Best Of Denver® 2000 Winners
Arts & Entertainment
For the past several seasons, Mercedes Perez has deftly portrayed supporting parts while maintaining each role's proper place in a play's grand scheme, showing her ability to be an artful team player in a business that increasingly
values novelty over craft. And this past year saw her unique talents showcased as never before. She lit up the stage as Anita in the Arvada Center's exuberant production of West Side Story and was a divine presence as a thrice-appearing choric figure that replaced the stodgy role of Father Time in the Denver Center's lavish Winter's Tale. Although she's since relocated to Aspen (where her husband is the new artistic director of Theatre-in-the-Park), Perez will, we hope, migrate periodically from the land of pointy-headed stars to play an even more supportive role in Denver's burgeoning professional scene.
Best entertainment for under $1
The 3 a.m. #15 bus eastbound on Colfax
After a long night at the bars, it's hard to find things to laugh at. But down at the corner of Colfax and Broadway, the bus stop for the #15 eastbound is a hive of entertainment. The stop is usually packed with denizens from the bars, winos trying to get out to Aurora, and people dealing with the graveyard shift. Some nights the conversation can get pretty interesting, as folks talk about the various effects of Thunderbird and Night Train on the central nervous system. The bus is almost always packed, and it's not unusual for passengers to break out in song.
Readers' choice: Kitty's
Best entertainment for under $1
The 3 a.m. #15 bus eastbound on Colfax
After a long night at the bars, it's hard to find things to laugh at. But down at the corner of Colfax and Broadway, the bus stop for the #15 eastbound is a hive of entertainment. The stop is usually packed with denizens from the bars, winos trying to get out to Aurora, and people dealing with the graveyard shift. Some nights the conversation can get pretty interesting, as folks talk about the various effects of Thunderbird and Night Train on the central nervous system. The bus is almost always packed, and it's not unusual for passengers to break out in song.
Readers' choice: Kitty's
The Partridge Family? Not. The Jackson Five? Please. But cross Selena with the Brady Bunch and you'd be pretty damn close. Mariachi Vasquez is a certified mom-and-dad-and-all-the-kiddies mariachi group: Daddy plays bass, Mama sings tenor, and the three sisters and two brothers join right in there. The group, which hails from Tucson, has been shaking its maracas since the kids wore Pampers. While other children scribbled multiplication tables, these youngsters perfected their chops on violin, trumpet and guitar. Last year the group cut its first CD, Como la Ves, and is compiling its second. Mariachis usually are content to cover the classics, but Mariachi Vasquez spices its playlist with original material and south-of-the-border tributes to Patsy Cline and Elvis. Although the Vasquez kids are still learning their way around a recording studio -- let them make it through puberty first -- they can still put a little rumba into a conga line. And the Mr. Microphone tribute to the King -- as sung by ten-year-old Vincente -- is enough to put a swivel in your hips. If not a black-velvet Elvis painting in your living room.
Sure, it may sound like nightmarish DTs to a barfly in the prime of his life, but there are people out there who actually enjoy listening to the tinkling of the ivories without the cacophony of rattling ice cubes and expectorating stool-clingers. And you just may find those people settling into the comfy chairs surrounding the white baby grand piano in the lobby of the Lutheran Medical Center. The piano was donated by hospital volunteers, who could see the healing power of music. Anyone with the gift is welcome to play the instrument -- except for the times when professional musicians volunteer to warm the bench, the keys and the hearts of hospital patients.
Readers' choice: 16th Street Mall
Sure, it may sound like nightmarish DTs to a barfly in the prime of his life, but there are people out there who actually enjoy listening to the tinkling of the ivories without the cacophony of rattling ice cubes and expectorating stool-clingers. And you just may find those people settling into the comfy chairs surrounding the white baby grand piano in the lobby of the Lutheran Medical Center. The piano was donated by hospital volunteers, who could see the healing power of music. Anyone with the gift is welcome to play the instrument -- except for the times when professional musicians volunteer to warm the bench, the keys and the hearts of hospital patients.
Readers' choice: 16th Street Mall
Among the Denver area's several intriguing new film festivals, which address everything from jazz on celluloid to the pan-African experience, the Aurora Asian Film Festival has the most variety and the largest reach. This spring's third edition of the fest screened over four days at the graceful Aurora Fox Theatre and featured a dozen new films from Hong Kong, Japan, China, India, the Philippines and the United States. The roster included the heartwarming Fly Me to Polaris (Hong Kong), in which a blind saxophonist who is killed by a motorist returns to earth with a second chance to express his unspoken love for the nurse who cared for him. Musical performances, Oriental cuisine and an art show augment the festival.
Among the Denver area's several intriguing new film festivals, which address everything from jazz on celluloid to the pan-African experience, the Aurora Asian Film Festival has the most variety and the largest reach. This spring's third edition of the fest screened over four days at the graceful Aurora Fox Theatre and featured a dozen new films from Hong Kong, Japan, China, India, the Philippines and the United States. The roster included the heartwarming Fly Me to Polaris (Hong Kong), in which a blind saxophonist who is killed by a motorist returns to earth with a second chance to express his unspoken love for the nurse who cared for him. Musical performances, Oriental cuisine and an art show augment the festival.
Last year, when Ninth Avenue West became La Rumba, the club shifted its focus from swing to salsa, a move that reduced the number of wing tip wearers in the crowd while upping its quotient of Latin-music lovers. Now the club is sometimes known as Trinity, a progressive dance environment that has welcomed glow-stick-carrying denizens, international acts like the Basement Jaxx and also spinning sessions from the fabulous Freakbeat DJ duo. Sound like an identity crisis? Nah. It's a smart use of a great space. Let's get ready to Rumba.
Last year, when Ninth Avenue West became La Rumba, the club shifted its focus from swing to salsa, a move that reduced the number of wing tip wearers in the crowd while upping its quotient of Latin-music lovers. Now the club is sometimes known as Trinity, a progressive dance environment that has welcomed glow-stick-carrying denizens, international acts like the Basement Jaxx and also spinning sessions from the fabulous Freakbeat DJ duo. Sound like an identity crisis? Nah. It's a smart use of a great space. Let's get ready to Rumba.
Best impromptu karaoke in a Mexican dive bar
Satire Restaurant & Lounge
Sure, it sounds better after a couple (or several) tall drafts and maybe a bowl of chips. But regardless of your sobriety level, it's a pretty safe bet that on any given night, the Satire will be filled with folks who've been there for a while -- folks who are ready to sing like Ethel Merman on Xanax. Bar-wide renderings of all the hits from the Beatles, the Doors, Jimi Hendrix and James Brown are almost as much a part of the Satire scene as the saucy bartenders and Joe the waiter's warning that your plate is hot. Just don't forget to raise your glass when you raise your voice in song.
Best impromptu karaoke in a Mexican dive bar
Satire Restaurant & Lounge
Sure, it sounds better after a couple (or several) tall drafts and maybe a bowl of chips. But regardless of your sobriety level, it's a pretty safe bet that on any given night, the Satire will be filled with folks who've been there for a while -- folks who are ready to sing like Ethel Merman on Xanax. Bar-wide renderings of all the hits from the Beatles, the Doors, Jimi Hendrix and James Brown are almost as much a part of the Satire scene as the saucy bartenders and Joe the waiter's warning that your plate is hot. Just don't forget to raise your glass when you raise your voice in song.
Most of the week, Turk's Supper Club is a friendly blue-collar joint where you can get a decent burger and a beer for about six bucks. On Monday nights, however, the pool tables are moved to the side to make way for an old-fashioned bandstand and the twenty-person-plus Denver Jazz Orchestra, which uses the historic tavern as a practice and performance space. Led by trumpeter Sam Bivens -- who came to Denver by way of New York City and has spent nearly sixty years as a professional jazzman -- the DJO finds both young and older musicians traversing a repertoire of Big Band-era classics alongside more modern sounds. The free weekly events are simply music to the ears.
Most of the week, Turk's Supper Club is a friendly blue-collar joint where you can get a decent burger and a beer for about six bucks. On Monday nights, however, the pool tables are moved to the side to make way for an old-fashioned bandstand and the twenty-person-plus Denver Jazz Orchestra, which uses the historic tavern as a practice and performance space. Led by trumpeter Sam Bivens -- who came to Denver by way of New York City and has spent nearly sixty years as a professional jazzman -- the DJO finds both young and older musicians traversing a repertoire of Big Band-era classics alongside more modern sounds. The free weekly events are simply music to the ears.
No one in Denver works as hard -- or is in as much demand -- as Fury, the city's premier jungle DJ. In addition to spinning at several raves each month, DJ Fury maintains two weekly club residencies ("Breakdown" at the Snake Pit on Thursday nights and "The Globe" at Maximillian's on Tuesday nights). When he isn't heading up his own Reload Productions company, Fury also works as a resident DJ for Together Productions and L.A.'s Insomniac Productions, two of the biggest rave production companies in the nation. This year he gained representation by Champion Sound Management out of San Diego, which manages some of the biggest names in the national club scene; since then, the number of Fury's out-of-town bookings has soared. With a DJ mix CD forthcoming on local Terraform Records and several mix tapes in the works, Fury's pace is simply furious.
No one in Denver works as hard -- or is in as much demand -- as Fury, the city's premier jungle DJ. In addition to spinning at several raves each month, DJ Fury maintains two weekly club residencies ("Breakdown" at the Snake Pit on Thursday nights and "The Globe" at Maximillian's on Tuesday nights). When he isn't heading up his own Reload Productions company, Fury also works as a resident DJ for Together Productions and L.A.'s Insomniac Productions, two of the biggest rave production companies in the nation. This year he gained representation by Champion Sound Management out of San Diego, which manages some of the biggest names in the national club scene; since then, the number of Fury's out-of-town bookings has soared. With a DJ mix CD forthcoming on local Terraform Records and several mix tapes in the works, Fury's pace is simply furious.
Owner Scott Heron has crammed his boombox with eras of rockabilly, blues and early country, from Bob Wills and Hank Williams to Elvis, Etta James and more. Johnny Cash and Johnny Horton share space with the Haywoods and Go Cat Go, pure proof that "rock and roll is here to stay."
Owner Scott Heron has crammed his boombox with eras of rockabilly, blues and early country, from Bob Wills and Hank Williams to Elvis, Etta James and more. Johnny Cash and Johnny Horton share space with the Haywoods and Go Cat Go, pure proof that "rock and roll is here to stay."
Rarely do a squealer (Journey's Steve Perry) and a grunter (Fugazi's Ian MacKaye) lay side by side, but inside the jukebox at the Goosetown Tavern, everybody is friends! The diversity of the artists represented, from gutter punks to Motown divas, keeps the crowd interesting and interested. Goosetown regulars know that on any given night, the crowd can range from tattooed and pierced to moneyed and khakied. Note the framed painting of Gene Simmons above the right side of the bar. When a breeze rolls behind it, the canvas wobbles in and out, creating the illusion that Mean Gene is about to come down and lick you. And just wait until someone puts another dime in the jukebox, baby, and selects "Sweet Child O' Mine." You're sure to hear some of the finest Axl Rose impersonators tuning up for their ten-year reunions.
Rarely do a squealer (Journey's Steve Perry) and a grunter (Fugazi's Ian MacKaye) lay side by side, but inside the jukebox at the Goosetown Tavern, everybody is friends! The diversity of the artists represented, from gutter punks to Motown divas, keeps the crowd interesting and interested. Goosetown regulars know that on any given night, the crowd can range from tattooed and pierced to moneyed and khakied. Note the framed painting of Gene Simmons above the right side of the bar. When a breeze rolls behind it, the canvas wobbles in and out, creating the illusion that Mean Gene is about to come down and lick you. And just wait until someone puts another dime in the jukebox, baby, and selects "Sweet Child O' Mine." You're sure to hear some of the finest Axl Rose impersonators tuning up for their ten-year reunions.
Celebrating a pagan holiday in a former church may be sacrilegious, but that doesn't scare us. Denver's most ghoulish characters congregate at The Church on All Hallow's Eve: One Halloween bash turned up a seven-foot-tall creature (the guy somehow managed to dance on stilts all night), an ape-masked person with red lasers for eyes, and a dead ringer for Prince. The winner of the costume contest that year got to go on a trip to San Francisco, and the second-place winner got a couple hundred bucks. No bones about it: This is one hell of a good time.
Celebrating a pagan holiday in a former church may be sacrilegious, but that doesn't scare us. Denver's most ghoulish characters congregate at The Church on All Hallow's Eve: One Halloween bash turned up a seven-foot-tall creature (the guy somehow managed to dance on stilts all night), an ape-masked person with red lasers for eyes, and a dead ringer for Prince. The winner of the costume contest that year got to go on a trip to San Francisco, and the second-place winner got a couple hundred bucks. No bones about it: This is one hell of a good time.
Best place to get high and jam
Nederland Acid Jams at the Wolf Tongue Brewery
Since he began hosting his weekly Acid Jams in the northerly mountain town of Nederland in 1996, promoter "Michigan Mike" Torpie has seen some mighty fine players wander up on stage and play improvisational music for eager, dancing crowds: Stanley Jordan did it once, and Tony Furtado's done it often, as have members of the String Cheese Incident and Leftover Salmon. In February Torpie celebrated the 200th installment of the series, a victory he marked by briefly extending its reach into Boulder's Mellow Mushroom on Tuesday nights. Jazzheads who can't get enough jam in their diet can access archives of past events and stream live broadcasts through Torpie's Web site, www.michiganmike.com. With Torpie around, there's plenty of fire on the mountain.
Best place to get high and jam
Nederland Acid Jams at the Wolf Tongue Brewery
Since he began hosting his weekly Acid Jams in the northerly mountain town of Nederland in 1996, promoter "Michigan Mike" Torpie has seen some mighty fine players wander up on stage and play improvisational music for eager, dancing crowds: Stanley Jordan did it once, and Tony Furtado's done it often, as have members of the String Cheese Incident and Leftover Salmon. In February Torpie celebrated the 200th installment of the series, a victory he marked by briefly extending its reach into Boulder's Mellow Mushroom on Tuesday nights. Jazzheads who can't get enough jam in their diet can access archives of past events and stream live broadcasts through Torpie's Web site, www.michiganmike.com. With Torpie around, there's plenty of fire on the mountain.
The rowdy and experimental Harp Seal Piñatas don't quite have a cutesy handle that will endear them to animal-rights activists, but that's okay -- they've got a good beat.
The rowdy and experimental Harp Seal Piatas don't quite have a cutesy handle that will endear them to animal-rights activists, but that's okay -- they've got a good beat.
Todd Bradley's ongoing experimental electronic project features characters with names like Bob the Robot and Grandmaster Dumbass. Considering that the Internet is Bradley's primary method of music distribution, the band's title -- the same message one gets when attempting to log on to a Web site that has moved locations -- can be viewed as clever, confusing or both. For the record, you can get to Bradley via www.404notfound.net/. And don't forget to say hello to Bob.
Todd Bradley's ongoing experimental electronic project features characters with names like Bob the Robot and Grandmaster Dumbass. Considering that the Internet is Bradley's primary method of music distribution, the band's title -- the same message one gets when attempting to log on to a Web site that has moved locations -- can be viewed as clever, confusing or both. For the record, you can get to Bradley via www.404notfound.net/. And don't forget to say hello to Bob.
Best community film series
Boulder Film Alliance "Best of" Series
The newly formed Boulder Film Alliance -- five movie-loving entities working as one -- is screening forty films this spring and summer that reflect the shared interests and various missions of the groups. Some highlights: Colorado University's International Film Series reprises Zhang Yimou's Raise the Red Lantern July 8 and 9 and the "Colors Trilogy" of the late Krzysztof Kieslowski July 22 to August 5; The Boulder Theater examines popular music on film with Grease, Woodstock, Saturday Night Fever and Menace II Society, among others; Boulder Outdoor Cinema's Saturday-night series includes Frankenstein and Dracula on July 15 and The Wizard of Oz on August 26; the Chautauqua Silent Film Series shows a recently rediscovered 1924 version of Peter Pan on August 9, with accompaniment by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra; Boulder Public Library highlights writers and film July 14 with films about Allen Ginsberg, Samuel Beckett and others.
Best community film series
Boulder Film Alliance "Best of" Series
The newly formed Boulder Film Alliance -- five movie-loving entities working as one -- is screening forty films this spring and summer that reflect the shared interests and various missions of the groups. Some highlights: Colorado University's International Film Series reprises Zhang Yimou's Raise the Red Lantern July 8 and 9 and the "Colors Trilogy" of the late Krzysztof Kieslowski July 22 to August 5; The Boulder Theater examines popular music on film with Grease, Woodstock, Saturday Night Fever and Menace II Society, among others; Boulder Outdoor Cinema's Saturday-night series includes Frankenstein and Dracula on July 15 and The Wizard of Oz on August 26; the Chautauqua Silent Film Series shows a recently rediscovered 1924 version of Peter Pan on August 9, with accompaniment by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra; Boulder Public Library highlights writers and film July 14 with films about Allen Ginsberg, Samuel Beckett and others.
Best place to get whupped -- and like it
Central Wrestling Organization matches at the Aztlan Theater
They may not enjoy bleeding publicly as much as Edward Norton's character did in Fight Club, but the brave souls who enter into the Central Wrestling Organization matches at the Aztlan Theater still seem to derive a rush from delivering -- and receiving -- exhibition-style ass-kickings. Contenders with names like Extreme Machine, Jenocide and Psycho Sarge expertly drop-kick, jack up and put the smack down on their opponents, all to the delight of increasingly sizable crowds. Inspired by the success of the CWO events, concert promoter Dan Steinberg has recently begun incorporating more gore into the Aztlan calendar by implementing punk-rock fight nights and female oil-wrestling matches.
Best place to get whupped -- and like it
Central Wrestling Organization matches at the Aztlan Theater
They may not enjoy bleeding publicly as much as Edward Norton's character did in Fight Club, but the brave souls who enter into the Central Wrestling Organization matches at the Aztlan Theater still seem to derive a rush from delivering -- and receiving -- exhibition-style ass-kickings. Contenders with names like Extreme Machine, Jenocide and Psycho Sarge expertly drop-kick, jack up and put the smack down on their opponents, all to the delight of increasingly sizable crowds. Inspired by the success of the CWO events, concert promoter Dan Steinberg has recently begun incorporating more gore into the Aztlan calendar by implementing punk-rock fight nights and female oil-wrestling matches.
Best hip-hop show
Basementalism, KVCU-AM/1190, 4 to 7 p.m. Saturdays
DJs Adict and Resonant (aka Mike Merriman and Nate Harvey) are hip-hop heads of the most serious kind -- and that's to the benefit of anyone who tunes in to their weekly radio show on Radio 1190. In addition to spinning the most up-and-coming underground hip-hop artists from the local and national scenes, the crew hosts artists in the studio for interview and instructional sessions as well as for live performances. Adict and Resonant are students -- of the University of Colorado at Boulder and of the history of rap and hip-hop. Judging by the success of their program, they're definitely making the grade in the latter.
Best hip-hop show
Basementalism, KVCU-AM/1190, 4 to 7 p.m. Saturdays
DJs Adict and Resonant (aka Mike Merriman and Nate Harvey) are hip-hop heads of the most serious kind -- and that's to the benefit of anyone who tunes in to their weekly radio show on Radio 1190. In addition to spinning the most up-and-coming underground hip-hop artists from the local and national scenes, the crew hosts artists in the studio for interview and instructional sessions as well as for live performances. Adict and Resonant are students -- of the University of Colorado at Boulder and of the history of rap and hip-hop. Judging by the success of their program, they're definitely making the grade in the latter.
Host Kai Turner makes Sundays especially holy, with three hours of choice three-chord music from 7 to 10 p.m. each Sabbath. Turner has taste and does his homework, bringing both established blues stars and unsung heroes to local ears. And he's not afraid to spin a few things that stretch his show's handle by a few bars.
Host Kai Turner makes Sundays especially holy, with three hours of choice three-chord music from 7 to 10 p.m. each Sabbath. Turner has taste and does his homework, bringing both established blues stars and unsung heroes to local ears. And he's not afraid to spin a few things that stretch his show's handle by a few bars.
On her Gospel Chime, Madame Andrews provides a Sunday service like no other by playing the very best in soul-stirring music from 7 to 9 a.m. Andrews -- a holy crooner herself -- spins old and new heavenly tunes and gives the faithful a valid excuse for skipping church. Can we get a witness?
On her Gospel Chime, Madame Andrews provides a Sunday service like no other by playing the very best in soul-stirring music from 7 to 9 a.m. Andrews -- a holy crooner herself -- spins old and new heavenly tunes and gives the faithful a valid excuse for skipping church. Can we get a witness?
Each Monday night at 7, Boulder's big-hearted, volunteer-run station lets local acts command its airwaves. The resulting Cabaret is a rare hour of live radio and a chance for area players to reach an equally rare audience. A public-service program of the finest sort.
Each Monday night at 7, Boulder's big-hearted, volunteer-run station lets local acts command its airwaves. The resulting Cabaret is a rare hour of live radio and a chance for area players to reach an equally rare audience. A public-service program of the finest sort.
Esteemed trumpeter and local luminary Hugh Ragin is arguably the area's most accomplished jazz performer, if not its most active. The Fort Collins-based educator is a traditionalist, equally at home fast-boppin' as he is dabbling with neo-swing, rendering a soulful ballad, or flat-out improvising. Combining a freethinker's multi-layered sensibility with simple monster chops, Ragin has spanned collaborating with the Art Ensemble of Chicago and Sun Ra to composing electronic pieces for Pauline Oliveros's Deep Listening Band. A recent tribute to Philly horn-blower Lee Morgan plus the exquisite release of An Afternoon in Harlem made 1999 a memorable year for the ever-widening support of Raginomics.
Esteemed trumpeter and local luminary Hugh Ragin is arguably the area's most accomplished jazz performer, if not its most active. The Fort Collins-based educator is a traditionalist, equally at home fast-boppin' as he is dabbling with neo-swing, rendering a soulful ballad, or flat-out improvising. Combining a freethinker's multi-layered sensibility with simple monster chops, Ragin has spanned collaborating with the Art Ensemble of Chicago and Sun Ra to composing electronic pieces for Pauline Oliveros's Deep Listening Band. A recent tribute to Philly horn-blower Lee Morgan plus the exquisite release of An Afternoon in Harlem made 1999 a memorable year for the ever-widening support of Raginomics.
Many solid locally oriented music sites have popped up over the past few years, but denver-rocks.com remains the URL of choice for the sheer volume of information contained in its many pages. Most impressive is its directory of other sites: Separated by genre, the listings lead to the personal home pages of most local bands worth their salt in megabytes. A calendar of live music events, CD reviews and audio samples, links to e-zines, and music-oriented publications help this site rock as much as the music it promotes.
Many solid locally oriented music sites have popped up over the past few years, but denver-rocks.com remains the URL of choice for the sheer volume of information contained in its many pages. Most impressive is its directory of other sites: Separated by genre, the listings lead to the personal home pages of most local bands worth their salt in megabytes. A calendar of live music events, CD reviews and audio samples, links to e-zines, and music-oriented publications help this site rock as much as the music it promotes.
Best online ranting about local music (and everything else)
The Hooligan www.thehooligan.com
When John Reidy migrated to Ireland earlier this year, it seemed that the end was in store for his caustic publication and companion Web site. Fortunately, Reidy's recently been spotted roaming the dark corners and dusty taverns of D-town, and The Hooligan is once again fooling about, at least as a digital entity. That's good news for those who enjoy Reidy's pummeling of sacred topical cows; the site contains writing on everything from local bands, commercial radio, advertising, movies, television, print media and society at large (recent offerings include the essay "Americans Are Fucking Nuts!"). Reidy's return is bad news, perhaps, for those who find themselves on the receiving end of his hypertext assaults and others who simply fear the f-word. But fuck that. This is one hooligan we're happy to welcome back to town.
Best online ranting about local music (and everything else)
The Hooligan www.thehooligan.com
When John Reidy migrated to Ireland earlier this year, it seemed that the end was in store for his caustic publication and companion Web site. Fortunately, Reidy's recently been spotted roaming the dark corners and dusty taverns of D-town, and The Hooligan is once again fooling about, at least as a digital entity. That's good news for those who enjoy Reidy's pummeling of sacred topical cows; the site contains writing on everything from local bands, commercial radio, advertising, movies, television, print media and society at large (recent offerings include the essay "Americans Are Fucking Nuts!"). Reidy's return is bad news, perhaps, for those who find themselves on the receiving end of his hypertext assaults and others who simply fear the f-word. But fuck that. This is one hooligan we're happy to welcome back to town.
