Alt-country is the stepchild of the traditional country scene. Born, arguably, when Gram Parsons plugged in his guitar and sang the finest ode to infidelity, “At the Dark End of the Street,” or maybe when the Rolling Stones recorded “Dead Flowers,” the sub-genre came to be characterized by its decidedly…
Back with another edition of In the Mix, a feature in which we spotlight new dance tracks and mixes from local producers and DJs. This week, we feature Mantaray’s set from Denver Disco a few weeks ago, Spencer Foreman and DJ Wushu’s latest hip-hop/dance mix-up, Big Gigantic collab with Cherub…
WAKE UP AND LIVE at CERVANTES’ OTHER SIDE | 2/6/14 Despite the negative temperature, people flocked to Cervantes’ Other Side last night to celebrate Bob Marley’s birthday with local tribute band Wake Up and Live and to welcome Portland’s Quick and Easy Boys to Denver. While it didn’t exactly feel…
FRI & SAT | LOTUS at FILLMORE AUDITORIUM | 2/7-2/8 The jazzy electronic quintet Lotus, known for its precisely timed improvisations during live shows, is celebrating its thirteenth year together. This weekend, fresh off the release of its most recent effort, Lotus, the band, which is signed to Boulder’s SCI…
SAT | DIGITALISM at VINYL | 2/8/14 After a stripped-down U.S. tour last May, the Hamburg-based duo Digitalism is coming back across the pond. The electro musicians are a prime example of why two heads can sometimes be better than one when it comes to creating music. The pair, Jens…
For nearly three decades, the City Park Jazz series has been filling the Mile High City with colorful sounds and vibrations. Packing a picnic and spreading out a blanket in front of the pavilion has become a veritable rite of summer. Organizers are once again giving the area’s most talented…
Even though there’s no official dates listed on the band’s website yet, …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead is getting ready to embark on a series of dates in which the outfit will reportedly perform its acclaimed 2002 album, Source Tags & Codes, in its entirety…
Debate over the Red Hot Chili Peppers “unplugged” controversy has been simmering for the past few days following the Super Bowl. It intensified when Flea confirmed that only the band’s vocals were performed live, and the rest was pre-recorded. Folks were understandably upset, but when it comes to events like…
Pixies (due at the Fillmore Auditorium on Thursday, February 13) formed in 1986, and within two years, the act became one of the most important and influential of the bands of the alt-rock era. Though credit for the loud-quiet-loud dynamic the Pixies made famous more properly belongs to another Boston…
Tomorrow night at the Meadowlark, the Solution crew will celebrate seven years of bringing the best hip-hop to Denver. Seven years! Can you believe it’s been that long already? Heck, it’s already been a year since the multiple Best of Denver award-winning club night returned to a weekly at the…
In his weekly column, award-winning goofball Shea Serrano, whose recent exploits include Bun B’s Rapper Coloring and Activity Book, writes about his life and times. Flickr/Great Beyond Among many other things, my twin six-year-olds sons think I am Manu Ginobili when the Spurs play basketball on TV, the model for…
I made all the wrong moves,” says Stephen Malkmus. “Don’t you think sometimes life is about making all the wrong moves? In the end, it’s making the wrong choices — trying the wrong drugs, dating the wrong girl, taking the wrong class, crashing into the wrong tree when you’re drunk.”…
Seamlessly crossing language barriers mid-flow and writing pointed political lyrics about race and food, 2MX2 carves out an identity that is authentic and compelling on its newest project, GMO (Genetically Modified Oppression). The possible drawback to the album’s uncompromising positivism is that it can feel like being struck repeatedly in…
On “Never Said,” the opening cut on the Media Fires’ latest offering, Lit, Brian Quinn’s vocals are ragged and raging. The lines about never getting it right that follow the tune’s catchy opening riff pop with a kind of desperate energy. The mood is hypnotic, and it suffuses every one…
As a guitarist, Tom Carleno has spent more than two decades performing with various projects in Colorado, including the acoustic jazz ensemble Perpetual Motion (which also features his wife, violinist Josie Quick). Perfect Imperfection is his first solo effort. Throughout the disc, Carleno, who is a brilliant fingerstyle guitarist, displays…
The latest EP from déCollage feels like a collage-pop, Animal Collective-esque, psychedelic version of Stevie Wonder’s 1979 weirdo masterpiece Stevie Wonder’s Journey Through “The Secret Life of Plants” — except that Reed Fuchs and company probably had none of that in mind when they made it. Rather, the players were…
TUES | MANOWAR at OGDEN THEATRE | 2/18/14 Manowar is powered by lyrics crowned in fantasy-flamed swords, armor, and everything having to do with metal warfare clashing into Norse mythology. Eric Adams’s powerful vocals are steeped in wordy wizardry that really drives home the aggressive themes. “Man o’ War” was…
Having been characterized as a “jam band” for so many years, Lotus took a different approach with its latest album and delved into the world of hip-hop. Calling on a specific group of MCs and styles, the band dropped a great collaborative album that showed the instrumental talents that have…
Attention serious sax players: Mark your calendars for Saturday, March 8. You won’t want to miss Everything Sax. The folks from Jazz@Jack’s have organized a free day-long saxophone event of clinics, discussions, career opportunities and more. A number of noted professors, including John Gunther, Art Bouton and Peter Sommer, will…
John Denver had a hit with Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert’s song “I Guess He’d Rather Be in Colorado.” The tune was actually inspired by banjo master Dick Weissman, who’s back in Denver after a decade living in Oregon. He produced Danoff and Nivert’s album Reincarnation and a number of…
As the upcoming concert season at Red Rocks continues to take shape, we’ve received word that Bassnectar is making his way back to Red Rocks for a two-night run on Friday, May 30, and Saturday, May 31. Sub Focus and Kill Paris are set to share the bill on night…
FRI | JJ GREY & MOFRO at FILLMORE AUDITORIUM | 2/21/14 Blues lead man JJ Grey headlines an all-star night at the Fillmore, and it’s sure to be a bluesy, rocking showdown. With a Southern-tinged flavor that adds extra authenticity, Grey commands attention with his big voice, singing songs about…
