Sounds Like Fun!

As evidenced by the recently released documentary Beyond the Mat, wrestling, in all its violent glory, is for adults. And local wrestling — not that bawdy WWF-Hollywood crap — is the real deal. Luckily, in Denver we have the Central Wrestling Organization to satisfy our lust for blood. For those…

In the Name of the Father

Anyone who’s ever complained about the difficulties of escaping the shadow cast by a parent should be shamed into silence by the story of Femi Anikulapo-Kuti. After all, Femi’s dad, the late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, wasn’t just a star in his native Nigeria and many other African nations. He was a…

Getting in Tune

Eric Bachmann recently had a revelation. He realized that he liked writing songs. He liked writing them so much that he came up with a name for a new project — Crooked Fingers — and wrote an entire album full of tunes, with verses and choruses and Bachmann singing like…

Upon Closer Review

Martha Stewart recently introduced her spring line at Kmart. Lovely, it is: full of pastels and flowers and festive little patterns that are meant to invite all kinds of feelings of renewal and meditations on the rebirth of all living things. (Not to mention feelings of inadequacy if the dishtowels…

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

Many fans of underground or cult performers are purists of an especially intractable type. Not only do they take pride in the fact that their favorite sounds are like sandpaper on the eardrums of the majority of listeners, but they’re flat-out offended when said music is tinkered with to up…

Phil Lee

Usually when the lives of “white trash” are evoked at all, they’re played for laughs (Southern Culture on the Skids springs to mind), some particularly degenerate brand of tragedy (Will Oldham), or both (any number of Bloodshot Records bands). Phil Lee, on the other hand, works the expected trash stereotypes…

Nels Cline/Gregg Bendian

Jazz artists of every stripe in recent years have tried to tackle the colossal musical legacy of the late John Coltrane. Despite varying degrees of success, the proliferation of contemporary players willing to take on the Coltrane challenge is a giant step in the right direction. At a time when…

South By So What

There are roughly 1,061 miles between Denver and Austin, Texas. It’s a journey that takes the average driver — traveling at the recommended speed, of course — about twenty hours to complete (or, to be more specific, 1164 minutes if you follow the route provided on www.mapquest.com, which takes you…

Critic’s Choice

Culminating pop-bop sensibilities, Joshua Redman, Sunday, April 2, at the Gothic Theatre, is a tenor tour de force. Redman’s maturity as a leader and his sophisticated arrangements have earned him unprecedented accolades from the jazz community since 1991, when he won the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Competition. Now,…

Hit Pick

Munly, aka Jay Munly, aka Jayson Munly Thompson, Friday, March 31, with Maraca 5-0 and Hoochie at the Raven, plies a variety of kitchen-sink Americana that gives a wonderful new meaning to the phrase “gross domestic product.” Originality must have been the most abundant of the many strange elements saturating…

Sounds Like Fun!

Springtime in Denver brings with it the promise of sporadic rain and snow. While that’s good news for skiers, it’s an unwelcome guarantee of more slush and gloom for those who are ready to revel in sunshine. Caribbean Playtime, Sunday nights at Calypso Caribbean Beach Club & Cafe, provides an…

The Wisdom of the Saint

Hip-hop in Denver, says the MC and rapper known as Apostle, is all skeleton and no meat. All foundation but no house. The dream of unity if not yet the reality. “You go into any mom-and-pop store in Denver, I swear everyone’s a rapper,” he explains. The challenge, then, is…

Master of the Universe

“I like trying to remain mysterious,” says Michael Schwartz, whose turntablist nom de plume is Mix Master Mike. “It’s like hitting and running — hit the spot, then go home and work on the formula until my next call comes, and I get a chance to show people real hip-hop…

Let It Rain

Richmond Fontaine is best known for its haunting country-punk sound and the troubled characters that populate its songs. But while the talented four-piece from Portland, Oregon, is enamoured of dark themes, the band hasn’t succumbed to the same bad fortune that fascinates its lead singer. “I feel more comfortable with…

Kelly Hogan & the Pine Valley Cosmonauts

Here’s more proof that C&W authenticity doesn’t mean jack anymore. Kelly Hogan, whose past gigs have included stints with the Jody Grind and the Rock*a*Teens (not to mention a day job doing publicity for the very label that released this disc), is no one’s idea of a homegrown country chanteuse…

D’Angelo

It’s easy to be amazed by Voodoo, D’Angelo’s long-anticipated followup to 1995’s Brown Sugar. The album speaks to ancestors, both musical and historical, as experienced as on the prayer “Africa.” And it does so in language that those ancestors would surely understand. You can imagine the spirits of a rich…

Spanker Madness

As musical tributes go, this new disc from Austin’s vaudevillian all-stars is a stone-cold smoker. Twelve of the recording’s thirteen tunes focus on the same verdant theme — marijuana — the apparent herb of choice for the Spanking gang. Such a heady theme might seem burned out if it were…

An Apple With Bite

The policeman was standing near the entrance of the Fillmore Auditorium last Thursday night. Not that the crowd — sizable, but under capacity — that had amassed to see Fiona Apple presented any threat of violence or substantial drug possession. The cop — an older man, crew cut, dressed in…

Critic’s Choice

Rahzel, with Mix Master Mike and Choclair, at the Fox Theatre Sunday, March 26, must be seen to be believed. A self-described “vocal percussionist,” he has perfected the art of beat-boxing. Also known as the “Godfather of Noyze,” Rahzel can duplicate the sounds of whole albums — with his mouth…

Hit Pick

The Maybellines, with Dear Nora and Jason Heller Thursday, March 30, at the Bluebird Theater, bounce around the same musical stratosphere like fellow locals the Breezy Porticos and Dressy Bessy, and it’s an affiliation the band wears like a scratch-and-sniff sticker. The cover of the band’s new self-titled single features…

Sounds Like Fun!

The Denver Record Collectors Spring Expo 2000, Sunday, March 26, might be the only place in town where you’re likely to see hip-hop DJs and fans of ’50s rock compete for access to the same record bins. The annual event will once again be held at the Holiday Inn Northglenn…

Star-Spangled Bad Boy

As gigs go, singing the national anthem at a sporting event is the ultimate dream and nightmare. The upside is the thrill of belting out the nation’s rallying cry to thousands of pumped-up countrymen and women, a rush no other gig can offer. The downside, of course, is the song…