FRI & SAT | ADVENTURE CLUB at OGDEN THEATRE | 1/10-1/11 The Montreal-based Adventure Club is a duo that started as a pop-punk act. Quickly outgrowing that hybrid, Christian Srigley and Leighton James started making electronic music, their first foray into it being a remix of Brand New's "Daisy." Adventure Club's break-out release, though, was a remix of "Everything to Me," by Lips, which was accompanied by a fantasy/superhero music video. Rather than just sculpting chill atmospherics between bass drops, Adventure Club employs methods used in older dubstep, creating textured melodies with transitions that tend to flow instead of tempos that merely stop, start and stutter. (Adventure Club is also due at the Aggie Theatre on Wednesday, January 8.)
See also: All upcoming concerts in our constantly updated Denver concert calendar
TUES | BUTCHER BABIES at FILLMORE AUDITORIUM | 1/7/14 Carla Harvey and Heidi Shepherd, frontwomen for Butcher Babies, first gained notice on YouTube performing Pantera's "Fucking Hos-tile," wearing leather pants and electrical tape over their nipples as an ode to Plasmatics singer Wendy O. Williams, whose band, the Plasmatics, had a song called "Butcher Baby." Channeling Alice Cooper, the Babies offer an awesome display of brutal power and a compelling blend of thrash, punk and stage antics, while Harvey and Shepherd exude a confident aura that is at once mesmerizing, penetrating and sexy. After signing with Century Media Records, which issued the band's debut album, Goliath, this past summer, Butcher Babies embarked on a pair of high-profile tours, first supporting Marilyn Manson, then doing a stint on the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem tour. Catch Butcher Babies at KBPI's Low Dough Show at the Fillmore, with In This Moment, Pop Evil and Devour the Day.
FRI | RECKLESS KELLY at GRIZZLY ROSE | 1/10/14 Since the Braun brothers moved to Austin fifteen years ago, their band Reckless Kelly has always been considered a part of the Texas music phenomenon, but they've also always managed to stand slightly apart from that whole thing. To its credit, the band has never used the beer-taco-Mexico-tequila-Texas-Texas-Texas-more-beer lyrical template that most of the so-called Texas music bands wore like a frat pin. From the beginning, Reckless had real songs and, when they didn't have anything new, they'd rev up amazing covers of Led Zeppelin or Elvis Costello to fill the void.
THURS | STONEY LARUE at GRIZZLY ROSE | 1/9/14 Stoney LaRue was born in Taft, Texas, near Corpus Christi, to a family of musicians and spent part of his formative years in Oklahoma, eventually settling in the Stillwater of Cross Canadian Ragweed and Jason Boland. So guess what he does for a living now? If you can get past the silly name, which you should, you'll find that LaRue is one of the strongest young talents in the Red Dirt/Texas Country arena, and such a seasoned road dog that two of his first three records were live sets.
TUES | BADKLAAT at CERVANTES' MASTERPIECE BALLROOM | 1/7/14 Sub.Mission is celebrating seven years of bringing dubstep to Denver, and Badklaat proves that the crew still means business. Badklaat offers a taste of what real dubstep is with some dark, grimy and all-around gut-wrenching bass music. Look no further if you want to see where true dubstep came from and where it's going.
FRI | FINAL BLOW at THE MARQUIS | 1/10/14 Founded in 2008 by vocalist Vino, Final Blow has experienced some line-up changes over the last few years, but the one thing that hasn't changes is its love for late-'80s New York hardcore. The aggression and menace of bands like Sick Of It All, Madball and Agnostic Front can be heard in the underlying spirit of Final Blow's music. And it's not just a defiant and macho persona -- after all, Cassie Begay formerly of Throat Culture once played in this group -- Final Blow's ethos is one of brotherhood and a disdain for the bastards that grind everyone down. For this show, Final Blow is releasing its latest album.
FRI | ZILLA at CERVANTES MASTERPIECE BALLROOM | 1/10/14 With String Cheese Incident's Michael Travis on percussion, Aaron Holstein on the decks, and Jamie Janover on a handful of instruments, the sounds Zilla creates are perhaps some of the most original you'll ever hear. Holstein, known in dance circles as VibeSquad, lays an audio foundation by working the guitar and bass, in addition to keeping the pace on his digital controls, while Janover holds down the samples and delivers otherworldly sounds with sitar, hammered dulcimer, and whatever other primal instrument he has recently mastered. Travis then sets the pace on drums with a pulse that can go from adrenaline-fueled dance floor mayhem to melodic grooves that entrances the listener. As Zilla sets are few and far between, this is certainly something you'll want to experience.
FRI | THE GEDS at LION'S LAIR | 1/10/14 The GEDS started in the mid-90s with former members of Twice Wilted, '57 Lesbian and Spell in bassist/vocalist Chanin Floyd and guitarist Tim Beckman. Fusing the fuzzed out punk of late 80s Seattle bands like Mudhoney and Tad with garage rock songwriting sensibilities, The GEDS were a fixture of undeground rock in Denver for close to a decade before essentially going on hiatus for a handful of years. Although having only put out sporadic recordings over the years on various compilations including the first Radio 1190 Local Shakedown release and Mike Jourgensen's Noise Tent samplers, The GEDS wrote powerful memorable songs that resonated with audiences. Apparently the group is set to release an actual album in the near future.
FRI | TECHNICOLOR TONE FACTORY at 1UP COLFAX | 1/10/14 The new 1Up Colfax is fast becoming a popular jam band venue, and Technicolor Tone Factory, recent openers for moe., are set to hold things down with fellow local favs Genetics. Bringing a fusion of funk and rock to the table, Technicolor Tone Factory gets you dancing while keeping you entertained by the antics of the charismatic musicians on stage.
THURS | TWIN PEAKS at HI-DIVE | 1/9/14 Most bands pillaging the coffers of '70s rock pull from the rich if over-tapped urns of Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and AC/DC on the hard-rock side, and ELO, the Eagles or Fleetwood Mac on the softer end of the spectrum. Twin Peaks takes cues from both, but the overall effect is more like Steely Dan, if that band had aimed more for hard rock than lounge jazz. There's something loose and mellow about the music of Twin Peaks, but there's also a groovy edge to it. The group's image and presentation skew toward blue-collar metal, but the vibe has a certain Laurel Canyon cool going on, too.
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