For a guy who grew up learning to play Elton John songs on his autoharp while listening to the radio, Clay Cabe has quite an affinity for funk. Although his debut, 2003’s December, was an acoustic-driven folk-rock album, The Underworld is more of an eclectic effort. There are still a…
Many sludge/doom bands tune their guitars to drop C. Joseph Weller Myer of Whilt goes one step further, playing a bass that evokes the lowest registers of both guitar and bass. “Black Leaves” is a clear reference to marijuana — the kind Satan keeps for himself in a secret stash…
“Night of Lonely Zombies,” from Locusts of Egypt’s sophomore effort, Fondness, could easily be a long-lost ’70s power-pop song; it also recalls the sound that Elephant 6 became known for in the ’90s. Meanwhile, Jim Angell and Eugenia Appelhaus’s higher-register vocals and the way they sit in the mix call…
In 2009, a study commissioned by the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs introduced Creative Vitality Index (CVI), a metric created by Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF) to measure our city’s cultural viability. Based on Denver’s CVI, the study determined that the Mile High City was an emerging national cultural hub,…
Catz ‘N Dogz (due at NORAD this Saturday, November 23) has had a smashing year so far. In addition to being invited to create a BBC 1 Essential Mix, the powerhouse duo has collaborated with a mother lode of impressive acts, including Eats Everything, with whom it put together a…
THUNDERCAT at LARIMER LOUNGE | 11/19/13 Standing in the middle of a pulsating crowd of people dancing their asses off last night at the Larimer Lounge, I noticed the scene was tastefully decorated with diverse pockets of older gentlemen, hippie chicks, approachable beardos and cool guys. Somehow, Stephen “Thundercat” Bruner…
In his new column, award-winning goofball Shea Serrano, whose recent exploits include Bun B’s Rapper Coloring and Activity Book, writes about his life and times. Last week, I wrote about why One Direction’s “This Is My Story” sucks. Usually, whenever one of these pieces goes up, I get a handful…
Music is life — or at least it is for us. When we’re not writing about it, we’re thinking about it, talking about it or listening to it. These are the things that were in heavy rotation for us this week. What are you listening to? What should we be…
Back with another batch of fresh local hip-hop. This week, we’ve got a new clips from Spoke In Wordz featuring the 17th and Fokis, a cut from Slo Pain for hardcore fans, as well as fresh goodness from Rap League Manifest, assisted by Planet Asia, and Aires Jackson, who just…
Dr. Neptune (due this Friday, November 22 and Saturday, November 23, at 3 Kings Tavern) became one of the more popular punk bands in the scene before disbanding for good in 2006, after a couple of vans broke down as the band was making waves on the Warped Tour circuit…
As reported previously, there’s a trio of big shows going on sale this weekend, Arcade Fire at the Pepsi Center and Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds at the Temple Buell on Friday, and Trey Anastasio Band at the Ogden on Saturday. We’ve also got the word on three more…
Cat Power (due this Saturday, November 23, at the Gothic Theatre) is the sometimes solo, sometimes full-band, project of Chan Marshall. Although born in Atlanta, Marshall made her way to New York City in the early 1990s and became involved in the underground music scene in the Big Apple. In…
Formed in Tampa — the home of death metal — in 1984, Morbid Angel (due Friday, November 22, at the Bluebird Theater) may not have put out the subgenre’s founding document (an honor generally bestowed on Possessed’s 1985 masterpiece, Seven Churches), but it can rightfully be considered one of its…
MICHAL MENERT at FILLMORE AUDITORIUM | 11/16/13 Taking the stage waving a Colorado state flag bearing his own name, Michal Menert humbly thanked the crowd for coming out and supporting him and then opened up the throttle of samples. With a new custom light stage, AC Lao on the drums,…
After delivering an incredibly compelling performance at the Ogden Theatre this past spring, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds are making their way back to Denver for a must-see show at the Temple Buell Theatre on Tuesday, June 24. Tickets ($33.50-$69.05, plus fees) go on sale during a special pre-sale…
THURS | JOHN LEGEND at ELLIE CAULKINS OPERA HOUSE | 11/21/13 A child prodigy who’s been playing the piano since age five and attended college at sixteen, John Legend played with Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keys and Janet Jackson, among others, before Kanye West noticed his talent and took him under…
Last month we asked readers to send us suggestions for the Denver music scene’s best representatives on social media for our 2013 Denver Web Awards. Now you can help pick who wins top honors. Here’s how it works:…
When you talk to hardcore hip-hop heads, it almost always comes down to one thing: lyrics, lyrics, lyrics. And while lyrics are obviously the keystone of rapping, the hook is essential as a respite from often dense, less accessible lyrics. Great hooks are among the most underrated aspects of making…
In the same way that artists like Rembrandt, Diego Velazquez and Picasso were able to abridge an era through painting, California-based, New York-bred, Justin Bua (due tonight at SoGnar’s Shedded Beats at Cervantes’) has done so with the hip-hop generation. With a trademark style, Bua has transformed a lifestyle of…
3OH!3 (due this Saturday, November 16, at Summit Music Hall) formed in 2004 as an irreverent, outrageously humorous dance pop band. Founded by Boulder natives Nathaniel Motte and Sean Foreman, 3OH!3 quickly caught on with audiences locally and then well outside of Colorado with its 2007 debut, 3OH!3. But it…
SAT | MICHAL MENERT at FILLMORE AUDITORIUM | 11/16/13 Since his debut solo album Dreaming of a Bigger Life, Michal Menert has been steadily touring the country building a grassroots following in the same way Derek Vincent Smith of Pretty Lights did when he first hit the scene. Menert has…
FRI & SAT | THE BLACK CROWES at OGDEN THEATRE|11/15-11/16 In the late ’80s, many young musicians were embracing the myth of the ’60s. In 1989, the Black Crowes (due at the Ogden Theatre on Friday, November 15, and Saturday, November 16) emerged from that cultural backdrop with a bluesy,…
