The Denver Boot: Achille Lauro at the Bluebird Theater

Nearly two weeks ago, Achille Lauro opened up for Akron/Family at the Bluebird. Achille Lauro was dependably stellar as always. “In terms of the opening three bands, however, Achille Lauro’s set stood out,” wrote A.H. Goldstein in his review of the show. “The outfit’s meditative and eloquent guitar lines, deepened…

Q&A with Jason Hann of EOTO

It’s been almost two years since jam juggernaut String Cheese Incident called it quits in 2007. Since then, things have slowed for some of the former members, while others have picked up the pace with new projects. The latter holds true for the String Cheese rhythm section of Jason Hann…

Q&A with Brandon Whalen of My Body Sings Electric

While the Warped Tour has grown up and is now it’s fifteenth summer, most of the bands and fans are as young as ever. Unlike most of the poorly selling dinosaur exhibits posing as rock concerts traipsing across the country these days, the Warped Tour year after year gets more…

Q&A with Jared Piccone of Innerpartysystem

Innerpartysystem knows all about the DIY approach. Since their formation, the members have spent countless hours dissecting technology, transforming it to suit their needs. Their light show, for instance, aside from a few stock lasers, was all hand built. Any fan that has seen the act more than once has…

Tip Sheet: Arliss Nancy

Speaking of Mile Hi-Fidelity, here’s another show favorite. Those who tuned in more than once likely heard “Wrong or Right” by this band, which we spun quite a few times. If you’re drawn to the raw, emotionally-charged song stylings of Lucero, then Fort Collins-based Arliss Nancy is going to strike…

The Denver Boot: Hot IQs final show at Larimer Lounge

Without question, Hot IQs, which took the stage for the last time this past weekend at the Larimer Lounge, made its mark on the Mile High City and will be sorely missed. Starting life as the Royal We, the outfit grew ably into its own as songwriters and left us…

Does Denver have a burgeoning urban/top 40 sensation on its hands?

Yes. It appears so. Meet Hunter Brown, an eighteen-year-old artist from Denver, who’s already amassed an impressive pedigree. Over the past three years, Brown has worked Dr. Dre associate Kirv (aka Kevin Irving) and collaborated with fellow Denverite, Frank E of the aptly dubbed Red Hot Beats productions  — yet…

Q&A with Krispy Kream of the Knux

Don’t let the tight jeans and thick-rimmed glasses fool you. The brothers who make up The Knux were raised about as far away from the suburbs as you can get: New Orleans’ Ninth Ward. Still, Krispy Kream and Rah Almillio (aka Kentrell and Alvin Lindsey) found their sound by listening…

Q&A with Kyle Evev of Breathe Carolina

It started out as a simple phone interview for a feature commemorating Breathe Carolina’s participation in this year’s Warped Tour, which rolls into Invesco Field at Mile High on Sunday, August 9. But it turned into something considerably more unexpected when, during our conversation with BC’s Kyle Even, his partner…

Tip sheet: Meet Shel, our new favorite band

What in the hell are they putting in the water up in Fort Collins? Seriously? Seems like every ten minutes or so our neighbors to the north are churning out another batch of noteworthy artists. Meet Shel, the latest FoCo outfit to cast us under its spell. Comprised of four…

Over the weekend: Phish at Red Rocks, 8/02/09

Reviews: Night I | Night II | Night III | Night IVPhish’s last night at Red Rocks Amphitheatre was made complete with one very special guest, Bill Kruetzman. The former drummer of the Grateful Dead was not expected and to bring him out for six songs to close out the…

Over the weekend: Phish at Red Rocks, 8/01/09

Reviews: Night I | Night II | Night III | Night IVPhish’s return to the stage after five years on the lamb has them reenergized, focused and most importantly, sober. The effects of these changes have greatly enhanced the Phish experience. Phish 3.0 was on glorious display this past Saturday…

Over the weekend: Phish at Red Rocks, 07/31/09

Reviews: Night I | Night II | Night III | Night IVPhish’s second night in Morrison was a rain soaked affair that offered a stark contrast in music, from the leisurely and drab first set to the energized and voiciferus second set. Despite a strong start with crowd favorites like…

Last Night: Phish at Red Rocks, 07/30/09

Reviews: Night I | Night II | Night III | Night IVPhishThursday, July 30, 2009Red Rocks AmphitheatrePhish’s first show in their return to Red Rock was, by all accounts, a success. The four-night run sold out instantaneously, and spare tickets were a rare site in the parking lot before the…

Exchanging Phish stories before the big gigs this weekend

For fans of America’s biggest cult band, the term “boys of summer” doesn’t refer to guys who get paid millions to play baseball but rather four Vermont men in their forties who earn millions by playing goofy, unpredictable music while jumping on trampolines, having glowsticks thrown at and around them,…

Q&A with Dana Janssen of Akron/Family

Last year, Akron/Family went from a quartet to a three piece when former cohort Ryan Vanderhoof decided to move on — and according to singer-songwriter/drummer Dana Janssen, the departure shook he and his remaining partners, Seth Olinsky and Miles Seaton. However, they’ve not only survived the ordeal, but they’re moving…

Q&A with Joe Perry of Aerosmith

In Rolling Stone’s list of the greatest guitarists of all-time, Aerosmith’s Joe Perry placed 48th — a ranking capable of slackening the jaw of any true rock-and-roll fan. This former Toxic Twin has penned one indelible riff after another over nearly four decades, as anyone who’s tried to play along…

Q&A with Elizabeth Zilman of Elizabeth & the Catapult

Elizabeth & the Catapult is a Brooklyn-based trio playing the kind of jazz-inflected pop music that is simultaneously soothing and thought provoking. The act’s debut album, Tall Children, bears favorable comparison to the more adventurous pop songwriters of recent years like Suzanne Vega and Tori Amos. As a live band,…

Q&A with Derek Vincent Smith of Pretty Lights

In this week’s paper, we featured a short Q&A with Derek Vincent Smith of Pretty Lights, an act whose last two albums have surpassed 110,000 digital downloads. As with most of our Rough Mixes interviews, the piece only told half of the story. The Pretty Lights mastermind sat down recently…

Q&A with Rodney Atkins

Rodney Atkins may be a man of few words, but this quiet country singer is quickly amassing a body of hits that speaks loudly to his place as one of Nashville’s emerging power players. Since his platinum 2006 album If You’re Going Through Hell, Atkins has spun together a string…

Quote/Unquote: “Don’t Trust Me” by 3OH!3

All right, how many times have you been bopping along, minding your own business, listening to some tunes, when all of the sudden, you’ll hear a line in a song that instantly makes you do a double-take? You know, the ones where you keep rewinding the sucker, marveling aloud to…