R.I.P. Donald “Duck” Dunn, 11/24/41 – 5/13/12

He was the backbone, part of the nerve center of a great rhythm and blues band that made the music of a bygone era live, breathe and jump again. But Donald “Duck” Dunn’s musical accomplishments went far beyond the scripted praise he earned from John Belushi playing the fictional Jake…

Drake at Comfort Dental, 5/13/12

DRAKE @ COMFORT DENTAL AMPHITHEATRE | 05.14.12 Last night at Comfort Dental Amphitheatre, not only did Drake bring along a slew of his homeboys for The Club Paradise tour, he displayed mind-blowing artistry. Erudite and gorgeous, the Toronto MC charmed the entire place with his theatrics and gestures while his…

The Lumineers at Bluebird Theater, 5/11/12

THE LUMINEERS @ BLUEBIRD THEATER | 5/11/12 Wesley Schulz announced that the band was going to perform a Sawmill Joe song and it was obvious much of the crowd knew what was coming, as The Lumineers started the song and brought Joe back on stage. Between pretty much all the…

The Fray at Red Rocks, 5/11/12

THE FRAY @ RED ROCKS | 5/11/12 It was cold last night at Red Rocks. Like balls-into-your-body-cavity cold. Seriously. It was also wet and foggy and miserable. Once the lights went up, though, the Fray’s sound cut through the fog and rain and made everyone forget their frostbitten feet. The…

Black Star at Cervantes’, 5/11/12

BLACK STAR @ CERVANTES’ | 05.11.12 The first strains of the Beastie Boys’ “No Sleep Til Brooklyn” started blaring through the speakers as Yasiin Bey shook himself onto the stage to thunderous screams of applause. Wielding an red old school “drop mike,” the Brooklyn MC fist pumped and enticed the…

The Lumineers shed light on life in Denver and their evolving sound

Wesley Schultz has never been to the Bluebird Theater. Not for a show, anyway. And he’s never been to Red Rocks, either. Since moving to Denver from New York, he’s purposely avoided both. “I think it’s superstitious or something,” he explains. “If I really want to play somewhere, I probably…

Cookie Monsta

In the muddled world of dubstep, the names that have stayed true to form are few and far between. Cookie Monsta (known in his U.K. home town of Nottingham as Tony Cook) broke onto the scene in 2007, signed with Circus Records (the premier label for dubstep artists) a few…

Obama vs. the Nuge at Red Rocks

Last month, rocker Ted Nugent drew Secret Service scrutiny when he said, “If Barack Obama becomes the president in November, again, I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year,” at an NRA convention in St. Louis. That was on April 18, ancient history in the…

2012 Westword Music Showcase local lineup!

We’re just over a month out from this year’s Westword Music Showcase, and we’ve already let you know who we have headlining the mainstage this year — but keep it locked on Backbeat for another big announcement this coming Monday. Now it’s time for us to give up the goods…

The Brian Jonestown Massacre at the Bluebird Theater, 5/8/12

BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE @ BLUEBIRD THEATER | 05.08.12 If you decide to put all of your eggs in Anton Newcombe’s basket, they’re going to end up scrambled. The lead singer of early-’90s psychedelica group Brian Jonestown Massacre might be the group’s longest-running member, but he also seems to be the…

School Knights stay up at the hi-dive on Friday, May 11

Since its earliest days as an appealing garage-surf two-piece, School Knights (due at the hi-dive on Friday, May 11) has doubled its membership. Founded by former Weed Diamond guitarist Michael Stein and drummer Zack Roif, the band added Ben Donehower on bass and Morris Kolontyrsky on guitar to help fill…

Drake

The ladies love Drake — and it’s not hard to see why. The Frank Sinatra of hip-hop, as he’s been called, Drake is classy, elegant and can rap his face off to almost any melody. The Toronto native took the hip-hop scene by storm with his catchy lyrics, emotive production…

Plants and Animals

Since 2005, Montreal’s Plants and Animals has been writing some of the most critically acclaimed music to have come out of that town in recent years. Its debut album, Parc Avenue, found the band exploring a vast array of sounds with a sense of playful abandon. It was a sprawling…

Project Aspect

Time Capsule is ProJect Aspect’s 1320 Records debut. Showing notable maturity, the rising producer more than lives up to the outsized expectations that come with being on STS9’s label. If the opening track, “Tina Turnon,” doesn’t grab you instantly with its beat-matching bass line, then the slow roll into “White…