Best li'l independent slice of cybernet pie
Self-supporting artists from around the globe have a friend in Wendy Rubin of joesgrille.com. Along with Christina Minicucci and Dave Corey, Rubin is the force behind a distribution network that specializes in quieting the hungry tummies of indie-music lovin' folks, all the way from the North Pole to Tierra del Fuego. Jointly based out of Boulder and Austin, Texas, the Internet retail outlet helps aspiring musicians as diverse as Q-Bert and Dorkweed build a customized fan base and promo kit for that ever-searching Argus known as the A&R rep. Rubin and company can also whip up a tasty blue-plate special -- just the thing to grease your virtual gums.
Best li'l independent slice of cybernet pie
Self-supporting artists from around the globe have a friend in Wendy Rubin of joesgrille.com. Along with Christina Minicucci and Dave Corey, Rubin is the force behind a distribution network that specializes in quieting the hungry tummies of indie-music lovin' folks, all the way from the North Pole to Tierra del Fuego. Jointly based out of Boulder and Austin, Texas, the Internet retail outlet helps aspiring musicians as diverse as Q-Bert and Dorkweed build a customized fan base and promo kit for that ever-searching Argus known as the A&R rep. Rubin and company can also whip up a tasty blue-plate special -- just the thing to grease your virtual gums.
Best local-music how-to
Making a Living in Your Local Music Market: How to Survive and Prosper by Dick Weissman
Dick Weissman, a longtime professor at the University of Colorado-Denver who was part of the Journeymen, a '60s-era folk outfit that included future Mamas and Papas leader John Phillips, clearly speaks from experience in his latest book, issued by the Hal Leonard Publishing Company and available online at Amazon.com. In this update of a book first published in 1989, he demonstrates why Denver remains on the outskirts of the national music business (by contrasting it with Seattle) even as he shows how a performer with modest expectations can forge an admirable career in a place just like this. As evidenced by his latest CD, Pioneer Nights (a collaboration with violinist Gary Keiski), Weissman has done just that.
Best local-music how-to
Making a Living in Your Local Music Market: How to Survive and Prosper by Dick Weissman
Dick Weissman, a longtime professor at the University of Colorado-Denver who was part of the Journeymen, a '60s-era folk outfit that included future Mamas and Papas leader John Phillips, clearly speaks from experience in his latest book, issued by the Hal Leonard Publishing Company and available online at Amazon.com. In this update of a book first published in 1989, he demonstrates why Denver remains on the outskirts of the national music business (by contrasting it with Seattle) even as he shows how a performer with modest expectations can forge an admirable career in a place just like this. As evidenced by his latest CD, Pioneer Nights (a collaboration with violinist Gary Keiski), Weissman has done just that.
When you've got that hankering to go river rafting, chances are that Salida, one of the state's prime meccas for rapids-runners, will be your destination. But the picturesque mountain town has a lot more passing through it than the Arkansas River: With some forty little shops, restaurants and galleries lining its streets, it's also home to a fair amount of culture. And the art you'll see there won't all be the kind you expect from a mountain burg. Salida's burgeoning resident artist community turns out works that vary from fine modern art to one-of-a-kind wearables, all showcased year-round, but especially every June during ArtWalk. Face it: In-town fests are crowded, hot, and hell on your feet, but in Salida, you'll get a real vacation along with your art.
When you've got that hankering to go river rafting, chances are that Salida, one of the state's prime meccas for rapids-runners, will be your destination. But the picturesque mountain town has a lot more passing through it than the Arkansas River: With some forty little shops, restaurants and galleries lining its streets, it's also home to a fair amount of culture. And the art you'll see there won't all be the kind you expect from a mountain burg. Salida's burgeoning resident artist community turns out works that vary from fine modern art to one-of-a-kind wearables, all showcased year-round, but especially every June during ArtWalk. Face it: In-town fests are crowded, hot, and hell on your feet, but in Salida, you'll get a real vacation along with your art.
The Rocky Mountain Music Association was once the primary advocate for local musicians in these parts, but over time the group grew less and less effective, causing one wag to joke that anything sponsored by the RMMA "couldn't draw flies." Now the Colorado Music Association, or COMA, has undertaken the same mission with an energy and drive that can't be denied; in its first year of existence, membership has grown from the tens to the hundreds. In addition, the group has a first-rate Web site (www.coloradomusic.org) and sponsors concerts, discussions and workshops that people actually attend. Imagine that.
The Rocky Mountain Music Association was once the primary advocate for local musicians in these parts, but over time the group grew less and less effective, causing one wag to joke that anything sponsored by the RMMA "couldn't draw flies." Now the Colorado Music Association, or COMA, has undertaken the same mission with an energy and drive that can't be denied; in its first year of existence, membership has grown from the tens to the hundreds. In addition, the group has a first-rate Web site (www.coloradomusic.org) and sponsors concerts, discussions and workshops that people actually attend. Imagine that.
Fortunately for jazz and avant-garde enthusiasts, New Yorker Alex Lemski brings diversity and excitement to the city with forward-thinking cultural events like the Denver Free Music Festival and the Edge of the String concert series. The president and driving force behind the nonprofit Creative Music Works, Lemski has also branched out and begun sponsoring jazz classes and seminars through the grass-rooted Lamont School of Music. A consistent supporter of free-form sounds and risk-taking since the mid-'80s, Lemski's the staunch non-commercial odd man out in today's increasing tide of Ticketmaster-induced slavery, placing music over the almightiest of moolah. Here's to the outer reaches of jazz -- and beyond!
Fortunately for jazz and avant-garde enthusiasts, New Yorker Alex Lemski brings diversity and excitement to the city with forward-thinking cultural events like the Denver Free Music Festival and the Edge of the String concert series. The president and driving force behind the nonprofit Creative Music Works, Lemski has also branched out and begun sponsoring jazz classes and seminars through the grass-rooted Lamont School of Music. A consistent supporter of free-form sounds and risk-taking since the mid-'80s, Lemski's the staunch non-commercial odd man out in today's increasing tide of Ticketmaster-induced slavery, placing music over the almightiest of moolah. Here's to the outer reaches of jazz -- and beyond!
Best music-industry scandal
House of Blues vs. the Backstreet Boys
It's hard for most people over the age of eleven to imagine the Backstreet Boys as heroes -- fashion dolls manufactured by Mattel, maybe, but not heroes. However, via its management, the group came to the rescue of innocent ticket-buyers last fall by blowing the whistle on House of Blues's scummy policy (first exposed in Denver) of setting aside large blocks of tickets for various parties rather than making them available to the general public. Backstreet's back? All right!
Best music-industry scandal
House of Blues vs. the Backstreet Boys
It's hard for most people over the age of eleven to imagine the Backstreet Boys as heroes -- fashion dolls manufactured by Mattel, maybe, but not heroes. However, via its management, the group came to the rescue of innocent ticket-buyers last fall by blowing the whistle on House of Blues's scummy policy (first exposed in Denver) of setting aside large blocks of tickets for various parties rather than making them available to the general public. Backstreet's back? All right!
Over the past few years, these neo-grass, cross-genre rockers have gone from playing bar basements to headlining Red Rocks. It's the kind of progress bands in any hometown dream of, a feat fueled by excessive touring, good musical vibes and astute business savvy. Nothing cheesy about that.
Over the past few years, these neo-grass, cross-genre rockers have gone from playing bar basements to headlining Red Rocks. It's the kind of progress bands in any hometown dream of, a feat fueled by excessive touring, good musical vibes and astute business savvy. Nothing cheesy about that.
Don Blas's latest CD, Capo Di Tutti Capi, may display an Aurora address as its point of origin, but the high level of recording quality and Blas's own verbal dexterity would place it right at home in the hip-hop section of any record store in the country. Guest spots from heavyweights like Dready Kreuger of the Wu Tang Clan and local luminaries Kingdom and Cession help in the credibility department, but it's ultimately Blas himself who makes this recording hit, and blow up, the spot. Blas's invitation to the South by Southwest music conference in March was just one indication that forces outside of Colorado are taking notice of the mile-high MC.
Don Blas's latest CD, Capo Di Tutti Capi, may display an Aurora address as its point of origin, but the high level of recording quality and Blas's own verbal dexterity would place it right at home in the hip-hop section of any record store in the country. Guest spots from heavyweights like Dready Kreuger of the Wu Tang Clan and local luminaries Kingdom and Cession help in the credibility department, but it's ultimately Blas himself who makes this recording hit, and blow up, the spot. Blas's invitation to the South by Southwest music conference in March was just one indication that forces outside of Colorado are taking notice of the mile-high MC.
Best rapper with a Super Bowl championship ring
Terrell Davis
Terrell Davis's 27th birthday party, held at the F-Stop in LoDo on October 28, may not have resulted in the same sort of riot that overtook much of central Denver after the Broncos' Super Bowl victory a few months earlier, but it did create quite a scene. On the sidewalk outside the club, some of the city's finest-lookin' folks lined up behind a velvet rope for the chance to sneak inside and wish the running back a happy birthday -- and catch a glimpse of his debut performance as an MC. To the delight of the capacity crowd and the constantly flashing lights of cameras from both local and national media outlets, Davis provided some backing raps for his buddy and hip-hopping comrade, Legit. While he's no Ice Cube, Davis proved that, on the mike at least, he's got more skills than Shaq and Kobe. Perhaps we can look forward to John Elways's debut in the coming year.
Best rapper with a Super Bowl championship ring
Terrell Davis
Terrell Davis's 27th birthday party, held at the F-Stop in LoDo on October 28, may not have resulted in the same sort of riot that overtook much of central Denver after the Broncos' Super Bowl victory a few months earlier, but it did create quite a scene. On the sidewalk outside the club, some of the city's finest-lookin' folks lined up behind a velvet rope for the chance to sneak inside and wish the running back a happy birthday -- and catch a glimpse of his debut performance as an MC. To the delight of the capacity crowd and the constantly flashing lights of cameras from both local and national media outlets, Davis provided some backing raps for his buddy and hip-hopping comrade, Legit. While he's no Ice Cube, Davis proved that, on the mike at least, he's got more skills than Shaq and Kobe. Perhaps we can look forward to John Elways's debut in the coming year.
Best rapper to foretell and then prevent the apocalypse
Apostle
On his first -- and epic -- debut release Last of a Dying Breed, Apostle raps about a calamitous range of topics including corrupt world government, conspiracy, new world order, natural and man-made disasters and, finally, a to-the-death battle between evil forces and a soul-saving rebel army. And just who is leading the righteous in that battle? Why, our rhyming hero, that's who! Apostle just might be suited for such a charge; he currently operates the Survival Camp record label (www.survivalcamp.com) and serves as the driving force behind the new Colorado Hip Hop Coalition. But perhaps more important, Last of a Dying Breed distinguishes him most as a creative, innovative and entertaining performer with something to say. Even if it sometimes comes across like the script for a Saturday-morning cartoon.
Best rapper to foretell and then prevent the apocalypse
Apostle
On his first -- and epic -- debut release Last of a Dying Breed, Apostle raps about a calamitous range of topics including corrupt world government, conspiracy, new world order, natural and man-made disasters and, finally, a to-the-death battle between evil forces and a soul-saving rebel army. And just who is leading the righteous in that battle? Why, our rhyming hero, that's who! Apostle just might be suited for such a charge; he currently operates the Survival Camp record label (www.survivalcamp.com) and serves as the driving force behind the new Colorado Hip Hop Coalition. But perhaps more important, Last of a Dying Breed distinguishes him most as a creative, innovative and entertaining performer with something to say. Even if it sometimes comes across like the script for a Saturday-morning cartoon.
Like the Astronauts twenty-odd years before them, Boulder's surf rockers Maraca 5-0 can boogiefoot with the best of 'em. Twang-crazed, bouncy, guitar-driven and chock-full of reverb-soaked fun, they're the Front Range's landlocked answer to So-Cal's Duane Eddy and the Ventures or Nashville's Los Straightjackets (who, oddly, opt to shoot the curl in Mexican wrestling masks). Sidestepping such hijinks for a more traditional and pipelined approach, the 5-0's sound is a youthful but timeless one -- like an eternal beachcomber with breakers and bikinis on the mind. Cowabunga, little trustafarian-dudes.
Like the Astronauts twenty-odd years before them, Boulder's surf rockers Maraca 5-0 can boogiefoot with the best of 'em. Twang-crazed, bouncy, guitar-driven and chock-full of reverb-soaked fun, they're the Front Range's landlocked answer to So-Cal's Duane Eddy and the Ventures or Nashville's Los Straightjackets (who, oddly, opt to shoot the curl in Mexican wrestling masks). Sidestepping such hijinks for a more traditional and pipelined approach, the 5-0's sound is a youthful but timeless one -- like an eternal beachcomber with breakers and bikinis on the mind. Cowabunga, little trustafarian-dudes.
During its life as a Boulder outfit, Fat Mama displayed characteristics that -- in less able musical hands -- might not have played well outside of Colorado. It had a sprawling membership and jamming tendencies. It enjoyed fusing elements of jazz and rock into something many people associate with a proximity to pine trees and kind bud. Yet when the band made the leap and officially relocated to the East Coast in November, it snuck its chubby way into the most progressive and prestigious venues that the region has to offer -- including the notorious Knitting Factory jazz club in good ol' NYC. Nowadays, when Mama returns to town for a show, she does so as a benevolent ambassador from the great beyond.
During its life as a Boulder outfit, Fat Mama displayed characteristics that -- in less able musical hands -- might not have played well outside of Colorado. It had a sprawling membership and jamming tendencies. It enjoyed fusing elements of jazz and rock into something many people associate with a proximity to pine trees and kind bud. Yet when the band made the leap and officially relocated to the East Coast in November, it snuck its chubby way into the most progressive and prestigious venues that the region has to offer -- including the notorious Knitting Factory jazz club in good ol' NYC. Nowadays, when Mama returns to town for a show, she does so as a benevolent ambassador from the great beyond.
Nicholas Urata's Latin-Slavic-flavored ensemble is one spicy ethnic feast. If you're a sucker for strings -- or if you just like something deliciously eclectic -- this cosmopolitan chamber troupe should resin your bow. The Chicago-transplanted outfit's new full-length disc, Super melodrama, combines wild neoclassical inventiveness with frenetic guitar-rock sustenance. It also features the kind of violin playing that could put Frankenstein's monster (the Boris Karloff version, that is) into a goofy, smiling, trancelike stupor. Though the band plans to relocate to the East Coast later this year, the fun-loving bunch remains one of the best live acts to bless this town in ages. Oh, DeVotchKa, we hardly knew ye.
Nicholas Urata's Latin-Slavic-flavored ensemble is one spicy ethnic feast. If you're a sucker for strings -- or if you just like something deliciously eclectic -- this cosmopolitan chamber troupe should resin your bow. The Chicago-transplanted outfit's new full-length disc, Super melodrama, combines wild neoclassical inventiveness with frenetic guitar-rock sustenance. It also features the kind of violin playing that could put Frankenstein's monster (the Boris Karloff version, that is) into a goofy, smiling, trancelike stupor. Though the band plans to relocate to the East Coast later this year, the fun-loving bunch remains one of the best live acts to bless this town in ages. Oh, DeVotchKa, we hardly knew ye.
Best politically correct tourist greeting
Judith Francisca Baca's La Memoria de Nuestra Tierra: Colorado (The Memory of Our Land)
Los Angeles artist Judith Francisca Baca is the doyenne of Hispanic American muralists and, not surprisingly, one of the most willing to forge ahead with the medium. Her new mural at DIA -- a monumental paean to immigration based on the flight of her own grandparents from Mexico during the revolution -- briefly nods to the old fresco mural style in content before jettisoning off into the 21st century. And when you consider where it's displayed, in the main terminal of the controversial little airport that could, the fifty-foot mural, featuring digital imagery applied to a foil background, seems even more perfect for the times. Welcome, Baca.
Best politically correct tourist greeting
Judith Francisca Baca's La Memoria de Nuestra Tierra: Colorado (The Memory of Our Land)
Los Angeles artist Judith Francisca Baca is the doyenne of Hispanic American muralists and, not surprisingly, one of the most willing to forge ahead with the medium. Her new mural at DIA -- a monumental paean to immigration based on the flight of her own grandparents from Mexico during the revolution -- briefly nods to the old fresco mural style in content before jettisoning off into the 21st century. And when you consider where it's displayed, in the main terminal of the controversial little airport that could, the fifty-foot mural, featuring digital imagery applied to a foil background, seems even more perfect for the times. Welcome, Baca.
Best charity gig by a bunch of drunks
Buzz Bomber and the M-80s
Buzz Bomber and the M-80s (Mike Mayhem and Jack Shit) brought their annual slay ride to town last December, brightening the dingy stage at Cricket on the Hill as well as the sad faces of sick tykes at Children's Hospital. Headlining a Toys for Tots benefit, Bomber and the boys helped stuff a fat stocking-load o' charity loot while fulfilling a time-honored Christmas tradition -- getting merrily hammered. And for any doubting Scrooges out there still searching for the meaning behind all the holiday grind, it should be as obvious as the red nose on that stupid reindeer: the kids, you drunken fools, the kids!
Best charity gig by a bunch of drunks
Buzz Bomber and the M-80s
Buzz Bomber and the M-80s (Mike Mayhem and Jack Shit) brought their annual slay ride to town last December, brightening the dingy stage at Cricket on the Hill as well as the sad faces of sick tykes at Children's Hospital. Headlining a Toys for Tots benefit, Bomber and the boys helped stuff a fat stocking-load o' charity loot while fulfilling a time-honored Christmas tradition -- getting merrily hammered. And for any doubting Scrooges out there still searching for the meaning behind all the holiday grind, it should be as obvious as the red nose on that stupid reindeer: the kids, you drunken fools, the kids!
Whether or not motherhood ushers in the beginning of the end for local punk outfit the Geds, the band's frontwoman, Chanin Floyd, remains this area's baaadest rockin' mama. Why? Consider her impressive bass-slappin' resumé: Twice Wilted, '57 Lesbian, and Spell, a onetime signee to big label Island Records. Hopefully, any diapers, bottles or late-night hollerin' can augment the good, crunchy sound of Floyd's current power trio. Or send her in the direction of composing lullabies. Either way, thanks, rockin' mama -- it's been a terrific run.
Whether or not motherhood ushers in the beginning of the end for local punk outfit the Geds, the band's frontwoman, Chanin Floyd, remains this area's baaadest rockin' mama. Why? Consider her impressive bass-slappin' resumé: Twice Wilted, '57 Lesbian, and Spell, a onetime signee to big label Island Records. Hopefully, any diapers, bottles or late-night hollerin' can augment the good, crunchy sound of Floyd's current power trio. Or send her in the direction of composing lullabies. Either way, thanks, rockin' mama -- it's been a terrific run.
Don't smack your baseball into Munly's yard -- you'll never see it again. Hear that grindin' noise comin' from his shed? Human bones, most likely. Remember the "Gashlycrumb Tinies" -- that nursery rhyme by Edward Gorey where all them kids die, one by one, from A to Z? Yessir. It's kinda horrible. But kinda funny, too. But for mean ol' Munly, it's just more grist for the mill. He likes singin' about all them dead kids, see. It's probably the happiest he'll ever be. Peculiar fella.
Don't smack your baseball into Munly's yard -- you'll never see it again. Hear that grindin' noise comin' from his shed? Human bones, most likely. Remember the "Gashlycrumb Tinies" -- that nursery rhyme by Edward Gorey where all them kids die, one by one, from A to Z? Yessir. It's kinda horrible. But kinda funny, too. But for mean ol' Munly, it's just more grist for the mill. He likes singin' about all them dead kids, see. It's probably the happiest he'll ever be. Peculiar fella.
Not since Lothar and the Hand People has a local outfit employed the Russian inventor's electronic-tone generator to such entertaining ends as Boulder's wall-of-noise trio Hoochie. A throwback to cheesy drive-in movie Martians and sweater-bustin' damsels in distress, the oft-snubbed theremin provides just the right blend of faux eeriness and comic relief. It's also living proof, perhaps, that the distance between one's shaky fingers and a simple antenna is equal to the listener's threshold for pure, wavering blissful racket.
Not since Lothar and the Hand People has a local outfit employed the Russian inventor's electronic-tone generator to such entertaining ends as Boulder's wall-of-noise trio Hoochie. A throwback to cheesy drive-in movie Martians and sweater-bustin' damsels in distress, the oft-snubbed theremin provides just the right blend of faux eeriness and comic relief. It's also living proof, perhaps, that the distance between one's shaky fingers and a simple antenna is equal to the listener's threshold for pure, wavering blissful racket.
Weekend pastry-noshers at the Tattered Cover bookstore in Cherry Creek are no strangers to the ambient wizardry of local guitarist Ron Bucknam, a bimonthly fixture for those who frequent the Queen City's sequestered nooks. As much influenced by painting as he is by music (think of minimalist Steve Reich floating through one of Kandinski's geometric playgrounds, and you're in the general ballpark), Bucknam produces a soothing and often beguiling soundscape of seamless tones and colors, rhythms and shapes. The stuff's downright hypnotic and can actually enhance great works of literature. Including Yertle the Turtle.
Weekend pastry-noshers at the Tattered Cover bookstore in Cherry Creek are no strangers to the ambient wizardry of local guitarist Ron Bucknam, a bimonthly fixture for those who frequent the Queen City's sequestered nooks. As much influenced by painting as he is by music (think of minimalist Steve Reich floating through one of Kandinski's geometric playgrounds, and you're in the general ballpark), Bucknam produces a soothing and often beguiling soundscape of seamless tones and colors, rhythms and shapes. The stuff's downright hypnotic and can actually enhance great works of literature. Including Yertle the Turtle.
Best approximation of a turn-of-the-century strip show
Burlesque As It Was
Sisters Michelle and Andrea Baldwin are the driving -- and gyrating, wiggling and titillating -- force behind Burlesque As It Was, a performance group that revisits an era when stripping and erotic dance was an art form. Students of vaudeville and burlesque greats like Gypsy Rose Lee, the sisters and their sequined crew hosted a pair of performances this year: a Parisian-style cabaret and a saucy Valentine's Day fete. They've also been seen shakin' their saucy stuff at shows by bands like the Down-N-Outs. Forget Disco -- Burlesque As It Was takes retro to an entirely new level. Just don't try to shove a dollar bill down the side of the dancers' costumes, please.
Best approximation of a turn-of-the-century strip show
Burlesque As It Was
Sisters Michelle and Andrea Baldwin are the driving -- and gyrating, wiggling and titillating -- force behind Burlesque As It Was, a performance group that revisits an era when stripping and erotic dance was an art form. Students of vaudeville and burlesque greats like Gypsy Rose Lee, the sisters and their sequined crew hosted a pair of performances this year: a Parisian-style cabaret and a saucy Valentine's Day fete. They've also been seen shakin' their saucy stuff at shows by bands like the Down-N-Outs. Forget Disco -- Burlesque As It Was takes retro to an entirely new level. Just don't try to shove a dollar bill down the side of the dancers' costumes, please.
The Partridge Family? Not. The Jackson Five? Please. But cross Selena with the Brady Bunch and you'd be pretty damn close. Mariachi Vasquez is a certified mom-and-dad-and-all-the-kiddies mariachi group: Daddy plays bass, Mama sings tenor, and the three sisters and two brothers join right in there. The group, which hails from Tucson, has been shaking its maracas since the kids wore Pampers. While other children scribbled multiplication tables, these youngsters perfected their chops on violin, trumpet and guitar. Last year the group cut its first CD, Como la Ves, and is compiling its second. Mariachis usually are content to cover the classics, but Mariachi Vasquez spices its playlist with original material and south-of-the-border tributes to Patsy Cline and Elvis. Although the Vasquez kids are still learning their way around a recording studio -- let them make it through puberty first -- they can still put a little rumba into a conga line. And the Mr. Microphone tribute to the King -- as sung by ten-year-old Vincente -- is enough to put a swivel in your hips. If not a black-velvet Elvis painting in your living room.
John Potter can belt 'em out with such force and grace that if you close your eyes and squint just right, you might think it was ol' blue eyes himself swaying between the tables at Patsy's Inn Italian Restaurant, at 3651 Navajo Street. Ask him right, and he'll play your favorite song while you slurp on spaghetti and gulp a glass of vino. Potter doesn't just do Sinatra, though; Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Tom Jones and even Lou Rawls fill his repertoire. "I do a little bit of everybody," he says. "To do a four-hour show, you've got to come up with more than just Sinatra." Potter is also a part of the sixteen-piece Stephen Paul Orchestra, but he'll be doing it Frank's way at Patsy's on Friday and Saturday nights over the summer. He'll make you feel there are songs to be sung!
