Graham Parker

Graham Parker kicked around various bands in London before hooking up with the Rumour and recording with future Stiff Records chief Dave Robinson in 1975. The resulting 1976 album, Howlin’ Wind, yielded the outfit a Top 40 hit with “Don’t Ask Me Questions.” The song’s blend of R&B, soulful folk…

Battles

For most of the ’90s, guitarist Ian Williams was a part of the math-rock outfit Don Caballero, but in 2002 he teamed up with former Helmet drummer John Stanier, former Lynx guitarist Dave Konopka and avant-garde musician Tyondai Braxton, the son of experimental multi-instrumentalist Anthony Braxton. The resultant group uses…

New music marketed to old people: AARP Internet radio

Though the Red Hot Chili Peppers and I more or less parted ways right around the time I declined Anthony Kiedis’s invitation to fly away on his zephyr (which, for some reason, always sounds to me like a synonym for farting quietly), I will admit that there was a time…

Pictureplane

On his last record, Pictureplane ripped the idea of teenage counterculture wide open and gave new meaning to being goth. This time around, it’s like he’s suspended himself in time; songs are rife with ambient sameness, but the tingly, synthesized feeling is one of overwhelming satisfaction. The kicky drum and…

Pianist Matthew Shipp says he’s getting back to basics

When pianist Matthew Shipp started recording in the ’80s, he rebelled against jazz; he didn’t want to have to defend himself by saying that he came from jazz roots, like avant-garde players such as Cecil Taylor, Anthony Davis and James Newton. Shipp says he even wrote a term paper in…

Tonight: Alkaline Trio at Summit

Chicago’s Alkaline Trio (due this evening at Summit Music Hall with The Gamits and Smoking Popes) are one of those bands that essentially created a genre, and then thrived in it for the better part of two decades. The band’s melodic punk came to prominence in the mid-’90s and has…

Portishead at 1STBANK Center on October 27

Stop the freaking presses — hell, for that matter, stop what you’re doing and take note: We’ve just received word that Portishead is coming to town. Specifically, the outfit is slated to appear at 1STBANK Center on Thursday, October 27 — and it’s one of only seven U.S. dates announced…

Review: DJ Spooky at Astroland, 7/8/11

DJ SPOOKY at ASTROLAND, BOULDER | 7/8/11Update (7/11/11, 11:26 a.m.): Kate Lesta of CMNKY has advised us that DJ Spooky did not perform for charity, and that he was, in fact, paid to perform at Astroland, which is not a BYOB venue, as described, but stresses that “It’s a Substance…

Review: ManCub at the Hi-Dive, 7/9/11

MANCUB at HI-DIVE | 7/9/11Nothing you’ve heard about ManCub can probably prepare you for ManCub. It would be easy to compare the duo to Daft Punk, because both make groove-heavy electronic music and have an arresting visual element to their shows, but ManCub seems more tied-in with a raw energy…

Review: The Avett Brothers at Red Rocks, 7/9/11

THE AVETT BROTHERS at RED ROCKS | 7/9/11Last night at Red Rocks, when Governor John Hickenlooper introduced the Avett Brothers — which he called the one of best bands in the world — he said, “If you look back into the history of music, there’s something special about people who…

Review: Robotic Pirate Monkey at the Bluebird, 7/8/11

Denver got a little taste of Boulder last night with Robotic Pirate Monkey nearly selling out the Bluebird Theater. At least seventeen kids missed the memo that unless you have an orange bracelet proving you are 21 years old, you can’t drink. Add this to the five or so fake…

Good Friday: Jessica Lea Mayfield, DJ Quik and more this weekend

With plenty of time to recover from the long fourth of July holiday, this weekend is shaping up to be just as good, with dozens of shows happening across the city. Tonight, Jessica Lea Mayfield makes an appearance at the Larimer Lounge with Ferraby Lionheart and Bare Bones. The young…

You can now earn your way into Heaven… Fest

So get this: we’ve received word from trusted and reliable sources that contrary to century’s old dogma, you can now earn your way into heaven. Well, not heaven heaven, as in eternity and all that, obviously — the jury’s still out on that ongoing debate — but rather Heaven Fest,…

Young Jeezy set to rock the Ogden on August 23

Word on the street is Atlanta’s cocaine rap king Young Jeezy is making his way to the Mile High City on August 23 at the Ogden Theatre. The TM103 tour is a continuation of Jeezy’s “Thug Motivation” series of albums and will no doubt feature a wide array of tracks…

Mind Benders closes after a few months

Mind Benders, the black light-themed club that just opened in the former Brickhouse Nightclub space this past March, has already closed. There’s no word on exactly why the venue was shuttered, but the newly renovated space is up now up for lease…