal acrobatics, dynamic pianism…
