January 22 and 23, the Motet will be reopening the newly refurbished Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom with a couple of shows highlighting the best moments from past Halloween shows. In case you aren’t familiar, the group’s Halloween tradition is to “dress up” as some of their favorite bands and deliver entire…
Ever wonder what it takes to manage the day-to-day affairs of 3OH!3? Wonder no more. Evidently, all it takes is a cellphone, a laptop outfitted with the latest Microsoft Office suite and an insatiable desire to work 362 days a year (hanging out with your parents, of course, on the…
Although New York-based indie act Vampire Weekend isn’t releasing its highly anticipated sophomore effort, Contra, for another week, NPR is streaming the entire album until it hits the stores on Tuesday, January 12. Touring in support of the album, the band will trek across the UK and Europe in February…
Not to be outdone by Joe Ginsberg’s little breakfast quest, it seems Jonny 5 of Flobots fame has embarked on a similar year-long adventure, only this one is slightly little less cereal. From the sounds of it, J5 — Jamie Laurie, to his mom — has abundant time to write…
You know how the more cynical among us bemoan the whole Twitter phenomenon? Clearly cheesed off by the whole notion, they’re often found uttering stuff like, “I don’t need to know what such and such had for breakfast this morning, for Chrissakes!” in disgust every time the subject comes up…
Update: Mustangs & Madras will take the stage one last time at 3 Kings Tavern on Saturday, January 23, in the company of the Gunshy, Git Some, Only Thunder and Get Three Coffins Ready.[original post: 10.29.09, 11:25:52] It’s with more than a tinge of sadness that we report this next…
Paper Bird, These United States, Dovekins Thursday, December 31, 2009 hi-dive Better than: Going to a New Year’s concert that didn’t feature kazoos and Jefferson Airplane covers. It was easy to overlook the elements of chaos that marked Paper Bird’s New Year’s set at the hi-dive Thursday night. The headliners…
Slim Cessna’s Auto Club, Munly & the Lupercalians Thursday, December 31, 2009 Bluebird Theater Better Than: Any number of lame New Year’s parties occurring around Denver. A wooden pier constructed outside of the Bluebird Theatre seemed odd and out of place. It would prove to be a premonition setting the…
Noah Pred Thursday, December 31, 2009 B. Side Lounge, Boulder Better Than: The end of the last decade New Year’s Eve is always a little special, whether you want it to be or not. And 2009 was destined — doomed, one might say — to be a lot special, ending…
Even with the staggering amount of outstanding local music released this past year (our annual Moovers and Shakers compendium is available online at Backbeatblog.com), Backbeat writers somehow managed to make room on our playlists for an impressive number of imports. And although it shouldn’t be a surprise by now, it’s…
Toronto-based DJ/producer Noah Pred produces music in 3D — dirty, dark and danceable. You could also describe it as 3W, as in weird, wobbly and WOW! Specifically, his original material is full of distorted, ever-evolving timbres; shifting, irresistible rhythms; and creepy, off-kilter snatches of melody. His sound is a deep,…
Noah Ray McMahan would go to the Snake Pit twice a week when he was in college back in the ’90s. And this fall, after stints in New York and Las Vegas, he moved back to Denver and, along with former promoter and architect Justin Martinez, who designed Bar Standard…
View Larger Map So even as we bid Kazmos farewell, we’ve just received word of a brand new club opening on 22nd and Champa in the former Loft space. After nearly fifteen years of night club promotion, the 3 Deep Productions crew, Francois Baptiste and Alvin LaCabe, together with fellow…
New Year’s Eve is just around the corner and we have to say, the slew of excellent posters we saw advertising equally excellent events for the evening (and the next day) bode well for the new year. After some careful consideration we chose this lovely poster for the Motet’s NYE…
After five years of hosting weekly reggae dances at Kazmos Lounge on 13th and Kalamath, DJ BloodPreshah (aka Thomas Behler) is throwing one last bash at the joint starting at 10 p.m. this Saturday, January 2. As you might have heard by now, the club is closing this weekend. BloodPreshah,…
While last week was relatively slow in terms of show announcements, the folks at Soda Jerk Presents recently unveiled quite a few shows at the the Marquis Theater and the Black Sheep in Colorado Springs. Rapper P.O.S. hits the Black Sheep on Thursday, February 4, followed by a date at…
When I was a kid, every summer my dad and I would fly to Chicago. My grandfather would meet us at O’Hare, puffing on a stogie and blowing the smoke out the half-open window of his Buick. The car smelled like cigars, his clothes smelled like cigars, my grandparents’ apartment…
Have you seen that new MTV reality show Jersey Shore, or at least the clips on The Soup? Richard Vission is the perfect musical complement to that show. And it’s not just that he looks like a cast member (though he does); his party-time take on house is the perfect…
As evidenced by the number of quality releases this year from every sector of the scene, local music continues to thrive here as we close out the decade. Reflecting back on our favorite records of 2009, we noticed some welcome trends: More and more acts opted to release EPs over…
This week’s top flier comes to us from the far-off, exotic land of Fort Collins. While we don’t get up that way as often as we should, there’s no shortage of talented acts coming out of there and, as this flier shows, no shortage of talented designers helping them get…
Can you tell Christmas is just two days away? Everybody’s getting in the holiday spirit it seems. We just heard that the Fray is giving away five unreleased Christmas MP3s. Well, the first one, fittingly enough, “The First Noel,” is absolutely free, no strings attached. The other four are free,…
It’s about damn time this year ended. But before it does, we’re taking a look back at your favorite stories of 2009. Here, the ten most popular concert reviews from the Backbeat blog…
