Ben Makinen, who’s been a professional drummer for close to three decades, says the inspiration for his solo electronic album came from a dream he had in which he was visited by an ancient butterfly that told him a story of love between a gruff Goliath beetle and a beautiful…
Demonstrating considerable growth since releasing his previous pair of EPs, Benny Loco covers a surprising stylistic and emotional range on Rise. The title cut is like a cross between the soundtrack to a John Carpenter movie and Dead Ringer-era RJD2, with Loco mixing thick analog synth lines and crisp percussion…
Like a harder version of early Skinny Puppy, the songs on Built Better by Betrayal, the latest release from Invisible ASPS, bear out the title well. If these tunes weren’t born out of anger and bitterness and a desire to purge those feelings, it would be surprising, because even the…
Thee Dang Dangs got going this past summer when Broox Pulford of Wombmates, Shawn Butzin and Ray Koren of Dead Rollers and Rebecca Williams of Call Me Dolly decided to start a new band, united by a mutual love of rock that’s still rough around the edges. The outfit has…
With the alleged end of the world approaching, it seems apropos to throw an End of Time party with a headliner such as Traversable Wormhole. The artist is probably better known as Adam X (the brother of Frankie Bones, one of the instigators of the infamous Sonic Groove Records shop)…
PAUL BANKS @ BLUEBIRD THEATER |11/27/12 When Paul Banks and his band walked on stage last night, with no preamble of any kind, the four musicians took up their positions, and as drifts of fog floated gently by, the guitar sparkle and low-end bass slides introduced one of Banks’s best…
ASKING ALEXANDRIA @ OGDEN THEATRE | 11/27/12 Last night at the Ogden Theatre, the fist-pumping, black-shirted, skinny jeans-wearing contingent was out in full force. As the England-via-Dubai outfit Asking Alexandria performed for a capacity crowd, mosh pits formed and quickly disappeared. Kids were throwing devil horns in the pit or…
Although an official announcement from Arts & Venues Denver is due later this week, motorists and pedestrians passing on Speer Boulevard right now have no doubt noticed that the signage on the Colorado Convention Center theater is changing. Five years after acquiring the naming rights to the 5,000-seat venue, which…
When the class requirements are away, the students will play. This past weekend was a busy one for nightlife on Boulder’s Pearl Street. Our roving photographer Brandon Marshall spent Saturday evening capturing scenes at Boulder’s hotspots, including Press Play, Pearl Street Pub & Cellar and more. Keep reading for some…
Schooooool’s out! For. Winter. Or at least it was when Alice Cooper visited the Paramount Theatre this past Friday for a spectacularly spine-chilling show. Onstage, the never-aging (seriously, what gives?) rock icon navigated a series of tricky costumes including a skull suit, a ringleader uniform and a straight jacket, while…
Happy Monday! Another week, another great batch of shows on tap: After canceling a highly anticipated date this past spring, Action Bronson is more than making up for it with a pair of Colorado shows, one on Wednesday night at the Fox Theatre in Boulder, followed by another at Cervantes’…
DEATH GRIPS @ LARIMER LOUNGE | 11/23/12 Most bands that get hyped rarely live up to it. Death Grips was better than any hype could convey. Zach Hill and MC Ride put the amount of energy into this less than hour-long performance equaling what you’d have to sustain for a…
We hope you’re not too sleepy after all that food and shopping, because it’s time to hit the streets and dance your face off until the sun comes up and Monday rolls around. As always, some great music to soundtrack your weekend, including Danny Howells, Bro Safari, Torro Torro, Tin…
Welcome to the weekend — excuse us, make that the holiday weekend! Whoo hoo! If all is going according to plan right now, hopefully you’re reading this right now in your jammies — or better yet, you won’t be reading this for a few hours because you’re taking advantage of…
Vincent Furnier has gone by Alice Cooper for more than four decades. During that time, two different versions of his on-stage persona emerged: the early one, when he was kind of meek; and the later one, when he became more of a villain. The change came when he stopped drinking…
“The first time I dealt with a major label, I thought I had all the answers,” recalls Tyler Ward. “I thought I was so good at what I did that they couldn’t tell me what was going on. There were two or three offers on the table, and I said,…
EARTH @ MARQUIS THEATER | 11/21/12 Near the end of Earth’s set, Dylan Carlson said, “This is the first song I ever wrote for Earth. It’s called ‘The Ouroboros is Broken.'” This probably came as a surprise to a lot of people because it is inarguably one of Earth’s classic…
Vincent Furnier has gone by Alice Cooper for more than four decades. During that time, two different versions of his on-stage persona emerged: the early one, when he was kind of meek; and the later one, when he became more of a villain. The change came when he stopped drinking…
When you think about musical projects forming in Boulder these days, rock and roll isn’t exactly what comes to mind, despite Rose Hill Drive’s hailing from that town. But West Water Outlaws (due on Wednesday, November 28, at the Larimer Lounge) can safely be filed in that category. The act…
The guys in Death Grips are not interested in following in anyone’s footsteps, hip-hop or otherwise. Adopting what drummer/percussionist Zach Hill refers to as “future primitivism,” the outfit uses whatever is readily at hand, including camcorders and cell phones, to capture sounds, and mulches a lot of raw audio into…
When Diplo’s Mad Decent spin-off label Jeffree’s dropped the Bro Safari single “Da Worm” last year, it brightened the spotlight already shining on Nicholas Weiller. Bro Safari might be a relatively new project, but Weiller, who currently performs under that name, earned his stripes as a DJ and producer with…
Whatever questions you direct at Asking Alexandria, you can be sure the answers will be delivered in some kind of scream. The Alexandrians trade in the breakdown-heavy thrashing known as metalcore, which, true to its name, combines the excesses of both metal and hardcore into one headache-inducing brew. Asking Alexandria…
