Concerts

ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT at SUMMIT MUSIC HALL | 2/1/14 Rather than linger through decades of drama and/or mediocrity, Rocket From the Crypt rose to fame in the 1990s with bonafide big-band punk, but chose to disband in 2005, despite continued acclaim. Notoriously busy frontman John Reis (aka Speedo) had…

NAKED RAYGUN at SUMMIT MUSIC HALL | 1/31/14 Everyone who got to see Naked Raygun at Riot Fest last year got to see a good set, but it wasn’t near the caliber as this show. Jeff Pezzati was even more of an unconventionally charismatic and eccentric frontman than usual, prowling…

FRI & SAT | LOTUS at FILLMORE AUDITORIUM | 2/7-2/8 The jazzy electronic quintet Lotus, known for its precisely timed improvisations during live shows, is celebrating its thirteenth year together. This weekend, fresh off the release of its most recent effort, Lotus, the band, which is signed to Boulder’s SCI…

In August 2007, Castle Rock Radio was founded by the Colorado-based National Web Broadcasting Corporation. In just six years, though, the company concluded that its business model was essentially not working, and started seeking investors for a bail-out option. Sean and Adriana Hakes, along with partner Susan Gomez purchased the…

FRI | ICELANTIC’S WINTER ON THE ROCKS at RED ROCKS | 1/31/14 More than misogyny or materialism, intelligence and verbal skill are championed by Jurassic 5; the vocabulary is impressive and the verbal acrobatics the guys perform are outstanding. J5 carries the energy and excitement of a newer era group…

SAT | ROB PAINE at THE FUSION FACTORY | 2/1/14 Some musicians are such activists for the artistic community in their neck of the woods that their names become part and parcel of the scene in that particular place — and that’s exactly what Rob Paine has done in Philadelphia…

TREY ANASTASIO BAND at OGDEN THEATRE | 1/29/14, NIGHT TWO The line to get inside the Ogden was even longer last night than the previous evening for the second of two shows from the Trey Anastasio Band. The wait was worth it, though. Once we all made it inside, we…

It’s not unusual these days to see a Denver band performing on national television. But this Friday morning, it will be a little more gratifying seeing another beloved longtime local act finally get a few minutes in the spotlight when the Railbenders appear on the Today Show performing “Time to…

I remember it was always such a cool, hip place,” recalls Kid Congo Powers of Denver and his trips to the city. “I remember playing there with the Bad Seeds in this beautiful old theater, a small, ornate place. It was a small theater, and I just remember it struck…

The nostalgia is infectious on The Motet, the recent self-titled full-length from the Boulder-based funk outfit. Part of that feel comes from the band’s expertise in analog effects; thanks to a mastery of old-school pedals, keyboards and horns, songs like “123” sound like they’d fit on any vintage P-Funk record…

Brad Fitch shares more than a passing resemblance to John Denver, and he’s performed at a number of the late folksinger’s tribute concerts. That’s fitting, as Denver happens to have been an early influence on Fitch, whose music straddles the line between folk and country and Western. John Denver devotees…

It’s clear from opener “Artist’s Way” that the new release from local hip-hoppers the Abstract Collective is more organic than electronic. The rapping, meanwhile, blends the rapid-fire delivery favored by Anticon artists — particularly Yoni Wolf — with the more R&B/jazz-inflected instincts of Blackalicious. Despite the soothing effect of Cody…

Illenium’s Risen is the kind of album that will cause jaws to drop. Opening with the silky vocals of Sirma on “Drop Our Hearts,” which has a grimy sort of Skrillex growl at the drop, the record moves to a more club-like vibe on “Up,” incorporating a monumental build topped…

TREY ANASTASIO BAND at OGDEN THEATRE | 1/28/14, NIGHT ONE The Trey Anastasio Band kicked off its spring tour in Denver last night and debuted a couple of new songs in front of a sold-out crowd whose members had been lined up down the block and across the street before…

Folk music fans woke up some very sad news this morning. Banjo player, guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, folklorist and all-around activist Pete Seeger died late last night in New York from natural causes. He was 94. The loss is tough to quantify for fans of any folk, roots, blues and Americana…

Back with another edition of In the Mix, where we spotlight new dance tracks and mixes from local producers and DJs. This week with a couple fresh remixes from some familiar faces in Denver’s dance music scene, along with a couple grimy originals, one from Roots Mass, a member of…

The great thing about Bisco Inferno weekend is that you get two nights packed in with the fans in the intimate Ogden shows, providing its own level of energy, and then they stretch out to the space of 1STBANK Center, where the lasers get put on steroids. After two wonderful…