John Potter can belt 'em out with such force and grace that if you close your eyes and squint just right, you might think it was ol' blue eyes himself swaying between the tables at Patsy's Inn Italian Restaurant, at 3651 Navajo Street. Ask him right, and he'll play your favorite song while you slurp on spaghetti and gulp a glass of vino. Potter doesn't just do Sinatra, though; Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Tom Jones and even Lou Rawls fill his repertoire. "I do a little bit of everybody," he says. "To do a four-hour show, you've got to come up with more than just Sinatra." Potter is also a part of the sixteen-piece Stephen Paul Orchestra, but he'll be doing it Frank's way at Patsy's on Friday and Saturday nights over the summer. He'll make you feel there are songs to be sung!
As a child, New Jersey-raised vocalist Mary Ann Moore listened to the great jazz singers -- Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Chris Conner -- and she listened to romantic, melodically based piano masters like Bill Evans. You can hear their influence in her lush intonation and impeccable phrasing, but Moore has been very much her own woman since she began singing Denver-area clubs in 1990. Catch her Tuesday nights at Manhattan Grill, Thursdays at Trios in Boulder, Fridays and Saturdays at Ruth's Chris steakhouse in LoDo. The schedule is subject to change; Moore's high art is not.
As a child, New Jersey-raised vocalist Mary Ann Moore listened to the great jazz singers -- Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Chris Conner -- and she listened to romantic, melodically based piano masters like Bill Evans. You can hear their influence in her lush intonation and impeccable phrasing, but Moore has been very much her own woman since she began singing Denver-area clubs in 1990. Catch her Tuesday nights at Manhattan Grill, Thursdays at Trios in Boulder, Fridays and Saturdays at Ruth's Chris steakhouse in LoDo. The schedule is subject to change; Moore's high art is not.
A fixture in the '80s on the Denver jazz scene, soprano saxophonist Vic Cionetti chucked it all ten years ago. Burned out by life in nightclubs and frustrated that his original music couldn't find a wider audience, he stuck his horn case under a bed in the guest room and began earning a living as a real-estate man and a salesman for the Better Business Bureau. Now he's back. Cionetti's new, self-produced CD, Simpatico, a vivid selection of Latin-inflected originals, is available at Denver record stores and through his Web site (www.viccionetti.com) -- the existence of which is one of the main reasons he came out of retirement. "Because of the Internet, there's more chance for exposure now," he says, "even though there are fewer 'listening rooms.' It's exciting to be playing again."
A fixture in the '80s on the Denver jazz scene, soprano saxophonist Vic Cionetti chucked it all ten years ago. Burned out by life in nightclubs and frustrated that his original music couldn't find a wider audience, he stuck his horn case under a bed in the guest room and began earning a living as a real-estate man and a salesman for the Better Business Bureau. Now he's back. Cionetti's new, self-produced CD, Simpatico, a vivid selection of Latin-inflected originals, is available at Denver record stores and through his Web site (www.viccionetti.com) -- the existence of which is one of the main reasons he came out of retirement. "Because of the Internet, there's more chance for exposure now," he says, "even though there are fewer 'listening rooms.' It's exciting to be playing again."
Best reunion
Front Range Women in the Arts (Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art)
There were no women on the faculty when Helen Redman went to the University of Colorado in the early '70s as a graduate student in art. Virginia Maitland, who was living with an art instructor, found herself assigned the invisible ranking of "faculty wife." Other women artists were struggling to sculpt or paint while taking care of their families and raising children. Amid the heady politics of the time, these women gave birth to Front Range Women in the Arts in 1974. Their exhibits leavened serious purpose with humorous iconoclasm, such as 1978's Portrait of the Woman as a Young Artist, which was promoted by a poster showing a naked man holding a baby. In 1979 they helped organize Colorado Women in the Arts month; they also toured their work through Colorado and other states and created exchange programs with women artists around the country. The structure was loose, meetings were often suffused with wine and sometimes tears, members came and went. Yet the group helped change the status of women in art. Three years ago, several members were celebrating the sixtieth birthday of one of the founders, Sally Elliott. The millennium was approaching, and Front Range Women in the Arts members were coming up on 25 years of art-making and activism. It was time for a reunion. Elbows and Tea Leaves: Front Range Women in the Visual Arts (1974-2000) will show at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art through August 28. "What we did was against the current," Redman says, "against traditional training. And there's a woman heading the CU art department now."
Best reunion
Front Range Women in the Arts (Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art)
There were no women on the faculty when Helen Redman went to the University of Colorado in the early '70s as a graduate student in art. Virginia Maitland, who was living with an art instructor, found herself assigned the invisible ranking of "faculty wife." Other women artists were struggling to sculpt or paint while taking care of their families and raising children. Amid the heady politics of the time, these women gave birth to Front Range Women in the Arts in 1974. Their exhibits leavened serious purpose with humorous iconoclasm, such as 1978's Portrait of the Woman as a Young Artist, which was promoted by a poster showing a naked man holding a baby. In 1979 they helped organize Colorado Women in the Arts month; they also toured their work through Colorado and other states and created exchange programs with women artists around the country. The structure was loose, meetings were often suffused with wine and sometimes tears, members came and went. Yet the group helped change the status of women in art. Three years ago, several members were celebrating the sixtieth birthday of one of the founders, Sally Elliott. The millennium was approaching, and Front Range Women in the Arts members were coming up on 25 years of art-making and activism. It was time for a reunion. Elbows and Tea Leaves: Front Range Women in the Visual Arts (1974-2000) will show at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art through August 28. "What we did was against the current," Redman says, "against traditional training. And there's a woman heading the CU art department now."
With Dan Kase's departure, D-town's fine jug-powered combo is no more. Tarnation! The 32-20s were a welcome drink of musical moonshine, and their departure leaves a hole in the hearts of many. That's reason enough to want to empty a bottle or two.
With Dan Kase's departure, D-town's fine jug-powered combo is no more. Tarnation! The 32-20s were a welcome drink of musical moonshine, and their departure leaves a hole in the hearts of many. That's reason enough to want to empty a bottle or two.
Folk-grounded exuberance with startling elements of random noise might best describe Nounsville, the fifteen-song offering from Montana transplant J-ME Smith, aka Dang Head. Fans of musical deconstruction could argue that the ornery fella is merely skippin' down the junkyard path of poetic stray animals with a butterfly net -- and they'd be right. But the critters, duly nabbed (with the help of a few long-lost members from Questa, New Mexico's Lords of Howling), deserve a zoo of their own, and they get one on Smith's homegrown Discobolus imprint. It's an arresting batch of enjoyable songs, all right, strewn with dadaist humor, the occasional broken instrument and that unique mix of blessings and curses that can't help but glitter in the dust.
Folk-grounded exuberance with startling elements of random noise might best describe Nounsville, the fifteen-song offering from Montana transplant J-ME Smith, aka Dang Head. Fans of musical deconstruction could argue that the ornery fella is merely skippin' down the junkyard path of poetic stray animals with a butterfly net -- and they'd be right. But the critters, duly nabbed (with the help of a few long-lost members from Questa, New Mexico's Lords of Howling), deserve a zoo of their own, and they get one on Smith's homegrown Discobolus imprint. It's an arresting batch of enjoyable songs, all right, strewn with dadaist humor, the occasional broken instrument and that unique mix of blessings and curses that can't help but glitter in the dust.
Former Boulderite Jello Biafra provides a spoken-word introduction to this collection, a two-CD, 45-track crash course in the very best modern music emanating from the Front Range. Sponsored by the good people at Radio 1190 (KVCU-AM), the student-run station affiliated with the University of Colorado at Boulder, Local Shakedown highlights many of the artists played on the station's weekly broadcast of the same name. A mishmash of styles ranging from punk and pop to ambient and plain ol' rock and roll, the compilation is a solid -- and wild -- ride through the complex terrain of local sounds. A good starting point for the newcomer -- and a satisfying recording that stands on its own.
Readers' choice: Here & Now, Saxxon Woods
Former Boulderite Jello Biafra provides a spoken-word introduction to this collection, a two-CD, 45-track crash course in the very best modern music emanating from the Front Range. Sponsored by the good people at Radio 1190 (KVCU-AM), the student-run station affiliated with the University of Colorado at Boulder, Local Shakedown highlights many of the artists played on the station's weekly broadcast of the same name. A mishmash of styles ranging from punk and pop to ambient and plain ol' rock and roll, the compilation is a solid -- and wild -- ride through the complex terrain of local sounds. A good starting point for the newcomer -- and a satisfying recording that stands on its own.
Readers' choice: Here & Now, Saxxon Woods
If you're in the habit of thumbing through publications like Flipside or Maximum Rock 'N Roll, you may have noticed that Owned & Operated Recordings has branched steadily outside of its Fort Collins base in the past year. A record company started by former members of ALL and the Descendants, Owned & Operated has put out some of the finest and most professional-sounding releases of the past year, including fine offerings from locals Tanger and Someday I and regional acts like Shiner. Primarily a punk concern, O&O also operates Upland Records, a spin-off project created as a vehicle for more difficult-to-define artists like Drag the River and Spot. O&O's professionalism and quality output just might be proof that some old punk-rockers never die. They just figure out how to run cool, artist- and listener- friendly companies.
If you're in the habit of thumbing through publications like Flipside or Maximum Rock 'N Roll, you may have noticed that Owned & Operated Recordings has branched steadily outside of its Fort Collins base in the past year. A record company started by former members of ALL and the Descendants, Owned & Operated has put out some of the finest and most professional-sounding releases of the past year, including fine offerings from locals Tanger and Someday I and regional acts like Shiner. Primarily a punk concern, O&O also operates Upland Records, a spin-off project created as a vehicle for more difficult-to-define artists like Drag the River and Spot. O&O's professionalism and quality output just might be proof that some old punk-rockers never die. They just figure out how to run cool, artist- and listener- friendly companies.
Best nutritious release
Get Your Beans by Mr. Tree and the Wingnuts
The Wingnuts' debut is a madcap celebration of roots raunch and the trio's "doghouse rock." Soapy Argyle brays his hillbilly-savant lyrics over his own careening guitar solos and the insane swinging of bassist Mr. Tree and drummer Shawn 4-On. It's baked, refried and loaded with musical fiber.
Best nutritious release
Get Your Beans by Mr. Tree and the Wingnuts
The Wingnuts' debut is a madcap celebration of roots raunch and the trio's "doghouse rock." Soapy Argyle brays his hillbilly-savant lyrics over his own careening guitar solos and the insane swinging of bassist Mr. Tree and drummer Shawn 4-On. It's baked, refried and loaded with musical fiber.
Best local-music reissue
New Music for Bowed Piano by Stephen Scott
Stephen Scott, whose day job is instructing at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, is an unsung musical innovator who converts his primary instrument, the piano, into a veritable symphony orchestra with a little help from his friends. He and his assistants physically pluck the pianos strings, many of which are altered with the use of bows made of Popsicle sticks and horsehair. New Music for Bowed Piano, which was first issued in 1984, isn't his finest work (1996's Vikings of the Sunrise continues to hold that distinction), but it's a welcome introduction to an artist with both talent and idiosyncrasies to spare.
Best local-music reissue
New Music for Bowed Piano by Stephen Scott
Stephen Scott, whose day job is instructing at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, is an unsung musical innovator who converts his primary instrument, the piano, into a veritable symphony orchestra with a little help from his friends. He and his assistants physically pluck the pianos strings, many of which are altered with the use of bows made of Popsicle sticks and horsehair. New Music for Bowed Piano, which was first issued in 1984, isn't his finest work (1996's Vikings of the Sunrise continues to hold that distinction), but it's a welcome introduction to an artist with both talent and idiosyncrasies to spare.
Best friend to have in a recording studio
Bob Ferbrache/Absinthe Studios
A onetime lap-steel player for 16 Horsepower, Bob Ferbrache is even more talented when it comes to the art of studio engineering, and local bands know it. In addition to a recent collaboration with the Horsepowered fellas, he's left his unique thumbprint on DeVotchKa's dazzling new platter and is overseeing the upcoming release by the Kalamath Brothers. Big Bad Bob also mastered the entire Local Shakedown disc issued by Radio 1190 and Smooch Records. Who needs Abbey Road when you've got Absinthe Studios?
Best friend to have in a recording studio
Bob Ferbrache/Absinthe Studios
A onetime lap-steel player for 16 Horsepower, Bob Ferbrache is even more talented when it comes to the art of studio engineering, and local bands know it. In addition to a recent collaboration with the Horsepowered fellas, he's left his unique thumbprint on DeVotchKa's dazzling new platter and is overseeing the upcoming release by the Kalamath Brothers. Big Bad Bob also mastered the entire Local Shakedown disc issued by Radio 1190 and Smooch Records. Who needs Abbey Road when you've got Absinthe Studios?
Rainville frontman John Common sports a six-stringed timbre that's anything but common. With a Fender Twin, a semi-hollow-bodied DeArmond "Starfire" and a pair of Boss pedals, Common creates a dinosaur tone that groans and growls, squawls and squeals. Pair it with his deft rhythm-to-lead workmanship (and his picking smarts) and you've got fully realized guitar glory. Let it reign.
Rainville frontman John Common sports a six-stringed timbre that's anything but common. With a Fender Twin, a semi-hollow-bodied DeArmond "Starfire" and a pair of Boss pedals, Common creates a dinosaur tone that groans and growls, squawls and squeals. Pair it with his deft rhythm-to-lead workmanship (and his picking smarts) and you've got fully realized guitar glory. Let it reign.
Denver's king of the Sho-bud puts the pedals down with area country acts including Lois Lane's Superband (fronted by Meis's wife, Lois) and Denver Joe. His star-striking skills keep area pickers' jaws dropping on a regular basis, and his occasional solo steel showcases are helping introduce others to the instrument. To quote Denver Joe, Meis is the man himself.
Denver's king of the Sho-bud puts the pedals down with area country acts including Lois Lane's Superband (fronted by Meis's wife, Lois) and Denver Joe. His star-striking skills keep area pickers' jaws dropping on a regular basis, and his occasional solo steel showcases are helping introduce others to the instrument. To quote Denver Joe, Meis is the man himself.
Every night, soundman David Burbank tweaks and twiddles his gear to craft the clearest live mix in town. While many area rooms frequently wear out attendees with excessive volume, out-of-balance blends and distortion, the club serves up a loud-but-lovely mix that's powerful and fox-smart.
Every night, soundman David Burbank tweaks and twiddles his gear to craft the clearest live mix in town. While many area rooms frequently wear out attendees with excessive volume, out-of-balance blends and distortion, the club serves up a loud-but-lovely mix that's powerful and fox-smart.
There's been only one winner at A.C.E.'s Aspen Comedy Fringe Fest, but that's no surprise: The fest has only one act, even though it takes place at the same time as Aspen's HBO US Comedy Arts Festival. But we'd be happy to draw this card anytime: The three members of the uproarious local improv trio A.C.E. -- Canadian Barb Gehring, American Linda Klein and Englishman Matt Taylor -- are not unfunny in the least, and in fact live and die by their penchant for hurt-free, squeaky clean humor that anyone can appreciate.
There's been only one winner at A.C.E.'s Aspen Comedy Fringe Fest, but that's no surprise: The fest has only one act, even though it takes place at the same time as Aspen's HBO US Comedy Arts Festival. But we'd be happy to draw this card anytime: The three members of the uproarious local improv trio A.C.E. -- Canadian Barb Gehring, American Linda Klein and Englishman Matt Taylor -- are not unfunny in the least, and in fact live and die by their penchant for hurt-free, squeaky clean humor that anyone can appreciate.
Bombed-out buildings in Beirut seemed to have more concert-venue potential than the Mammoth Events Center, a decrepit barn with acoustics so bad that even Beethoven might have been bothered by them. But a few million dollars and a name change later, the structure has turned into one of Denver's gems -- a place worth visiting whether or not there's a great band on stage.
Bombed-out buildings in Beirut seemed to have more concert-venue potential than the Mammoth Events Center, a decrepit barn with acoustics so bad that even Beethoven might have been bothered by them. But a few million dollars and a name change later, the structure has turned into one of Denver's gems -- a place worth visiting whether or not there's a great band on stage.
The city's original ideas about how to bring this national treasure into the next century (projecting corporate logos on the rocks, building an eyesore of a terrace to pump up concession revenues) were on par with New Coke. But the public, symbolized by the grassroots organization Friends of Red Rocks, pitched such a fit that government types went back to the drawing board. The approach that resulted is a vast improvement that should shore up the structure and enhance the concert-going experience without ruining the views that have drawn people to Red Rocks for decades.
The city's original ideas about how to bring this national treasure into the next century (projecting corporate logos on the rocks, building an eyesore of a terrace to pump up concession revenues) were on par with New Coke. But the public, symbolized by the grassroots organization Friends of Red Rocks, pitched such a fit that government types went back to the drawing board. The approach that resulted is a vast improvement that should shore up the structure and enhance the concert-going experience without ruining the views that have drawn people to Red Rocks for decades.
Best place to hear Public Enemy in a classical European setting
Gothic Theatre
When Public Enemy performed in town last October, Chuck D was perhaps too busy bouncing athletically around the Gothic Theatre's stage (and keeping an eye on his squirrelly partner in rhyme, Flava Flav) to comment on the venue's interior. Throughout the set, he uttered nary a word about the way the Gothic's balconies recall fifteenth-century French cathedrals, or about the rounded, Roman-influenced apses or the Italian-inspired faux frescoes that adorn the walls. But he had to have been impressed. Owner Steve Schalk -- who relied on his background in film when he restored the Englewood venue last year -- and his crew have carved a promotional niche in a crowded concert market by hosting a range of talent that reflects the baroque atmosphere of the place. Jazz artists Jimmy Smith and Joshua Redman, hip-hop figures DJ Logic and Jurassic 5, the new monthly Space rave series and the rocking-Cuban revivalism of guitarist Marc Ribot are a few of the standout offerings of the past year. The Gothic has proved to be a club with staying power, as well as a fine place to learn a bit about art history while enjoying artful sounds.
Best place to hear Public Enemy in a classical European setting
Gothic Theatre
When Public Enemy performed in town last October, Chuck D was perhaps too busy bouncing athletically around the Gothic Theatre's stage (and keeping an eye on his squirrelly partner in rhyme, Flava Flav) to comment on the venue's interior. Throughout the set, he uttered nary a word about the way the Gothic's balconies recall fifteenth-century French cathedrals, or about the rounded, Roman-influenced apses or the Italian-inspired faux frescoes that adorn the walls. But he had to have been impressed. Owner Steve Schalk -- who relied on his background in film when he restored the Englewood venue last year -- and his crew have carved a promotional niche in a crowded concert market by hosting a range of talent that reflects the baroque atmosphere of the place. Jazz artists Jimmy Smith and Joshua Redman, hip-hop figures DJ Logic and Jurassic 5, the new monthly Space rave series and the rocking-Cuban revivalism of guitarist Marc Ribot are a few of the standout offerings of the past year. The Gothic has proved to be a club with staying power, as well as a fine place to learn a bit about art history while enjoying artful sounds.
Best concert in a club
Gil Scott-Heron at Lion's Lair on February 29, 2000
In two consecutive Denver appearances, Gil Scott-Heron proved that he is only slightly less hilarious as a comedian than he is inspiring, enduring, and right freakin' on as a musician, poet and social observer. He opened both February performances at the overly stuffed Lion's Lair (which brought new meaning to the word "intimate" that night) with an elongated monologue that could've been cribbed straight from a late-night HBO special. Yet it wasn't Scott-Heron's humor that sold out the club (twice, with lines of ticketless hopefuls extending down the block). After he took his seat behind his trademark electric piano, it was clear that his take on topics like civil rights, politics and poverty hadn't lost its poignancy or punch -- and his music hadn't lost its groove. It was an inspiring night of sounds that was as powerful as it was funky. He always said the revolution would be live.
Best concert in a club
Gil Scott-Heron at Lion's Lair on February 29, 2000
In two consecutive Denver appearances, Gil Scott-Heron proved that he is only slightly less hilarious as a comedian than he is inspiring, enduring, and right freakin' on as a musician, poet and social observer. He opened both February performances at the overly stuffed Lion's Lair (which brought new meaning to the word "intimate" that night) with an elongated monologue that could've been cribbed straight from a late-night HBO special. Yet it wasn't Scott-Heron's humor that sold out the club (twice, with lines of ticketless hopefuls extending down the block). After he took his seat behind his trademark electric piano, it was clear that his take on topics like civil rights, politics and poverty hadn't lost its poignancy or punch -- and his music hadn't lost its groove. It was an inspiring night of sounds that was as powerful as it was funky. He always said the revolution would be live.
Best concert (since June 1999)
Tom Waits at Paramount Theatre on October 12 and 13, 1999
Tom Waits recognizes the value of a good entrance. At both of his Denver appearances at the Paramount Theatre last October, he announced his ascent to the stage by blazing straight through the center of the crowd, howling into a handheld bullhorn as he marched down the aisle. It was the perfect scene-setter for performances that found Waits pulling off a rare feat -- that is, rising to the level of his own mythology. Each night, Waits mule-kicked and screamed through more than two hours' worth of material, pausing only to share the occasional joke or bit of crowd interaction, or to recall the time he spent wandering the streets of downtown Denver before the area had an acronym. At one point, Waits held his green sequined bowler hat up to a disco ball that hung over his head, producing little swirling shatters of light all over the audience. Had they illuminated the faces of those in attendance a bit more, they would have revealed a rapt and loving crowd.
Readers' choice: KISS
Best concert (since June 1999)
Tom Waits at Paramount Theatre on October 12 and 13, 1999
Tom Waits recognizes the value of a good entrance. At both of his Denver appearances at the Paramount Theatre last October, he announced his ascent to the stage by blazing straight through the center of the crowd, howling into a handheld bullhorn as he marched down the aisle. It was the perfect scene-setter for performances that found Waits pulling off a rare feat -- that is, rising to the level of his own mythology. Each night, Waits mule-kicked and screamed through more than two hours' worth of material, pausing only to share the occasional joke or bit of crowd interaction, or to recall the time he spent wandering the streets of downtown Denver before the area had an acronym. At one point, Waits held his green sequined bowler hat up to a disco ball that hung over his head, producing little swirling shatters of light all over the audience. Had they illuminated the faces of those in attendance a bit more, they would have revealed a rapt and loving crowd.
Readers' choice: KISS
Mel Apodaca, a former investigator for the Denver Coroner's Office by day and a self-proclaimed "karaoke slut" by night, was captivated by the musical phenomenon as soon as a friend introduced him it. As Apodaca felt pulled by the powerful lure of karaoke, he noticed deficiencies in the business: Hosts took their jobs lightly and lacked enthusiasm and sympathy for karaoke virgins, so Apodaca decided to change all that. Seven years ago he took over the Karaoke Showplace business (303-839-1355), a hosting gig that takes him to the city's karaoke hotspots. Now working mostly at Ogden Street South and Charlie Brown's, the metro-area karaoke guru distinguishes himself from other hosts by taking an interest in the singers and encouraging first-timers. Apodaca sets the mood by singing the first tune himself, possibly a number by Elvis or Sinatra; he's also quick to defend the daring singers from audience hecklers. Denver karaoke fans, meet your mentor.
Mel Apodaca, a former investigator for the Denver Coroner's Office by day and a self-proclaimed "karaoke slut" by night, was captivated by the musical phenomenon as soon as a friend introduced him it. As Apodaca felt pulled by the powerful lure of karaoke, he noticed deficiencies in the business: Hosts took their jobs lightly and lacked enthusiasm and sympathy for karaoke virgins, so Apodaca decided to change all that. Seven years ago he took over the Karaoke Showplace business (303-839-1355), a hosting gig that takes him to the city's karaoke hotspots. Now working mostly at Ogden Street South and Charlie Brown's, the metro-area karaoke guru distinguishes himself from other hosts by taking an interest in the singers and encouraging first-timers. Apodaca sets the mood by singing the first tune himself, possibly a number by Elvis or Sinatra; he's also quick to defend the daring singers from audience hecklers. Denver karaoke fans, meet your mentor.
One thing about dance calling: You can't claim that people never listen to you. Chris Kermiet knows the down-home business better than most, and it's no wonder, considering his pedigree: His mother was a member of the singing Ritchie Family, and his father was a dance-caller before him, so you could almost say he was born with the old-time music and square steps in his bones. After more than thirty years of calling at traditional community dances throughout the region -- most often under the auspices of the Colorado Friends of Old Time Music and Dance -- Kermiet received a Colorado Council on the Arts Folk Arts fellowship award this year, deserved recognition for a guy who knows where to put your best foot forward.
One thing about dance calling: You can't claim that people never listen to you. Chris Kermiet knows the down-home business better than most, and it's no wonder, considering his pedigree: His mother was a member of the singing Ritchie Family, and his father was a dance-caller before him, so you could almost say he was born with the old-time music and square steps in his bones. After more than thirty years of calling at traditional community dances throughout the region -- most often under the auspices of the Colorado Friends of Old Time Music and Dance -- Kermiet received a Colorado Council on the Arts Folk Arts fellowship award this year, deserved recognition for a guy who knows where to put your best foot forward.
