Concerts

Aaron “Shwayze” Smith and Cisco Adler began climbing the ladder of success several rungs higher than most new artists thanks to MTV. Buzzin’, a limited-run series on the network, brought the duo straight into the living rooms of their prime demographic, and their laid-back demeanor turned out to be likable…

Kim Fowley didn’t just launch the Runaways, the ’70s-vintage jailbait group that gave us Joan Jett and Lita Ford. He also created an effective formula — the all-bad-girl band — that’s still capable of hitting male listeners where it counts: the ears, and someplace lower. For proof, check out Civet,…

If there were such a thing as a postmodern post-apocalypse, and the world existed in a kind of warping shift of dark hues, Dalí-esque imagery and Technicolor, Philly’s Aunt Dracula is the band that would write its surf music. Whorls of twisted, reverby guitar, trippy, demented vocals and shifting paces…

For a lot of hip-hop fans in Denver, DJ Chonz is only known as the afternoon and weekend DJ on the city’s “hip-hop” radio station, KS107.5. They don’t know he cut his teeth hustling mixtapes at Cinco De Mayo, competing in Regional DMC Championships, and opening up for national artists…

Our sister paper LA Weekly has an excellent story up this week about photographer Peter Beste’s work with the gruesome, scary and highly theatrical leading figures of Norwegian black metal. Accompanying the story is an entertaining, and very, very NSFW slide show of selected photographs from Beste’s book. These photos…

Chances are better than good that if we asked you right now to guess which Denver band was name-dropped in the current issue of Spin, Bum Kon would probably be the last name you’d come up with. Not that the group doesn’t merit a mention, mind you; it’s just that…

Monolith Festival co-founder Matt Fecher kicks off the first of his New Music Mondays tonight at the Larimer Lounge (2721 Larimer St.). Fecher, who hosts the night as DJ Hot to Death, will be bringing in local artists, media, tastemakers, DJs and friends every Monday. In addition to having two…

So, what have the Hot IQs been up to? The answer to that question will apparently be revealed on Friday, December 19, when the new video is premiered and the act’s 7-inch is released at an all-ages show at the Bluebird with local-scene luminaries the Chain Gang of 1974, Young…

The Pirate Signal are finishing up their nationwide tour with 3OH!3, along with own shows, and will be heading home in a week or two. In the meantime, the group has made their new mixtape, “Of Gods and Gangsters” available for download on Datpiff.com.All you have to do is register…

Photo: Jon SolomonOurs, Plane Jane Automobile and YerkishFriday, November 28, 2008 Toad TavernI was floored the first time I saw Ours at the Walnut Room nearly two years ago. I was fully drawn into the band’s performance and awestruck by singer’s Jimmy Gnecco’s vocal delivery, especially his soaring Jeff Buckley-esque…

Wil Swindler’s ElevenetSunday, November 30, 2008Dazzle Restaurant & LoungeWil Swindler’s weekend show at Dazzle helped me recover a lost memory. I must have been three years old at most. My mother was rifling through my parents’ vinyl collection at our suburban home in Aurora, and the Beatles’ “White Album” was…

Photo: Tom Murphy Baby Birds Don’t Drink Milk w/Yellow Elephant and Married in BerdichevSaturday, November 29th, 2008RhinoceropolisBetter Than: Seeing well-established bands in a less idealistic setting.As a relatively new, experimental band, Yellow Elephant is still working out its kinks and inconsistencies, but this show was one where things came together…

Photo: Chad FahnestockBoyz II Men, Stevie B and Break EFXFriday, November 28, 2008Ogden TheaterBetter than: Listening to the recorded soundtrack from the ten-year high school reunion of any graduating class from the 1990s.The reactions varied wildly. When I told people that I was covering the Boyz II Men show at…

Wetlands, Widowers, the Dendrites, Monofog and Fissure MysticFriday, November 28, 2008Larimer LoungeBetter than: Stuffing down turkey sandwiches while watching David Lynch films and weepingOn the day after Thanksgiving, the good hipsters of Denver shook off the tryptophan hangover and braved the snow to catch the Wetlands’ CD release party at…

Yeasayer and Icy DemonsSaturday, November 29, 2008Bluebird TheaterBetter than: Flashbacks.Druggies, take notice: Yeasayer is a band you need to know. Between the trippy, hypnotic visuals provided by the lightball tree sculptures on stage and the wall-of-sound performance, this is a band that will help you get maximum mileage from your…

A few months ago, Distrakt debuted his video for “Fire Escape,” a quirky, sci-fi-inspired tale with the “special effects” to go with it. The song is one of the standout tracks from his 2006 album, Distraktions, but the imagery from the clip makes it that much better. The video has been featured on…

The Procussions originally started out with a handful of members; eventually, the crew was pared to a trio, then a duo. The group called it quits earlier this year — but over the summer, the Procussions announced that they were going to do at least one more album together. Or…

Bela Karoli has been in Helmet Room Studio working on the follow-up to band’s outstanding debut, Furnished Rooms. Tentatively titled, Digital Sixes, the album will feature members Julie Davis (vocals, bass), Brigid McAuliffe (accordion, vocals), Carrie Beeder (violin, cello) and James Han (keyboards), as well as some help from cellist/singer…

Stuck at work or bored at home, these three links should keep you busy for the rest of the day, either way. Fist up, enjoy these one-line summaries of the meaning behind some of the biggest pop songs in history.Second, electronic music pioneer and legendary producer (U2, Talking Heads, Coldplay,…

Gregory Alan Isakov has been laying down tracks for his new album tentatively titled This Empty Northern Hemisphere, which is also the title of one of the dozen new songs that will appear on the disc. He’s been recording in his home studio and getting some engineering help from Blue…