Review: Freddie Gibbs at Cervantes’, 12/14/11

FREDDIE GIBBS at CERVANTES’ | 12/14/11Freddie Gibbs, sans fellow headliner Fashawn, played to a sparse crowd at Cervantes’ Other Side last night. Hitting the stage in front of a crowd warmed up by Diamond Boiz, BLKHRTS and Platt and Beadebe, Gangsta Gibbs took to the stage wearing a white T-shirt,…

Jim Norris Rockbar benefit tonight at 7 p.m.

Tonight, the first in a series of benefits that have been organized for 3 Kings Tavern co-owner Jim Norris takes place at Rockbar. Jeri Theil, who’s spearheading the event with the help of Shannon Boyles and Karen Cuda, has given us the full lineup for tonight’s benefit (see below) and…

Ani DiFranco at Boulder Theater March 3

Singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco will visit the Boulder Theater on Friday, March 3, in support of ¿Which Side Are You On?, her first studio album in more than three years. The disc, which features Ivan & Cyril Neville, Anaïs Mitchell and Pete Seeger, hits stores on January 17 on her own…

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers at 1STBANK on April 19

Goodness gracious! Next year is already shaping up to be one of the most anticipated concert seasons in recent memory. Here’s another absolutely killer show to add to your growing itinerary. We’ve just learned that Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are kicking off their tour at the 1STBANK Center on…

Foster the People at Red Rocks on July 3

Crazy how much difference a year can make. This past March, Foster the People was a little-known quantity in the music world making its first trek to Denver for an intimate show at the Walnut Room for a roomful of dialed-in music fans. After returning to the Mile High City…

Saturday night: Haiti benefit show with In Due Time

Forget Wyclef — local singer-songwriter and all-around badass Alicia Fall has been raising funds for Haiti (and, ahem, not squandering them) since March 2009, when she founded the social-profit organization Her Many Voices, which is dedicated to helping citizens in developing countries around the world. Specifically, Fall has her eyes…

3OH!3 releases first of three songs from its vault

3OH!3 pulled out three unreleased cuts from its vaults, and the electro-pop duo is releasing a song a week this month on iTunes, starting today with “Bang Bang”, which Nathaniel Motte told Rolling Stone was originally commissioned by Ball Aerospace in Boulder as the only song to keep scientists awake…

Yonnas Abraham shares his sexcapades on Sextape

“While I was busting the biggest nut in my life,” Yonnas Abraham recalls, “Esthero was singing about 10,000 dead babies.” Abraham is relating the experience of losing his virginity. His recollection of the event is so vivid that he can remember everything about that night, right down to the lighting…

Bar Back: Squire Lounge yanks open-mike night

When Greg Baumhauer, Ben Kronberg and Adam Cayton-Holland, otherwise known as Wrist Deep Productions, started their open-mike comedy night on Tuesdays at the Squire Lounge (1800 East Colfax Avenue) in 2004, Baumhauer thought it would last three months. Instead, it lasted for seven and a half years — far outpacing…

Boxcar

When he branched out on his own after more than two decades of working with Wynton Marsalis — in his septet and as part of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra — alto sax player Wessell “Warmdaddy” Anderson had more time to work with his own group as well as…

Brokencyde

MySpace is dead, but Brokencyde lives on as a walking, shit-talking cockroach of the hair scene’s past. The youngish crunk punks from Albuquerque still rep the underbelly of social networking with songs about sex and game, combining drippy synths with cartoonish voices to create a style that may or may…

Dir En Grey

Like a lot of bands from Japan, Dir En Grey is impossible to pigeonhole. This foursome is a weird alloy of disparate yet compatible styles, including industrial rock, nü metal and emo. And its members look the part of the über-commercial Japanese rock stars you’d see on Music Station. But…

Salt-N-Pepa

Salt-N-Pepa, the first women to receive a rap Grammy (Best Rap Performance for “None of Your Business,” in 1995), are well known for their songs about empowerment, sexuality and light aggression. Emerging onto the scene in 1985, the ladies joined forces with DJ Spinderella and subsequently took the hip-hop game by…

Adele’s tour rider asks, er, charges crew $20 for “charity”

Last week, Adele ate an apple. She also watched Gladiator. If you did Adele’s bidding, these facts were your reward. Confused? Let’s back up a little: Adele has had an official Twitter account for a little over a year, but she’s never really used it; up until now, the tweets…

Demon Funkies

With 2008’s Punk Junkies, the Demon Funkies dug into some heavy guitar-riff-based grooves, many of which were steeped in thick distortion. This time around, frontman and guitarist Ryan Chrys rolled back the distortion somewhat while still providing tasty riffs on songs like “These Strings.” While the Funkies were a trio…

Karma

On his debut, Karmarado, Karma delivers a trunk-knocking, street-pounding gangster project. The album showcases the MC’s flow as he tells stories on each track, bolstered by his whistling, grainy vocals. Shining most with frequent collaborators Foe and Haven the Great, Karma goes hardest on “Heat of the Night,” the most gangsta track…

Octopus Nebula

Capturing the moments and energy of a psychedelic rock show on an album isn’t easy, but Octopus Nebula has managed to do just that on its full-length debut. Right from the start, “Robin Your Mind” introduces the band with a deep, ritualistic chant before the truest display of O-Neb’s composing…