Best Art-District Icon 2011 | "Rhino" | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
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Best Art-District Icon

"Rhino"

Sculptor Mike Whiting's monumental, weathered and pixel-shaped "Rhino," installed last year at 24th and Larimer streets and sponsored by the Broadway Viaduct Lower Maintenance District, creates an incredible entry to the RiNo Art District. The tough-as-nails, sky-blue steel ungulate polices the intersection fiercely yet comically, as if daring you to come in. Don't mind if we do.

Best Artist Community

Wazee Union/Walnut Workshop

S. Brian Smith and Neil Adam wheel and deal real estate, but to them, a building isn't just a building. When they saw an empty warehouse and former factory wasting away down by the railroad tracks off of Brighton Boulevard, they envisioned creating something modern and bold, a community-builder with a concrete floor. And so Wazee Union was born. Inspired by such communal artist colonies as the Third Ward in Brooklyn, they sectioned off nearly fifty studio spaces of varying sizes and rented them, cheap, to artists, crafters, designers and creative small businesses. Not surprisingly, those spaces were snapped up like that and are now rarely empty for more than a couple of days. But artists don't just work here; they also show their work: The thriving community hosts juried gallery shows, Second Saturday open houses and other arts-oriented events. The project has been so successful that Walnut Workshop, a sister enclave, is now open right across the tracks, and Smith and Adam have plans for more retooled properties in the works.

Best Artistic Billboard

"Faces of Colorado Art"

Slapped up boldly on the backside of the Ellie Caulkins Opera House along Champa Street, the massive "Faces of Colorado Art" is a tribute to the region's talented creative pool, a who's who checkerboard of local artwork and artist portraits. Thank the Denver Theatre District, which worked with Plus Gallery's Ivar Zeile to put the cultural patchwork together, for a beautiful reminder that Denver artists rock.

Best Artistic Field Trip

Bored of Directors

The underground creative collective of Tuyet Nguyen, Matt Scobey and Tony Farfalla excels at kicking ideas around. One of them, to tear down gallery walls, both real and subjective, and hang art in the streets, took shape when they traveled down to Miami Beach with an artist entourage to do that very thing, during the annual citywide arts fair Art Basel Miami Beach. They hauled in a batch of submitted Denver artworks, hit the dollar store for buckets and wheat paste, found a wall and went to work, pasting up the art in an alley in the dark of night and documenting it all on video. Talk about an art attack!

Best Band That's Still in High School

SAUNA

Molly Bartlett, Samantha Davis, Ethan Hill and CJ Macleod have to be the coolest kids at their high school. By day, they're regular teenagers; by night, they turn into SAUNA, an intelligent pop band that crams jumpy beats and reverb-heavy guitars into a perfect throwback package. When the band isn't performing, you can find its members at the foot of stages for Liz Phair, Black Angels and Best Coast shows — doing more music-history homework, the result of which is clearly displayed in their own explosive live sets. If you're lucky enough to catch SAUNA live, the band just might do an excellent cover of the Who's "Boris the Spider." How cool is that?

Best Band to Play an Hour-Plus Set

Skully Mammoth

Medical marijuana cardholders, meet your new favorite band: Skully Mammoth. Taking some obvious cues from Sleep and Sabbath, these barely-out-of-high-school dudes make droney, psychotropic rock that just goes on and on and on. And on. If the jammy metal four-piece was never told to stop playing, chances are it probably never would. If you're into sludge and have an hour or three to kill, Skully Mammoth — formerly known as Black Magicians From the Mountaintops of Mars — has some ten-minute-plus songs that should fill the bill.

Best Band to See Live Anytime, Anywhere

Hot White

In 2010, Hot White opened for No Age at the Bluebird and the Warlock Pinchers at the Gothic, but the band is equally content playing basement shows and house parties. Whether climbing tables at the Meadowlark or scraping the cement at Rhinoceropolis, the trio of young punks easily fills any size room with plenty of attitude and noise. The bitter sawing of Tiana Bernard's bass and vocal wails combined with Kevin Wesley's back-to-the-floor guitar playing and the smiling terror of Darren Kulback's drumming make Hot White one of the best live bands to see in Denver any night of the week — on a stage or in your living room.

Best Band to See on a Date

Lust-Cats of the Gutters

What better band to see on a date than one that sings about awesome dates? With Lust-Cats of the Gutters, the dual vocals of Robin Edwards and Alex Edgeworth are like a personal cheerleading section, singing about really wanting to get to know you, hanging out with your grandma and, eventually, sticking their tongues in your mouth. Or close enough. The duo's Bratmobile-meets-the-Sonics style works like an intelligent sidekick, a musical wingman that feeds you lines during those awkward moments when you're just getting to know that special new someone. And if that budding relationship doesn't work out, you can always console yourself with Lust-Cats' anti-date anthem, "Nothing Cool Happens on Dates."

Best Blues Club

Lincoln's Road House

Evan Semón

Lincoln's Road House might be known primarily for its meatloaf cheeseburger, pot roast burrito and Cajun food, but the bar also brings in a meaty lineup of the area's finest blues acts, including the Informants, Delta Sonics, David Booker and Stanley Milton, on the weekends. Lincoln's also books such nationally known bluesmen as Muddy Waters's son Big Bill Morganfield and Albuquerque's Todd Tijerina to play the tiny stage next to the door. There isn't a whole lot of room to dance at Lincoln's, but the colorful crew of bikers and other regulars make the most of the space and always look like they're having one hell of a good time.

Best Blues Jam

Ziggie's

While Ziggie's has long been hailed as Denver's oldest blues bar, in recent years it's expanded into other genres, such as rock, R&B and funk. In addition to an acoustic open-mike night on Mondays, an open jam on Tuesdays and a chance to sit in with featured musicians on Wednesdays, Ziggie's also boasts one of the longest-running blues jams in town on Sundays. And that's where the real action is. The Doc Brown Blues Band and the Blues Allstars alternate hosting the blues jams, which bring in a variety of solid musicians playing covers and originals. Keyboard players need not worry about bringing down a keyboard; the bar has one available for the jams, which kick off at 7 p.m.

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