To many people, the word “Journey” inspires thoughts of everything that can go wrong with rock and roll: bland lyrics, bubblegum-pop melodies, chugging riffs and technical ability given priority over soul. To others, the band represents everything great about music: anthemic choruses, bubblegum-pop melodies, chugging riffs and technical ability given…
Those who remember the Denver screamo band Drop Dead, Gorgeous, which ceased to exist in 2011, might struggle to reconcile the intense punk noise that band created with the delicate synth-driven music that a few of the bandmembers make with their new project, 888. Sort of. Because if you explore…
Despite the sunny weather and large population of outdoor enthusiasts , Denver has long harbored an impressive, talented and generally gloomy heavy metal community. From nationally known power-houses like Cephalic Carnage, Speed Wolf and Primitive Man, to up-and-coming work horses like Of Feather and Bone, Khemmis and Abrams, Denver is…
Get excited, Gryffindors. (And you, too, Slytherins, if you can stomach excitement.) The Colorado Symphony is adding another show to its highly popular (and currently sold-out) Movie at the Symphony: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, during which the symphony will play the film’s score in its entirety. The added…
The Go-Go’s formed in Los Angeles in the midst of the city’s rising punk scene, three years before their debut album, 1981’s Beauty and the Beat, shot to the top of Billboard’s Top 200 on the strength of pop hits like “Our Lips Are Sealed” and “We Got the Beat.” “When…
Creative Adult’s early seven-inch singles were often presented as punk, but their relatively nondescript cover art gave little away about the music within. Certainly punk seemed to be at the root of it, but it was also noisier than that, more willing to color outside the lines of what punk…
Editor’s Note: The Denver Bootleg is a series chronicling the history of local music venues by longtime Denver cartoonist Karl Christian Krumpholz. Visit Krumpholz’s website to see more of his work…
From Kenny Rogers to Miranda Lambert, the Lone Star State has a proud history of producing top-selling country musicians. However, think about the edgier, outlaw side of the genre, and your mind might take you to places like Memphis and Nashville. But dig a little in Texas and you’ll find…
Over the last few years, Pretty Lights’ performances have been rumored as hit or miss. But kicking off his two-night run at Red Rocks (last Friday and Saturday) with unreleased music, Derek Vincent Smith was ready to show his fans a new side of his sound. Add to that a…
“We’re embarrassingly big fans of Band of Horses,” laughed Ricky Young, frontman of opening act Wild Feathers. The admission drew huge cheers from The Ogden Theatre crowd, none of which seemed at all reticent to show enthusiasm for the beloved Seattle headliner of the Friday, August 13, show. While there’s…
Over this past extended weekend, Rocky Mountain Low didn’t just showcase a slice of the real underground rock scene in Denver. It could have been just all straight ahead rock or punk or metal or a combination thereof. But what it did though, without overtly stating this as a purpose,…
Pitbull brings the Bad Man Tour to the Pepsi Center on Thursday with Prince Royce while on Tuesday it’s Digable Planets at the Gothic Theatre and Melissa Etheridge at Chautauqua Auditorium. This week’s lineup also includes Ryan Adams, Lisa Prank and Flume. See our full picks below. MONDAY, AUGUST 15 Disturbed…
As we sit right in the middle of the silliest political silly season in living memory, L.A. rocker Melissa Etheridge, never one to keep her thoughts to herself (thankfully), is aghast at what is unfolding. Somehow, though, she finds some hope in the chaotic circus playing out in all of…
This weekend’s lineup includes Pretty Lights at Red Rocks for a two-night stand, Band of Horses at the Ogden Theatre, Riff Raff at the Bluebird Theater as well Queen City Festival, Crestone Music Festival and SolShine Festival. See the full list of our picks below. FRIDAY, AUGUST 12 Pretty Lights (also August 13)…
It’s not always apparent which music artists will stand the test of time, but Digable Planets has proven to be one of the most fondly remembered and still-listened-to groups of the East Coast hip-hop scene of the early 1990s. With jazz-influenced samples set behind politically charged and sometimes quirky lyrics,…
The most obvious way to find the different ethnicities represented in Denver’s population, from Italian to Vietnamese to Mexican, is in our wide variety of restaurants. (Westword food editor Mark Antonation has dedicated an entire series to ethnic food in Denver.) But why not treat your stomach and your ears…
As we reported earlier this week, the Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience is coming to the Pepsi Center on Sunday, March 19. Tickets (39.50-$99.50) go on sale on Saturday, August 13, at 10 a.m. The String Cheese Incident will be at the 1STBANK Center for a three-night New Year’s…
In recent years, packed local performances by bands like Soja and Iration have proven that contemporary reggae fused with indie rock into a jam band-esque package is incredibly popular in these parts. Put those bands on at Red Rocks during the summer months, and you can practically guarantee a full…
Julien Baker reconciles two seemingly paradoxical parts of her life – her church and her queerness – and uses the lessons she’s learned in self-love and acceptance in her music. The twenty-year-old from Memphis was originally a member of the band Forrister, then continued creating music on her own in…
The first Rocky Mountain Low festival starts on Thursday, August 11. Organized by Reed Bruemmer, formerly of Speedwolf and currently of Poison Rites, and Brian Castillo of Heavy Dose Records, Rocky Mountain Low will be a curated showcase reflecting a slice of underground music in Denver and beyond. Expect punk, experimental…
Two years ago, local bluegrass band Trout Steak Revival shot the music video for their song “Brighter Every Day” on land nestled among the mountains in Buena Vista, Colorado. Later, they heard through the rumor mill that a music festival was being planned for the 274 acres. They couldn’t believe…
Editor’s Note: The Denver Bootleg is a series chronicling the history of local music venues by longtime Denver cartoonist Karl Christian Krumpholz. Visit Krumpholz’s website to see more of his work…
