Long Live the Five Points Jazz Festival

There are few cultural events in Denver as well-run and enjoyable as Five Points Jazz. Evey year, the city’s Arts & Venues division organizes the fest, which features an impressive array of local and touring musicians along with food, shopping and a general block party feel. This year, photographer Brandon…

The Eleven Best Concerts in Denver This Week

This week’s best concerts include Purity Ring at the Gothic, Bette Midler at the Pepsi Center and Diarrhea Planet at the Marquis. Read on for a full list of our picks!  Diarrhea Planet$10. 7:00PM, Monday, May 18, Marquis Theater Streetlight Manifesto $22.50. 8:00PM, Tuesday, May 19, Ogden Theatre Purity Ring$25…

The Fourteen Best Concerts in Colorado This Weekend

This weekend’s  FRIDAY, MAY 15 Global Dub Festival$39.95/$75 6:00PM Red Rocks Amphitheatre Chasin’ Crazy$10 8:30PM Grizzly Rose William Elliott Whitmore$16.75/$20 9:00PM Bluebird Theater Denver Ukefest 2015   $27-$130 7:00PM Swallow Hill Music Hall R. Ring$10-$12 9:30PM hi-dive SATURDAY, MAY 16 Five Points Jazz Festival FREE 11:00AM Five Points Tipper$40-$45 4:30PM Red…

Podcast: Is Pitch Perfect 2 Racist? And Mad Max Rules

Pitch Perfect 2 hit a few wrong notes for the Village Voice’s Alan Scherstuhl and special guest Monica Castillo, but LA Weekly film critic Amy Nicholson interpreted the film’s humor a little differently. We circle back to Sofia Vergara’s performance in Hot Pursuit, before arriving in the desert for Mad Max:…

Photos: Hot Times at the 2016 Colorado Firefighter Calendar Tryouts

Twenty-three incredibly fit men and women set the night on fire last Saturday at the 2016 Colorado Firefighter Calendar Tryouts, an annual fundraiser for the Children’s Hospital Colorado Burn Center and and Burn Camp that packed Exdo with more than a thousand hooting fans who were pretty well-oiled by the…

Photos: Lipgloss Finds a New Home at Syntax Physic Opera

Lipgloss is one of the longest-running, most successful dance nights in Denver. After several years in both La Rumba and Beauty Bar, the event recently moved to Syntax Physic Opera on South Broadway, where you’ll find it every Friday. Photographer Brandon Marshall was there last week to capture the lively…

The Eight Best Concerts in Denver This Week

It’s a good week for shows — the Jesus and Mary Chain play tonight at the Ogden, and Courtney Love will be at Red Rocks with Lana Del Rey tomorrow. There’s plenty for you if you aren’t into nostalgia, too — the full list of our picks follows.  MONDAY, MAY…

Reader: Consumers Want Convenience When Buying Alcohol

Colorado’s independently-owned breweries and liquor stores have banded together to Keep Colorado Local — and keep supermarkets and convenience stores from selling full-strength beer, wine and other spirits. Their campaign tactics include Colorado LocALE, a new brew created by Dry Dock Brewing in Aurora. But grocery stores have formed their own…

Civic Center Eats Kicks Off Another Food Truck Season

Despite the week of gray skies and wet sidewalks, the weather held off long enough yesterday for Civic Center Eats to kick off its tenth season of food truck rallies in Civic Center Park. The Civic Center Conservancy, which produces the twice-weekly event,  wanted to get the season started on…

Bill Cadman Blasts “Extremists” in Unborn Justice Debate

Bill Cadman is mad as shmuck. The state senate leader is mighty steamed. Not because the legislative session that ended with a thud this week was one of the most impotent and gridlocked in recent memory, or because a host of bills dealing with pressing issues such as affordable housing,…

Lend Your Ear to This Westword Music Showcase Sound Check

Denver blog posts are feeling the beat of the streets. Streetsblog, which writes about “livable streets in cities and regions across the country,” launched a Denver website this week. Its most recent story looked into “funding mechanisms” for the proposed I-70 expansion through Denver. At our arts blog, Keith Garcia…

Calhoun Columns Take First Place in National Sigma Delta Chi Awards

Westword editor Patricia Calhoun has won first place for General Column Writing in the Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi Awards (daily circulation 1-100,000/non-daily publication) with a collection of columns that included two pices on the Sand Creek Massacre (including Governor John Hickenlooper’s apology to descendants) to a pioneering…

Photos: The Weirdest Night at Red Rocks

Primus brought its Willy Wonka-inspired tour to Red Rocks last night, with the oddballs of Beats Antique in tow. It was a strange night, to say the least, with the rain and the carnival gear and Les Claypool. Photographer Brandon Marshall was there to capture the scene — here are…

The Nine Best Concerts in Colorado This Weekend

FRIDAY, MAY 8 Adventure Club$39.95-$55/VIP $75-$100 6:00PM Red Rocks Amphitheatre Caramel Carmela$10/$12 6:00PM Summit Music Hall Waka Flocka Flame$22/$55 8:00PM Aggie Theatre The Royal$10 9:00PM Larimer Lounge SATURDAY, MAY 9 Gramatik$37.50-$75 6:00PM Red Rocks Amphitheatre All Time Low$26/$30 6:00PM Fillmore Auditorium SUNDAY, MAY 10 The Moody Blues$44.50-$69.50 7:30PM Red Rocks…

Podcast: Avengers 2 Is Better Than Avengers 1

Avengers: Age of Ultron director and screenwriter Joss Whedon wants to give us everything in his movie, and that he fits it all in is its own kind of feat, writes LA Weekly film critic Amy Nicholson in her review of the film, which opens May 1. Joining her on…

Photos: The Colors of Denver’s 2015 Cinco de Mayo Fest

Though the actual commemoration falls on today’s date, Denverites of all ages and cultures came together at Civic Center Park over the weekend to celebrate the Mexican army’s 1862 victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla, led by General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín at NEWSED’s 28th annual Cinco de…