Fiona Apple at the Paramount Theatre on 7/20

Fiona Apple’s coming to the Paramount Theatre on Friday, July 20: With a newly revitalized career thanks to a stint wowing audiences at this year’s SXSW and fresh off releasing a brand new album with a notably pithy title (in comparison to When the Pawn…, her 1999 album — The…

Review: The Dirty Femmes at hi-dive, 4/7/12

THE DIRTY FEMMES @ HI-DIVE Like any relationship, a live band needs to first find common ground with its audience, and then and work from there. This is made extremely easy when you’re whole set is duplicating material the audience is already familiar with. The crowd will burst with enthusiasm…

Review: Gotye at the Ogden Theatre, 4/6/12

GOTYE @ OGDEN THEATRE | 4.6.12A sun rose in a blood red sky as Gotye unleashed the first notes and lyrics to “Eyes Wide Open,” one of the more upbeat tracks — and first single — off of Making Mirrors, the album he released in the late summer of last…

Review: Fun. at the Ogden Theatre, 4/5/12

FUN. @ OGDEN THEATRE | 4.5.12 There’s no question that Fun. is fun. The band, fronted by Nate Ruess formerly of the Format, has been compared to Elton John and Queen, turning out tracks of pop rock that are accessible, bouncy and really effing awesome to yell in your car…

Review: Explosions in the Sky at Boulder Theater, 4/5/12

EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY @ BOULDER THEATER | 4/5/12 Explosions in the Sky began the show on a high note with the familiar, siren-like guitar figure of “First Breath After Coma.” Sounds came in waves and then floods, as Chris Hrasky struck an almost martial beat with his snare and…

Flobots ink deal with Shanachie Entertainment

It’s official: Flobots are no longer without a label. After parting ways with Universal Records in December 2010 — the label that issued the band’s last full-length, Survival Story — the band has officially been picked up by Shanachie Entertainment, a prominent independent label founded in the mid ’70s by…

The Cult at the Ogden Theatre, 5/30

With Choice of Weapon, The Cult’s first studio album in five years, slated to hit stores on May 22, the band kicks off the first leg of its North American tour in San Diego on May 25 and hits the Ogden Theatre on Wednesday, May 30. The Cult’s current line-up…

Jason Mraz at Red Rocks on September 24

Jason Mraz is coming to Red Rocks on Monday, September 24, as part of his tour in support of his forthcoming album, Love is a Four Letter Word, due out Tuesday, April 17. Philadelphia-based singer-songwriter and Atlantic label mate Christina Perri opens the show. Tickets ($39.50-$59.50) go on sale to…

Noah Van Sciver goes to Bruce Conner & Richard Peterson at MCA

This past Friday night, MCA Denver opened its Search & Destroy exhibition, which displayed everything from the works of photographers Bruce Conner and Richard Peterson to old copies of MRR to posters and large-scale Black Flag art. Backbeat cartoonist Noah Van Sciver was there and brings back his interpretation…

Skream & Benga Ogden show moved to Bluebird

Skream & Benga’s show at the Ogden Theatre, originally slated for tomorrow, Wednesday, April 4, has been moved to the Bluebird Theater. All tickets for the Ogden show will be honored, and tickets ($26.50) are still available through AXS. Hijak, Plastician, Sgt Pokes and Jackmaster are set to open the…

Jimmy Cliff at the Ogden Theatre on June 19

Jimmy Cliff at the Ogden Theatre on Tuesday, June 19. Tickets ($34.95 plus fees) to see the reggae legend, whose career spans five decades, go on sale this Saturday, April 7, at 10 a.m. via Axs.com. On his most recent effort, the Sacred Fire EP, released last November, Cliff collaborated…

Mystery Mike: Who is Benjamin Butters?

Yo! We’ve got a hip-hop whodunit on our hands. Well, maybe not a whodunit, but still, there’s a mystery afoot in the world of rap. And if there’s anything we love more than rappers, it’s mystery rappers! Who the hell is this Benjamin Butters cat? Do you know? We need…

Baywood added to Westword Music Showcase

The date for this year’s Westword Music Showcase is coming up fast, and while we’re still putting together the all-star local lineup (seriously, this is shaping up to be the best one yet), we have another headliner to announce: Baywood, the funtastical duo featuring former Single File bassist, Joe Ginsberg,…