Who would have thought that the 21st century would see a huge resurgence of interest in Guns N’ Roses? Too bad Axl Rose is too messed up to capitalize on his own legacy. But picking up his Slash, er, slack is Rocket Queen. Begun as a one-off Guns N’ Roses…
When Chuck French moved to Denver last year to play bass for Planes Mistaken for Stars, he was already playing guitar in a Chicago act called Git Some. Instead of breaking up, the band followed French to Colorado. With handmade demo tapes in hand, the foursome started tearing up bars…
It’s a rule of thumb: Never include a musical genre in the name of your band. Metal groups with “metal” in their monikers? Bad. Punk outfits called the Punk Rock something-or-others? Even worse. Machine Gun Blues, though, never got the memo. Which sucks, because the quartet’s music is a writhing,…
Way before The Matrix, a struggling actor named Laurence Fishburne donned Jheri curls and a ten-gallon hat to play a character called Cowboy Curtis on the Saturday-morning kids’ show, Pee-wee’s Playhouse. Today we have Cowboy Curse, a trio featuring bassist Tyler Campo, singer/guitarist Ben Bergstrand, and Ben’s brother, Josh Bergstrand…
Tobias Jupiter was a strong contender for this year’s “Best Band With the Worst Name” award, but the quintet dodged that honor by changing its name last month to the FlashBangs. Where Tobias Jupiter stumbled clumsily off the tongue, the group’s streamlined new moniker efficiently sums up its sound: a…
You say love has no boundaries? Tell it to the judge, fucker. Then back up a thousand feet…
When Rocket Ajax disbanded in early 2003, many scenesters were befuddled. Just a few months earlier, the band had picked up stakes and headed for the West Coast in search of fame and fortune — or at least a record deal. At the time, Ajax was one of the most…
For two years, White Dynamite has been leveling stages and logic itself with its off-kilter, hardcore-spawned pandemonium. But the real show is singer/guitarist Luke Fairchild. A veteran of such Denver bands as Why Planes Go Down and Sparkles, Fairchild has at last completely surrendered to whatever demons possess him. He…
Back in the day, Brian Hagman was the only real reason to watch local punk act Wretched Refuse. But when Black Lamb (né the Lambs) formed at the dawn of the millennium, the singer finally found a band that could keep up with his intensity. Crooning like some three-headed clone…
Anyone who dismisses Ghost Buffalo as just a Planes Mistaken for Stars side project doesn’t quite get it. While guitarist Matt Bellinger and drummer Mike Ricketts do indeed split shifts between the two bands, Ghost Buffalo is a full-time passion for leader Marie Litton. The songwriter lends her soaring, haunting…
Artist, producer, teacher and one-man guitar battalion Dave Beegle remains an underground six-string phenom. After launching power trio Fourth Estate in the late ’80s, the Fort Collins homeboy used his masterful tone — something that mates Joe Satriani and Paco de Lucia with Johann Sebastian Bach’s blessing — to explore…
Bluegrass traditions may not be ancient by the standards of Greek mythology, but they have a proud history that Fort Collins-based Open Road limns with love and skill on its latest disc for Rounder Records, …In the Life. The longer Bradford Lee Folk and his musical partners perform this music,…
Jay Munly might be the star, but cellist Rebecca Vera and violinists Elin Palmer and Frieda Stalhiem are the driving force behind the Canadian transplant’s “thinkin’ man’s country music.” Weaving together complex rhythms and sensuous melodic lines, the trio of harlots augment Munly’s dark, rootsy side with a chamber-driven classicism,…
Some bands are just made for booze. ZZ Top? Tequila. Black Flag? Why, a six-pack, of course. But when listening to the ragged country punk of Out on Bail, whiskey is the only real choice. The semi-acoustic coed quartet writes songs that burn on the way down, peel the casing…
Timing, they say, is everything. Which is why Detective Jabsco may be the most unfortunate band in Denver. The outfit’s music is lacking absolutely nothing: Impassioned, concise, soulful and catchy as hell, it’s a welcome lungful of fresh air. So what’s the catch? The style is straight-up ska-core circa 1995,…
As fitting at a basement show as it is under the disco ball, the music of Constellations is a protean thing. While clearly drawing from many of the same sources that fuel the current dance-punk lemming march, the group molds jarring guitars, pixilated noise and logarithmic beats into a much…
A scant year and a half ago, Gann Matthews resembled nothing so much as an unplugged disciple of Thom Yorke and Isaac Brock. What a difference a few months make. The young troubadour has swiftly graduated from shaky-throated emulation to sure-footed maturity, trading in indie pallor for a rich, ruddy…
Armed with just an acoustic guitar and a gorgeous, angelic voice that alternately recalls Gillian Welch, Rosie Thomas and Paula Cole, Judith Avers could literally sing the classified ads and still be positively riveting. Fortunately, that won’t be necessary: Avers is equally adept and compelling as a storyteller, crafting heartrending…
Comics that turn up for the Squire Lounge’s Comedy Night want to win the $25 bar tab that’s awarded for best performance each week. But it’s not the booze they’re after, and it ain’t the glory; other venues are far more lucrative and offer way better exposure. No, Colorado comics…
With an elevated stage surrounded by vintage vinyl, Bender’s 13th Avenue Tavern is the best place to experience bar culture’s most self-indulgent pastime. New Wave/Indie Karaoke Night — hosted Tuesday and Thursday nights by ebullient wiseacre Keith Houston and his lovely assistant, Laura Benson — welcomes seasoned hams and budding…
On Saturday nights, salsa virgins and sexy pros go hand in hand on the dance floor at La Rumba, the stylish Golden Triangle staple that’s become one of Latino Denver’s top weekend destinations. Rookies can arrive early for a quick primer before the main event: The club offers free lessons,…
Launched in June 2001 by DJs Michael Trundle, Tyler Jacobson and Tim Cook, aka the Denver 3, Lipgloss has grown from a once-a-month Monday-night shindig into the best club night in town. Since relocating from 60 South to La Rumba last Spring, Lipgloss draws the crowds with a laid-back, unpretentious…
