Best Ambient-Music Showcase 2017 | Textures | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
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Best Ambient-Music Showcase

Textures

Textures got off the ground at the now-defunct Gypsy House Cafe, where it happened semi-regularly for five years. Now held at Mutiny Information Cafe every last Sunday of the month, it showcases the breadth and depth of the area's ambient music scene. The brainchild of Wesley Davis of bios+a+ic, the series remains relevant by not sticking to a strict definition of the ambient genre, having included modular-synth wizards like Kuxaan Sum, musique concrète artists like Victoria Lundy, and internationally known visual-synthesis pioneer Mark Mosher.

symbolicinsight.com/textures

Best Film Series With Bands

Scream Screen

Theresa Mercado has long organized unique film series, hosting events at the now-defunct Crash 45 and the Alamo Drafthouse. Most recently, Mercado has been hard at work on Scream Screen, a month-long event at the Sie FilmCenter that presents modern horror classics and performances from bands like Echo Beds, Vought and Denver Broncos UK. The mementos that Mercado hands out at the end of the night, whether small figurines she made herself or buttons with touches from the just-screened film, set these events apart. Not one to shy away from theatrics, Mercado likes to play the part, as well: For this year's showing of The Brood, for example, she dressed as Samantha Eggar's character and reenacted the scene in which Eggar licks the afterbirth off her mutant baby.

facebook.com/pg/ChannelZMovies

Best Ongoing Music Event for Kids

Inside the Orchestra: Tiny Tots

A parent's musical world can feel pretty grim at times; there are days when you'd almost kill for something even a little meatier than another rendition of "The Ants Go Marching." That's why the 45-minute Tiny Tots program from Inside the Orchestra is perfect for all ages. Accompanied by parents and other adults, children sit on the floor (at History Colorado, Boettcher Concert Hall or other fabulous locations) and are surrounded by Tiny Tots' thirty-piece-plus professional orchestra. As the music plays, the conductor talks directly to the little ones, asking them questions and walking them through the experience. Afterward, they have a chance to meet the musicians and get a little closer to the instruments. Even better? Admission is a mere suggested donation of $9.95.

insidetheorchestra.org

Best Record Released by a Public Institution

Denver Public Library's Seven-Inch

Believe it or not, the Denver Public Library is an active player in the local music scene. It offers upwards of 200 local albums for download at volumedenvr.org, making current and rare records available to the public. Last year, librarian Dave Wilkinson, a longtime fan of Denver's music scene, proposed a limited-edition seven-inch record with local bands that promoted the library and local culture. The library higher-ups approved the idea, and in March 2016, 300 records were pressed, showcasing bands like Accordion Crimes and The Raven and the Writing Desk.

volumedenver.org

Best Punk-Loving Library

Ross-Cherry Creek branch 

Kids can be a death sentence for parents who like to attend concerts. Fortunately, Denver Public Library's Cherry Creek branch has music-loving families covered, organizing a monthly concert the second Saturday of each month at 10 a.m. Stroll in, grab a Voodoo Doughnut treat, pour a cup of Dazbog coffee, make your way to the middle of the storytime room, put earplugs in your ears — and definitely in your kids' ears — and prepare to rock. The event has showcased the Milk Blossoms, SPELLS and the Pink Hawks, proving the Ross-Cherry Creek branch is about much more than books and boring lectures. These days, it might just be the punkest thing in Cherry Creek.

denverlibrary.org

Best Print Music Zine

Barf

The first issue of Barf came out in September 2016 with comedian Ben Roy on the cover, looking mortified in a bubble bath. The issue had interviews with bands, a chat with Roy, and an article titled "How Many Hot Dogs Is Too Many Hot Dogs?" The candid and humorous interviews and the rest of the content fit the publication's motto: "Sex, Drugs, Barf." Barf founders Micah Morris and members of the band Dirty Few continue to improve the zine's content; the most recent cover had a semi-glossy finish. Barf offers irreverent material that's as glorious and intentionally dumb as a great Ramones song.

facebook.com/barfmagazine

Best Music Meetup

The Rocky Mountain Synthesizer Meetup

Founded in 2012 in the Boulder area, the Rocky Mountain Synthesizer Meetup gives synth enthusiasts the opportunity to meet, network and share ideas, methods and gear. Group founder Mark Mosher has performed his own synth music nationally and is a gifted practitioner of visual synthesis, which combines audio with a visual component. The Meetup was small in the beginning, but when the meetings moved to Denver in 2015 (first to the Walnut Room, then to Globe Hall), the group expanded to include over a hundred members, demonstrating an undeniable enthusiasm for synthesizers and electronic music that goes beyond the dance floor.

meetup.com/rocky-mountain-synth

Best CD/Vinyl Bargain Bin

2nd and Charles

Yes, 2nd and Charles is a chain — but the bargain bin at the Broomfield branch is overflowing with CDs, most priced at about $1, which means that gems can be had for the cost of a single iTunes track. There are 2nd and Charles locations all over the country, and they all work the same way: Bring in your used CDs or DVDs, and a cashier will figure out their cash or store-credit value while you browse. Afterward, use your trade-in money wisely: While there are plenty of pricey items to choose from, including new CDs, DVDs and comic books, the bargain bin up front is a treasure trove.

Best Album Art

No Big Deal Wheelchair Sports Camp

Wheelchair Sports Camp debuted its first full-length album in September 2016. No Big Deal includes contributions by late keyboardist Isaiah "Ikey" Owens, who worked with acts including Jack White and the Mars Volta before his death in 2014. But Owens's mark on the album isn't the only thing that makes it special. Wheelchair Sports Camp enlisted Pat Jensen to design a CD package that includes a 3-D pop-up house, akin to the pop-up art in children's books. The design was meant as a touching send-off for Owens, who pushed Wheelchair Sports Camp far beyond what the group's members thought they were capable of musically, making this record a must-buy.

Best Label

Greater Than Collective

Fronted by Denver's own "Mr. Music," Virgil Dickerson, the Greater Than Collective organically morphed into a record label, taking the place of Dickerson's previous foray into that world, Suburban Home Records. "It's been really neat, because the goal with the Greater Than Collective is to help these artists achieve that next goal, whatever that may be," Dickerson told us in December. Greater Than has unleashed releases by Snake Rattle Rattle Snake, Adam Cayton-Holland, the Epilogues, and Bud Bronson & the Good Timers, among others, and it's become one of those labels whose releases are worth checking out, even if you don't know anything about the artist.

greaterthancollective.com

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