Concerts

Is Molina Speaks the greatest rapper never heard? Perhaps. Without a doubt, he deserves to be heard, and he’s certainly one of the better rappers on the scene. He’s a treat to listen to, mostly because he doesn’t take himself too seriously. His skits, for example, are genuinely funny and…

On Josh Quinlan’s 2011 release, Mountain Time Standards, the saxophonist proved that he’s not only a skillful player, but a gifted composer, as well. And there’s a whole lot more where that came from on his latest effort, Open Space. Quinlan and pianist Ben Markley have no trouble traversing the…

JOHN SCOFIELD’S UBERJAM BAND @ BOULDER THEATER | THU, 8/1/13 John Scofield’s never been one to settle in any particular musical style. Deft in a number of them, he always seems to find ways to reinvent himself. With 1998’s A Go Go, he tapped into a whole new audience by…

MAC MILLER @ OGDEN THEATRE | 7/30/13 Mac Miller is one of rap music’s fastest-rising stars, whether hip-hop likes it or not. As an independent rapper who has twice shown that fresh beats and dope rhymes can sell well, he should be celebrated. Instead the rapper is a polarizing figure…

You know those starving artist types that would rather be broke than go near anything commercial? Thomas Tha Franchise is not one of those artists. Fresh off the release of his debut EP, Caffeine Dreams, he’s signed a contract with LoveCat Music, an independent licensing firm, to hopefully get his…

Independent Records at 937 East Colfax is closing next month. The store, which opened in August, 2000, next to the Ogden Theatre, is having a closing sale with some merchandise discounted 20 to 40 percent. The Denver store is slated to close at the end of August, but it may…

Trading gigs with bands in other cities is not just a novel concept, it’s pivotal for acts trying to make inroads outside of the local scene. It can often mean the difference between playing for bar staff, those obligated to be there, and actual fans. While countless outfits have been…

Australian DJ and producer Anna Lunoe has the eclectic taste you’d expect from a former radio disc jockey; she plays house, indie dance, techno and disco clubs with equal aplomb, packing dance floors with her genre-bending sets. In advance of her show this Friday, August 2, at NORAD with the…

AMERICANARAMA @ FIDDLER’S GREEN | WEDS, 7/31/13 Sometimes when genre-specific festivals are put together, the bill gets padded with — to put it charitably — lesser-known artists. Fortunately, that’s not the case with Americanarama, which features Bob Dylan, Wilco, My Morning Jacket and Ryan Bingham, each heavy hitters in their…

BLKHRTS (MIXTAPE RELEASE) @ MARQUIS | SAT, 7/27/13 BLKHRTS have crafted an utterly riveting hybrid sound that centers on retro-futuristic production that is both unique and progressive. Live, the crew brings an unbridled energy that’s as ferocious as Onyx, as primal as Body Count and as frenzied and unhinged as…

Jack Casey’s Four Mile House, a Glendale fixture since for decades, appears to be closed. The bar, which won Westword’s 2003 Best of Denver award for Best Happy Hour for Absolutely Free Food, started life as a barn, back in the days when what’s now Glendale was filled with dairy…

While having margaritas with his mother in Estes Park, Brandon Hagen looked at the Aerial Tramway and thought, “Wouldn’t it be cool if you had some solo artist or a duo just sitting there playing a song for the length of that trip up the hill?” That initial thought sparked…

After extensive renovations, Grizzly Rock opened a year ago in the building at 5255 West 6th Avenue that has housed a number of different venue over the years, including Hollywood Legends, Club Arriba and After the Gold Rush. But the 1,200-capacity Grizzly Rock’s stay was a short-lived one as it…

TROPICOOL @ BAR STANDARD | FRI, 7/26/13 David La Melza’s Tropicool project is a beautifully executed brand serving up feel-good, breezy disco-house tunes that also happen to be irresistibly catchy. Everything about the project, from the name to the pop-infused female vocals, is designed to remind you of dancing sweaty…

For the past five years, the folks at Swallow Hill have hosting the annual Denver Ukefest, which includes jams, master classes, workshops and pretty much all things ukulele. This year’s fest, which runs from Thursday, October 10, through Saturday, October 12, features uke-centric acts like James Hill, hailed as one…

ADAM ANT @ THE OGDEN THEATRE | 7/24/13 Adam Ant & the Good, the Mad and the Lovely Posse came on stage with fanfare. Ant was wearing his Blueblack Hussar outfit, and he and his bandmates looked like they’d come out of some indefinable era of punk without an obvious…

While there are rumors that El Chapultepec was operating as a speakeasy during Prohibition, it legally opened at the end of Prohibition, in 1933. Over the past eight decades, the infamous jazz and blues club has hosted a number of jazz greats, like Ella Fitzgerald, Chet Baker and Eddie Harris,…

Tony’s P’s, which opened last November in the former J.R.’s space at 777 East 17th Avenue, recently started hosting live music on weekends in its lounge upstairs. The venue will be the new home base for old-school funk/jazz act Buckner Funken Jazz, fronted by trumpeter Rod Buckner. The group will…

The Westword Music Showcase 2013 is now officially a wrap, and in just a few short months we’ll start batting around ideas for next year’s Showcase. (If you have a wish list of acts we should consider booking, feel free to weigh in below.) In the meantime, Gabe Rovick from…

I don’t have to all of a sudden now become fucking Marilyn Manson if I’m gonna define it as goth,” says Yonnas Abraham of the music his band BLKHRTS is making. “I just gotta…be obsessed with romance, obsessed with death, and obsessed with the color black. “Sex, drugs, violence, money,…

Andy Thomas’s new solo album, Wicked Dark, begins with an appropriately downcast note of confused emotions riding on a repetitive, dynamically textured riff. There are two vocalists on “Nowhere but Down,” and the song creates a sense of isolation that has yet to turn into the sadness you know will…