Titwrench 2012 at Glob and Mercury Cafe, 7/27/12 and 7/28/12

TITWRENCH 2012 @ ” target=”_blank”>GLOB | 7/27/12 It felt like the summer broke just in time for Titwrench 2012, and when things got kicked off a bit after 8 p.m. on Friday night, the climate inside Glob suited the music of opening act, Cardinal Veil. Julie Slater has played violin…

Cake at Red Rocks, 7/28/12

CAKE @ RED ROCKS AMPHITHEATRE | 7/28/12 See Also: – Slide show: Cake at Red Rocks, 7/28/12 – The Lumineers shed light on life in Denver and their evolving sound The capacity crowd at Red Rocks on Saturday seemed determined to defy the elements. Overcast skies, steady sheets of rain…

Photos: Eliot Lipp at Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom, 7/26/12

See also: – Colorado’s ten best camping festivals – Photos: 2012 Westword Music Showcase awards party – The ten best green rooms in Denver and Boulder Last night, Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom kicked off the weekend early with a preview of the River Beats at State Bridge Festival, which starts today…

Florence and the Machine at Red Rocks, 7/25/12

FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE @ RED ROCKS AMPHITHEATRE | 7/25/12 See Also: The Walkmen’s Peter Bauer: “Skrillex makes me feel like I don’t understand what’s happening” Funneled through the slight, almost frail body of its pale owner, Florence Welch’s voice cuts through the silence to fill the spaces between lyrics…

Ravi Coltrane’s love of music comes naturally

I was always a music fan,” Ravi Coltrane says. “I’d get home from school and I’d go right to Mom’s station wagon — that was when you could play the stereo without the car key. So I’d sit in there with my cassettes, listening to music all day after school…

American Idol is now more focused on judges than contestants

Everyone knows the story of Charles Darwin, best remembered as the guy who  espoused evolution. The most important thing we learned from him is that all things, over the course of time, must change. For example, just as the dinosaurs evolved into the species we know today as That One…

Death of Self grinds at Blast-O-Mat on Monday, July 30

Mental Disintegration is the perfect title for the latest release from Death of Self (due Monday, July 30, at Blast-O-Mat), as the music evokes the human mind desperately on the brink of collapse. This on-again, off-again project includes Clinging to the Trees of a Forest Fire’s Ethan McCarthy, but Death…

Justin Martin takes over City Hall on Friday, July 27

Justin Martin really only started taking his DJ career seriously in 2009, when he decided it would be nice to just play music for a living. He’d already been a serious contender among up-and-coming mixers and producers, but now he was laying it all on the line. You might remember…

Florence + the Machine Florence + the Machine

London’s Florence + the Machine was spared the clumsy moniker of Florence Robot/Isa Machine when singer Florence Welch realized, en route to the band’s first show, that it wouldn’t work. From the start, the combination of the act’s northern soul and experimental electro-pop with melodramatic sonic flourishes proved a hit…

White Denim

After a fateful gig at Beerland in Austin, the guys in Parque Touch asked the bassist of Peach Train to join them. After another lineup change, the remaining members changed their name to White Denim. Instead of opting for one specific style or aesthetic, the band weaves together strands of…

Aerosmith

Despite a few hiccups along the way — including feuds between frontman Steven Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry — Boston’s Aerosmith has forged on and established itself as a vital force in rock music for more than four decades. In the 1970s, the band built a solid fan base on…

Neil Diamond

Neil Diamond is one of the few artists still making music today who genuinely has cross-generational appeal. Everyone from grandpas and grandmas to moms and dads to sons and daughters — hell, even newborns, anyone with a pulse — can appreciate and enjoy the songs of this living legend. His…

Eldren

Eldren’s Yankee Stargazer lives up to the second half of its name. Predicated on fuzzy, wide-eyed wonder, the four-song EP unfurls a set of lazy, lovely lullabies funneled through an onrush of emotion. With hazy guitar and glittery piano, the title track establishes the album’s gentle pace, which later flows…

Saint Joe

Saint Joe of T.M.E. understands how to put a worthwhile project together, as evidenced by the 22-track Mortuary Mixtape. But the title is a misnomer, as the project is entirely listenable, and proceeds from its sales are being donated to help fight breast cancer and leukemia. The main attraction here…