Concerts

Denver Noise Fest is now one of the biggest of its kind in the country. And it isn’t just harsh noise. The lineup did not just feature circuit-bending academics. The Festival was a celebration of a love for weird noises, by a wide-ranging group of generous artists…

There’s plenty going on in the friendly confines of Denver this week, but if you’re looking for a field trip, we advise going to see Warpaint at Belly Up Aspen or Gogol Bordello in Boulder. Of course, you could also just see the latter at the Ogden later this week…

Last month, we brought you the news that Swallow Hill Music would be booking this year’s summer concert series at the Arvada Center. That partnership becomes much clearer this morning with the full lineup announcement — in addition to previously announced artists including Judy Collins and Don McLean, the Center…

Last year, Sherwood Webber of Skinless put together a festival with a meticulous curatorial eye for aggressive music and no patience for gimmickry of any kind. The result was Denver Black Sky, which we named the best metal fest last month. The Fest returns this August with two days of…

For Justin Bua, painting is about documenting moments in time that reflect an era. Hailing from New York, Bua’s work has examined the urban themes of hip-hop, jazz, break dancing, and the countless threads that continue to sew the fabric of the entire culture. Since the early ’90s, Bua has…

The bar across the street from the Pepsi Center is a menagerie. The Arcade Fire show has just ended, and I am talking to a woman named Sarah who is dressed as a blackbird. Her husband, Tom, is wearing a fire-print onesie and a furry hood with ears. He has…

Cop Circles’s Luke Leavitt spent time living in Egypt as a kid and formed a band while attending Vassar College in New York. He moved to Denver and found a city where he could play his keytar as part of a protest and develop an intense live show. We spent…

The library is a building that holds thousands of books. But that doesn’t describe the institution’s role. Libraries are our memories. They are the place where all the lines eventually connect, where you can trace the progress of time in every direction. With the library’s help, you can find the…

Before the Knife’s show proper got started, a guy who was dressed like a particularly garish Russell Brand got the crowd warmed up with some calisthenics. You know, the sort of thing that’s done en masse in Japan and China. It was part impromptu dance-class primer and part yoga class,…

Britt ChesterBehind the “Big G Hive” created by Brown Note ProductionsBrown Note Productions, Inc. is among the best lighting companies in the country, at least according to its new trophy. The Thornton-based production company won the Parnelli Award for “Hometown Hero Lighting Company of the Year” for 2013. The Parnellis,…

Method Man and Redman, who were recently immortalized on the cover of High Times with their faces carved into an imaginary “Mount Kushmore,” played a sold-out show on 4/20 at Cervantes’ Masterpiece. No surprises there. Also Leftover Salmon was playing in the street right outside, with members of Little Feat…

The most superfluous smoke machine in the world was employed during Wiz Khalifa’s 4/20 set at Red Rocks. Partway through the Pittsburgh rapper’s performance, someone backstage turned on the thing, and its output was immediately subsumed into the cloud of pot smoke cascading down from the stands. There’s weed at…

Even diehard rap fans will tell you: There’s something about recorded rap music that often doesn’t translate well to the stage. It makes sense for a lot of artists; for those who rely on a carefully chosen vocabulary, much of what makes an artist great can get completely lost in…

OM is often lumped in with the genres of “stoner rock” and “doom metal,” and it seems likely to be not coincidental that its tour ended on April 20th in Colorado. But the band’s 4/20 show did not seem to have either a stoner or doom vibe to it. Washingtonians…

Oakland resident Kimchi Truong was 24. She passed out on the Coachella grounds last weekend, likely due to an overdose. Her death, Thursday, was shocking. But what’s really shocking is that this kind of thing doesn’t happen more often. This story is about very young people doing a shit-ton of…

A year ago, local music icon and ColfaxAvenue.com webmaster Jonny Barber released the first volume of his Colfax-themed compilation that included acts like Slim Cessna’s Auto Club, Five Iron Frenzy and Andy Palmer. Now Barber is set to release the second installment of the Colfax Compilation on Tuesday, April 22,…

Clyfford Still was one of the 20th century’s most innovative artists. That doesn’t mean the artist didn’t have a love for music. Still’s fondness for blues, jazz, classical music and more is part of the inspiration behind the live performance series set to hit his eponymous Denver museum this summer…

Riot Fest expanded its reach to Colorado last year, bringing The Replacements, Guided By Voices, FLAG and many more to May Farms. The Chicago-based festival, celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, will return to Denver this fall with the help of local concert promotion company Soda Jerk Presents. Riot Fest…

As one half of the propulsive rock band In the Whale, Nate Valdez spends his nights moving crowds in darkened bars. But by day, he works as a mortician, preparing bodies for funerals. It’s an occupation once held by his grandfather. Read the rest of his story in this week’s…

Over the weekend, the Summit Music Conference and Showcase took over Casselman’s for a day. A panel consisting of people with ties to Sirius/XM Radio, Warner Music, Atlantic Records and more discussed ways artists in Denver can help the hip-hop scene ascend to new heights. There are those in Denver…

The members of Steele and Colfax are indebted to one of Denver’s most unique stretches of road. Indeed, it only takes looking at the title of the quartet to get a sense of their local roots. The place where the band played their first rehearsals is right there in the…