STEELY DAN @ RED ROCKS | THURS, 8/8/13 Enigmatic, intellectual, wry and clever, Steely Dan played what sounded a bit like smooth jazz when the band debuted in the mid-70s, even as singer/pianist Donald Fagen sang pointedly about clandestine acts, the lurid underbelly of American society and the nuanced psychodrama…
During his five-year stint as talent buyer at the Meadowlark, it was clear that Jonathan Bitz had a deep passion for the local scene, and as such, he helped cultivate a community of singer-songwriters, most notably with acts like Churchill and the Lumineers. Over the last three years or so,…
NO AGE @ RHINOCEROPOLIS | WEDS, 08/28/13 Blurring the line between punk rock and noise, No Age could be mistaken for a particularly frantic and raw garage rock band. But this Los Angeles duo was one of the handful of bands that played at the Smell in L.A. in the…
Just over two years ago, Chances opened in the former Wolfie’s location at 1135 Bannock Street, and in March of last year, it moved to 1320 15th Street, the space formerly occupied by Rack & Rye (and Sauced after that). Now Chances is moving into much bigger digs when it…
GIGANTOUR @ 1STBANK CENTER | FRI, 8/2/13 Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine first conceived of Gigantour as a platform to showcase acts whose music featured virtuosic guitar playing. In addition to his own band, the festival’s inaugural roster, in 2005, included prog-rock vets Dream Theater, extreme-metal unit Nevermore and skronky math-core…
ANNA LUNOE @ NORAD | FRI, 8/2/13 Australian rising star Anna Lunoe has only been working her craft stateside for about a year, but she’s already made a name for herself in this country. After dabbling in the radio-DJ lifestyle, she started spinning hip-hop and indie tunes in venues before…
When we spoke to Fierce Bad Rabbit frontman Chris Anderson last year, he said the band was on “N” on an “A-Z” journey. In less than twelve months, that progress has sped along rapidly. Since releasing its new album The Maestro and the Elephant this past December, the band has…
Word came down recently that André 3000 of Outkast will be playing the highly influential Jimi Hendrix in a biopic called All Is By My Side, which centers on the iconic guitarist’s early years. With inspired and estimable casting like this, it made us think about the other memorable biopics…
HARD RED ROCKS @ RED ROCKS AMPHITHEATRE | 8/1/13 In its first year at Red Rocks, HARD Fest brings a boombastic explosion of the biggest names in bass and trap music. Festival founder and curator, Gary Richards, performing under his veteran moniker Destructo, kicks off a stellar bill that includes…
GIGANTOUR @ 1STBANK Center | FRI, 8/2/13 Sure, Megadeth’s last several albums have been less than stellar, but they can still rip it up on stage, playing the schoolyard rough ’em up songs from back in the day. You also can’t find too many more musicians dedicated to giving his…
AMERICA’S MOST WANTED FESTIVAL @ FIDDLER’S GREEN | FRI, 8/23/13 The America’s Most Wanted Festival features some of the most talented and successful artists to come out of the South in a long time, including Lil Wayne, whose name speaks for itself and whose March album I Am Not a…
Thief River is hesitant about using the word “country” to describe its music. “I remember telling people, ‘You’ve got to come see this band I’m working with. It’s country,” notes guitarist Mike Makkay, also a member of King Rat, who started spreading the word soon after the quintet formed in…
HARD Events founder and twenty-year veteran DJ Gary Richards — also known as Destructo on festival bills — has been putting on electronic-music parties under the HARD moniker since 2007. Richards has developed a following by successfully curating programs that cater to a variety of tastes; there’s always something for…
From the onset of the stoner-rock sea chanty “Pirates Sail for Portsmouth,” which opens …In the Land of Sin, you get the sense that the members of Amputators do their writing with a bit of tongue in their cheeks. “Muscle Truck” ups the ante on the concept of the muscle…
For anyone who spent any time in an arcade as a kid, Danger, the new EP from Chemistry Club, will hold a subtle appeal. The opening effects of “Bend to Colors” are electronic notes straight out of an eight-bit video game. A similar dynamic undergirds the synth effects on the…
Is Molina Speaks the greatest rapper never heard? Perhaps. Without a doubt, he deserves to be heard, and he’s certainly one of the better rappers on the scene. He’s a treat to listen to, mostly because he doesn’t take himself too seriously. His skits, for example, are genuinely funny and…
On Josh Quinlan’s 2011 release, Mountain Time Standards, the saxophonist proved that he’s not only a skillful player, but a gifted composer, as well. And there’s a whole lot more where that came from on his latest effort, Open Space. Quinlan and pianist Ben Markley have no trouble traversing the…
JOHN SCOFIELD’S UBERJAM BAND @ BOULDER THEATER | THU, 8/1/13 John Scofield’s never been one to settle in any particular musical style. Deft in a number of them, he always seems to find ways to reinvent himself. With 1998’s A Go Go, he tapped into a whole new audience by…
MAC MILLER @ OGDEN THEATRE | 7/30/13 Mac Miller is one of rap music’s fastest-rising stars, whether hip-hop likes it or not. As an independent rapper who has twice shown that fresh beats and dope rhymes can sell well, he should be celebrated. Instead the rapper is a polarizing figure…
You know those starving artist types that would rather be broke than go near anything commercial? Thomas Tha Franchise is not one of those artists. Fresh off the release of his debut EP, Caffeine Dreams, he’s signed a contract with LoveCat Music, an independent licensing firm, to hopefully get his…
Independent Records at 937 East Colfax is closing next month. The store, which opened in August, 2000, next to the Ogden Theatre, is having a closing sale with some merchandise discounted 20 to 40 percent. The Denver store is slated to close at the end of August, but it may…
Music is life — or at least it is for us. When we’re not writing about it, we’re thinking about it, talking about it or listening to it. These are the things that were in heavy rotation for us this week. What are you listening to? What should we be…