Best place to fiddle around
Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp at YMCA Camp Shady Brook in Deckers
The Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp, which debuted last year and was a rousing success, is back this year with added vigor, not to mention an all-star faculty headed up by Scottish fiddle whiz Iain Fraser. But this year's weeklong fête in the mountains will be far more than a bunch of fiddlers fiddling around; expanded to include numerous other instruments, such as harp, piano, mandolin and guitar, the camp is mostly about making good music, and there's plenty of time for that. The music's nonstop, from the time you get up for classes to the time you go to bed, worn out by an evening of jamming and dancing. When the music stops, it's to make room for hiking or fishing or some old-fashioned campfire storytelling. This is non-violins at its best.
Best place to fiddle around
Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp at YMCA Camp Shady Brook in Deckers
The Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp, which debuted last year and was a rousing success, is back this year with added vigor, not to mention an all-star faculty headed up by Scottish fiddle whiz Iain Fraser. But this year's weeklong fête in the mountains will be far more than a bunch of fiddlers fiddling around; expanded to include numerous other instruments, such as harp, piano, mandolin and guitar, the camp is mostly about making good music, and there's plenty of time for that. The music's nonstop, from the time you get up for classes to the time you go to bed, worn out by an evening of jamming and dancing. When the music stops, it's to make room for hiking or fishing or some old-fashioned campfire storytelling. This is non-violins at its best.
Last fall, the Colorado Performing Arts Hall of Fame, a Denver Center for the Performing Arts affiliate formed to honor Coloradans of repute in the arts, announced a list of six inaugural inductees that read a little like a who's who of American popular culture: Included were theater maven Helen Bonfils, playwright Mary Chase, swashbuckling hero Douglas Fairbanks, brilliant acting team Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontaine and the King of Swing, Glenn Miller, all bright lights who passed over the American horizon. Gratuitous back-patting at the expense of great folks who for the most part became famous somewhere else? Maybe. But you just can't keep a proud parent from applauding its own. Bravo.
Last fall, the Colorado Performing Arts Hall of Fame, a Denver Center for the Performing Arts affiliate formed to honor Coloradans of repute in the arts, announced a list of six inaugural inductees that read a little like a who's who of American popular culture: Included were theater maven Helen Bonfils, playwright Mary Chase, swashbuckling hero Douglas Fairbanks, brilliant acting team Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontaine and the King of Swing, Glenn Miller, all bright lights who passed over the American horizon. Gratuitous back-patting at the expense of great folks who for the most part became famous somewhere else? Maybe. But you just can't keep a proud parent from applauding its own. Bravo.
What if a city decided to upgrade its arts and culture venues and no one remembered to come? The Scientific and Cultural Facilities District devised a great way to entice the public into trying out places by offering the kind of package deal one simply can't refuse: Hot Tickets, which include a discounted ticket to a selected event at one of SCFD's myriad beneficiaries along with an added deal -- a special reception, meal, free drink or other perk -- each month. Upcoming Hot Ticket events this summer include a Central City performance of Candide, a night of virtuoso string music with 3 Jammin' Gents at Boulder's Chautauqua Auditorium, A Night Under the Stars at the Colorado Music Festival (also at Chautauqua) and an outdoor concert by the Amazing Rhythm Aces at the Arvada Center. Isn't it time you had a night out, on the town?
What if a city decided to upgrade its arts and culture venues and no one remembered to come? The Scientific and Cultural Facilities District devised a great way to entice the public into trying out places by offering the kind of package deal one simply can't refuse: Hot Tickets, which include a discounted ticket to a selected event at one of SCFD's myriad beneficiaries along with an added deal -- a special reception, meal, free drink or other perk -- each month. Upcoming Hot Ticket events this summer include a Central City performance of Candide, a night of virtuoso string music with 3 Jammin' Gents at Boulder's Chautauqua Auditorium, A Night Under the Stars at the Colorado Music Festival (also at Chautauqua) and an outdoor concert by the Amazing Rhythm Aces at the Arvada Center. Isn't it time you had a night out, on the town?
Best local kids' recording
Wheeeeeeeeee: Songs & Stories for Kids by Front Range Artists
The project of music-school director Sue Schnitzer, a mother, musician and music educator who's led hundreds of toddlers through the ropes of finding their rhythms early, Wheeeeeeeeee: Songs & Stories for Kids by Front Range Artists has a little bit of everything, including some of the bigger names in the local kids'-music industry. Contributions from such talents as Lois LaFond, Bonnie Phipps and Liz Blackburn & Sean Masterson intermingle with lesser-known cuts, but every centimeter of the CD is a gem, from Cindy Wilkinson's whimsical "Jumping Beans" to Blackburn and Masterson's "Ya Gotta Have a Mustache." It's guaranteed to get kids -- and maybe you, too -- up and dancing.
Best local kids' recording
Wheeeeeeeeee: Songs & Stories for Kids by Front Range Artists
The project of music-school director Sue Schnitzer, a mother, musician and music educator who's led hundreds of toddlers through the ropes of finding their rhythms early, Wheeeeeeeeee: Songs & Stories for Kids by Front Range Artists has a little bit of everything, including some of the bigger names in the local kids'-music industry. Contributions from such talents as Lois LaFond, Bonnie Phipps and Liz Blackburn & Sean Masterson intermingle with lesser-known cuts, but every centimeter of the CD is a gem, from Cindy Wilkinson's whimsical "Jumping Beans" to Blackburn and Masterson's "Ya Gotta Have a Mustache." It's guaranteed to get kids -- and maybe you, too -- up and dancing.
Best place to curl up with a Harry Potter book
Children's Library, Denver Central Library
The Adirondack chairs in the children's wing of the Denver Public Library, designed by Michael Graves and constructed of sturdy curly maple, are ample enough for two small readers or one adult plus one in-lap guest. Surrounded by a cozy world of books -- not to mention views of Civic Center Park and that horse-on-a-big-chair whatzit -- this is the perfect place for childish or grown-up contemplation.
Best place to curl up with a Harry Potter book
Children's Library, Denver Central Library
The Adirondack chairs in the children's wing of the Denver Public Library, designed by Michael Graves and constructed of sturdy curly maple, are ample enough for two small readers or one adult plus one in-lap guest. Surrounded by a cozy world of books -- not to mention views of Civic Center Park and that horse-on-a-big-chair whatzit -- this is the perfect place for childish or grown-up contemplation.
Best scientific Web site for kids
Web Weather for Kids www.ucar.edu/40th/webweather
At places like UCAR in Boulder, there's nothing mindless or even casual about talking about the weather. UCAR researchers are dead serious, in fact, when it comes to the climatological vagaries of living in the world, and they've put together a dandy, prize-winning, kid-tested weather Web site for young 'uns. Log on to Web Weather for Kids and follow the dancing raindrop -- it'll lead you to all kinds of information and related experiments on weather phenomena. It's a great way to engage a young mind on, well, a rainy day.
Best scientific Web site for kids
Web Weather for Kids www.ucar.edu/40th/webweather
At places like UCAR in Boulder, there's nothing mindless or even casual about talking about the weather. UCAR researchers are dead serious, in fact, when it comes to the climatological vagaries of living in the world, and they've put together a dandy, prize-winning, kid-tested weather Web site for young 'uns. Log on to Web Weather for Kids and follow the dancing raindrop -- it'll lead you to all kinds of information and related experiments on weather phenomena. It's a great way to engage a young mind on, well, a rainy day.
You can't keep a nine-year-old away from the Internet forever, but you can steer the little surfer in a good direction: At www.wackykids.org, she'll find nothing but good, clean fun -- all with the added attraction of being painlessly educational. Featuring four clickable areas of interest that draw content from museum collections -- The World of Japan's Samurai Warrior, Maya Rainforest Dwellers, Northwest Coast Indian Carving and Fancy and Fun Chairs -- the site offers various activities centered around each, including a reading list, interactive exploration of the subject and print-out craft projects. And next time your kid visits the museum in person, she'll recognize a few friends, to boot.
You can't keep a nine-year-old away from the Internet forever, but you can steer the little surfer in a good direction: At www.wackykids.org, she'll find nothing but good, clean fun -- all with the added attraction of being painlessly educational. Featuring four clickable areas of interest that draw content from museum collections -- The World of Japan's Samurai Warrior, Maya Rainforest Dwellers, Northwest Coast Indian Carving and Fancy and Fun Chairs -- the site offers various activities centered around each, including a reading list, interactive exploration of the subject and print-out craft projects. And next time your kid visits the museum in person, she'll recognize a few friends, to boot.
Best new public art (since June 1999)
"Full Fathom Five" by Tim Prentice
Those kooky visionaries Bill and Judy Petersen-Fleming didn't need to put up a glitzy building for their new-age-style aquarium, Colorado's Ocean Journey, but they did, hiring the specially created architectural firm Odyssea, which put forward a design by the able Ron Mason of Denver's Anderson Mason Dale. Nor did the creators of the private facility need to put in a public-art component, but again, they did. And that's laudable, as is the art they selected (not a single bronze dolphin!). Instead, everything inside and out is abstract and as up-to-date as the glittering building itself. All of the art is good, but the multi-part installation "Full Fathom Five" is great. Created by Connecticut artist Tim Prentice, the wall- and ceiling-hung installations, made of shiny steel tubes and aluminum sheeting, match perfectly the futuristic mood of the architecture while referring to the sea: Made up of hundreds of tiny squares of metal, the sculptures move gently, like swimming fish. Colorado's Ocean Journey has had some trouble with credibility in its first year, but although animal activists -- and the institution's own volunteers -- may be carping, there's nothing but praise for the art that's on display.
Readers' choice: "Ground Beef," Burns Park
Best new public art (since June 1999)
"Full Fathom Five" by Tim Prentice
Those kooky visionaries Bill and Judy Petersen-Fleming didn't need to put up a glitzy building for their new-age-style aquarium, Colorado's Ocean Journey, but they did, hiring the specially created architectural firm Odyssea, which put forward a design by the able Ron Mason of Denver's Anderson Mason Dale. Nor did the creators of the private facility need to put in a public-art component, but again, they did. And that's laudable, as is the art they selected (not a single bronze dolphin!). Instead, everything inside and out is abstract and as up-to-date as the glittering building itself. All of the art is good, but the multi-part installation "Full Fathom Five" is great. Created by Connecticut artist Tim Prentice, the wall- and ceiling-hung installations, made of shiny steel tubes and aluminum sheeting, match perfectly the futuristic mood of the architecture while referring to the sea: Made up of hundreds of tiny squares of metal, the sculptures move gently, like swimming fish. Colorado's Ocean Journey has had some trouble with credibility in its first year, but although animal activists -- and the institution's own volunteers -- may be carping, there's nothing but praise for the art that's on display.
Readers' choice: "Ground Beef," Burns Park
Best blockbuster museum exhibit
Matisse From the Baltimre Museum of Art Denver Art Museum
The big blockbuster show, once a rarity, is now common fare at the Denver Art Museum, the Colorado History Museum, the museum formerly known as the Denver Museum of Natural History, and even the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. Well, they need to beef up those attendance numbers, don't they? Among these big shows, one stands out above the others: the recently closed Matisse From the Baltimore Museum of Art at the Denver Art Museum. The show highlighted the collection of a pair of wealthy lesbian spinsters, Dr. Claribel and Miss Etta Cone, who put together a major selection of Matisse paintings, some purchased directly from the master himself. Not surprisingly, among the Matisses bought by the Cones were those that took up the topic of the female nude. First among these is the "Blue Nude" from 1907, which means that aside from being the best major show this past year, Matisse also featured the best painting to have ever been exhibited in Colorado.
Readers' choice: Matisse From the Baltimore Museum of Art
Best blockbuster museum exhibit
Matisse From the Baltimre Museum of Art Denver Art Museum
The big blockbuster show, once a rarity, is now common fare at the Denver Art Museum, the Colorado History Museum, the museum formerly known as the Denver Museum of Natural History, and even the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. Well, they need to beef up those attendance numbers, don't they? Among these big shows, one stands out above the others: the recently closed Matisse From the Baltimore Museum of Art at the Denver Art Museum. The show highlighted the collection of a pair of wealthy lesbian spinsters, Dr. Claribel and Miss Etta Cone, who put together a major selection of Matisse paintings, some purchased directly from the master himself. Not surprisingly, among the Matisses bought by the Cones were those that took up the topic of the female nude. First among these is the "Blue Nude" from 1907, which means that aside from being the best major show this past year, Matisse also featured the best painting to have ever been exhibited in Colorado.
Readers' choice: Matisse From the Baltimore Museum of Art
Best political use of an art show to get a bigger building
Impressionism Denver Art Museum
Last November, the Denver Art Museum asked voters for a $60 million-plus capital-improvement bond to pay for the construction of a new, freestanding wing. So how could the DAM make the case that it needed the money because it was too damned small? Museum helmsman Lewis Sharp went out and scored Impressionism, a traveling show that broke all of the museum's previous attendance records with more than a quarter of a million visitors craning their necks to see Monets, Cassatts, Gauguins and Van Goghs that had come from museums all over Europe. Denver art enthusiasts not only crowded the Hamilton Galleries on the main floor, but they crowded the rest of the museum as well, and Acoma Plaza outside, and they paralyzed traffic on the West 14th Avenue Parkway. And, yes, they also went out and gave the DAM a landslide in its bond election. The political maneuvering through exhibition scheduling was just the first in a series of brilliant moves on Sharp's part. Another was his decision to look for a master architect to design a world-class building, just as the DAM had done before when it built its current 1971 edifice, which was designed by Italian legend Gio Ponti with local genius James Sudler. Thanks to Impressionism, that new DAM wing will surely be one of the best new buildings to rise on the Denver skyline in decades.
Best political use of an art show to get a bigger building
Impressionism Denver Art Museum
Last November, the Denver Art Museum asked voters for a $60 million-plus capital-improvement bond to pay for the construction of a new, freestanding wing. So how could the DAM make the case that it needed the money because it was too damned small? Museum helmsman Lewis Sharp went out and scored Impressionism, a traveling show that broke all of the museum's previous attendance records with more than a quarter of a million visitors craning their necks to see Monets, Cassatts, Gauguins and Van Goghs that had come from museums all over Europe. Denver art enthusiasts not only crowded the Hamilton Galleries on the main floor, but they crowded the rest of the museum as well, and Acoma Plaza outside, and they paralyzed traffic on the West 14th Avenue Parkway. And, yes, they also went out and gave the DAM a landslide in its bond election. The political maneuvering through exhibition scheduling was just the first in a series of brilliant moves on Sharp's part. Another was his decision to look for a master architect to design a world-class building, just as the DAM had done before when it built its current 1971 edifice, which was designed by Italian legend Gio Ponti with local genius James Sudler. Thanks to Impressionism, that new DAM wing will surely be one of the best new buildings to rise on the Denver skyline in decades.
Best thing to ever happen to the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver
Director Mark Masuoka
In the brief but checkered history of the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, the fledgling institution, housed in a former fish market, has mostly floundered. But its lack of direction began to change with the dawn of the year 2000, when Mark Masuoka took over as the museum's director. Masuoka had come to town just a year before to take over the Emmanuel Gallery on the Auraria campus; he'd barely gotten settled in there when he was offered the MoCAD gig. And he immediately began to turn the place around, establishing the floor plan of the galleries, moving the gift shop, painting, building an information desk, and launching a program in which three shows will run simultaneously instead of only one, as was the previous practice. After a period of confusion, it looks like the MoCAD board finally found some clarity and made its best decision so far: bringing Masuoka on board.
Best thing to ever happen to the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver
Director Mark Masuoka
In the brief but checkered history of the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, the fledgling institution, housed in a former fish market, has mostly floundered. But its lack of direction began to change with the dawn of the year 2000, when Mark Masuoka took over as the museum's director. Masuoka had come to town just a year before to take over the Emmanuel Gallery on the Auraria campus; he'd barely gotten settled in there when he was offered the MoCAD gig. And he immediately began to turn the place around, establishing the floor plan of the galleries, moving the gift shop, painting, building an information desk, and launching a program in which three shows will run simultaneously instead of only one, as was the previous practice. After a period of confusion, it looks like the MoCAD board finally found some clarity and made its best decision so far: bringing Masuoka on board.
Best opportunity to catch up on the latest international art buzz
Contemporary British Artists Denver Art Museum
Last year, new British art made the scandal sheets by outraging New Yorkers when it was shown at the Brooklyn Museum. But months before that, many of the same artists seen in the Big Apple were part of a show right here in the Mile High City. Unlike the exhibit in New York, Contemporary British Artists came and went at the Denver Art Museum without raising nary an eyebrow. Before politics distracted us from the primary aesthetic experience, it was possible to see the work of British youth, from the notorious Damien Hirst to the cerebral Jason Martin, just like back East. Also in the show, which was organized by DAM curator Dianne Vanderlip in collaboration with former assistant curator Jane Fudge, were many older artists -- notably the neo-pop pair Gilbert and George. The show was clearly one of the best -- and obviously one of the most timely -- of a raft of British Invasion shows the DAM has put on in the past few years.
Best opportunity to catch up on the latest international art buzz
Contemporary British Artists Denver Art Museum
Last year, new British art made the scandal sheets by outraging New Yorkers when it was shown at the Brooklyn Museum. But months before that, many of the same artists seen in the Big Apple were part of a show right here in the Mile High City. Unlike the exhibit in New York, Contemporary British Artists came and went at the Denver Art Museum without raising nary an eyebrow. Before politics distracted us from the primary aesthetic experience, it was possible to see the work of British youth, from the notorious Damien Hirst to the cerebral Jason Martin, just like back East. Also in the show, which was organized by DAM curator Dianne Vanderlip in collaboration with former assistant curator Jane Fudge, were many older artists -- notably the neo-pop pair Gilbert and George. The show was clearly one of the best -- and obviously one of the most timely -- of a raft of British Invasion shows the DAM has put on in the past few years.
Best imitation of a museum show
John F. Carlson and Artists of the Broadmoor Academy David Cook Fine Art
It was a presentation worthy of a museum -- not the Denver Art Museum, of course, since it pays scant attention to Colorado's rich art heritage, but a museum somewhere else. Exhibition organizer David Cook, who runs a pair of galleries side by side on Wazee Street, used a connoisseur's eye and a historian's judgment to infuse John F. Carlson and Artists of the Broadmoor Academy with a multiplicity of rewards. There were the seldom-seen masterworks by Carlson and other teachers at the long-closed Broadmoor Academy, including Robert Reid, Birger Sandzen and Ernest Lawson, and there was the work of their students -- in particular, dozens of pieces by Charles Bunnell, one of the state's first modern artists. The once nationally famous academy and its successor institution, the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, shaped regional art for decades in the first half of the twentieth century, its influence felt all the way from Denver to Santa Fe. Cook not only assembled an impressive clutch of paintings and prints (and even a sculpture or two) by the academy's teachers and students, but he also commissioned an accompanying catalogue written by local art historian Stanley Cuba and salted the show with charming, historical photographs.
Best imitation of a museum show
John F. Carlson and Artists of the Broadmoor Academy David Cook Fine Art
It was a presentation worthy of a museum -- not the Denver Art Museum, of course, since it pays scant attention to Colorado's rich art heritage, but a museum somewhere else. Exhibition organizer David Cook, who runs a pair of galleries side by side on Wazee Street, used a connoisseur's eye and a historian's judgment to infuse John F. Carlson and Artists of the Broadmoor Academy with a multiplicity of rewards. There were the seldom-seen masterworks by Carlson and other teachers at the long-closed Broadmoor Academy, including Robert Reid, Birger Sandzen and Ernest Lawson, and there was the work of their students -- in particular, dozens of pieces by Charles Bunnell, one of the state's first modern artists. The once nationally famous academy and its successor institution, the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, shaped regional art for decades in the first half of the twentieth century, its influence felt all the way from Denver to Santa Fe. Cook not only assembled an impressive clutch of paintings and prints (and even a sculpture or two) by the academy's teachers and students, but he also commissioned an accompanying catalogue written by local art historian Stanley Cuba and salted the show with charming, historical photographs.
Popcorn ain't just popcorn anymore. For one thing, Landmark Theaters, Denver's leading art-house consortium, pops its Top O' the Crop kernels in low-fat canola oil -- not the heavier coconut oil most theaters use. For another, they drizzle real butter on top, if you like. For a third, moviegoers with the munchies get a choice of savory popcorn seasonings -- soy sauce, parmesan cheese, Spike multi-seasoning or -- don't knock it till you try it -- brewer's yeast.
Readers' choice: The Mayan
Popcorn ain't just popcorn anymore. For one thing, Landmark Theaters, Denver's leading art-house consortium, pops its Top O' the Crop kernels in low-fat canola oil -- not the heavier coconut oil most theaters use. For another, they drizzle real butter on top, if you like. For a third, moviegoers with the munchies get a choice of savory popcorn seasonings -- soy sauce, parmesan cheese, Spike multi-seasoning or -- don't knock it till you try it -- brewer's yeast.
Readers' choice: The Mayan
Best rediscovery of hidden treasures
Vanguard Art in Colorado: 1940-1970 Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art
Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art director Cydney Payton, together with freelance curator and art collector John Woodward, last year presented Vanguard Art in Colorado, a show that revealed a hidden art-historical fact: In Colorado, as in New York at the same time, a post-war generation of painters and sculptors embraced abstract expressionism and created a truly American-style art. Payton and Woodward selected impressive pieces by the likes of Vance Kirkland, Herbert Bayer, Charles Bunnell, Emerson Woelffer, Mary Chenoweth, Al Wynne, Ken Goehring, George Cecil Carter and many others, all borrowed from several private collections and institutions such as the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center and the Vance Kirkland Museum. Nothing came out of the Denver Art Museum, since relevant Colorado material once held by that establishment has long since been sold off. But as the DAM snoozes, smaller venues like BMoCA occasionally fill the void. Vanguard Art in Colorado contributed one of the best art exhibits in memory to the local scene.
Best rediscovery of hidden treasures
Vanguard Art in Colorado: 1940-1970 Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art
Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art director Cydney Payton, together with freelance curator and art collector John Woodward, last year presented Vanguard Art in Colorado, a show that revealed a hidden art-historical fact: In Colorado, as in New York at the same time, a post-war generation of painters and sculptors embraced abstract expressionism and created a truly American-style art. Payton and Woodward selected impressive pieces by the likes of Vance Kirkland, Herbert Bayer, Charles Bunnell, Emerson Woelffer, Mary Chenoweth, Al Wynne, Ken Goehring, George Cecil Carter and many others, all borrowed from several private collections and institutions such as the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center and the Vance Kirkland Museum. Nothing came out of the Denver Art Museum, since relevant Colorado material once held by that establishment has long since been sold off. But as the DAM snoozes, smaller venues like BMoCA occasionally fill the void. Vanguard Art in Colorado contributed one of the best art exhibits in memory to the local scene.
Best salute to Colorado's contemporary art scene
Colorado Abstraction: 1975-1999 Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities
Kathy Andrews, head curator at the Arvada Center, mounted a huge, history-making exhibit last fall. It was truly a who's who of Colorado art, occupying the entire set of galleries on both floors. On the lower lever, Andrews placed abstract painting and sculpture by the pivotal '70s generation; on the upper floor were artists who emerged in the '80s or '90s. Impressive work by old-timers could be spotted even from the parking lot, where outdoor sculptures by Jerry Wingren, Chuck Parson and Bob Mangold had been installed. And inside, just beyond the center's main entrance, were more pieces by such Colorado modern masters as Andy Libertone, Dale Chisman, Joe Clower, Virginia Maitland, Bill Hayes, Gene Matthews, Elaine Colzolari, Clark Richert, David Yust and Stan Meyer. Andrews placed the younger generation at the top of the grand staircase; notable inclusions there were Homare Ikeda, Steven Altman, Ania Gola-Kumor, Trine Bumiller, Jeff Wenzel, John Clark, Bill Brazzell, Melanie Hoshiko, Bruce Price, Carl Reed, Scott Chamberlin and Jeffrey Keith (who felt he belonged downstairs with the mentor group). Despite Keith's complaint -- and the grousing of those who pointed out that key players like Emilio Lobato, who lives in Arvada, had been left out -- Andrews put together one of the best art shows of last year, in the process enhancing our understanding of the development of contemporary art in the region over the last 25 years.
