Throughout his four-decade career, John Hammond, Wednesday, March 28, at the Gothic Theatre, has been known as a gifted interpreter of the blues: In the early days, young Hammond channeled the raw power of artists like Robert Johnson and Mississippi John Hurt for a new audience, at once helping to…
There are something like two bazillion bats in Austin, Texas. On the underside of a bridge that divides north from south, the night-flying creatures shriek, defecate and hang upside down all day long in one of the largest bat colonies in North America. Once a day, around sundown, they make…
The Indulgers really have impeccable timing. Soon after the release — and overwhelming response to — the band’s debut recording, In Like Flynn, the Celtic band began work on a followup; this month, when all the world turns its thoughts to the Green Isle and its many yummy beers, head…
A couple of weeks ago, Backwash lamented Rock Island’s decision to stop hosting live local music on Thursday nights — among other things, owner David Clamage cited the difficulty of drawing music crowds to LoDo, an area now more associated with sports and dance clubs than with rock bands in…
With Welcome to Nowhere, The Fairlanes mark their official entry into the world of full-time bandship. Following the CD’s release party on Friday, March 9, at the Ogden Theatre, with the Gamits and Qualm, the members of the (mostly) Denver-based band plan to head out on the open road full-time…
It shouldn’t be an unusual experience to be truly moved by a piece of music. At its most basic level, that is what music is supposed to do. But even as Backwash hears more and more of the stuff — literally hundreds and hundreds of recordings line the shelves, nooks,…
Last year, scores of mask-wearing, partially clad Denverites converged on the Wonderground warehouse space to wish a bon voyage to Cindy Wonderful and her multi-hued Rainbow Sugar posse; following that last great fete, Wonderful, Amy Fantastic and Germaine Baca boarded up their art-and-performance space in northwest Denver and headed off…
On a cold Saturday night in February, Santa Fe Drive is swarming with teenage life. The Aztlan Theatre is hosting an event put on by Roofless Productions, a local promoter that specializes in electronic music and tends to draw young crowds. By 11 p.m., kids are convening from all directions,…
Ever wonder about the music that’s used to weave together segments on programs like National Public Radio’s Morning Edition? Local acoustic guitarist and songwriter Lynn Patrick, Friday, February 16, at the Chautauqua Community House, Boulder, has supplied some of these sonic beds of late: Selections from her self-produced instrumental recording,…
A drive through downtown provides many clues to Denver’s cultural ranking. Does the city have an adequate number of scary-looking dive bars? Good bookstores, galleries and coffee shops? Plentiful parking? Is there a building with large, sculpted insects climbing all over it? The answer to that final question is yes,…
Sage Francis, with Atmosphere, Child and 5th Column, Thursday, February 8, at the Boulder Theater, may not look like a poet in the Wordsworth tradition. Still, his work — a combination of battle rap and a poetry slam — has earned him a rightful place in the artful hip-hop underground…
When the Grammy Awards air later this month, Mr. Marshall Mathers will probably be asked to please stand up at least once; Eminem’s quadruplicate nominations seem to guarantee a win or four on February 21. But since The Marshall Mathers LP is just the kind of specimen Tipper Gore types…
If you listen to commercial radio in Denver, you might be inclined to think that there were only about seventeen new albums released in the year 2000. (How else could the curious state of local playlists be explained?) But actually, the approximate number of CDs released in the United States…
Denver may not have all the urban accoutrements of the cultural meccas on the West and East coasts, but it does appear to be cultivating a substantial DJ-per-capita ratio; viewed from the sky, you can see them huddling in little flocks, turntables in one hand, headphones in the other, gathering…
Listened to at low volume, with attention focused on sounds — not words — Natural Selection makes what sounds almost like normal music. Permanent Teeth, its debut recording, abounds with airtight, verse-chorus-verse melodies that fit the pop-song formula with airtight precision. But listen more closely. Amid the electric, acoustic and…
When they first got together roughly two years ago, Denver’s Breezy Porticos, with Kudzu Towers and Hyacinth, Saturday, January 20, at the Lion’s Lair, were already courting supergroup status. The trio’s foundation includes former Cavity drummer Eric Van Leuven and guitarist Andy Falconetti, formerly of the blissfully garagey local staple,…
Before it opened its doors as a concert venue in 1994 under the direction of a then-newish local promotional company called nobody in particular presents, the Bluebird Theater was empty, old and mildew-ridden. But back in the day, this space on East Colfax enjoyed an existence as a movie theater…
Eric Shiveley and the Shive-Tones, Saturday, January 13, at Herman’s Hideaway, with Rocket Ajax and Carolyn’s Mother, are riding a crest that mirrors the title of their debut CD, released last year. Everything Is Good has managed to entice both local audiences and critics, a semi-rare feat for a relatively…
A run for the money: The combination of white powder and loud music has long been a recipe for a good time — probably ever since the discovery that chewing coca leaves really enhanced the, um, spiritual feeling of the tribal drum circle. Although there’s little shortage of powder-induced fun…
Boulder’s Andrew Murphy has proven himself to be one of the hardest-working men in show business — locally, at least, and with all due respect to James Brown. Two years ago he launched the excellent Local Shakedown program on Radio AM 1190, and although Murphy’s no longer a DJ on…
Time seemed to be on the side of Los Hombres Calientes, who appear Thursday, December 28, at the Fox Theatre in Boulder, when the six-piece Latin jazz band debuted with a fine self-titled release in 1998. While mainstream America was waking up to the saucy possibilities of Latin, Brazilian and…
Despite a name that might suggest otherwise, Worm Trouble, Thursday, December 21, at the 15th Street Tavern, with Hi Fidelity and the Dinnermints, has much to celebrate these days: The Denver outfit is still riding the creative crest of The Poison Kitchen, an intense, moody album that wouldn’t seem out…
