ERIC PRYDZ @ THE CHURCH | FRI, 6/14/13 Eric Prydz’s biggest hits so far have both incorporated famous work by other musicians: “Call on Me,” from 2004, samples Steve Winwood’s “Valerie,” and the 2006 track “Proper Education” is a remix of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2.”…
DEVOTCHKA & COLORADO SYMPHONY @ RED ROCKS | FRI, 6/14/13 Teaming up with an orchestra can sometimes be a thin attempt to disguise a creative lag, but in this case, the pairing has produced an inspired, brilliantly structured melding of two aesthetics that relies less on contrast than it does…
Welcome to Ask Willie D, where legendary rapper Willie D of the Geto Boys answers reader questions about matters, in his own words, “funny, serious or unpredictable.” Something on your mind? Ask Willie D! Dear Willie D, I’m in a long-distance relationship with a good man, but the miles are…
Ah, yes, good to see our friends in Flobots are still doing their thing — and by doing their thing, we mean dependably raging against the machine by being unapologetically outspoken on a variety of incendiary topics. The latest: Bradley Manning, a Private First Class in the United States Army,…
Hipsters weren’t the first to sing and dance in a spontaneously choreographed group for a musical, and probably will never feel compelled to in this world, but in the movie world they have now given into this urge in Hipster! The Musical. The musical didn’t immediately take form as a…
A few years ago, Jon Spencer was getting the Blues Explosion’s Matador albums ready for expanded reissues when he thought about getting the band back together after an extended hiatus began taking root. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion subsequently regrouped and spent the intervening years touring, writing new material and…
Update, 6/14/13: Contest is over. Congratulations to @kskidmo1. Check your email for details on how to claim your tickets. You know Sonic Bloom Music and Arts Festival? Of course you do. Well, we got our hands on a pair of tickets to the whole event, which includes camping, live art…
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…
A few months before the Alarm was to hit America for the first time as the opening act on U2’s War tour in 1983, singer Mike Peters met Big Country frontman Stuart Adamson when they joined U2 for a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” at the Hammersmith…
On the Gristle Gals’ debut, 2010’s On the Lam, the gypsy-folk-tinged songs were mostly percussion-less, fueled primarily by a trio playing acoustic instruments. In contrast, one of the most notable things about the act’s sophomore release, Sweet Pea, is that the outfit is now calling itself a band. On opener…
Head for the Hills uses misdirection like a veteran magician on Blue Ruin. The album kicks off with “Take Me Back,” an easygoing, rambling ballad steeped in traditional bluegrass. The rest of the record, however, is a surreal, heady and innovative fusion of styles. “Never Does” offers a dark and…
“Let me tell you what it feels like,” begins Thomas Tha Franchise’s Caffeine Dreams, a reference to Hoodie Allen, a clear influence to whom Thomas also nods in “Thumbs Up.” Both Thomas’s and Allen’s songs are anthemic, suitable for bumping in cars and at frat parties. Like Allen, Thomas has…
On Westerner, Tjutjuna’s latest album, it seems as though the band is creating the musical equivalent of a moving sculpture crafted to give the semblance of life. “Mousetrap” is like a psychedelicized Neu! song, but with uncoiling whorls of bright drones and tones, while the pounding, pulsating rhythm of “Heavy…
Native Daughters was formed just before local guitarists Eddie Maestas and Thomas Chagolla wrapped up their affairs in the inventive and cathartic post-hardcore band Mustangs and Madras. The two wanted to start a heavy instrumental band inspired in part by Isis and Neurosis, so Chagolla switched to drums and they…
Wowers. The Riot Fest Denver lineup was just revealed, and if you haven’t seen it yet, brace yourself. It’s pretty stellar. Headliners include a reunited version of the Replacements, along with Iggy and the Stooges, Guided By Voices, Yo La Tengo, Rocket from the Crypt, Superchunk, the Dismemberment Plan,Yo La…
Welcome to Ask Willie D, where legendary rapper Willie D of the Geto Boys answers reader questions about matters, in his own words, “funny, serious or unpredictable.” Something on your mind? Ask Willie D! Dear Willie D, I loaned my cousin $500 more than six months ago. She promised to…
Update, 6/14/13: Contest is over. Congratulations to @Rachel Davis and @David Lee. You’ve won a pair of tickets to see Datsik at the Ogden (Friday and Saturday, respectively). Please check your email for details. Datsik is bringing his monstrous sound to the Ogden Theatre this weekend, and we got our…
In the darkest recesses of the metal world, truly shitty albums lurk. Now, these albums aren’t necessarily 100 percent shitty (there may still be some redeeming music to be found), but they are certainly incredibly disappointing, particularly given the otherwise worthiness of their creators. Plug your nose and dive on…
Eat your heart out, Ye-thiests. We have visual confirmation: Yeezus is coming! Soon. Talking, of course, about Yeezus, Kanye’s much ballyhooed album, which he previewed last night at an exclusive gathering in New York. It’s coming out this Tuesday, and as you’ll notice from the album’s minimal packaging (which you’ve…
With heavy distortion and intergalactic samples, Datsik fuses the heaviest elements of rap and dubstep to create a sound that’s equivalent to standing in the middle of an epic man-versus-machine battlefield. Datsik, known in his native British Columbia as Troy Beetles, followed up on the promise of his first studio…
THE DANDY WARHOLS @ GOTHIC THEATRE | 6/11/12 When Peter Holmström put on his orange Telecaster and Zia McCabe strapped on a bass guitar rather than helming the Moog she plays most of the time, you knew what song was coming: “Bohemian Like You,” of course, the band’s biggest hit…
Former Punch Brothers and current Leftover Salmon bassist Greg Garrison is starting a new residency at the Armoury on 20th and Larimer next month that sounds pretty cool. Billed as Greg Garrison Trio +1, “You Pick ‘Em,” the night will feature Garrison and his bandmates, guitarist Dave Devine and drummer…
