Concerts

FaceMan, helmed by the uni-monikered frontman Steve, is just as interested in performance art as it is acoustic guitars. Case in point: the elaborate shark-shaped stage the band set up at Lost Lake last year, which added a theatrical dimension to the band’s music (it also picked up an award…

It was kind of cold and crappy this week, but that was just a way to enhance your appreciation for this weekend, which is supposed to be the kind of beautiful where cartoon birds appear from trees. Ride your bike to one of these shows:…

Eastern Europe has a long tradition of communal music. It’s about the culture, history, experience bringing people together in a moment through music. By contrast, much of American music is about the spectacle. It’s Gene Simmons with his tongue out next to a a jet of flames. A Gogol Bordello…

The jazz program at the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music is about to get a lot more competitive. Officials from the school’s jazz studies and commercial music departments announced this week that Grammy-nominated jazz trombonist, composer and arranger Steve Wiest will join DU’s faculty this fall as an…

NORAD Dance Bar, which grew to become a fixture in the underground electronic-music community over the past two years, is closing at the end of May. The building that houses the club is coming under new ownership, and NORAD doesn’t figure into the new owner’s plans. The displacement will have…

The 20th annual Westword Music Showcase is less than two months away. This year’s installment will be on June 21. It’s the day Denver music goes on vacation to the Golden Triangle, and I can go from watching a rapper to watching a punk band to watching a band with…

For now, the story of Planet Bluegrass is about the floods and the devastation they brought to towns like Lyons. The storied venue sits nestled in the canyon, no small part of its appeal being that it does not have proximity to natural beauty so much as it is actually…

Boulder-based Immersive Studios has an impressive resume. Its owners, Steve Vidaic and Mike Yach, are both Grammy Award-winning producers. Vidaic is a musician himself, at one time touring with the Motet and now playing as a solo act. Immersive has some of the best recording equipment in the area. They…

Planning a music festival in Fort Collins has to be a miserably difficult task. Outside of the concerts that Colorado State University books, only one venue, the Aggie Theatre, hosts larger national acts with any kind of regularity. Add in Avogadro’s Number and Hodi’s Half-Note, bars with the capacity of…

It is a strange sight to see Bun B step through the curtain at the Marquis Theater. He is the prime mover of Texas — or maybe even all Southern — hip-hop, on a short list of the most respected MCs still working, and a leader in his city. And…

Denver Noise Fest is now one of the biggest of its kind in the country. And it isn’t just harsh noise. The lineup did not just feature circuit-bending academics. The Festival was a celebration of a love for weird noises, by a wide-ranging group of generous artists…

There’s plenty going on in the friendly confines of Denver this week, but if you’re looking for a field trip, we advise going to see Warpaint at Belly Up Aspen or Gogol Bordello in Boulder. Of course, you could also just see the latter at the Ogden later this week…

Last month, we brought you the news that Swallow Hill Music would be booking this year’s summer concert series at the Arvada Center. That partnership becomes much clearer this morning with the full lineup announcement — in addition to previously announced artists including Judy Collins and Don McLean, the Center…

Last year, Sherwood Webber of Skinless put together a festival with a meticulous curatorial eye for aggressive music and no patience for gimmickry of any kind. The result was Denver Black Sky, which we named the best metal fest last month. The Fest returns this August with two days of…

For Justin Bua, painting is about documenting moments in time that reflect an era. Hailing from New York, Bua’s work has examined the urban themes of hip-hop, jazz, break dancing, and the countless threads that continue to sew the fabric of the entire culture. Since the early ’90s, Bua has…

The bar across the street from the Pepsi Center is a menagerie. The Arcade Fire show has just ended, and I am talking to a woman named Sarah who is dressed as a blackbird. Her husband, Tom, is wearing a fire-print onesie and a furry hood with ears. He has…

Cop Circles’s Luke Leavitt spent time living in Egypt as a kid and formed a band while attending Vassar College in New York. He moved to Denver and found a city where he could play his keytar as part of a protest and develop an intense live show. We spent…

The library is a building that holds thousands of books. But that doesn’t describe the institution’s role. Libraries are our memories. They are the place where all the lines eventually connect, where you can trace the progress of time in every direction. With the library’s help, you can find the…

Before the Knife’s show proper got started, a guy who was dressed like a particularly garish Russell Brand got the crowd warmed up with some calisthenics. You know, the sort of thing that’s done en masse in Japan and China. It was part impromptu dance-class primer and part yoga class,…

Britt ChesterBehind the “Big G Hive” created by Brown Note ProductionsBrown Note Productions, Inc. is among the best lighting companies in the country, at least according to its new trophy. The Thornton-based production company won the Parnelli Award for “Hometown Hero Lighting Company of the Year” for 2013. The Parnellis,…

Method Man and Redman, who were recently immortalized on the cover of High Times with their faces carved into an imaginary “Mount Kushmore,” played a sold-out show on 4/20 at Cervantes’ Masterpiece. No surprises there. Also Leftover Salmon was playing in the street right outside, with members of Little Feat…