Michael Bruno, co-owner of two bars that bookend the metro-Denver area -- Aurora's Iliff Park Saloon and Lakewood's Eck's Saloon -- is now negotiating the details on the purchase of a third venue, the current Club Cristobal's, at 8501 East Colfax Avenue in Aurora. As Sports Field Roxxx, this space leaned heavily toward local metal acts until 2002, when it was redubbed Cristobal's and owner Chris Galanis turned it into a Mexican dance club. He made a few small revisions to the interior, differences that would have been virtually unnoticeable to fans of the venue's previous identity -- had any dropped by. When the Latino-nightspot concept faltered, Cristobal's tried offering a few hard-rock events, but the community it had so recently snubbed paid very little attention. So Galanis changed the focus again and started booking regional rap artists.

Bruno will drop that in favor of local rock bands at his new venture, which will be renamed Bruno's. The closing date hasn't been set, and the club's reopening will be further delayed by Aurora's requisite ten days of downtime after a license transfer. But in the meantime, original bands interested in getting booked into Bruno's should contact Barb Dye at 303-832-5505. She's looking for acts for the Iliff Park Saloon, too, which is also replacing its hip-hop events with live rock.

Goodness graciousthey weren't exactly great balls of fire, but the flames at the Little Bear last week were enough to keep firefighters busy for a few hours. They weren't enough to keep the club closed for long, though. Manager Chris Jarenski reports that his crew "worked feverishly over three days in order to continue our tradition as the greatest live-music venue in the mountains," and the Little Bear reopened this past weekend. Until the kitchen's ready for service, the bar's offering a limited menu -- but there's no skimping on the live music.

And finally, Vinyl has returned. Really. The club at 1082 Broadway that was closed by the March 2003 blizzard opened its long-awaited rooftop patio on Tuesday