Best salute to Colorado's contemporary art scene
Colorado Abstraction: 1975-1999 Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities
Kathy Andrews, head curator at the Arvada Center, mounted a huge, history-making exhibit last fall. It was truly a who's who of Colorado art, occupying the entire set of galleries on both floors. On the lower lever, Andrews placed abstract painting and sculpture by the pivotal '70s generation; on the upper floor were artists who emerged in the '80s or '90s. Impressive work by old-timers could be spotted even from the parking lot, where outdoor sculptures by Jerry Wingren, Chuck Parson and Bob Mangold had been installed. And inside, just beyond the center's main entrance, were more pieces by such Colorado modern masters as Andy Libertone, Dale Chisman, Joe Clower, Virginia Maitland, Bill Hayes, Gene Matthews, Elaine Colzolari, Clark Richert, David Yust and Stan Meyer. Andrews placed the younger generation at the top of the grand staircase; notable inclusions there were Homare Ikeda, Steven Altman, Ania Gola-Kumor, Trine Bumiller, Jeff Wenzel, John Clark, Bill Brazzell, Melanie Hoshiko, Bruce Price, Carl Reed, Scott Chamberlin and Jeffrey Keith (who felt he belonged downstairs with the mentor group). Despite Keith's complaint -- and the grousing of those who pointed out that key players like Emilio Lobato, who lives in Arvada, had been left out -- Andrews put together one of the best art shows of last year, in the process enhancing our understanding of the development of contemporary art in the region over the last 25 years.
Best group drawing show
Master Drawings Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center
Last fall, the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center hosted the traveling Master Drawings exhibit, which featured more than 150 drawings ranging in date from the 1300s to the 1970s, all of them loaned by the Worcester Art Museum in Massachusetts. The Worcester has an enormous collection, numbering into the high hundreds; in the choices made for the CSFAC show, organizers included many big names from the history of art. Some of the most impressive drawings were the finished-presentation works, in which washes and watercolors were used to fill in the inked lines. The show had a lot of American pieces, but English and Italian drawings were also found in abundance, and there were several fine modernist sketches by Europeans working in the mid-twentieth century. Major exhibits of drawings are almost never seen, so this one was surprising -- as well as being one of the best art shows, of any kind, around.
Best group drawing show
Master Drawings Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center
Last fall, the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center hosted the traveling Master Drawings exhibit, which featured more than 150 drawings ranging in date from the 1300s to the 1970s, all of them loaned by the Worcester Art Museum in Massachusetts. The Worcester has an enormous collection, numbering into the high hundreds; in the choices made for the CSFAC show, organizers included many big names from the history of art. Some of the most impressive drawings were the finished-presentation works, in which washes and watercolors were used to fill in the inked lines. The show had a lot of American pieces, but English and Italian drawings were also found in abundance, and there were several fine modernist sketches by Europeans working in the mid-twentieth century. Major exhibits of drawings are almost never seen, so this one was surprising -- as well as being one of the best art shows, of any kind, around.
Best solo painting show -- emerging artist
Bill Brazzell, Align
Bill Brazzell is one of the younger artists who make up the majority of the ILK co-op's membership. In Align, presented last spring in ILK's branch location at Pirate, Brazzell cleverly melded intuitive gestural abstraction with its opposite, an organized formal structure. Several of Brazzell's paintings were done on thin sheets of concrete that had been stained with square dashes of rubbed-in oil pigment, then sealed with a layer of transparent wax. He then used multi-panel formats to create single paintings in which two, three or five squares are assembled to form one coherent shape. The ILK@Pirate space is a little nothing of a room, but with only a few paintings, Brazzell was able to make a big statement.
Best solo painting show -- emerging artist
Bill Brazzell, Align
Bill Brazzell is one of the younger artists who make up the majority of the ILK co-op's membership. In Align, presented last spring in ILK's branch location at Pirate, Brazzell cleverly melded intuitive gestural abstraction with its opposite, an organized formal structure. Several of Brazzell's paintings were done on thin sheets of concrete that had been stained with square dashes of rubbed-in oil pigment, then sealed with a layer of transparent wax. He then used multi-panel formats to create single paintings in which two, three or five squares are assembled to form one coherent shape. The ILK@Pirate space is a little nothing of a room, but with only a few paintings, Brazzell was able to make a big statement.
Best solo painting show -- established artist
Steven Altman, Untitled
Surely the tumbledown storefront that houses the main branch of the ILK co-op on the increasingly gentrified Santa Fe Drive gives no indication that inside, as often as not, are some of the best art shows in town. That was definitely the case early this spring when the south gallery was swept clean, painted, and given over to Untitled: Steven Altman, a solo show that featured some of this highly regarded Denver painter's latest abstractions. And they were sensational. Altman first lays a grid of paper on a board, then paints over it in a gestural style; his unerring sense of composition and striking juxtapositions of color provided this show with a number of breathtaking moments.
Best solo painting show -- established artist
Steven Altman, Untitled
Surely the tumbledown storefront that houses the main branch of the ILK co-op on the increasingly gentrified Santa Fe Drive gives no indication that inside, as often as not, are some of the best art shows in town. That was definitely the case early this spring when the south gallery was swept clean, painted, and given over to Untitled: Steven Altman, a solo show that featured some of this highly regarded Denver painter's latest abstractions. And they were sensational. Altman first lays a grid of paper on a board, then paints over it in a gestural style; his unerring sense of composition and striking juxtapositions of color provided this show with a number of breathtaking moments.
Best painting duet
Tracy and Sushe Felix, New Work by Felix & Felix
Manitou Springs artists Tracy and Sushe Felix have exhibited in Denver since the 1980s. Both are highly regarded, and both have their pieces in many art collections (including the Denver Art Museum's). For this stunning show last summer, gallery director Bill Havu gave a large space to each artist -- and separating them from each other was a good idea, since stylistically, their paintings are clearly distinct. Husband Tracy's are lyrical, magic-realist scenes of imaginary yet familiar mountains; Sushe, on the other hand, uses transcendental symbolism to make abstracts. Both base their work on historical regional precedents from early in the twentieth century, Tracy responding to the artists of the Broadmoor Academy, Sushe to those who worked in Taos. Both Felixes are worth catching, whether they're together, as they were here, or apart, as is more often the case.
Best painting duet
Tracy and Sushe Felix, New Work by Felix & Felix
Manitou Springs artists Tracy and Sushe Felix have exhibited in Denver since the 1980s. Both are highly regarded, and both have their pieces in many art collections (including the Denver Art Museum's). For this stunning show last summer, gallery director Bill Havu gave a large space to each artist -- and separating them from each other was a good idea, since stylistically, their paintings are clearly distinct. Husband Tracy's are lyrical, magic-realist scenes of imaginary yet familiar mountains; Sushe, on the other hand, uses transcendental symbolism to make abstracts. Both base their work on historical regional precedents from early in the twentieth century, Tracy responding to the artists of the Broadmoor Academy, Sushe to those who worked in Taos. Both Felixes are worth catching, whether they're together, as they were here, or apart, as is more often the case.
As a parting gesture to the Pirate co-op, Stephen Batura mounted the most ambitious painting he had ever done right before resigning his commission as a member. "Floodplain" was a mammoth abstraction that was a full forty feet long and twelve feet high, essentially filling the entire south wall in Pirate's main space. Using short brushstrokes in cool shades of gray and green, Batura broadly referred to light reflecting off of water. This mural led the artist to create an entire series based on light and water; several of these later paintings were shown earlier this year at Ron Judish Fine Arts. Batura's been around for a long time, and over the years he's painted everything from dresses to train wrecks, but he's at his best when exploring his latest set of interests.
As a parting gesture to the Pirate co-op, Stephen Batura mounted the most ambitious painting he had ever done right before resigning his commission as a member. "Floodplain" was a mammoth abstraction that was a full forty feet long and twelve feet high, essentially filling the entire south wall in Pirate's main space. Using short brushstrokes in cool shades of gray and green, Batura broadly referred to light reflecting off of water. This mural led the artist to create an entire series based on light and water; several of these later paintings were shown earlier this year at Ron Judish Fine Arts. Batura's been around for a long time, and over the years he's painted everything from dresses to train wrecks, but he's at his best when exploring his latest set of interests.
Best solo sculpture show -- emerging artist
Melanie Hoshiko, Traverse
Right out of art school, sculptor Melanie Hoshiko hit a home run with the solo show Traverse, presented at the Gallery at Guiry's in the Ballpark neighborhood. Hoshiko delved into neo-minimalism with chaste, three-dimensional wood constructions that read like two-dimensional paintings. Her use of modernist color combinations such as red and black or black and white, were quite effective, as was her meticulous craftsmanship. Though she has been relatively unknown until now, our best guess is that Hoshiko's distinctive style will soon become a classic on the Denver art scene's hit parade.
Best solo sculpture show -- emerging artist
Melanie Hoshiko, Traverse
Right out of art school, sculptor Melanie Hoshiko hit a home run with the solo show Traverse, presented at the Gallery at Guiry's in the Ballpark neighborhood. Hoshiko delved into neo-minimalism with chaste, three-dimensional wood constructions that read like two-dimensional paintings. Her use of modernist color combinations such as red and black or black and white, were quite effective, as was her meticulous craftsmanship. Though she has been relatively unknown until now, our best guess is that Hoshiko's distinctive style will soon become a classic on the Denver art scene's hit parade.
Best solo sculpture show -- established artist
John DeAndrea, Fragments
The Singer Gallery at the Mizel Arts Center is little more than a good-sized room at the Jewish Community Center in Hilltop, but it's one of the best places in town to see contemporary art. Last year the gallery was taken over by Simon Zalkind, who began to fill the Singer's calendar with interesting shows -- and one of the most compelling was Fragments, which featured the work of the world-famous Colorado artist John DeAndrea, renowned for his super-realistic depictions of the female figure ("Linda," one of the Denver Art Museum's most well-known pieces, is his creation). For Fragments, Zalkind mostly chose sculptures that were in an experimental state, such as the dozens of heads DeAndrea used as study models and placed on shelves. The show also included some of DeAndrea's latest bronze busts, which were finished traditionally rather than painted naturalistically, as in his earlier, signature style.
Best solo sculpture show -- established artist
John DeAndrea, Fragments
The Singer Gallery at the Mizel Arts Center is little more than a good-sized room at the Jewish Community Center in Hilltop, but it's one of the best places in town to see contemporary art. Last year the gallery was taken over by Simon Zalkind, who began to fill the Singer's calendar with interesting shows -- and one of the most compelling was Fragments, which featured the work of the world-famous Colorado artist John DeAndrea, renowned for his super-realistic depictions of the female figure ("Linda," one of the Denver Art Museum's most well-known pieces, is his creation). For Fragments, Zalkind mostly chose sculptures that were in an experimental state, such as the dozens of heads DeAndrea used as study models and placed on shelves. The show also included some of DeAndrea's latest bronze busts, which were finished traditionally rather than painted naturalistically, as in his earlier, signature style.
Best career-establishing show
Bryan Andrews, Dopplegangers
Since graduating from art school five years ago, sculptor Bryan Andrews had been trying to break into the big leagues of Denver art -- and failing. Then everything came together for him, including a chance for a solo outing at the prestigious Artyard, the city's most respected sculpture gallery. Andrews seized the opportunity by filling the show, titled Dopplegangers, with the best work he had ever done. Most of the pieces were made of wood, some of it blackened by having been set on fire. The work had a distinctive style that seemed to combine one part Ancient Norse funereal artifact, one part New York School sculpture and one part biker chainsaw tree carving. After Dopplegangers, Andrews -- previously known to only a few -- became a well-known player in the game we call the local art scene.
Best career-establishing show
Bryan Andrews, Dopplegangers
Since graduating from art school five years ago, sculptor Bryan Andrews had been trying to break into the big leagues of Denver art -- and failing. Then everything came together for him, including a chance for a solo outing at the prestigious Artyard, the city's most respected sculpture gallery. Andrews seized the opportunity by filling the show, titled Dopplegangers, with the best work he had ever done. Most of the pieces were made of wood, some of it blackened by having been set on fire. The work had a distinctive style that seemed to combine one part Ancient Norse funereal artifact, one part New York School sculpture and one part biker chainsaw tree carving. After Dopplegangers, Andrews -- previously known to only a few -- became a well-known player in the game we call the local art scene.
Getting thirsty during hour three of that cinema epic about four generations of North Dakota wheat farmers? Slide on out to the concession stand at the Chez Artiste and order up an icy Italian soda (aka "phosphate") -- sparkling water flavored with the syrup of your choice. Among the flavors: coconut, peach, hazelnut, black currant and almond. Available since March, these coolers have become hot sellers at $2.50 and represent a happy alternative to the usual colas and lemonades. Ask the clerk to add a shot of milk and -- presto! -- you've got an "egg cream."
Getting thirsty during hour three of that cinema epic about four generations of North Dakota wheat farmers? Slide on out to the concession stand at the Chez Artiste and order up an icy Italian soda (aka "phosphate") -- sparkling water flavored with the syrup of your choice. Among the flavors: coconut, peach, hazelnut, black currant and almond. Available since March, these coolers have become hot sellers at $2.50 and represent a happy alternative to the usual colas and lemonades. Ask the clerk to add a shot of milk and -- presto! -- you've got an "egg cream."
Best New York school show
Carl Andre and Melissa Kretschmer
Among the pleasures of Rule Modern and Contemporary Gallery on Broadway are the many New York artists featured there. True, most are little known, but occasionally director Robin Rule is able to snag one of the greats, as she did when an acknowledged master of minimalism was a part of a duet at her venue last summer. The impressive Carl Andre and Melissa Kretschmer combined the classic modular floor sculptures that made Andre a legend in art history with some extremely fine tar paintings done on stacks of glass by his current girlfriend, the much-younger Melissa Kretschmer. Though Andre is considered one of the greatest living sculptors in America (if only for his contributions from the 1960s, when he helped invent minimalism), he is also controversial -- and in a way most artists aren't. He was tried and ultimately acquitted of murder in the death in 1985 of his wife, feminist artist Ana Mendieta. The scandal quotient surely helped spike attendance at the show, but the real stars were the three somber sculptures that Andre had arranged on the floor.
Best New York school show
Carl Andre and Melissa Kretschmer
Among the pleasures of Rule Modern and Contemporary Gallery on Broadway are the many New York artists featured there. True, most are little known, but occasionally director Robin Rule is able to snag one of the greats, as she did when an acknowledged master of minimalism was a part of a duet at her venue last summer. The impressive Carl Andre and Melissa Kretschmer combined the classic modular floor sculptures that made Andre a legend in art history with some extremely fine tar paintings done on stacks of glass by his current girlfriend, the much-younger Melissa Kretschmer. Though Andre is considered one of the greatest living sculptors in America (if only for his contributions from the 1960s, when he helped invent minimalism), he is also controversial -- and in a way most artists aren't. He was tried and ultimately acquitted of murder in the death in 1985 of his wife, feminist artist Ana Mendieta. The scandal quotient surely helped spike attendance at the show, but the real stars were the three somber sculptures that Andre had arranged on the floor.
Best place this side of the Ozarks to see carved wood
North American Sculpture Exhibition
Famous California artist Alison Saar served as this year's juror for the biennial North American Sculpture Exhibition at Foothills Art Center in Golden. For better or worse, Saar, a wood-carver, mostly chose other sculptors working in wood; standouts here were a number of Colorado artists including Alex Harrison, Bryan Andrews and Craig Robb, all of whom work with logs or lumber. Also nice were the sculptures created in other materials by Colorado artists Peter Durst, Tai Pomara, Carol Sharpe and Sue Quinlan. The size and weight of many sculptures means that they're rarely the subject of group shows, so it's nice that we can count on the NASE at Foothills to fill the bill every two years.
Best place this side of the Ozarks to see carved wood
North American Sculpture Exhibition
Famous California artist Alison Saar served as this year's juror for the biennial North American Sculpture Exhibition at Foothills Art Center in Golden. For better or worse, Saar, a wood-carver, mostly chose other sculptors working in wood; standouts here were a number of Colorado artists including Alex Harrison, Bryan Andrews and Craig Robb, all of whom work with logs or lumber. Also nice were the sculptures created in other materials by Colorado artists Peter Durst, Tai Pomara, Carol Sharpe and Sue Quinlan. The size and weight of many sculptures means that they're rarely the subject of group shows, so it's nice that we can count on the NASE at Foothills to fill the bill every two years.
Six months ago, Jason Thomas was working as a security guard, his fine-art degree in the pocket of his uniform. Then Guiry's, the commercial paint and fine-art supply business that's been around Denver since the nineteenth century, opened a new store in an old building on Market Street in the Ballpark neighborhood and hired the ambitious twentysomething to run its gallery there. Over the past year, Thomas, using his many connections in the art world -- he'd been an intern at Rule Modern and Contemporary Gallery before he took up the badge and gun -- booked Guiry's with one good show after another, alternating group displays of local modern masters with solos devoted to young, untried talents. Thanks to Thomas, Guiry's also hosted the Invisible Museum exhibits, featuring some of Denver's biggest names in sculpture, photography and interactive art. As a result of his efforts, Thomas has lured nearly everyone interested in art in Denver through Guiry's doors to see some of the best shows in town.
Six months ago, Jason Thomas was working as a security guard, his fine-art degree in the pocket of his uniform. Then Guiry's, the commercial paint and fine-art supply business that's been around Denver since the nineteenth century, opened a new store in an old building on Market Street in the Ballpark neighborhood and hired the ambitious twentysomething to run its gallery there. Over the past year, Thomas, using his many connections in the art world -- he'd been an intern at Rule Modern and Contemporary Gallery before he took up the badge and gun -- booked Guiry's with one good show after another, alternating group displays of local modern masters with solos devoted to young, untried talents. Thanks to Thomas, Guiry's also hosted the Invisible Museum exhibits, featuring some of Denver's biggest names in sculpture, photography and interactive art. As a result of his efforts, Thomas has lured nearly everyone interested in art in Denver through Guiry's doors to see some of the best shows in town.
Best combination of funky and fancy
Shows organized by Jim Robischon and Jennifer Doran
There's no question about it: Robischon has been the preeminent contemporary gallery in Denver for more than twenty years. And it's kept its top-rank reputation not by resting on its laurels, but by being unpredictable. More often than not, the shows at Robischon are going to be weird -- like last summer, when sculptor Tom Nussbaum's figures were on display, or when the gallery presented those really strange and falsely naive-looking Fay Jones paintings. Sometimes the space even exhibits artists who are officially associated with the funk movement of the late twentieth century, such as the Manuel Neri and Robert Hudson shows last fall and winter. This interest in work that pushes our concepts of beauty reflects the taste and judgment of the gallery's co-directors, the husband-and-wife team of Jim Robischon and Jennifer Doran.
Best combination of funky and fancy
Shows organized by Jim Robischon and Jennifer Doran
There's no question about it: Robischon has been the preeminent contemporary gallery in Denver for more than twenty years. And it's kept its top-rank reputation not by resting on its laurels, but by being unpredictable. More often than not, the shows at Robischon are going to be weird -- like last summer, when sculptor Tom Nussbaum's figures were on display, or when the gallery presented those really strange and falsely naive-looking Fay Jones paintings. Sometimes the space even exhibits artists who are officially associated with the funk movement of the late twentieth century, such as the Manuel Neri and Robert Hudson shows last fall and winter. This interest in work that pushes our concepts of beauty reflects the taste and judgment of the gallery's co-directors, the husband-and-wife team of Jim Robischon and Jennifer Doran.
Best example of the work ethic as applied to the fine arts
Chuck Parson
This past year, it seemed that Denver sculptor Chuck Parson was everywhere at once. His work was displayed at the Arvada Center, the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, the Museum of Outdoor Art, the Gallery at Guiry's and in the sculpture court at Artyard. And that was just around here. Parson was also feted to a solo last fall at Wyoming's Nicolaysen Museum, and he created a large installation for Chicago's Pier Show earlier this summer. Even more astounding than his participation in so many art exhibits is the medium he prefers -- mammoth sculptures made of such minimally portable materials as concrete and steel beams, which would seem to discourage all that traveling. But the best thing about Parson's sculpture is not that it's so easy to find, but that it's so very good.
Best example of the work ethic as applied to the fine arts
Chuck Parson
This past year, it seemed that Denver sculptor Chuck Parson was everywhere at once. His work was displayed at the Arvada Center, the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, the Museum of Outdoor Art, the Gallery at Guiry's and in the sculpture court at Artyard. And that was just around here. Parson was also feted to a solo last fall at Wyoming's Nicolaysen Museum, and he created a large installation for Chicago's Pier Show earlier this summer. Even more astounding than his participation in so many art exhibits is the medium he prefers -- mammoth sculptures made of such minimally portable materials as concrete and steel beams, which would seem to discourage all that traveling. But the best thing about Parson's sculpture is not that it's so easy to find, but that it's so very good.
After fifty years as a professional photographer and more than 35 years as an exhibition organizer, Hal Gould finally allowed someone to give him a solo show. Presented at Gould's own gallery, the Camera Obscura, last winter, the exhibit was organized by Loretta Young Gautier and Mollie Uhl Eaton, which marks another first: Visual Legacy was the only show ever presented at the twenty-year-old gallery not to have been put together by Gould himself. The best pieces in this large and important show were those that took up the theme of the vanishing West, a favorite subject for Gould, who addressed it again and again in works dating from the 1950s to the present.
After fifty years as a professional photographer and more than 35 years as an exhibition organizer, Hal Gould finally allowed someone to give him a solo show. Presented at Gould's own gallery, the Camera Obscura, last winter, the exhibit was organized by Loretta Young Gautier and Mollie Uhl Eaton, which marks another first: Visual Legacy was the only show ever presented at the twenty-year-old gallery not to have been put together by Gould himself. The best pieces in this large and important show were those that took up the theme of the vanishing West, a favorite subject for Gould, who addressed it again and again in works dating from the 1950s to the present.
Best photo show -- group
Photography and the Creative Process
This large show, occupying both the Colorado Photographic Arts Center and the adjacent Carol Keller Gallery, was associated with a conference by the same name held at the Auraria campus. The exhibit featured the work of the conference's speakers, including such well-known local photographers as conference chairman Ron Wohlauer and his peers Ray Whiting, Eric Paddock, Bernard Mendoza and William Sutton. The show was thrown together at the last minute by CPAC Exhibition Director Lisbeth Neergaard Kohloff with gallery owner Carol Keller -- and they couldn't have done it any better if they'd had a year's prep time.
Best photo show -- group
Photography and the Creative Process
This large show, occupying both the Colorado Photographic Arts Center and the adjacent Carol Keller Gallery, was associated with a conference by the same name held at the Auraria campus. The exhibit featured the work of the conference's speakers, including such well-known local photographers as conference chairman Ron Wohlauer and his peers Ray Whiting, Eric Paddock, Bernard Mendoza and William Sutton. The show was thrown together at the last minute by CPAC Exhibition Director Lisbeth Neergaard Kohloff with gallery owner Carol Keller -- and they couldn't have done it any better if they'd had a year's prep time.
Best show to highlight a Playboy photographer
Ted Williams, Tone Poems
Now, calm down. The Playboy photographer in question, Ted Williams, made a career not from those famous cheesecake centerfolds, but by recording, in classic black-and-white shots, America's jazz scene of the 1950s to the 1970s. A photographer since his childhood days in 1930s Texas, Williams became one of the first African-American photographers to enter Chicago's prestigious Institute of Design. The school, now a part of the Illinois Institute of Technology, is sometimes referred to as the American Bauhaus, since much of its faculty consisted of refugees from the Nazis who had taught at the original German Bauhaus. Having experienced discrimination themselves in Berlin, the school's teachers, Williams says, "weren't going to have none of that" in Chicago. Playboy wasn't, either; the magazine hired Williams in 1958, and on that beat he captured all the greats. The most interesting aspect of Williams's photos is that he employed an unlikely formula to make his celebrity pinups: Instead of taking a careful, posed shot, as is the standard in the field, he used the candid-camera technique, catching his subjects in unguarded moments, a method favored by street photographers. In Williams's hands, the results show off the best of both worlds.
Best show to highlight a Playboy photographer
Ted Williams, Tone Poems
Now, calm down. The Playboy photographer in question, Ted Williams, made a career not from those famous cheesecake centerfolds, but by recording, in classic black-and-white shots, America's jazz scene of the 1950s to the 1970s. A photographer since his childhood days in 1930s Texas, Williams became one of the first African-American photographers to enter Chicago's prestigious Institute of Design. The school, now a part of the Illinois Institute of Technology, is sometimes referred to as the American Bauhaus, since much of its faculty consisted of refugees from the Nazis who had taught at the original German Bauhaus. Having experienced discrimination themselves in Berlin, the school's teachers, Williams says, "weren't going to have none of that" in Chicago. Playboy wasn't, either; the magazine hired Williams in 1958, and on that beat he captured all the greats. The most interesting aspect of Williams's photos is that he employed an unlikely formula to make his celebrity pinups: Instead of taking a careful, posed shot, as is the standard in the field, he used the candid-camera technique, catching his subjects in unguarded moments, a method favored by street photographers. In Williams's hands, the results show off the best of both worlds.
