Cafe Nuba

It's hot and it's black and it's mobile. Cafe Nuba, a monthly showcase of poetry and arts that's had problems finding a permanent home, is moving out of Five Points and into NoDo. Starting November 25, Nuba will hold forth every Friday at the Walnut Room, 3131 Walnut Street -- with no hard feelings about its previous spot at Blackberries, 710 East 26th Avenue. "A part of it is a rebranding. We needed to expand the mikes," explains Ashara Ekundayo, artistic director of the Pan African Arts Society. With more room, the roving and revolving Nuba troupe hopes to add more performance art and spoken word, as well as independent film screenings. But even as the talent roster grows, so does the age of the audience: Unlike Blackberries, the Walnut Room is strictly 21 and over. For more information, go to www.panafricanarts.org or call 303-298-8188.

Cafe Cultura -- a night devoted to hip-hop, poetry and spoken word with a Latin flair -- has also moved. It's outgrown the Cafe Cafe Coffee Shop in northwest Denver and is now at La Academia/DICP, at 910 Galapago Street, the second Friday of every month. The next event is December 9; for more information, visit www.myspace.com/cafecultura.

Farther north, at 1300 West 62nd Avenue, Paladium is getting into the rock-and-roll game with "93.3 Presents Modern Rock Night," featuring live bands every Wednesday. Locals are currently filling the bill, but booker Mark Sundermier, who is also the talent buyer for the Soiled Dove, wants to reach out to national acts in the coming months. "The real reason to do shows is because the place is conducive to it," says Sundermier, "and there's really no rock room on the north side of Denver." For booking, contact [email protected] -- but fair warning: For now, the gigs are eighteen and over, but shifting to all-ages is under consideration.

Over at Club Sky, 1520 20th Street (above Jackson's Sports Rock Grill), Friday nights are getting hot -- but that's no reason to remove your clothing. In fact, you'd better keep an eye on loose garments, because otherwise they could get torched. Blending fire-breathers and flaming drink specials, "Pyro-Fusion" is a weekly exercise in Burning Man aesthetics. While bartenders display their skills with special "pyro-tinis," DJs spin the latest in hot house and techno. "We work with the fire department," explains fire artist Doug Bates. "We're very careful." Check for more safety tips at www.firemancer.com.

And speaking of hot: The Cherry Bomb Lounge has gone down in flames. Earlier this month, West Metro Fire Fighters torched the Mile High Inn at Sixth Avenue and Simms Street as part of a training exercise -- and when the motel came down, so did the club that had occupied a corner of the building. The next music you hear coming from this location will be from a car stereo: Lakewood Fordland is moving to the newly cleared spot.