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…
After last year’s banner bill, which featured such marquee acts as the Spin Doctors, Burton Cummings of the Guess Who, Lou Gramm, Head East and the Pointer Sisters, Taste of Colorado has announced some of the acts on this year’s lineup, another blockbuster that includes MC Hammer and Aaron Neville,…
Unless you’re the Highlander, death is simply inevitable. Be that as it may, the untimely passing of these metal men left us all in shock, defying the natural order of things. From Jeff Hanneman and Chi Cheng, most recently, to Randy Rhoads and Cliff Burton, all of these revered metal…
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 heroes the Dillinger Escape Plan. More recently,…
Sebadoh started as a kind of solo recording project of Lou Barlow toward the end of his tenure with Dinosaur Jr. in the late ’80s. Upon his departure from Dino in 1989, Barlow focused on his songwriting with Sebadoh, and his recording aesthetic became synonymous with “lo-fi” of the 1990s,…
After an appearance last summer at the Paramount Theatre, Fiona Apple is making her way back to Denver for a show at Boettcher Concert Hall on Friday, October 11, with Blake Mills. Tickets ($49.50-$69.50) go on sale this Friday, August 2, at 10 a.m. Keep reading to see what other…
Trading gigs with bands in other cities is not just a novel concept, it’s pivotal for acts trying to make inroads outside of the local scene. It can often mean the difference between playing for bar staff, those obligated to be there, and actual fans. While countless outfits have been…
It took him four years and a massive amount of work, but Tommy Metz finally came up with a convenient, completely automated means for burgeoning acts to have their music mastered without having to break the bank. On the heels of introducing WaveMod, his DIY online mastering website, we recently…
While conventional wisdom would have Mac Miller parlaying his “brand” to create a line of energy drinks, or headphones, or body spray, Mac Miller doesn’t have any such agenda. There’s no master plan in place to create multiple revenue streams. Instead, his focus is simply on making dope music with…
Australian DJ and producer Anna Lunoe has the eclectic taste you’d expect from a former radio disc jockey; she plays house, indie dance, techno and disco clubs with equal aplomb, packing dance floors with her genre-bending sets. In advance of her show this Friday, August 2, at NORAD with the…
AMERICANARAMA @ FIDDLER’S GREEN | WEDS, 7/31/13 Sometimes when genre-specific festivals are put together, the bill gets padded with — to put it charitably — lesser-known artists. Fortunately, that’s not the case with Americanarama, which features Bob Dylan, Wilco, My Morning Jacket and Ryan Bingham, each heavy hitters in their…
BLKHRTS (MIXTAPE RELEASE) @ MARQUIS | SAT, 7/27/13 BLKHRTS have crafted an utterly riveting hybrid sound that centers on retro-futuristic production that is both unique and progressive. Live, the crew brings an unbridled energy that’s as ferocious as Onyx, as primal as Body Count and as frenzied and unhinged as…
Jack Casey’s Four Mile House, a Glendale fixture since for decades, appears to be closed. The bar, which won Westword’s 2003 Best of Denver award for Best Happy Hour for Absolutely Free Food, started life as a barn, back in the days when what’s now Glendale was filled with dairy…
While having margaritas with his mother in Estes Park, Brandon Hagen looked at the Aerial Tramway and thought, “Wouldn’t it be cool if you had some solo artist or a duo just sitting there playing a song for the length of that trip up the hill?” That initial thought sparked…
After extensive renovations, Grizzly Rock opened a year ago in the building at 5255 West 6th Avenue that has housed a number of different venue over the years, including Hollywood Legends, Club Arriba and After the Gold Rush. But the 1,200-capacity Grizzly Rock’s stay was a short-lived one as it…
TROPICOOL @ BAR STANDARD | FRI, 7/26/13 David La Melza’s Tropicool project is a beautifully executed brand serving up feel-good, breezy disco-house tunes that also happen to be irresistibly catchy. Everything about the project, from the name to the pop-infused female vocals, is designed to remind you of dancing sweaty…
Denver: This Is The Place. We’ve always believed this, but we’re obviously a little biased. Now, however, this assertion is coming from somebody else’s mouth — and not just anybody, mind you, but those arbiters of cool at MTV via a short segment called…wait for it…This Is The Place: Denver…
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…
In this week’s Rough Mix with trumpeter Terence Blanchard, who is due at Dazzle this Saturday and Sunday, we spoke with him about recruiting younger players and how composing for film has rubbed off on his jazz playing. In this extended Q&A, he talks about new Blue Note effort, Magnetic,…
For the past five years, the folks at Swallow Hill have hosting the annual Denver Ukefest, which includes jams, master classes, workshops and pretty much all things ukulele. This year’s fest, which runs from Thursday, October 10, through Saturday, October 12, features uke-centric acts like James Hill, hailed as one…
ADAM ANT @ THE OGDEN THEATRE | 7/24/13 Adam Ant & the Good, the Mad and the Lovely Posse came on stage with fanfare. Ant was wearing his Blueblack Hussar outfit, and he and his bandmates looked like they’d come out of some indefinable era of punk without an obvious…
Yasiin Bey, formerly Mos Def, is returning to Denver on Friday, November 15, to headline another night at Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom, but this time with Justin Bua providing a lecture and some live painting. Returning as a part of the Winter Shredded Beats series, Cervantes’ will open both sides of…