Best print show -- solo
Emilio Lobato, Printmaker's Portfolio
The artist Emilio Lobato, mostly famous for his mixed-media abstract paintings, is also an accomplished printmaker. This is not surprising when you learn that his mentor was printmaster Mary Chenoweth, with whom he studied while he was a student at Colorado College. For Printmaker's Portfolio, Lobato assembled a group of abstract prints that surveyed his career, dating back to the early 1990s. The small but strong show was mounted on the mezzanine loft at Havu, where it was a little crowded, but that was a minor complaint.
Best print show -- solo
Emilio Lobato, Printmaker's Portfolio
The artist Emilio Lobato, mostly famous for his mixed-media abstract paintings, is also an accomplished printmaker. This is not surprising when you learn that his mentor was printmaster Mary Chenoweth, with whom he studied while he was a student at Colorado College. For Printmaker's Portfolio, Lobato assembled a group of abstract prints that surveyed his career, dating back to the early 1990s. The small but strong show was mounted on the mezzanine loft at Havu, where it was a little crowded, but that was a minor complaint.
Best print show -- group
works on paper: a riverhouse retrospective
Riverhouse is a Steamboat Springs-based print studio founded in 1988 by William and Jan van Straaten as a place where artists could come, spend a few weeks in the mountains and make some works on paper facilitated by master printer Susan Hover. In its twelve-year history, Riverhouse has attracted some big names like Sol Lewitt, Komar & Melamid and Lynda Benglis. Their work, and the work of many others, was part of last fall's works on paper: a riverhouse retrospective, presented by the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts and mounted in the lobby and on the lower level of the Republic Plaza skyscraper. An added bonus of any show at Republic Plaza is that the lobby space, with all that marble and granite, is one of the best-looking rooms in the state.
Best print show -- group
works on paper: a riverhouse retrospective
Riverhouse is a Steamboat Springs-based print studio founded in 1988 by William and Jan van Straaten as a place where artists could come, spend a few weeks in the mountains and make some works on paper facilitated by master printer Susan Hover. In its twelve-year history, Riverhouse has attracted some big names like Sol Lewitt, Komar & Melamid and Lynda Benglis. Their work, and the work of many others, was part of last fall's works on paper: a riverhouse retrospective, presented by the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts and mounted in the lobby and on the lower level of the Republic Plaza skyscraper. An added bonus of any show at Republic Plaza is that the lobby space, with all that marble and granite, is one of the best-looking rooms in the state.
Best before- and after-movie watering hole
Bistro Adde Brewster
After catching the latest Mel Gibson flick at the Cherry Creek Cinemas, or Gladiator at the UA Colorado Center, drop in at tony but casual Bistro Adde Brewster in Cherry Creek to discuss the deeper meanings in these masterpieces over a Bombay martini the size of your head. The American-French fare (especially the famous hamburger) is just fine, and the late-night crowd is an interesting mix of youngish sophisticates and experienced pub-crawlers. Maybe somebody will have the real story on Rashomon -- or at least a good cigar to loan.
Best before- and after-movie watering hole
Bistro Adde Brewster
After catching the latest Mel Gibson flick at the Cherry Creek Cinemas, or Gladiator at the UA Colorado Center, drop in at tony but casual Bistro Adde Brewster in Cherry Creek to discuss the deeper meanings in these masterpieces over a Bombay martini the size of your head. The American-French fare (especially the famous hamburger) is just fine, and the late-night crowd is an interesting mix of youngish sophisticates and experienced pub-crawlers. Maybe somebody will have the real story on Rashomon -- or at least a good cigar to loan.
Best art show to include images via computer
Susan Goldstein, Life Layers
For a brief time last year, Susan Goldstein transformed the ordinarily turgid front room at Edge into one of the most visually sophisticated places in the city. She did this by putting together Life Layers, a series of very fine collages in which she combined found objects -- ledgers, textbooks and labels -- with computer-transferred images. Goldstein, who at the time had only recently returned from a stint at the famous Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, layered her images, printing some of them on transparent plastic sheets, revealing the pages beneath. Though Goldstein has been exhibiting in town for a decade, she's never been better than in Life Layers.
Best art show to include images via computer
Susan Goldstein, Life Layers
For a brief time last year, Susan Goldstein transformed the ordinarily turgid front room at Edge into one of the most visually sophisticated places in the city. She did this by putting together Life Layers, a series of very fine collages in which she combined found objects -- ledgers, textbooks and labels -- with computer-transferred images. Goldstein, who at the time had only recently returned from a stint at the famous Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, layered her images, printing some of them on transparent plastic sheets, revealing the pages beneath. Though Goldstein has been exhibiting in town for a decade, she's never been better than in Life Layers.
Nationally renowned ceramic artist Rodger Lang came to Denver thirty years ago to join the art faculty at Metropolitan State College of Denver. He founded and built one of the best clay programs around, arousing the undying loyalty of generations of students. Two years ago, Lang was instrumental in snagging the prestigious National Council for Education in the Ceramic Arts conference, and he served as chairman when the group met in Denver this past March. But that's not all Lang did. He was also the force behind the scores of ceramic shows presented throughout the area when 3,000 ceramicists were in town. It all went without a hitch and was astoundingly successful in bringing ceramic art to the more broadly interested contemporary art world. And then, unbelievably, just two weeks after the conference closed and while most of the associated ceramic shows were still open, Lang died of cancer. Though life is short, art is long, and Lang's best efforts in promoting Colorado ceramics will benefit the field for years to come.
Nationally renowned ceramic artist Rodger Lang came to Denver thirty years ago to join the art faculty at Metropolitan State College of Denver. He founded and built one of the best clay programs around, arousing the undying loyalty of generations of students. Two years ago, Lang was instrumental in snagging the prestigious National Council for Education in the Ceramic Arts conference, and he served as chairman when the group met in Denver this past March. But that's not all Lang did. He was also the force behind the scores of ceramic shows presented throughout the area when 3,000 ceramicists were in town. It all went without a hitch and was astoundingly successful in bringing ceramic art to the more broadly interested contemporary art world. And then, unbelievably, just two weeks after the conference closed and while most of the associated ceramic shows were still open, Lang died of cancer. Though life is short, art is long, and Lang's best efforts in promoting Colorado ceramics will benefit the field for years to come.
Even in the crowded field of nearly one hundred ceramics shows presented this past spring in association with the National Council for Education in the Ceramic Arts conference, Scott Chamberlin Twelve Years stood out. The show was organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver's interim director Mark Sink and artist and museum boardmember Dale Chisman, with the pieces selected by Chamberlin himself. Along with a few drawings, Chamberlin's sculptures were presented on the main floor and on the mezzanine. The two-story spaces at the front of the museum featured Chamberlin's monumental multi-part floor sculptures from a decade ago -- a period that was clearly a watershed in his career. These large sculptures looked gorgeous in the then newly reconfigured MoCAD. In the galleries below and on the mezzanine were the anthropomorphic and organic bas-reliefs Chamberlin's been doing in the last ten years. They have a quality that shifts quickly from charming to unnerving and back again.
Even in the crowded field of nearly one hundred ceramics shows presented this past spring in association with the National Council for Education in the Ceramic Arts conference, Scott Chamberlin Twelve Years stood out. The show was organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver's interim director Mark Sink and artist and museum boardmember Dale Chisman, with the pieces selected by Chamberlin himself. Along with a few drawings, Chamberlin's sculptures were presented on the main floor and on the mezzanine. The two-story spaces at the front of the museum featured Chamberlin's monumental multi-part floor sculptures from a decade ago -- a period that was clearly a watershed in his career. These large sculptures looked gorgeous in the then newly reconfigured MoCAD. In the galleries below and on the mezzanine were the anthropomorphic and organic bas-reliefs Chamberlin's been doing in the last ten years. They have a quality that shifts quickly from charming to unnerving and back again.
Best ceramics duet
Time in Tandem: James and Nan McKinnell Retrospective
Susan Sagara, an assistant curator at the Arvada Center, crammed a couple of the lower-level galleries with more than a hundred pots for Time in Tandem: James and Nan McKinnell Retrospective. The McKinnells, now retired, were globe-trotting beatniks from the 1940s to the '60s. They landed in Boulder and Denver a few times before finally settling outside of Fort Collins three decades ago. The show included their student work and the work that later made them famous locally and nationally. A real revelation of the show was how distinct each one's work was from that of the other: James follows the Japanese-inspired tradition, the main current in contemporary ceramics, while Nan's pieces look like handmade versions of industrial design. Through the great volume of worthwhile pieces it presented, the Arvada show revealed that the McKinnells are among the best potters to have ever worked in Colorado.
Best ceramics duet
Time in Tandem: James and Nan McKinnell Retrospective
Susan Sagara, an assistant curator at the Arvada Center, crammed a couple of the lower-level galleries with more than a hundred pots for Time in Tandem: James and Nan McKinnell Retrospective. The McKinnells, now retired, were globe-trotting beatniks from the 1940s to the '60s. They landed in Boulder and Denver a few times before finally settling outside of Fort Collins three decades ago. The show included their student work and the work that later made them famous locally and nationally. A real revelation of the show was how distinct each one's work was from that of the other: James follows the Japanese-inspired tradition, the main current in contemporary ceramics, while Nan's pieces look like handmade versions of industrial design. Through the great volume of worthwhile pieces it presented, the Arvada show revealed that the McKinnells are among the best potters to have ever worked in Colorado.
Best group ceramics show -- historical division
Colorado Kilns
Colorado Kilns was a rare historical look at the proud traditions in Colorado ceramics going back to the early 1900s. Though it was fairly small and inconspicuously sited in the back of the cavernous basement of the Colorado History Museum, the show covered a lot of historic and artistic ground. There was no shortage of masterpieces among the selections, which ranged from Art Nouveau vases to abstract sculptures; the best things were the figural vessels by Artus Van Briggle from the turn of the last century, the William Long vase, the pieces from the '40s and '50s by Irene Musick and Tabor Utley and an out-of-this world Paul Soldner sculpture done just last year. The show was put together by Moya Hansen, CHM curator of fine and decorative art, with considerable help from ceramicist, professor and arts advocate Rodger Lang. One of the best things about Colorado Kilns was the first-rate exhibition design, with theatrical flourishes, especially in the color choices; all of it was orchestrated by David Newell, the CHM's newish exhibition designer.
Best group ceramics show -- historical division
Colorado Kilns
Colorado Kilns was a rare historical look at the proud traditions in Colorado ceramics going back to the early 1900s. Though it was fairly small and inconspicuously sited in the back of the cavernous basement of the Colorado History Museum, the show covered a lot of historic and artistic ground. There was no shortage of masterpieces among the selections, which ranged from Art Nouveau vases to abstract sculptures; the best things were the figural vessels by Artus Van Briggle from the turn of the last century, the William Long vase, the pieces from the '40s and '50s by Irene Musick and Tabor Utley and an out-of-this world Paul Soldner sculpture done just last year. The show was put together by Moya Hansen, CHM curator of fine and decorative art, with considerable help from ceramicist, professor and arts advocate Rodger Lang. One of the best things about Colorado Kilns was the first-rate exhibition design, with theatrical flourishes, especially in the color choices; all of it was orchestrated by David Newell, the CHM's newish exhibition designer.
Best group ceramics show -- contemporary division
High Degrees
Sally Perisho, director of the Metro State Center for the Visual Arts, has presented group shows devoted to ceramics periodically over the last decade. This past spring, Perisho organized High Degrees, an exhibit featuring the work of many distinguished ceramics teachers at Colorado colleges and universities, including several world-famous ceramicists such as Maynard Tishler, Richard DeVore and the late Rodger Lang. It was no mean feat to get High Degrees to stand out among the nearly one hundred ceramic shows that were inspired by the NCECA conference, but the secret to Perisho's success was that she had the foresight to snag several of the best ceramic artists in the state before anyone else did.
Best group ceramics show -- contemporary division
High Degrees
Sally Perisho, director of the Metro State Center for the Visual Arts, has presented group shows devoted to ceramics periodically over the last decade. This past spring, Perisho organized High Degrees, an exhibit featuring the work of many distinguished ceramics teachers at Colorado colleges and universities, including several world-famous ceramicists such as Maynard Tishler, Richard DeVore and the late Rodger Lang. It was no mean feat to get High Degrees to stand out among the nearly one hundred ceramic shows that were inspired by the NCECA conference, but the secret to Perisho's success was that she had the foresight to snag several of the best ceramic artists in the state before anyone else did.
Best curatorial gesture linking Colorado with the outside world
Ron Otsuka's Takashi Nakazato
In recent years, the Denver Art Museum has been under the gun to present more Colorado art. Now, honestly, no one -- not even the DAM's shrillest critics -- would expect Ron Otsuka, the accomplished curator of Oriental art, to feel the need to respond. Oriental art is associated with the Far East, whereas Colorado is Out West. But Otsuka's something of a treasure, with crackerjack creativity tied to a seasoned connoisseur's eye, and he actually accomplished the seemingly impossible -- and made it look easy. He organized an Oriental show about Colorado. The gorgeous Takashi Nakazato exhibit, still open on the fifth floor of the DAM, features the ceramic art of that famous Japanese potter, all of it made in Snowmass Village's Anderson Ranch Arts Center, where Nakazato has been a visiting artist once a year for nearly a decade. Otsuka's deft exhibit was an East-meets-West stroke of genius.
Best curatorial gesture linking Colorado with the outside world
Ron Otsuka's Takashi Nakazato
In recent years, the Denver Art Museum has been under the gun to present more Colorado art. Now, honestly, no one -- not even the DAM's shrillest critics -- would expect Ron Otsuka, the accomplished curator of Oriental art, to feel the need to respond. Oriental art is associated with the Far East, whereas Colorado is Out West. But Otsuka's something of a treasure, with crackerjack creativity tied to a seasoned connoisseur's eye, and he actually accomplished the seemingly impossible -- and made it look easy. He organized an Oriental show about Colorado. The gorgeous Takashi Nakazato exhibit, still open on the fifth floor of the DAM, features the ceramic art of that famous Japanese potter, all of it made in Snowmass Village's Anderson Ranch Arts Center, where Nakazato has been a visiting artist once a year for nearly a decade. Otsuka's deft exhibit was an East-meets-West stroke of genius.
In her self-titled exhibit this past winter, Boulder artist Gail Wagner turned the front room at Edge Gallery into a world of her own. The mostly wall-hung installation pieces were made of woven fibers that had been stiffened with paint, suggesting undersea plants and animals -- but only vaguely. One of Wagner's real strengths is as a colorist, brilliantly orchestrating contrasting shades such as a mossy green used with a burnt orange. Also adding visual interest were the novelty plastic fruits and vegetables that she attached to some of her sculptures. Her work is carefully made, with interesting forms and enticing colors and handsome installation and lighting. Come to think of it, that's not so easy.
In her self-titled exhibit this past winter, Boulder artist Gail Wagner turned the front room at Edge Gallery into a world of her own. The mostly wall-hung installation pieces were made of woven fibers that had been stiffened with paint, suggesting undersea plants and animals -- but only vaguely. One of Wagner's real strengths is as a colorist, brilliantly orchestrating contrasting shades such as a mossy green used with a burnt orange. Also adding visual interest were the novelty plastic fruits and vegetables that she attached to some of her sculptures. Her work is carefully made, with interesting forms and enticing colors and handsome installation and lighting. Come to think of it, that's not so easy.
Best installation show -- group
Western Vernacular: Colorado Installation
Freelance curator Sean Hughes was thinking about the local art scene and noticed that many artists were making careers from creating installations. So he made a list of his favorites and built a show around them. Western Vernacular: Colorado Installation filled the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver for nearly all of last fall. The show included ambitious pieces by the likes of Chuck Parson, Jeff Richards, John McEnroe, David Brady, Linda Herritt and Elizabeth Faulhaber. Hughes's was not only the best group show devoted to installation last year, it was the best show at MoCAD in all of 1999.
Best installation show -- group
Western Vernacular: Colorado Installation
Freelance curator Sean Hughes was thinking about the local art scene and noticed that many artists were making careers from creating installations. So he made a list of his favorites and built a show around them. Western Vernacular: Colorado Installation filled the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver for nearly all of last fall. The show included ambitious pieces by the likes of Chuck Parson, Jeff Richards, John McEnroe, David Brady, Linda Herritt and Elizabeth Faulhaber. Hughes's was not only the best group show devoted to installation last year, it was the best show at MoCAD in all of 1999.
Best local gallery show -- solo
William Stockman, Sketchbook
In a way, Sketchbook was a mid-career survey of a still relatively young artist, William Stockman, who came on strong in the mid-1990s as one of a group of artists who revitalized the Pirate co-op. Almost immediately, it was onward and upward, with Stockman getting a piece into the Denver Art Museum's collection -- no mean feat for a then-emerging local -- and bouncing around between some of the city's top commercial galleries, most recently landing at Ron Judish Fine Arts, which hosted Sketchbook. The show explored the all-sizes-fit-one range of Stockman's drawings, which are distinct in style from his equally distinguished paintings. The show included small, intimate sketches, larger-presentation drawings, oversized drawings and even one mammoth drawing applied directly to the wall in the manner of a mural. They all sported enigmatic narrative content and hand-scrawled text coming together to literally shade our understanding of Stockman's vision.
Readers' choice: Aaron Alden at Kung Fu Kitchen
Best local gallery show -- solo
William Stockman, Sketchbook
In a way, Sketchbook was a mid-career survey of a still relatively young artist, William Stockman, who came on strong in the mid-1990s as one of a group of artists who revitalized the Pirate co-op. Almost immediately, it was onward and upward, with Stockman getting a piece into the Denver Art Museum's collection -- no mean feat for a then-emerging local -- and bouncing around between some of the city's top commercial galleries, most recently landing at Ron Judish Fine Arts, which hosted Sketchbook. The show explored the all-sizes-fit-one range of Stockman's drawings, which are distinct in style from his equally distinguished paintings. The show included small, intimate sketches, larger-presentation drawings, oversized drawings and even one mammoth drawing applied directly to the wall in the manner of a mural. They all sported enigmatic narrative content and hand-scrawled text coming together to literally shade our understanding of Stockman's vision.
Readers' choice: Aaron Alden at Kung Fu Kitchen
Best movie theater -- high-tech
IMAX, Denver Museum of Nature and Science
Last December, the newly renamed Denver Museum of Nature and Science in City Park updated its 441-seat IMAX theater with a 15,000-watt (up from 8,500) digital sound system featuring six-track reproduction and -- count 'em -- 58 giant speakers. The sonic effect is rather like taking a front-row seat at the Battle of Verdun. There's also a brand-new screen -- four and a half stories tall, six and a half stories wide -- manufactured by the British firm Harkness. So if you're in the mood for a gigantic view of Dolphins, or some eye- and ear-popping Adventures in Wild California, or a trip to Cirque de Soleil: Journey of Man, IMAX is the place to be. All three films, shot in oversized 70 millimeter, are currently on view, a total of 35 times per week.
Best movie theater -- high-tech
IMAX, Denver Museum of Nature and Science
Last December, the newly renamed Denver Museum of Nature and Science in City Park updated its 441-seat IMAX theater with a 15,000-watt (up from 8,500) digital sound system featuring six-track reproduction and -- count 'em -- 58 giant speakers. The sonic effect is rather like taking a front-row seat at the Battle of Verdun. There's also a brand-new screen -- four and a half stories tall, six and a half stories wide -- manufactured by the British firm Harkness. So if you're in the mood for a gigantic view of Dolphins, or some eye- and ear-popping Adventures in Wild California, or a trip to Cirque de Soleil: Journey of Man, IMAX is the place to be. All three films, shot in oversized 70 millimeter, are currently on view, a total of 35 times per week.
Best local gallery show -- group
Twentieth Anniversary Celebration
Last summer, art history of the recent past came alive when the first-generation members of Spark Gallery, Denver's oldest artists' co-op, were brought together in the fabulous Twentieth Anniversary Celebration exhibit. Back in 1980, these aging hippies -- among them Andy Libertone and Paul Gillis (the official founders of the group), Clark Richert, Margaret Neumann, George Woodman, Marilyn Duke and John Fudge (who died late last summer) -- were already key figures in the local art scene. All played a significant role in the development of contemporary art in Colorado, and many still do, as does their still-thriving co-op (though none of the originals have remained involved with the group). For the twentieth-anniversary show, these artistic communards each brought out an old piece and paired it with a new one, for an intriguing glimpse of Denver then and now.
Readers' choice: Kung Fu Kitchen
Best local gallery show -- group
Twentieth Anniversary Celebration
Last summer, art history of the recent past came alive when the first-generation members of Spark Gallery, Denver's oldest artists' co-op, were brought together in the fabulous Twentieth Anniversary Celebration exhibit. Back in 1980, these aging hippies -- among them Andy Libertone and Paul Gillis (the official founders of the group), Clark Richert, Margaret Neumann, George Woodman, Marilyn Duke and John Fudge (who died late last summer) -- were already key figures in the local art scene. All played a significant role in the development of contemporary art in Colorado, and many still do, as does their still-thriving co-op (though none of the originals have remained involved with the group). For the twentieth-anniversary show, these artistic communards each brought out an old piece and paired it with a new one, for an intriguing glimpse of Denver then and now.
Readers' choice: Kung Fu Kitchen
While William Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale might seem contrived or even impossible to stage, the Denver Center Theatre Company's seasonal production was a superbly realized dramatic poem about redemption and renewal. The lyrical currents that twist beneath the play's prosaic rime were marvelously shaped into a vibrant whole by director Laird Williamson, whose aesthetic increasingly reflects a mature artist's appreciation of life's ambiguities. And it didn't hurt that the mystical drama was performed against a stunning backdrop of giant steel trees rooted in a cracked alabaster floor, costumed and lighted to perfection and accompanied by an original musical score of Byzantine-like chants. Along with the efforts of a splendid cast, Williamson's artful touches brilliantly evoked the Bard's twilight observations about "unpath'd waters" and "undream'd shores."
Readers' choice: Suddenly Last Summer , Germinal Stage Denver
While William Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale might seem contrived or even impossible to stage, the Denver Center Theatre Company's seasonal production was a superbly realized dramatic poem about redemption and renewal. The lyrical currents that twist beneath the play's prosaic rime were marvelously shaped into a vibrant whole by director Laird Williamson, whose aesthetic increasingly reflects a mature artist's appreciation of life's ambiguities. And it didn't hurt that the mystical drama was performed against a stunning backdrop of giant steel trees rooted in a cracked alabaster floor, costumed and lighted to perfection and accompanied by an original musical score of Byzantine-like chants. Along with the efforts of a splendid cast, Williamson's artful touches brilliantly evoked the Bard's twilight observations about "unpath'd waters" and "undream'd shores."
Readers' choice: Suddenly Last Summer , Germinal Stage Denver
Unlike their previous efforts, which have blurred the boundaries that separate the disabled from the rest of society, the Physically Handicapped Amateur Musical Actor's League production of Side Show emphasized those differences to the point of transcending them. A magnificent theatrical achievement, PHAMALy's regional-premiere mounting of the Broadway musical conveyed the idea of abiding self-acceptance without glossing over a few uncomfortable moments -- like, say, the opening number's repeated chant, "Here come the freaks/Only pennies for peeks!" The book on PHAMALy has always been that they're just a bunch of well-meaning though talented folks in wheelchairs who deserve a properly sympathetic audience. In light of this production, though, that nugget of wisdom seems soft-centered. For this troupe, as for the characters in Bill Russell and Henry Krieger's songfest, "Anything's possible -- when everything's right."
Unlike their previous efforts, which have blurred the boundaries that separate the disabled from the rest of society, the Physically Handicapped Amateur Musical Actor's League production of Side Show emphasized those differences to the point of transcending them. A magnificent theatrical achievement, PHAMALy's regional-premiere mounting of the Broadway musical conveyed the idea of abiding self-acceptance without glossing over a few uncomfortable moments -- like, say, the opening number's repeated chant, "Here come the freaks/Only pennies for peeks!" The book on PHAMALy has always been that they're just a bunch of well-meaning though talented folks in wheelchairs who deserve a properly sympathetic audience. In light of this production, though, that nugget of wisdom seems soft-centered. For this troupe, as for the characters in Bill Russell and Henry Krieger's songfest, "Anything's possible -- when everything's right."
An opera based on a Russian silent film would seem the sort of artsy endeavor that invites dismissive sneers from musical and movie buffs alike. But with its lilting score and frank take on age-old questions, Bed and Sofa proved an enjoyable mixture of high-minded music and melodramatic fun. What's more, the latest offering from Boulder's Trouble Clef Theatre Company boasted three outstanding performances that bolstered the troupe's reputation as a premier presenter of musicals. Founded six years ago "to pursue new directions in musical theater," the group has taken on ambitious projects that, if not always polished to perfection, have been marked by their inventive staging, crisp musical direction and top-notch performances. It was altogether gratifying, then, to witness the company's years of hard work pay off in a production where art took precedence over personality and where every note, gesture and utterance felt right at home.
