Jazzmatazz gives Denver’s good musicians a new place to play

“Why are there so many jazz musicians in Denver?” asks Page Fraley, a jazz trumpeter himself, rattling off a list of fine musicians who teach around town. Tenor saxophonist Keith Oxman, who teaches at East High School. Trumpeter Brad Goode at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Eric Gunnison at…

Fear Before sends out a plea for help

Over the years, I’ve had the chance to put up a number of touring bands for the night. Most were friends, while some were merely friends of friends who rolled into town unexpectedly and reached out in hopes of scoring a place to crash and maybe do some laundry. Almost…

Denver buskers fight with tools

Is it us, or does it seem like some Denver street musicians are more talented and creative than buskers in other cities? Seriously. Now, don’t get it twisted: They’re not all worth writing home about. God knows we’ve been treated to our fair share of woeful mediocrity over the years,…

Flier of the Week: Houses EP release

You might get a little sense of deja vu from this week’s top flier — we’ve featured the previous two Houses EP release fliers, both of which sport similar designs, in past flier of the week slots. But what can we say? These fliers are just beautiful examples of design…

Last Night: Evangelicals at the Hi-Dive

Evangelicals, Holiday Shores, Candy Claws Monday, November 9 The Hi-Dive Better Than: (Sorry about this) The Broncos offense Maybe it’s a low blow, but Josh Jones of Evangelicals was responsible for tingling more spines than Brandon Marshall on Monday night, despite the fact that Marshall had an audience of approximately…

Pretty Lights just keep getting brighter and brighter

To see the following that Pretty Lights has established at this point is a bit staggering, isn’t it? Last month, Derek Vincent Smith — who makes music under the name Pretty Lights — sold out three back-to-back dates in Denver, Boulder and in his hometown of Fort Collins at the…

Over the weekend: Hearts of Palm at the hi-dive

Hearts of Palm, To Be Eaten Friday, November 6, 2009 hi-dive Better Than: One of the best bands of recent years quietly slipping into history. To Be Eaten probably seemed like an odd pairing for this first of two final Hearts of Palm shows, except this band plays its music…

Over the Weekend: Dirty Projectors at the Bluebird

Dirty Projectors, Tune-Yards Sunday, November 8, 2009 Bluebird Theater What it was like: Watching a gospel choir through broken glass. There is a risk, when you see two bands as technically elaborate as Dirty Projectors and Tune-Yards, that you will get several hours of knob twirling and strings pulled with…

The Rouge’s red letter day continues

Looks like the Rouge’s red letter day is continuing. From kicking off the summer performing at Red Rocks to making its way up to headlining status, the band is now enjoying a healthy buzz generated by the inherent sex appeal of its shirtless, leather vested frontman its passionate live shows…

Ween’s September Red Rocks show available on iClips

It seemed like there was a special significance to Ween’s show at Red Rocks in September. In addition to the fact that the show marked one of the final spots on the band’s fall tour, we noticed a number of cameras during the performance and mused that the show could…

Last night: They Might Be Giants at the Gothic Theatre

They Might Be Giants, Guggenheim Grotto Thursday, November 5 Gothic Theater Better than: Seeing an expertly executed live show that didn’t include sock puppets. They Might Be Giants couldn’t stick to one sound during their appearance at the Gothic on Thursday night. The band’s show, which nearly spanned two hours,…

This Just In: Jay-Z tour confirmed, Kevin Smith show canceled

Jay-Z, whose Blueprint 3 has been a strong seller since hitting the streets two months ago, just confirmed his 2010 North American tour, which includes a stop at the Pepsi Center Monday, March 22. Grammy-nominated rapper Young Jeezy will open the show and tickets go on sale Friday, November 13…

Google improves its music search capabilities

Been on Google lately? Notice something different? We noticed it the other day, but didn’t think much of it until we came across this item on Billboard.com. Evidently, the search engine provider has broadened its search capabilities to now provide links to songs that are capable of being streamed instantaneously…

Has United broken any of your gear?

Flying the friendly skies with United has given Dave Carroll’s burgeoning career an undeniable boost. By now, you’ve probably familiar with the Caroll or at least his story. Last year after United damaged one of his guitars, he documented his travails in a song called, fittingly, “United Breaks Guitars.” Before…