“Please, we ask you to hold your Faygo until the wedding begins,” a woman with electric green braids instructs the crowd. Standing anxiously nearby is the groom, outfitted in a Jack Skellington top hat. His big day has arrived — he is about to be wed to the love of…
The Underground Music Showcase is underway. Last night’s kickoff of the 400+ band festival featured standout sets from the likes of Jux County and Homebody. But there’s plenty more to see and hear. We’ve picked out eleven of the sets we’re most excited about. See also: Denver musicians talk about…
While the Gathering of the Juggalos is generally known as a peaceful event filled with unity and togetherness, there are still occasional scuffles. One such incident took the form of a melee early Thursday morning when Hed PE rapper/singer Jared Gomes launched himself into the crowd to confront a rambunctious…
Those in the outside world tend to view the Gathering of the Juggalos as a lawless festival of debauchery, with apparently violent clowns — “gang members,” even, if you ask the U.S. government — running rampant and chaos ruling the day. In actuality, this notion is far from the truth…
Jason Isbell shared the billing with Hard Working Americans at the Ogden last night. Isbell took the stage promptly at 8 p.m., and that seemed to throw almost everyone for a loop. At about 8:10, with the club only at three-quarters capacity, Isbell was already into his second song, “Go…
What’s different about this year’s Gathering of the Juggalos in Thornville, Ohio? Well, the cops for one thing. During last year’s coverage of the event, set in Cave-In-Rock, Illinois, we encountered minimal security. The gatekeepers and patrol staff, which were seemingly just exceptionally large juggalos in “SECURITY” shirts, peered into…
Planes Mistaken for Stars was one of Denver’s most beloved punk bands, as respected around the country as it was here at home. After a seven-year hiatus, the band returned with a West Coast tour. In this week’s music feature, now posted on the Backbeat blog, Oakland Childers explains why…
Going to a Deep Club event is a bit of an adventure. The label and host of “DIY Parties” hides the addresses of its shows until you RSVP. They’re always at a place well off the beaten path, and you never find out the exact location until the day of…
Global Dance Festival — by some metrics the largest EDM festival in the region — brought a typically powerhouse lineup of bass purveyors to Red Rocks over the weekend. Over three days, thousands of fans flocked to the park for sets by the likes of Adventure Club, Zedd and Waka…
It would be easy to dismiss a show like this as something aging fans of ’90s alternative rock take their kids to. But Nine Inch Nails and Soundgarden still have plenty of intellect and challenging music. And opener Oneohtrix Point Never, an experimental electronic and ambient artist, likely challenged the…
When Planes Mistaken for Stars made its return to Denver over the weekend after a long break, it attracted an assemblage of old fans and new. This included some people you don’t much see at shows anymore — a true testament to the enduring impact of Planes. There wasn’t a…
Riot Fest will not return to May Farms outside Byers this year after Arapahoe County Commissioners denied special-use permit applications from both the festival and the farm. The denial came just two months before the music festival and carnival was set to bring Wu-Tang Clan, Slayer, Primus and more to…
This week’s concert offerings include Dierks Bentley at the big stage in Morrison and Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn taping at eTown in Boulder. There are a few good ones in the actual city limits of Denver — read on for our picks this week…
Ask anyone who was around the underground rock scene in Denver in the early ’90s and chances are that person at least heard of Sympathy F. Since its 1991 debut at 7 South, a club now known as the hi-dive, Sympathy F became a favorite of peers and fans by…
After being denied special-use permits required by Arapahoe County, Riot Fest has moved its 2014 festival from May Farms outside Byers to Sports Authority Field at Mile High in downtown Denver. The dates (September 19 to 21) and schedule (see below) are unchanged. Previously purchased tickets will be honored as-is,…
If you are in my advertising demographic–18 to 34–the pop culture you loved as a child is terrible. The Power Rangers were terrible, the Transformers were terrible, the Ninja Turtles were terrible. Michael Bay didn’t ruin any of it; it came pre-ruined. I loved all of it (I love the…
Christopher Michael Richard, known as Crash on stage, has been a singer and percussionist with Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros since the beginning of the band in 2009, following a four year career with the Deadly Syndrome. He has embarked on his own solo project and played his second…
Rob Garza of Thievery Corporation planned his summer tour months and months ago, with one major gig request: to play in the mountains. That wish was granted when Thievery Corporation headlined the Ride Festival over the weekend in Telluride. But just playing in the mountains wasn’t enough. He wanted to…
When he dropped out of school to start bands, Carl Sorensen didn’t imagine he’d be scrambling between gigs, juggling several bands at once. But he’s managed to make a career out of playing music – and then some. Isa Jones offers a profile of Sorensen in this week’s feature, breaking…
There is no trout at Trout Steak Revival’s band practice, but there are five musicians and a manager full of bratwurst and salad in a back yard in east Denver. “You can only eat so much trout,” banjo player Travis McNamara jokes. Fiddle player Bevin Foley hosts her bandmates on…
While the folks behind Riot Fest were recently denied a temporary-use permit to hold the event at May Farms in Byers the third week in September, organizers will reportedly have a new venue announced in the coming days. Sure, it’s a major pain in the ass for everyone involved to…
There’s been some discussion as to what to label Cloud Nothings. Punk, noise-rock, garage-rock, grunge and even emo have been tossed around when referring to the Ohio-based trio. But to put it into one of these labels would be a disservice. As the band proved at the Larimer Lounge last…
