The Czars were one of the more popular bands from Denver in the 1990s and early 2000s. Theirs was a style of music could never be limited. It wasn’t dream pop or shoegaze or slowcore. It wasn’t even really just moody post-punk. It was all of that, and its dynamic…
Beloved Denver band Flashbulb Fires is officially no more. “Today is the end of an era for us,” the band wrote on their Facebook page and web site early yesterday morning. See also: Quickly Rising Colorado Band You, Me & Apollo Is Breaking Up…
When it comes to art, second chances are rare, but they can happen. After the Fort Collins art space Gallery Underground closed down in April 2011, Brandton Manshel, his wife Sarah, and their friend Thomas Herrera helped it live on by opening a venue in its place. During July 2013,…
Gov’t Mule with guest guitarist John Scofield, who are set to release a new album in January, will be at the Ogden Theatre on Tuesday, February 24 as part of their 2015 winter Sco-Mule tour. Tickets ($43.50/$45) go on sale on Saturday, December 13 at 10 a.m. Joe Russo’s Almost…
Spoon is a Texas band, meaning it carries with it a certain pride and ambition that never really allows it to settle down. Britt Daniel and his bandmates produce the kind of music in which every pop, squeak, cymbal hit and second of silence matters. Every noise and lack thereof…
[jump] Editor’s note: Each week, illustrator Noah Van Sciver shares his ongoing story of an 80’s rocker on a road trip through his past with the readers of Backbeat. You can see more of Van Sciver’s work in his new book YOUTH IS WASTED. Last Week’s episode! • BACKBEAT’S GREATEST…
Dan Briechle’s first drum set is small and old. It’s a shiny silver and would look more at home at a jazz club then a five-year-old’s bedroom, but it worked. His father made him take it a part and clean it every month, much to Briechle’s chagrin. But something in…
Shakey Graves’ remarkable three nights of sold-out shows at the Bluebird kicks off midway through this week. There are plenty more good ones to tide you over before a busy weekend, including Suicidal Tendencies and Blackalicious. Our picks follow. See also: 50 Photos That Prove Red Rocks Is the Most…
Photo by Erik HessThankfully, Miley Cyrus finally convinced the Oxford folks to define “twerking.”As 21st-century culture and technology continue to evolve, so too must our language. Whether you like it or not, all these hashtag buzzwords are part of the greater lexicon. Literally, “hashtag” was added to the dictionary. But…
Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom became a music venue in 2003, but the building is much older, having served as the “Casino Cabernet” as early as the 1920s. In the years since it started hosting bands, it has expanded with an additional stage, known as The Other Side, an outdoor patio, all…
What are you doing New Year’s Eve? Our annual New Year’s Guide, coming in the December 18 issue of Westword, will be full of suggestions for how to ring in the new year with style — and, with any luck, some great music. This is our last call for information…
When the subterranean club Wicked Garden opened in 2008 it felt like a New Orleans mansion with its darkly baroque decor, but after Corridor 44 owner Brian Siffermann took over the spot he gave it a significant makeover in decor and layout. Tonight, he’s opening it has the Crimson Room:…
After running Suite Two Hundred at 1427 Larimer Street in Larimer Square for six years, Lotus Clubs, which also runs Chloe and View House, has completely remodeled the space and is opening it as Vie tonight, December 5, with DJ Mike Magic and the VIE dancers. While the new club…
The actors behind the Canadian mockumentary television show and series of films Trailer Park Boys were in Denver Tuesday evening for a performance and, later, a marijuana tasting. We attended both. The Dear Santa Clause Go Fuck Yourself Tour kicked off at the Bellco Center, where Randy, Bubbles, Ricky, Randy…
It’s an excellent weekend for live music in Denver — Houston rap firebrand Snow Tha Product plays Cerventes’, our Open Media Sessions continue with Sorcha Richardson and Miss America by Wheary and there are plenty more. Our picks follow. See also: 50 Photos That Prove Red Rocks Is the Most…
Barber shop Roosters of Parker dedicated last month to local high school band programs. Jesse Shapiro, the shop’s owner, donated five percent of all sales between October 28 and November 28 to band programs at Legend, Ponderosa, and Chaparral High School. See also: Denver’s Newest All-Ages Venue Is Inside a…
Mad Genius Radio, which launched around Halloween this year, is Denver-based a service that allows subscribers to create their own radio stations. What separates it from a service like Pandora is that, it allows users to rate a song or an artist on a scale from to 5, rather…
If Jenny Lewis were to be considered the voice of any certain slice of this generation, it would be those steeped in rock culture. Her set last night at The Ogden Theatre (her third Denver show this year) gave those in attendance the opportunity to experience her recently released The…
The screaming was almost unbearable, but absolutely warranted. Last night at 1STBANK Center, Usher used the crowd’s unrelenting wails to his advantage, standing on stage in his own silence many times during the night, letting the crowd fill space in the arena with vocal adoration. He just flirted with every…
Like any great cover band, the Gin Doctors do not have complicated motives. Nostalgia is fun. Playing ’90s songs for thirty-somethings who want to relive a bit of their past is fun. And constructing an alter ego, complete with costume, is, well, fun.Co-frontman Tyler Despres plays Gin Doctors shows as…
Joe Bonner was a brilliant jazz pianist who collaborated with some of the genre’s legends and developed a worldwide reputation for his moving style. He passed away in his sleep on November 20 from heart disease. Bonner moved to Colorado in 1976, when he was 28 years old. By then,…
By Gabriel San Roman It was no coincidence that Rage Against the Machine released The Battle of Los Angeles in 1999 on what is traditionally observed as Election Day in the United States. The 2000 election season was already in gear, with Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore…
