In club lingo, a “mash-up” is two or more seemingly dissimilar popular songs combined into a unified creation. “Bootie” is a double entendre, referring to the illegal nature of said pirated songs and what you shake when you hear them. Maybe this sounds too much like those tired rock/rap remixes…
Conceptual artist Laurie Anderson didn’t name her new production Homeland on a whim. Tonight’s multimedia presentation uses the word as a jumping-off point for an exploration of current cultural preoccupations — including the title term itself. “‘Homeland’ now has so many quotation marks around it that nobody really knows what…
After taking my first pole-dance class in January, I thought it would be my last. Then I received a letter from Lori Huett, owner of TranZenDance Studio (70 Broadway, Suite 275). “Pole dancing,” Huett stressed in her letter, “need not be provocative or explicit.” I reminded myself that Huett is…
Don’t expect to see any of FoxNews’s business yappers at today’s Cost of Freedom Peace and Protest Party. That network’s “Cost of Freedom” biz-news lineup has nothing to do with the peace presentation/party that kicks off at the Mercury Café, 2199 California Street, at 2 p.m. This Cost of Freedom…
When he was on the road, local standup comedian Christopher Cannon used to check out a lot of antiques malls. Often he would find a booth selling photographs. Stacked in a box were somebody’s memories, family photos of smiling moms and dads. He wondered who the people were and where…
Almost fifty years ago today, humanity took its first tentative steps into the infinite void when Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. To celebrate that milestone, space lovers in forty countries around the world — and the astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station — will come…
Although perhaps a bit dated, George Carlin’s infamous “seven dirty words” routine is still one of the most famous — and funniest — standup shticks of all time. The world has come to expect nothing less of Carlin, the first person to host Saturday Night Live (on October 11, 1975)…
Every poet has a secret life: Denver Poet Laureate Chris Ransick’s is stored in a keg. Aside from fostering his deep love of verse, Ransick has also nursed a twenty-year obsession for home-brewing that’s left him an experienced aficionado with a palate for poetic suds. One of his favorites, a…
Opening with the bouncy, infectious “Ramona, Just the Other Day,” These Record Highs finds Breezy Porticos in the familiar mode of slipping smart, emotionally mature observations into finely crafted pop masterpieces. Pop music doesn’t need to be dumb or rife with cliches to be enjoyable, something Breezy Porticos proves in…
It’s been a Gee’s Bend spring here in Denver: The Denver Center Theatre Company toasted the multi-generational Alabama quilt-making community with a theatrical stage bow earlier this year, and the Denver Art Museum will continue hosting the exhibit Gee’s Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt through July 6. But this…
Believe it or not, our dusty little burg’s been flourishing here on the plains for 150 years now, all the while supporting the rise of new buildings and laying more than a few to rest. Accordingly, “150 Years of Denver Architecture” is the theme of this year’s Doors Open Denver…
Meat-eaters might feel as though they have no reason to attend the first-ever Denver Veg Fest & Health Expo, but they couldn’t be more wrong. If you enjoy fish or chicken or even the occasional taste of — gasp! — beef, you’ll still find something worth chewing on at the…
It’s the nature of aerial dance to be different in the first place, but Nancy Smith of Boulder’s Frequent Flyers Productions has never had a problem letting her freak flag fly — through the air, literally — during her twenty years of off-the-floor choreographing. So her latest flight of fancy,…
The down-home charm and rustic spirit of the work of the artist known simply as JACK speaks for itself. His portraits of musicians — mostly older, rootsy artists such as Willie Nelson, Little Richard and Etta James — and his signature stick flags are easily understood by everyone, which is…
During the ’70s, when he went from being a mainstay in England’s rough-and-tumble pub-rock scene to a notable part of the new-wave movement, Nick Lowe was known as “Basher.” These days, of course, bashing isn’t at the top of his agenda. At My Age, his most recent platter, is a…
In a gift economy, you contribute out of the goodness of your heart, and in return you get, maybe, a usable dose of positive karma or perhaps a returned favor. It’s a recycling of kindness that makes sense among folks who have the discipline to make it work. Folks like…
Because of his regular beat, not to mention his hosting duties on the public-affairs program Your Show, 9News political reporter Adam Schrager meets and interviews candidates and public officials on a near-daily basis. But when it came time to write a book about a politician he truly admired, he chose…
Though Converse sneakers are certainly an obligatory staple in the modern day hipster’s uniform, they have been around since the early 20th century and boast a rich and interesting history. According to Wikipedia, the Converse sneaker was born in 1908 when would-be founder, Marquis M. Converse, “fell down a flight…
Ah… the “Gay Boyfriend.” Where would the modern woman be without her favorite accessory? Take, for example, Grace’s Will (may they rest in peace.). Or Wilhelmina’s Marc. Or, of course, Carrie’s Stanford (That movie comes out in 63 days, by the way. I’m totally taking that day off). I, myself,…
George Carlson. Put together by curator Ann Daley, who has shaped and defined the Western collection at the Denver Art Museum, George Carlson: Heart of the West deals with the career of an accomplished neo-traditional artist who looks to the century-old Impressionist style for inspiration. The Carlson exhibit includes nearly…
The Baseball Show. Evil, malaprop-prone Vincent Vascombe, owner of the Beloit Bulldogs, is determined to hold on to his star player, Bill “The Bomber” Dawson. But Dawson — aided by his smart, competent fiancée, Helen — has plans for the majors, and there’s a talent scout hanging around. So Vascombe…
As John Simon once said of Jeanne Moreau — cast in a virginal role — making Simon Pegg a fat guy is like casting Lassie as a vegetarian. Take Chris Elliott, subtract Don Knotts: the remainder is Pegg, the British actor-screenwriter who barely registered as an appetizer for Shaun of…
