When it comes to Bruce, David Brooks misses the point

Certain liberals will try to tell you that Europeans are more cultured than Americans, that Europeans are refined people who sip tea in fancy ways and visit their various art museums while Americans are fat, vacuous slobs who lap up asinine sitcom entertainment like the grape-flavored corn syrup they enjoy…

Mishawaka Amphitheatre to reopen tomorrow

Some great news coming down this morning from the folks at the Mishawaka Amphitheatre: After being forced to close and subsequently cancel a number of shows due to the High Park fire that raged through Northern Colorado, the Poudre Canyon venue, which was miraculously spared, will reopen for lunch and…

Chris Daniels is back after a harrowing battle with illness

The image is stark and simple: a vintage truck painted a deep indigo, a battered brick wall behind, and the words “Better Days” spelled out in simple fonts above. For Chris Daniels, the cover art for his latest solo release is open to interpretation. “That’s my old truck. I got…

Peter Black on community-building in Denver

From his early days as a young DJ at the iconic So What! club nights to his current role as an elder statesman of sorts among live electronic artists and underground bands in Denver, Peter Black (aka Peter Gurule) has been bringing his passion for music to clubs around Denver…

Holophrase brings art rock to the hi-dive on July 5

Holophrase (due Thursday, July 5, at the hi-dive) kind of burst onto the scene like Athena from the head of Zeus. Live, the group has a kind of mystique to it, and its members sound like they grew up listening to Chrome, Magazine and Zvuki Mu. Remarkably, this is not…

Sascha Dive gets lo at NORAD on Saturday, July 7

The first thing you should know about Sascha Dive is that Sascha Dive is actually his real name — no need to pretend. That ethos follows through with the rest of Dive’s abilities: He’s not big on using bells, whistles or other accoutrements to embellish his sound. And that’s good,…

Jason Anderson

Jason Anderson formed Wolf Colonel in 1996 while a student in Portland, at a time when (and in a place where) he could easily see Elliott Smith before every sweater-wearing fan of indie rock had the chance to do so. Seeing one of Calvin Johnson’s projects was not a rare…

Youth Lagoon

After Youth Lagoon gained steam online, Trevor Powers landed a record deal at the venerable Fat Possum Records, at which point he dropped out of college and quit his job to pursue music full-time. His album, The Year of Hibernation, captures desolation in its purest sonic form: Many of the…

Will Hoge

In a time when singer-songwriters are as plentiful — and nearly as indistinguishable — as the corporate coffee shops lining the streets of tony shopping districts, Will Hoge stands out like a homegrown roaster serving his hand-picked beans in a secondhand mug in some bohemian boutique. Hoge’s raspy, soulful voice…

Lower Dens

In the middle of the last decade, Jana Hunter made a name for herself among aficionados of the pastoral psychedelia some called “freak folk.” Appropriately enough, Devendra Banhart and Vetiver’s Andy Cabic released most of Hunter’s albums on their Gnomonsong label. More recently, Hunter has expanded her sonic palette further…

Kid Vegas

Between opener “Tuna Roll,” in which he espouses how raw his rhymes are (not the only sushi reference here, by the way), and “Eat,” where the rapper notes that he’s a beast with an appetite for rappers, Kid Vegas goes a little heavy on the food metaphors on The Resume…

Sterile Garden/ Gemini Trajectory

“Erleben,” by Gemini Trajectory, starts off side one of this split with an evolving stream of textures, synth tones, and a beat that’s urgent and insistent, provoking a feeling of running headlong into Germanic death-disco territory. The song is like a mirror image of the band’s previous music in its dark…

Steve Son

To give you an idea of what you’re in for on Steve Son, Denver fixture Jinx Jones writes on the liner notes, “This CD is not a collection of songs that sound alike, but a continuing story that spans forty years of experience.” Steve Son once fronted the rockabilly act…

Fingers of the Sun

Fingers of the Sun’s new release, Sleepy EP, is a collection of songs designed specifically to soundtrack an activity that — unless you’re Keith Richards — we all do. Confining the songwriting to such an ultra-specific subject limits the scope of the songs; gone are the hook-drenched rockers heard on…

Review: The Avett Brothers at Red Rocks, 6/30/12

THE AVETT BROTHERS @ RED ROCKS | 6/30/12 Last night was the perfect date concert at Red Rocks. The heat forced people to drink copious amounts and wear very little. The natural romance of the setting was out in force, with the lights against the rock reaching up to an…

Review: Thurston Moore at Larimer Lounge, 6/29/12

THURSTON MOORE @ LARIMER LOUNGE | 6/29/12 Thurston Moore came on stage joined by the members of Hush Arbors, one of the opening acts, and violin player Samara Lubelski. On the mike, Moore joked, “We just flew in from Boulder,” to which some wag in the audience said, “You sure…

Photos: Tycho at Summit Music Hall, 6/29/12

Last night, Tycho headlined a packed Summit Music Hall along with Onuinu and Flashlights. Following a fireworks display at Coors Field, Summit Music Hall filled up just as Flashlights was getting primed into their set. We brought back some photos from the evening, page down to check em out…

Overcasters unveil new video for “Eye Shine”

Overcasters’ lastest effort, Curses/Prayers, which was recorded by Rick Parker (Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Von Bondies), is a breakthrough album that includes some of the band’s finest and most memorable songwriting to date. It also marks their strongest performances yet. For the album’s new video, “Eye Shine,” the band teamed…