As people who think about, talk about, write about, listen to and make music, it’s not surprising that the most common (and favorite) topic of conversation among us is the same: “What are you listening to right now?” Stick a quarter in us, and, boy, wouldn’t you know it, off…
After years of performing her soul-folk songs around the Denver music scene, Chella Negro hooked up with this town’s blossoming comedy community when she joined the all-female sketch group LadyFace. Proudly public about her affection for ganja, Negro was the ideal candidate for our Getting Stoned With series, in which…
Hey, remember Occupy Wall Street? The almost-revolution that rallied Americans to address our ever-widening income gap, yet ultimately splintered into obscurity due to idealistic infighting? Yes, that one. While the movement is mostly behind us, it played a major role in the last election. And that’s why poli-sci lecturer Stephen…
While infinitely different than being there in the flesh, a live concert film can provide an up-close, multi-angled, cinematically inspired perspective of the music experience — not to mention a glimpse into history for those who were born decades later. Such will be the case for a majority of the…
This past year has been tough for many people, and we’re eager to kiss 2012 goodbye. In hopes that 2013 will turn out to be much luckier for many, we invited some of the town’s cultural tastemakers — entrepreneurs and entertainers we’re lucky to have in Denver — to answer…
Few conversations reach the caliber of weirdness as ones that involve marijuana, entertainers and a tape recorder. And now that Amendment 64 has turned the ritual of pot-smoking into as normal a social custom as Sunday afternoon football, we at Westword have begun spending time with our favorite Denver musicians…
This past year has been tough for many people, and we’re eager to kiss 2012 goodbye. In hopes that 2013 will turn out to be much luckier for many, we invited some of the town’s cultural tastemakers — entrepreneurs and entertainers we’re lucky to have in Denver — to answer…
This past year has been tough for many people, and we’re eager to kiss 2012 goodbye. In hopes that 2013 will turn out to be much luckier for many, we invited some of the town’s cultural tastemakers — entrepreneurs and entertainers we’re lucky to have in Denver — to answer…
“I wear green velvet knickers, a forest green velvet smock, and a perky little hat decorated with spangles. This is my work uniform,” David Sedaris said for the first time on NPR’s Morning Edition twenty years ago this Christmas. Chronicling his stint as an elf in the madcap Santa Land…
Like Lenny Bruce in the ’60s, George Carlin in the ’70s or Bill Hicks in the ’90s, Louie C.K. could go down as the premier comic of this decade. His standup specials have not only changed the course of comedy material, but have changed the business of stand-up comedy. C.K…
In the wake of the generation defining, pop music altering, astronomically hyped wonder that was Nirvana’s Nevermind, Kurt Cobain would spend the next two and a half years of his life trying to remind people what his band was actually all about (while simultaneously trying to figure that out himself)…
When Melissa Wollenberg of Highlands Ranch snapped a cute/surreal photo of her son in a gas mask, standing before the orange haze of this past last summer’s out-of-control fires, she had no idea that it would eventually be chosen by film legend Ron Howard and LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy for…
Local comics Andrew Orvedahl and Adam Cayton-Holland are as well-known in the Denver standup scene as you can be without moving to L.A. and starring in a children’s movie. After working their way up through the local ranks, Orvedahl and Cayton-Holland (the latter a former Westword scribe) launched Los Comicos…
The names you’ll recognize — the Doors, Led Zeppelin, Neil Young, the Rolling Stones — and the titles of Boedecker Theater’s upcoming film series will be a treat for classic-rock fans who have already devoured big-budget docs like When You’re Strange or last month’s Crossfire Hurricane. “Both the Doors and…
Writing blindingly sincere songs about insecurity and desire since 1995, Tegan and Sara Quin have transcended the limitations of twee heartbreak and grown into songwriters of impressive depth, clarity and style. The twin sisters were born in Alberta, Canada, and began writing songs together at the age of fifteen, recording…
Having already chronicled Denver’s ghosts, street names and Jewish communities, local historian Phil Goodstein is digging into familiar ground in his latest book on our city’s forgotten past: Park Hill, the neighborhood where he once lived. Goodstein will appear at Tattered Cover Colfax tonight to discuss and sign copies of…
More than Home Alone or Miracle on 34th Street, It’s A Wonderful Life is probably the most beloved and iconic Christmas film for American audiences. Once a box-office bust, the film has received a second life as a prime-time television staple for holiday gatherings, and has now been adapted into…
Judging by last Spring’s massive turnout for the official Record Store Day, this year’s Record Store Day: Black Friday edition is shaping up to deliver a healthy dose of vinyl geek fever to all of Denver’s treasured music dispensaries. “There’s a big anticipation for those three White Stripes singles,” says…
Over the past two years, Kevin O’Brien’s weekly comedy event, Arguments and Grievances, has showcased some of Denver’s finest comedic talent in a setting designed for maximum hysteria and controversy. Taking the the age-old format of binary debate performance, O’Brien hosts an evening of hilarious bickering over arbitrary topics like…
A week ago today, our homeland, the fine state of Colorado, made history by voting to legalize marijuana for recreational use. In honor of this momentous occasion — and while the specific legalities are being ironed out with the feds — we thought we’d take a few minutes to catch…
This Saturday afternoon the Romero Theater Troupe will perform Auraria Custodians Tell Their Story, a play which seeks to air the recent grievances Auraria custodians have had with campus management. “The theme of [the play] revolves around dignity and respect,” says James Walsh, event organizer and UCD History Professor. “We’re…
If someone wanted to learn more about the sixties, but didn’t know where to start, these are the albums we’d recommend. While they aren’t necessarily the best selling, or the most critically acclaimed, they are certainly the ones that float to the surface all these years later, providing a rough…