An opera based on a Russian silent film would seem the sort of artsy endeavor that invites dismissive sneers from musical and movie buffs alike. But with its lilting score and frank take on age-old questions, Bed and Sofa proved an enjoyable mixture of high-minded music and melodramatic fun. What's more, the latest offering from Boulder's Trouble Clef Theatre Company boasted three outstanding performances that bolstered the troupe's reputation as a premier presenter of musicals. Founded six years ago "to pursue new directions in musical theater," the group has taken on ambitious projects that, if not always polished to perfection, have been marked by their inventive staging, crisp musical direction and top-notch performances. It was altogether gratifying, then, to witness the company's years of hard work pay off in a production where art took precedence over personality and where every note, gesture and utterance felt right at home.
In only its third full season, Shadow Theatre Company managed to up its entertainment quotient while maintaining its commitment to produce works that are non-exclusive to other cultural groups. The predominantly African-American company held audiences rapt with its multiracial production of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; Carlyle Brown's The African Company Presents Richard III was particularly stirring when the characters bucked tradition and embraced invention; Laurence Fishburne's bare-fisted Riff Raff made contemporary discussions about social issues sound like wholesale plea-copping; and Ntozake Shange's choreopoem, From Okra to Greens, evoked the slight yet seismic forces -- and urban perils -- that shape male-female relationships.
In only its third full season, Shadow Theatre Company managed to up its entertainment quotient while maintaining its commitment to produce works that are non-exclusive to other cultural groups. The predominantly African-American company held audiences rapt with its multiracial production of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; Carlyle Brown's The African Company Presents Richard III was particularly stirring when the characters bucked tradition and embraced invention; Laurence Fishburne's bare-fisted Riff Raff made contemporary discussions about social issues sound like wholesale plea-copping; and Ntozake Shange's choreopoem, From Okra to Greens, evoked the slight yet seismic forces -- and urban perils -- that shape male-female relationships.
It might be difficult to understand why the main character in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird willingly subjects himself to vilification, but an actor who portrays Atticus Finch must also contend with the unsettling realization that he inhabits a role that earned Gregory Peck an Oscar in the 1962 film version. Happily, Paul Borrillo's turn in the Arvada Center's sold-out production radiated with conviction, charisma and, most of all, abiding self-respect. Whether he was dealing with his children's day-to-day crises, the community's brewing concerns or the legal system's intricate workings, the local stalwart endowed each scene with an empathy that humanized his character's professorial musings. And rather than transform Atticus's famous closing argument into a fiery lecture, Borrillo delivered a heartfelt appeal to common decency, giving full expression to a form of human goodness that Abraham Lincoln referred to as "the better angels of our nature."
It might be difficult to understand why the main character in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird willingly subjects himself to vilification, but an actor who portrays Atticus Finch must also contend with the unsettling realization that he inhabits a role that earned Gregory Peck an Oscar in the 1962 film version. Happily, Paul Borrillo's turn in the Arvada Center's sold-out production radiated with conviction, charisma and, most of all, abiding self-respect. Whether he was dealing with his children's day-to-day crises, the community's brewing concerns or the legal system's intricate workings, the local stalwart endowed each scene with an empathy that humanized his character's professorial musings. And rather than transform Atticus's famous closing argument into a fiery lecture, Borrillo delivered a heartfelt appeal to common decency, giving full expression to a form of human goodness that Abraham Lincoln referred to as "the better angels of our nature."
Sara Smith is that rare teenage performer whose precocious nature charms even as her performer's maturity refreshes. The gifted actress, who earlier this year enchanted Arvada Center theatergoers with her brave turn as Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird, exuded girlish curiosity and upright determination while starring as Mary Lennox in the Town Hall Arts Center's production of The Secret Garden. Wisely stopping short of pushing the melodramatic limits of either role, Smith responded to each new revelation -- and each subsequent dilemma -- as though it were a necessary, though ill-fitting, piece in life's jigsaw puzzle, conveying a young girl's dreams and complexities without a shred of petulance or angst.
Sara Smith is that rare teenage performer whose precocious nature charms even as her performer's maturity refreshes. The gifted actress, who earlier this year enchanted Arvada Center theatergoers with her brave turn as Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird, exuded girlish curiosity and upright determination while starring as Mary Lennox in the Town Hall Arts Center's production of The Secret Garden. Wisely stopping short of pushing the melodramatic limits of either role, Smith responded to each new revelation -- and each subsequent dilemma -- as though it were a necessary, though ill-fitting, piece in life's jigsaw puzzle, conveying a young girl's dreams and complexities without a shred of petulance or angst.
Seven months after his father suffered a stroke, Arthur Kopit tried to understand his dad's altered state by penning a series of surreal episodes that revolve around a former aviatrix's post-stroke experiences. Propelled by Terry Dodd's masterful direction, Martha Greenberg's superb portrayal proved a moving account of one woman's struggle to find her place in a strange, yet achingly familiar, world. Whether she was trying to comprehend the non sequiturs barked out by hospital aides or piecing out her own imperfections during the gratifying final scene, Greenberg maintained an iron grip on the ancient navigator's bedeviled wonderment. Backed by Charles Dean Packard's eerie lighting design and El Armstrong's unobtrusive sound effects, Greenberg's performance allowed Kopit's play to soar.
Seven months after his father suffered a stroke, Arthur Kopit tried to understand his dad's altered state by penning a series of surreal episodes that revolve around a former aviatrix's post-stroke experiences. Propelled by Terry Dodd's masterful direction, Martha Greenberg's superb portrayal proved a moving account of one woman's struggle to find her place in a strange, yet achingly familiar, world. Whether she was trying to comprehend the non sequiturs barked out by hospital aides or piecing out her own imperfections during the gratifying final scene, Greenberg maintained an iron grip on the ancient navigator's bedeviled wonderment. Backed by Charles Dean Packard's eerie lighting design and El Armstrong's unobtrusive sound effects, Greenberg's performance allowed Kopit's play to soar.
Paul Page's seemingly native ability to shoot down highfalutin ideas with a gliding, three-note "Yah" contributed to his ingratiating portrait of an armchair-philosophizing fisherman in the Aurora Fox Theatre Company's production of The Ice-Fishing Play. He conferred an easy complexity on native Minnesotan Kevin Kling's look at the intimate lives of sportsmen, at the same time touching upon every man's fear that emotional closeness invariably results in a loss of independence. Page also jerked a few tears when he related a tale that was as profound as a haunting boreal glow radiating beneath an evening squall. And regarding his attempts to remain authentic in speech and behavior, a true Minnesotan would probably say, "Oh, you betcha!"
Paul Page's seemingly native ability to shoot down highfalutin ideas with a gliding, three-note "Yah" contributed to his ingratiating portrait of an armchair-philosophizing fisherman in the Aurora Fox Theatre Company's production of The Ice-Fishing Play. He conferred an easy complexity on native Minnesotan Kevin Kling's look at the intimate lives of sportsmen, at the same time touching upon every man's fear that emotional closeness invariably results in a loss of independence. Page also jerked a few tears when he related a tale that was as profound as a haunting boreal glow radiating beneath an evening squall. And regarding his attempts to remain authentic in speech and behavior, a true Minnesotan would probably say, "Oh, you betcha!"
While director Ed Baierlein's Noh-theater-style approach initially took some getting used to, Germinal Stage Denver's production of Suddenly Last Summer proved that Tennessee Williams's powers of suggestion are surprisingly compatible with ancient Japanese drama. In keeping with Noh tradition, GSD's entire production was performed on a raised, square platform made of simulated polished cypress wood. Despite the fact that mastering the art of Noh performance requires years of training and a lifetime of experience, Baierlein elicited mesmerizing performances from the cohesive ensemble. Clad in costumer Sallie Diamond's tasteful creations, the actors properly conjured feeling rather than describing it to death, inspiring the staunchest Williams purist to think about vocalizing a Southern-style "Om."
While director Ed Baierlein's Noh-theater-style approach initially took some getting used to, Germinal Stage Denver's production of Suddenly Last Summer proved that Tennessee Williams's powers of suggestion are surprisingly compatible with ancient Japanese drama. In keeping with Noh tradition, GSD's entire production was performed on a raised, square platform made of simulated polished cypress wood. Despite the fact that mastering the art of Noh performance requires years of training and a lifetime of experience, Baierlein elicited mesmerizing performances from the cohesive ensemble. Clad in costumer Sallie Diamond's tasteful creations, the actors properly conjured feeling rather than describing it to death, inspiring the staunchest Williams purist to think about vocalizing a Southern-style "Om."
The Mayan, a repeat winner in the traditional-theater category, remains hard to beat: Built in 1930 and saved from the wrecking ball in 1986, Landmark's charming three-screen art house is a vision of architectural whimsy that stands out in a cookie-cutter world. Between the carved stucco warriors gazing down on you from the rafters and the downtown hipsters in the orchestra seats, the place is a trip. Don't forget the cult-oriented midnight shows on Friday and Saturday nights -- everything from Hong Kong chop-socky to John Waters camp to Japanese anime.
The Mayan, a repeat winner in the traditional-theater category, remains hard to beat: Built in 1930 and saved from the wrecking ball in 1986, Landmark's charming three-screen art house is a vision of architectural whimsy that stands out in a cookie-cutter world. Between the carved stucco warriors gazing down on you from the rafters and the downtown hipsters in the orchestra seats, the place is a trip. Don't forget the cult-oriented midnight shows on Friday and Saturday nights -- everything from Hong Kong chop-socky to John Waters camp to Japanese anime.
Smarmy reductionists have accused playwright Martin McDonagh of lacking heart, exploiting cheap theatrics and failing to justify his characters' behavior. However, like the works of such master language architects as Anton Chekhov, Harold Pinter and even Irish expatriate Samuel Beckett, McDonagh's creations attain full flower only when nurtured by a seasoned director's artful touch. As expertly deciphered by the Denver Center Theatre Company's first-rate cast, McDonagh's The Beauty Queen of Leenane evolved into a vibrant portrait of contemporary Irish mores. By looking beyond obvious horizons, director Anthony Powell and company kindled feeling without lapsing into sentiment, startled the intellect without cudgeling the mind -- and helped to explain why the upstart McDonagh has reawakened dramatic imaginations on both sides of the Atlantic.
Smarmy reductionists have accused playwright Martin McDonagh of lacking heart, exploiting cheap theatrics and failing to justify his characters' behavior. However, like the works of such master language architects as Anton Chekhov, Harold Pinter and even Irish expatriate Samuel Beckett, McDonagh's creations attain full flower only when nurtured by a seasoned director's artful touch. As expertly deciphered by the Denver Center Theatre Company's first-rate cast, McDonagh's The Beauty Queen of Leenane evolved into a vibrant portrait of contemporary Irish mores. By looking beyond obvious horizons, director Anthony Powell and company kindled feeling without lapsing into sentiment, startled the intellect without cudgeling the mind -- and helped to explain why the upstart McDonagh has reawakened dramatic imaginations on both sides of the Atlantic.
Best (theatrically speaking) political farce
Nixon's Nixon
While Russell Lees's imagined conversation between Richard Nixon and his secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, might have seemed like ancient history to the younger set, the Aurora Fox's production resonated with older viewers who, having been subjected to Tricky Dick's endless television appearances, learned to think of his sweaty upper lip as the equivalent of Pinocchio's growing nose. Duane Black's Nixon and Gregory Price's Kissinger riotously pointed up the dynamic between pygmy-warrior king and Machiavellian power-grubber while evoking decades-old feelings about being robbed of our trust in government by the man who kept insisting, "I am not a crook!" Luckily for Fox audience members, the only thing that got stolen during this enjoyable production was the halftime bathroom break -- a situation that prompted a few patrons to pop out of the theater whenever they got the urge. Evidently, director Bev Newcomb-Madden's well-staged regional premiere was vivid enough that some folks thought they were watching the country unravel once more on television.
Best (theatrically speaking) political farce
Nixon's Nixon
While Russell Lees's imagined conversation between Richard Nixon and his secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, might have seemed like ancient history to the younger set, the Aurora Fox's production resonated with older viewers who, having been subjected to Tricky Dick's endless television appearances, learned to think of his sweaty upper lip as the equivalent of Pinocchio's growing nose. Duane Black's Nixon and Gregory Price's Kissinger riotously pointed up the dynamic between pygmy-warrior king and Machiavellian power-grubber while evoking decades-old feelings about being robbed of our trust in government by the man who kept insisting, "I am not a crook!" Luckily for Fox audience members, the only thing that got stolen during this enjoyable production was the halftime bathroom break -- a situation that prompted a few patrons to pop out of the theater whenever they got the urge. Evidently, director Bev Newcomb-Madden's well-staged regional premiere was vivid enough that some folks thought they were watching the country unravel once more on television.
Best androgynous turn
Brian Houtz in The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me
Even though Larry Kramer is a pugnacious sort who regularly vilifies newspaper editors and intimidates talk-show hosts, his brand of political crusading is ultimately a compassionate one. At least that's the effect his polemic had on actor Brian Houtz, who played all of the characters in the Theatre Group's production of The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me. Helped in no small measure by director Nicholas Sugar's astute guidance, Houtz performed David Drake's one-man show as if it were a forthright conversation with a good friend. He also became more androgynous as the show progressed, speaking for an entire generation of men and women who have never known a world without AIDS and are struggling, somehow, to claim their place in it. Which, all things considered, was the greatest tribute that Houtz and Sugar could pay to Kramer's persistent head-banging.
Best androgynous turn
Brian Houtz in The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me
Even though Larry Kramer is a pugnacious sort who regularly vilifies newspaper editors and intimidates talk-show hosts, his brand of political crusading is ultimately a compassionate one. At least that's the effect his polemic had on actor Brian Houtz, who played all of the characters in the Theatre Group's production of The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me. Helped in no small measure by director Nicholas Sugar's astute guidance, Houtz performed David Drake's one-man show as if it were a forthright conversation with a good friend. He also became more androgynous as the show progressed, speaking for an entire generation of men and women who have never known a world without AIDS and are struggling, somehow, to claim their place in it. Which, all things considered, was the greatest tribute that Houtz and Sugar could pay to Kramer's persistent head-banging.
Like the rotting entrails of the butchered animal that someone dumps in the backyard, a Queens family's darkest secrets ooze with stultifying frankness in Pig. But while Tammy Ryan's unflinching drama shines a harsh light on domestic discord, Tracer Productions' close-quarters approach gave artful restraint to the sometimes-gruesome goings-on. That's mostly because Raymond Fernandez's stark setting transformed the now-defunct Shop Theatre into an urban pressure cooker brimming with fear, love and failure. And Christopher Leo's largely hands-off direction imbued the action with intensity without turning the play into a Chekhovian shouting match. Led by a swaggering James Ryan, who summoned an impressive range of emotions as the clan's embittered patriarch, the top-notch performers spoke to the power of parental caprice to make itself felt for generations.
Like the rotting entrails of the butchered animal that someone dumps in the backyard, a Queens family's darkest secrets ooze with stultifying frankness in Pig. But while Tammy Ryan's unflinching drama shines a harsh light on domestic discord, Tracer Productions' close-quarters approach gave artful restraint to the sometimes-gruesome goings-on. That's mostly because Raymond Fernandez's stark setting transformed the now-defunct Shop Theatre into an urban pressure cooker brimming with fear, love and failure. And Christopher Leo's largely hands-off direction imbued the action with intensity without turning the play into a Chekhovian shouting match. Led by a swaggering James Ryan, who summoned an impressive range of emotions as the clan's embittered patriarch, the top-notch performers spoke to the power of parental caprice to make itself felt for generations.
The thunderous applause that typically greets a successful Broadway opening could hardly compare to the joyful noise made by children clapping in anticipation of Babe, the Sheep-Pig. And once the Arvada Center's production began, the peals of delight that filled the auditorium served as further indicators that a well-mounted children's show can stimulate the imagination even better than the Great White Way's techno-musical creations. In addition to a bevy of performances that blended old-fashioned sentiment with off-the-wall wit, Jane Shafer's fanciful costumes, Gail Gober's rich lighting effects and Crow Productions' colorful pastel setting augmented David Wood's work. Nicely seasoned by director Christopher Willard's sure hand, the kindhearted effort made one wish for an even steadier diet of children's fare.
The thunderous applause that typically greets a successful Broadway opening could hardly compare to the joyful noise made by children clapping in anticipation of Babe, the Sheep-Pig. And once the Arvada Center's production began, the peals of delight that filled the auditorium served as further indicators that a well-mounted children's show can stimulate the imagination even better than the Great White Way's techno-musical creations. In addition to a bevy of performances that blended old-fashioned sentiment with off-the-wall wit, Jane Shafer's fanciful costumes, Gail Gober's rich lighting effects and Crow Productions' colorful pastel setting augmented David Wood's work. Nicely seasoned by director Christopher Willard's sure hand, the kindhearted effort made one wish for an even steadier diet of children's fare.
The committee that awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize for literature cited John Steinbeck for his "sympathetic humor and sociological perception." While the Morrison Theatre Company's "Of Mice and Men" didn't always glisten with professional luster, director Alan Osburn nonetheless evoked Steinbeck's paean to companionship by encouraging portrayals that were as down-to-earth as a Frederic Remington painting. Thanks to the symbiotic bond that developed between Michael Wilson's George and Rick Bernstein's Lennie, the company's plainspoken ode to friendship resonated with two-fisted -- and quintessentially American -- candor.
The committee that awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize for literature cited John Steinbeck for his "sympathetic humor and sociological perception." While the Morrison Theatre Company's "Of Mice and Men" didn't always glisten with professional luster, director Alan Osburn nonetheless evoked Steinbeck's paean to companionship by encouraging portrayals that were as down-to-earth as a Frederic Remington painting. Thanks to the symbiotic bond that developed between Michael Wilson's George and Rick Bernstein's Lennie, the company's plainspoken ode to friendship resonated with two-fisted -- and quintessentially American -- candor.
Best environmental/experimental production
Picasso at the Lapin Agile
Smaller in scope and more conversational in tone than most mainstage versions, the Avenue Theatre's production of Steve Martin's Picasso at the Lapin Agile was nearly as amusing and, at times, more affecting. More than anything else, though, director John Ashton's environmental show, which was presented in a vacant bar/restaurant space (the former Mike Berardi's), personalized the comedian/movie star's debate about art and science by eliminating most of the barriers that typically separate artist from audience. On the strength of Joan and Nick Cimyotte's handsome setting, Charles Dean Packard's moody lighting scheme and some clever special effects, the site-specific version hardly resembled an intellectual exercise. And even though they weren't Stoppardian ideologues, the performers' earthy portraits proved the pièce de résistance in Ashton's intimate, if not always immaculate, conception.
Best environmental/experimental production
Picasso at the Lapin Agile
Smaller in scope and more conversational in tone than most mainstage versions, the Avenue Theatre's production of Steve Martin's Picasso at the Lapin Agile was nearly as amusing and, at times, more affecting. More than anything else, though, director John Ashton's environmental show, which was presented in a vacant bar/restaurant space (the former Mike Berardi's), personalized the comedian/movie star's debate about art and science by eliminating most of the barriers that typically separate artist from audience. On the strength of Joan and Nick Cimyotte's handsome setting, Charles Dean Packard's moody lighting scheme and some clever special effects, the site-specific version hardly resembled an intellectual exercise. And even though they weren't Stoppardian ideologues, the performers' earthy portraits proved the pièce de résistance in Ashton's intimate, if not always immaculate, conception.
The sometimes bloody sit-ins that took place at "whites only" lunch counters throughout the South inspired dramatist S.M. Shephard-Massat to write Waiting to Be Invited, a tale of four unlikely heroes who put the Supreme Court's anti-segregationist rulings into practice. Largely conversational in tone, yet naggingly urgent in feel, the Denver Center Theatre Company's world-premiere production demonstrated that the everyday actions of ordinary folk are just as crucial to the fight for social justice as the vaunted declarations of philosophers, clerics and statesmen. And even though the play didn't culminate in a gripping, over-the-lunch-counter confrontation, Shephard-Massat emphatically made the point that standing up for equal rights means being willing to risk physical harm for the sake of mere belief. As DCTC patrons discovered nightly, that's an idea worth standing up for and cheering about.
The sometimes bloody sit-ins that took place at "whites only" lunch counters throughout the South inspired dramatist S.M. Shephard-Massat to write Waiting to Be Invited, a tale of four unlikely heroes who put the Supreme Court's anti-segregationist rulings into practice. Largely conversational in tone, yet naggingly urgent in feel, the Denver Center Theatre Company's world-premiere production demonstrated that the everyday actions of ordinary folk are just as crucial to the fight for social justice as the vaunted declarations of philosophers, clerics and statesmen. And even though the play didn't culminate in a gripping, over-the-lunch-counter confrontation, Shephard-Massat emphatically made the point that standing up for equal rights means being willing to risk physical harm for the sake of mere belief. As DCTC patrons discovered nightly, that's an idea worth standing up for and cheering about.
From the moment she strode through the red-curtained archway of Diana Vreeland's Manhattan residence, Deborah Persoff exuded an ebullience that one typically senses only from established performers appearing in test-marketed star vehicles. Suffused with a regal pride that verged on but never became haughtiness, Persoff cut a commanding figure in Full Gallop while spouting the legendary Vogue editor's slew of pithy fashion statements. Despite the inherent weaknesses in Mark Hampton and Mary Louise Wilson's script, or perhaps because of them, Persoff and director Chip Walton complemented each other's strengths to offer up an engaging evening of style, whimsy and steely sophistication. And as Persoff moved about the stage with near-balletic flair, it became clear that her mother's belief that Diana lacked natural beauty was, on the whole, a monumentally superficial observation.
From the moment she strode through the red-curtained archway of Diana Vreeland's Manhattan residence, Deborah Persoff exuded an ebullience that one typically senses only from established performers appearing in test-marketed star vehicles. Suffused with a regal pride that verged on but never became haughtiness, Persoff cut a commanding figure in Full Gallop while spouting the legendary Vogue editor's slew of pithy fashion statements. Despite the inherent weaknesses in Mark Hampton and Mary Louise Wilson's script, or perhaps because of them, Persoff and director Chip Walton complemented each other's strengths to offer up an engaging evening of style, whimsy and steely sophistication. And as Persoff moved about the stage with near-balletic flair, it became clear that her mother's belief that Diana lacked natural beauty was, on the whole, a monumentally superficial observation.
Acutely aware that Praying for Rain's probing look at the root causes of youth violence would awaken post-Columbine feelings, Curious Theatre Company artistic director Chip Walton went ahead with plans to give Colorado native Robert Louis Vaughan's drama its world premiere in Denver. Though the play didn't scale the artistic heights to which it aspired, Walton's astute approach proved paramount. And the dynamic director masterfully ennobled the prickly observations that permeated last fall's Full Gallop, a smartly staged examination of the heyday of modern style and its precipitous decline.
Acutely aware that Praying for Rain's probing look at the root causes of youth violence would awaken post-Columbine feelings, Curious Theatre Company artistic director Chip Walton went ahead with plans to give Colorado native Robert Louis Vaughan's drama its world premiere in Denver. Though the play didn't scale the artistic heights to which it aspired, Walton's astute approach proved paramount. And the dynamic director masterfully ennobled the prickly observations that permeated last fall's Full Gallop, a smartly staged examination of the heyday of modern style and its precipitous decline.
Audiences at last October's Denver International Film Festival were tremendously moved by the work of Polish director Dorota Kedzierzawska, particularly by Nic (Nothing), an intense, visually fluent drama about children trying to cope with the thoughtless cruelty of their elders. The festival honored Kedzierzawska with a special tribute, and she captivated her listeners with behind-the-camera stories about making films in Poland and working with the extraordinary children who inhabit her world.
Audiences at last October's Denver International Film Festival were tremendously moved by the work of Polish director Dorota Kedzierzawska, particularly by Nic (Nothing), an intense, visually fluent drama about children trying to cope with the thoughtless cruelty of their elders. The festival honored Kedzierzawska with a special tribute, and she captivated her listeners with behind-the-camera stories about making films in Poland and working with the extraordinary children who inhabit her world.
In an age when musical blockbusters are marked by star-studded casts, syrupy story lines and truckloads of scenery, Kurt Weill's Street Scene seems destined to remain mothballed under layers of critical and scholarly acclaim. But on the strength of director Michael Ehrman's character-driven approach, a jazzy score and an exquisite set, the Central City Opera's production breathed vibrant life into Weill's 1947 Broadway show. And even though there aren't any Pepsodent-smile kick-line numbers in the eclectic score, the story's shifting tides of passion were given full expression by the comings and goings of a 35-member ensemble, evoking the allure and magic of old Broadway without using a simulated natural disaster or a slew of puppets.
In an age when musical blockbusters are marked by star-studded casts, syrupy story lines and truckloads of scenery, Kurt Weill's Street Scene seems destined to remain mothballed under layers of critical and scholarly acclaim. But on the strength of director Michael Ehrman's character-driven approach, a jazzy score and an exquisite set, the Central City Opera's production breathed vibrant life into Weill's 1947 Broadway show. And even though there aren't any Pepsodent-smile kick-line numbers in the eclectic score, the story's shifting tides of passion were given full expression by the comings and goings of a 35-member ensemble, evoking the allure and magic of old Broadway without using a simulated natural disaster or a slew of puppets.
Best supporting actor
John Hutton, Denver Center Theatre Company
Following a season in which he played a series of demanding leading roles, John Hutton took a backseat to his fellow Denver Center Theatre Company actors and, in the process, introduced audiences to his performing persona's seldom-seen byways. The lanky leading man rendered an authoritative portrait of a browbeaten bliss juggler in the world premiere of A Hotel on Marvin Gardens, and although The Winter's Tale provided him with precious few scenes in which to project Leontes's tragic depths, Hutton perfectly captured the "diseased mind" of a character often referred to by critics as an Othello who is his own Iago. In Side Man, he veered through the part of a trombone-playing heroin addict with cooler-than-hep fluidity. As Hutton himself has often done in the past, his multifaceted creations intrigued without casting a harsh glare on peripheral concerns.
Best supporting actor
John Hutton, Denver Center Theatre Company
Following a season in which he played a series of demanding leading roles, John Hutton took a backseat to his fellow Denver Center Theatre Company actors and, in the process, introduced audiences to his performing persona's seldom-seen byways. The lanky leading man rendered an authoritative portrait of a browbeaten bliss juggler in the world premiere of A Hotel on Marvin Gardens, and although The Winter's Tale provided him with precious few scenes in which to project Leontes's tragic depths, Hutton perfectly captured the "diseased mind" of a character often referred to by critics as an Othello who is his own Iago. In Side Man, he veered through the part of a trombone-playing heroin addict with cooler-than-hep fluidity. As Hutton himself has often done in the past, his multifaceted creations intrigued without casting a harsh glare on peripheral concerns.
For the past several seasons, Mercedes Perez has deftly portrayed supporting parts while maintaining each role's proper place in a play's grand scheme, showing her ability to be an artful team player in a business that increasingly
values novelty over craft. And this past year saw her unique talents showcased as never before. She lit up the stage as Anita in the Arvada Center's exuberant production of West Side Story and was a divine presence as a thrice-appearing choric figure that replaced the stodgy role of Father Time in the Denver Center's lavish Winter's Tale. Although she's since relocated to Aspen (where her husband is the new artistic director of Theatre-in-the-Park), Perez will, we hope, migrate periodically from the land of pointy-headed stars to play an even more supportive role in Denver's burgeoning professional scene.
It's one thing to give a sentimental nod to an esteemed veteran who for nearly fifty years has earned his living as an actor while instructing generations of up-and-comers. More than a first-rate performer and teacher, however, Tony Church consistently tries to embrace each new role as an opportunity to further his command of the craft. And throughout his nine years with the Denver Center Theatre Company, he's triumphed in
that pursuit. This past season, the former Royal Shakespearean lent insight to the role of Camillo in The Winter's Tale and delightfully ambled through the part of Johnnypateenmike in The Cripple of Inishmaan. But it was his tour de force in Give 'em a Bit of Mystery: Shakespeare and the Old Tradition that epitomized his uncanny ability to forge new magic out of old. The one-man show reawakened the ghosts of Shakespearean acting while fixing Church's place in a proud tradition of consummate -- and always gracious -- skill.
It's one thing to give a sentimental nod to an esteemed veteran who for nearly fifty years has earned his living as an actor while instructing generations of up-and-comers. More than a first-rate performer and teacher, however, Tony Church consistently tries to embrace each new role as an opportunity to further his command of the craft. And throughout his nine years with the Denver Center Theatre Company, he's triumphed in
that pursuit. This past season, the former Royal Shakespearean lent insight to the role of Camillo in The Winter's Tale and delightfully ambled through the part of Johnnypateenmike in The Cripple of Inishmaan. But it was his tour de force in Give 'em a Bit of Mystery: Shakespeare and the Old Tradition that epitomized his uncanny ability to forge new magic out of old. The one-man show reawakened the ghosts of Shakespearean acting while fixing Church's place in a proud tradition of consummate -- and always gracious -- skill.
Although the character of Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is typically portrayed as a menopausal beast, newcomer Sheila Ivy Traister took a different tack that, within the context of Shadow Theatre Company's contemporary setting, proved just as valid. Filled with verbal buoys signaling undercurrents of antipathy, Traister offered up a remarkable interpretation that colored the multiracial production with a thick tincture of '90s commentary. She also summoned the unspeakable bitterness of a self-centered loner out to destroy anything that eludes her grasp. And her stylish performance in the Theatre Group's The Blue Room bestowed similar virtuosity on playwright David Hare's study of modern-day sexual ruins. Playing everything from a slinky girl who just wants to have fun to a duplicitous matron with refined political instincts, Traister shed a few inhibitions (along with her clothes) while making each character's intimate musings seem as natural and unforced as breezy pillow talk.
Although the character of Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is typically portrayed as a menopausal beast, newcomer Sheila Ivy Traister took a different tack that, within the context of Shadow Theatre Company's contemporary setting, proved just as valid. Filled with verbal buoys signaling undercurrents of antipathy, Traister offered up a remarkable interpretation that colored the multiracial production with a thick tincture of '90s commentary. She also summoned the unspeakable bitterness of a self-centered loner out to destroy anything that eludes her grasp. And her stylish performance in the Theatre Group's The Blue Room bestowed similar virtuosity on playwright David Hare's study of modern-day sexual ruins. Playing everything from a slinky girl who just wants to have fun to a duplicitous matron with refined political instincts, Traister shed a few inhibitions (along with her clothes) while making each character's intimate musings seem as natural and unforced as breezy pillow talk.
Best local theater company season
Aurora Fox Theatre Company
Whether professional or amateur, mainstream-minded or avant-garde, a theater company rises or falls on its willingness to reconcile commercial interests with artistic demands. And while engaging a pail of local Equity actors would normally be considered a financial risk for smaller theater companies, that's exactly what the Aurora Fox Theatre Company did for its final show of the season. That calculated -- and laudable -- gamble capped a successful string of highly entertaining, modestly professional efforts. From the hauntingly poetical Wings to the zanily philosophical The Ice-Fishing Play to the bitingly satirical Nixon's Nixon, the publicly funded troupe discovered newfound potency by injecting itself, as well as its audiences, with a healthy dose of creative Viagra.
Readers' choice: Denver Center Theatre Company
Best local theater company season
Aurora Fox Theatre Company
Whether professional or amateur, mainstream-minded or avant-garde, a theater company rises or falls on its willingness to reconcile commercial interests with artistic demands. And while engaging a pail of local Equity actors would normally be considered a financial risk for smaller theater companies, that's exactly what the Aurora Fox Theatre Company did for its final show of the season. That calculated -- and laudable -- gamble capped a successful string of highly entertaining, modestly professional efforts. From the hauntingly poetical Wings to the zanily philosophical The Ice-Fishing Play to the bitingly satirical Nixon's Nixon, the publicly funded troupe discovered newfound potency by injecting itself, as well as its audiences, with a healthy dose of creative Viagra.
Readers' choice: Denver Center Theatre Company
Marilyn Megenity's eclectic and artful restaurant and nightclub is an unofficial home to many of the city's social and professional dancers. Nearly every night of the week, you can catch a class and/or performance from someone who's more than willing to swivel her belly, hop the lindy or swing all over the Merc's wooden floor. But more than any of the club's other weekly offerings, the Friday-night Tango events have begun to make the café's mercury rise. The sultry Argentinian dance is gaining in popularity what it may lack in accessibility: Dancers say it takes years of careful practice to perfect even the most basic tricks of the tango trade. Which means the Mercury staff and curious observers can count on seeing the same saucy customers sauntering around the floor in their high heels week after week.
Marilyn Megenity's eclectic and artful restaurant and nightclub is an unofficial home to many of the city's social and professional dancers. Nearly every night of the week, you can catch a class and/or performance from someone who's more than willing to swivel her belly, hop the lindy or swing all over the Merc's wooden floor. But more than any of the club's other weekly offerings, the Friday-night Tango events have begun to make the café's mercury rise. The sultry Argentinian dance is gaining in popularity what it may lack in accessibility: Dancers say it takes years of careful practice to perfect even the most basic tricks of the tango trade. Which means the Mercury staff and curious observers can count on seeing the same saucy customers sauntering around the floor in their high heels week after week.
The heat may finally be rising off the Latin Explosion ushered in by folks like Ricky Martin, but the vida is still plenty loca at Sevilla. Folks on their way to LoDo discos or Rockies games might overlook the swanky spot near the Icehouse, but those inside aren't likely to care: They're too busy shaking their hips and rib cages in time to accelerated Latin-style percussion or checking out the hot couture of the bar's spicy clientele. Though Sevilla is beginning to incorporate techno and house music into its weekly schedule, live -- as well as deejayed -- Latin styles still dominate the club calendar. Which gives us all plenty of reason to say !olé!
Readers' choice: Sevilla
The heat may finally be rising off the Latin Explosion ushered in by folks like Ricky Martin, but the vida is still plenty loca at Sevilla. Folks on their way to LoDo discos or Rockies games might overlook the swanky spot near the Icehouse, but those inside aren't likely to care: They're too busy shaking their hips and rib cages in time to accelerated Latin-style percussion or checking out the hot couture of the bar's spicy clientele. Though Sevilla is beginning to incorporate techno and house music into its weekly schedule, live -- as well as deejayed -- Latin styles still dominate the club calendar. Which gives us all plenty of reason to say !olé!
Readers' choice: Sevilla
This Golden cowboy bar -- which served morning drafts to Coors workers in a past life -- now serves country-and-Western culture to audiences every night of the week. Thankfully, it's the blue-collar working-class type, not the slick sort enjoyed by most wearers of the house's namesake hat. Granted, weekend acts here are more likely to play Garth and Shania than Waylon and Willie, but the spacious setting, time-worn atmosphere and cheap drafts tilt the scales in Stetson's direction.
Readers' choice: Stampede
This Golden cowboy bar -- which served morning drafts to Coors workers in a past life -- now serves country-and-Western culture to audiences every night of the week. Thankfully, it's the blue-collar working-class type, not the slick sort enjoyed by most wearers of the house's namesake hat. Granted, weekend acts here are more likely to play Garth and Shania than Waylon and Willie, but the spacious setting, time-worn atmosphere and cheap drafts tilt the scales in Stetson's direction.
Readers' choice: Stampede
It's sometimes difficult to see the stage at the 15th Street Tavern, a teeny club on the semi-seedy side of LoDo, especially if you've made the mistake of showing up late on a Saturday night when the faithful crowd the floor and a thirsty, critical mass wraps three-deep around the curved bar. From a sight-line perspective, promoter Scott Campbell's knack for bringing in raucous, rugged and righteous touring and local acts is a complication; from a musical one, however, it's a gift. The Tavern ain't pretty -- expect some coagulated goo on the floor and an aroma reminiscent of the smoking lounge at the Vegas airport. Instead, the club's beauty lies in the fact that it provides a chance to see up-and-coming bands like the Forty-Fives, the Streetwalkin' Cheetahs and Sweep the Leg Johnny in an intimate setting, usually for under ten bucks. Cheap drinks (made even cheaper by checking the ever-revolving code phrase posted weekly on www.15thstreettavern.com) sweeten the deal. Though it's not recommended for the meek, the Tavern is the kind of place that reminds us of rock and roll's gritty power. Just don't forget your earplugs.
Readers' choice: Herman's Hideaway
It's sometimes difficult to see the stage at the 15th Street Tavern, a teeny club on the semi-seedy side of LoDo, especially if you've made the mistake of showing up late on a Saturday night when the faithful crowd the floor and a thirsty, critical mass wraps three-deep around the curved bar. From a sight-line perspective, promoter Scott Campbell's knack for bringing in raucous, rugged and righteous touring and local acts is a complication; from a musical one, however, it's a gift. The Tavern ain't pretty -- expect some coagulated goo on the floor and an aroma reminiscent of the smoking lounge at the Vegas airport. Instead, the club's beauty lies in the fact that it provides a chance to see up-and-coming bands like the Forty-Fives, the Streetwalkin' Cheetahs and Sweep the Leg Johnny in an intimate setting, usually for under ten bucks. Cheap drinks (made even cheaper by checking the ever-revolving code phrase posted weekly on www.15thstreettavern.com) sweeten the deal. Though it's not recommended for the meek, the Tavern is the kind of place that reminds us of rock and roll's gritty power. Just don't forget your earplugs.
Readers' choice: Herman's Hideaway
Best Denver film festival sleeper
Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald, Japan
Writer/director Koti Mitani's Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald was the most unexpected sort of Japanese film imaginable: Inspired by classic Hollywood comedies like those of Preston Sturges, Mitani's madcap farce is set initially in a Tokyo radio station, where a housewife's prize-winning melodrama is about to be performed on the air. But when the leading lady suddenly insists on changing the name of her character, she sets into motion a series of improvisations, minor catastrophes and major disasters that turn the original script into an unrecognizable action-adventure.
Best Denver film festival sleeper
Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald, Japan
Writer/director Koti Mitani's Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald was the most unexpected sort of Japanese film imaginable: Inspired by classic Hollywood comedies like those of Preston Sturges, Mitani's madcap farce is set initially in a Tokyo radio station, where a housewife's prize-winning melodrama is about to be performed on the air. But when the leading lady suddenly insists on changing the name of her character, she sets into motion a series of improvisations, minor catastrophes and major disasters that turn the original script into an unrecognizable action-adventure.
Co-promoters Mike Jerk (of Boulder-based Soda Jerk Records) and Jason Cotter (of the local outfit the Family Men) have recently put more muscle into their efforts to make the Raven fly. They've implemented regular all-ages nights and begun hosting live music throughout the week, not just on weekends. The stepped-up campaign only enhances the already quality fare that local punk fans have come to expect of the club. Basically an open room that looks like an abandoned Mexican restaurant, the Raven seems to personify some of the tenets of punk philosophy: no frills, no excess, just good music, played loud. Quote us, Raven: We want more.
Readers' choice: The Raven
Co-promoters Mike Jerk (of Boulder-based Soda Jerk Records) and Jason Cotter (of the local outfit the Family Men) have recently put more muscle into their efforts to make the Raven fly. They've implemented regular all-ages nights and begun hosting live music throughout the week, not just on weekends. The stepped-up campaign only enhances the already quality fare that local punk fans have come to expect of the club. Basically an open room that looks like an abandoned Mexican restaurant, the Raven seems to personify some of the tenets of punk philosophy: no frills, no excess, just good music, played loud. Quote us, Raven: We want more.
Readers' choice: The Raven
During a crowded punk rock show last spring, deep inside the 15th Street Tavern, a bassist for Hemi Cuda shot a sudden I-can't-hear-myself glare toward the sound guy. The sound guy, in turn, leaned over to the toe-tapping, head-bobbing man standing next to him, Denver police officer Steve Gonzales. What happened next could be considered a peace offering in the long-troubled history of punker-copper relations: After receiving his directions, Gonzales scurried up on stage, studied the knobs on the bass amplifier, pinched the volume knob, and turned it up. "He's a really cool guy," says Tavern manager Scott Campbell of his blues-playing crowd-control cop. "All the Tavern employees dig him." As do bass players and patrons.
During a crowded punk rock show last spring, deep inside the 15th Street Tavern, a bassist for Hemi Cuda shot a sudden I-can't-hear-myself glare toward the sound guy. The sound guy, in turn, leaned over to the toe-tapping, head-bobbing man standing next to him, Denver police officer Steve Gonzales. What happened next could be considered a peace offering in the long-troubled history of punker-copper relations: After receiving his directions, Gonzales scurried up on stage, studied the knobs on the bass amplifier, pinched the volume knob, and turned it up. "He's a really cool guy," says Tavern manager Scott Campbell of his blues-playing crowd-control cop. "All the Tavern employees dig him." As do bass players and patrons.
Named after an intoxicating plant that induces a feeling of relaxation and euphoria, Soma boasts an aphrodisiacal atmosphere that has steadily made it one of the most innovative clubs in the state -- and the nation. Brothers Hardy and Lucas Kalisher have made a regular habit of bringing national and international talent into the Boulder den; in the past year, dance-world superstar DJs such as LTJ Bukem, Mark Farina and Alec Gopher have all graced the turntables of the posh and intimate club. This brotherly pair is doing its best to dance all over the area's cowtown reputation -- and succeeding blissfully.
Readers' choice: The Church
Named after an intoxicating plant that induces a feeling of relaxation and euphoria, Soma boasts an aphrodisiacal atmosphere that has steadily made it one of the most innovative clubs in the state -- and the nation. Brothers Hardy and Lucas Kalisher have made a regular habit of bringing national and international talent into the Boulder den; in the past year, dance-world superstar DJs such as LTJ Bukem, Mark Farina and Alec Gopher have all graced the turntables of the posh and intimate club. This brotherly pair is doing its best to dance all over the area's cowtown reputation -- and succeeding blissfully.
Readers' choice: The Church
The magic of El Chapultepec is hardly a secret. The small, smoky rectangle of a club has a long history of hosting both local and traveling jazz greats, and owner Jerry Krantz's involvement with and interest in Denver's lively jazz scene is well known. Over the past several years, the Pec's location in the heart of LoDo has pretty much served as a guarantee that the place will be jumpin' no matter what night of the week it is, even if the people clamoring for booths and bar space couldn't tell Thelonious Monk from Mickey Mouse. No matter: Even when relegated to the standing-room-only sections of the bar, a person would be hard-pressed not to feel the energy surging through the place. Whether it rises out of the consistently excellent duos, trios and quartets that grace the stage night after night or expresses itself in the lively exchanges that take place between the folks on the floor, it's there.
Readers' choice: El Chapultepec
The magic of El Chapultepec is hardly a secret. The small, smoky rectangle of a club has a long history of hosting both local and traveling jazz greats, and owner Jerry Krantz's involvement with and interest in Denver's lively jazz scene is well known. Over the past several years, the Pec's location in the heart of LoDo has pretty much served as a guarantee that the place will be jumpin' no matter what night of the week it is, even if the people clamoring for booths and bar space couldn't tell Thelonious Monk from Mickey Mouse. No matter: Even when relegated to the standing-room-only sections of the bar, a person would be hard-pressed not to feel the energy surging through the place. Whether it rises out of the consistently excellent duos, trios and quartets that grace the stage night after night or expresses itself in the lively exchanges that take place between the folks on the floor, it's there.
Readers' choice: El Chapultepec
There's a world going on underground at Brendan's Pub, Denver's subterranean home of the best in local and national touring blues musicians. The windowless, smoky space has the authentic charm of an out-of-the-way Chicago bar, and when the acts take the small corner stage, it's clear that what Brendan's lacks in adornment, it more than makes up for in consistently superlative musical performances. The food -- usually ordered directly from the cook through a little kitchen window -- ain't bad, either. Order up some fries and shoot a round of pool during soundcheck, then settle in for an evening of down-and-dirty sounds.
There's a world going on underground at Brendan's Pub, Denver's subterranean home of the best in local and national touring blues musicians. The windowless, smoky space has the authentic charm of an out-of-the-way Chicago bar, and when the acts take the small corner stage, it's clear that what Brendan's lacks in adornment, it more than makes up for in consistently superlative musical performances. The food -- usually ordered directly from the cook through a little kitchen window -- ain't bad, either. Order up some fries and shoot a round of pool during soundcheck, then settle in for an evening of down-and-dirty sounds.
Club Synergy continues to be the best place to stop after the bars close and your buzz hasn't worn off yet. DJs Amtrack, Quay, Foxx and Pepper keep the folks on the dance floor moving into the wee hours. A safe haven for Denver's insomnia-prone clubgoers.
Readers' choice: Amsterdam
Club Synergy continues to be the best place to stop after the bars close and your buzz hasn't worn off yet. DJs Amtrack, Quay, Foxx and Pepper keep the folks on the dance floor moving into the wee hours. A safe haven for Denver's insomnia-prone clubgoers.
Readers' choice: Amsterdam
Formerly the Blake Street Baseball Club and then the LoDo Music Hall, this location on the corner of 19th and Blake has suffered a bit of an identity crisis over the past few years. Luckily, the place has been reborn as a dazzling new club with an emphasis on DJ and dance music. With its new lighting and decor (the metallic dividers in the restrooms are futuristic and fun), a new sound system and multimedia toys like mounted video screens suspended in high corners, Bash is a welcome addition to the LoDo clubscape.
Readers' choice: Bash
Formerly the Blake Street Baseball Club and then the LoDo Music Hall, this location on the corner of 19th and Blake has suffered a bit of an identity crisis over the past few years. Luckily, the place has been reborn as a dazzling new club with an emphasis on DJ and dance music. With its new lighting and decor (the metallic dividers in the restrooms are futuristic and fun), a new sound system and multimedia toys like mounted video screens suspended in high corners, Bash is a welcome addition to the LoDo clubscape.
Readers' choice: Bash
Best disguise of a playground as a concert venue
Wonderground
Cindy Wonderful of Rainbow Sugar is the namesake behind this elusive new warehouse space on Denver's northwest side -- and she's one of the primary loony luminaries you're likely to see doing time in the kissing booth or smashing up the tiny computer modules that dot the Wonderground stage like orchestra floodlights. A breeding ground for both bizarre and bold works of underground music, Wonderground has hosted performances from local and touring acts that prefer a free-spirit performance environment to clubs and other venues that are likely to frown on, say, bandmembers stripping naked on stage. Like its prankster predecessor, Money Mania, Wonderground has become an asylum for sonic sycophants, burlesquian buskers and others heartset on making a musical mockery of themselves. There may not be any Cheshire cats roaming around, but it's a wonderland, all right.
Best disguise of a playground as a concert venue
Wonderground
Cindy Wonderful of Rainbow Sugar is the namesake behind this elusive new warehouse space on Denver's northwest side -- and she's one of the primary loony luminaries you're likely to see doing time in the kissing booth or smashing up the tiny computer modules that dot the Wonderground stage like orchestra floodlights. A breeding ground for both bizarre and bold works of underground music, Wonderground has hosted performances from local and touring acts that prefer a free-spirit performance environment to clubs and other venues that are likely to frown on, say, bandmembers stripping naked on stage. Like its prankster predecessor, Money Mania, Wonderground has become an asylum for sonic sycophants, burlesquian buskers and others heartset on making a musical mockery of themselves. There may not be any Cheshire cats roaming around, but it's a wonderland, all right.
Best way to kill time before a show at the Bluebird
PS Lounge
At first glance, you might not figure this smallish tavern as the place to glean some knowledge of U.S. history. But request a light from one of the friendly staff behind the parquet bar and -- voilà! -- you're presented with a matchbook biography of JFK, LBJ or even Herbert Hoover. Yet presidential trivia isn't the only thing to keep you busy while you wait for the box office at the Bluebird Theater -- located just across Colfax -- to open. This cash-only, no-tabs-please bar serves up some of the strongest spirits in town, as well as regularly hosting some of the characters that give East Colfax its roguish charm. As an added touch, all ladies receive flowers, compliments of owner Pete Siahamis. Chivalry is not dead at the PS, and neither is the notion that vice still has some virtue.
Best way to kill time before a show at the Bluebird
PS Lounge
At first glance, you might not figure this smallish tavern as the place to glean some knowledge of U.S. history. But request a light from one of the friendly staff behind the parquet bar and -- voilà! -- you're presented with a matchbook biography of JFK, LBJ or even Herbert Hoover. Yet presidential trivia isn't the only thing to keep you busy while you wait for the box office at the Bluebird Theater -- located just across Colfax -- to open. This cash-only, no-tabs-please bar serves up some of the strongest spirits in town, as well as regularly hosting some of the characters that give East Colfax its roguish charm. As an added touch, all ladies receive flowers, compliments of owner Pete Siahamis. Chivalry is not dead at the PS, and neither is the notion that vice still has some virtue.
Best place to watch really white people dance
The Supreme Court
The Supreme Court, a sprawling restaurant at the foot of the Adam's Mark hotel, is a place where weary LoDo workers commune, unwind and get down when the working day is done. The crowd members may have sass, style and courage (once the liquor and live music kick in, that is) when groovin' to the Court's selection of live and deejayed tunes, but they usually don't have rhythm.
Best place to watch really white people dance
The Supreme Court
The Supreme Court, a sprawling restaurant at the foot of the Adam's Mark hotel, is a place where weary LoDo workers commune, unwind and get down when the working day is done. The crowd members may have sass, style and courage (once the liquor and live music kick in, that is) when groovin' to the Court's selection of live and deejayed tunes, but they usually don't have rhythm.
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