Best Blues Jam 2011 | Ziggie's | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
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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.

Best Cassette-centric Label

Laser Palace

From their Capitol Hill apartment, the husband-and-wife duo of Ryan McRyhew and Kristi Schaefer put out music — mostly on cassette tape — on their own Laser Palace label. Each release is a one-of-a-kind work of art in itself: Schaefer crochets some cassette cases, and others are hand-painted by Schaefer's sister, Gretchen, as well as other artists. Nine-to-fivers by day and punks by night, McRyhew and Schaefer use Laser Palace to share music by their own band, Hideous Men, as well as original work by Mystic Bummer, Iuengliss, Pictureplane and more.

Best Cinematic Tie to DIA

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Of all the conspiracy theories swirling around DIA, this may be the most awesome. Take the numbers sent by the aliens for their Earthly rendezvous in the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind — 104, 44, 30, 40, 36, 10 — and plug them into Google Earth as W104° 44' 30" N40° 36' 10". What do you get? Denver International Fucking Airport! If the coordinate numbers had led Google Earth to, say, the intersection of Haight and Ashbury in San Francisco, we could have dismissed this as a hilarious coincidence or intentional joke by the scriptwriters. But to have the geographical dart land on DIA, a facility that is approaching Area 51 status within Internet conspiracy culture, is almost too astoundingly synergistic to brush off. As a blogger at rabbithole2.com notes, "Back when Close Encounters of the Third Kind was made the Denver Airport was nothing more than a farmer's field. That airport would not be built at that location FOR 16 YEARS!" When we start making a replica of the terminal tent out of mashed potatoes, though, lock us up — or send as to Ault, which also tends to show up when you plug in those coordinates.

Best Club Night

'80s & '90s Retro/Goth

Aaron Thackeray

When Rock Island closed in 2006 after a long, legendary run, it left a big hole in the gothic and industrial community. While there are still rumors that Rock Island will one day start up again, it's probably not going to happen anytime soon. In the meantime, for those who frequented the legendary club on 15th Street, there's a good chance you'll run into somebody you know at Milk on Wednesdays and Saturdays, when the club hosts '80s & '90s Retro/Goth nights. Resident DJ Mike Rich spins a thoroughly decent set of new wave from the Reagan era, with a bit of old-school goth thrown in; Paul Italiano, FashioNation owner, spins at the club once a month. (Both Rich and Italiano are former Rock Island DJs.) While Milk, with its Clockwork Orange theme, is a bit small, it's still a great spot to get your retro dance on and hang with a fascinating mix of folks, some decked out in full goth regalia.

Best Collaboration

Jugged Rabbit Stew

The Buntport Theater Company has been working in the musical genre — in its own way — for a while; not many other theater groups would have realized the aesthetic possibilities of turning Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus into a musical, for instance. And a couple of years back, the Buntporters got the inspired idea of collaborating with artist-composer Adam Stone — even though, as they proudly and publicly asserted, none of them really knew how to sing. The brilliant result was Seal Stamp Send Bang, a musical about the postal service first produced in 2009 and revived this year. And good got even better with a second collaboration, Jugged Rabbit Stew, among Buntport's most entertaining, and memorable, productions, with the music alone — a mix of genres from rock to country-Western — worth a listen.

Best Collaboration Between Artists Who Are Also Musicians

Modern Witch

Both collage and multimedia artists in their own right, Kristy Foom and Mario Zoots make up Modern Witch, and when the two come together, the magic is multiplied. This act uses alternative modes of recording — like the microphone on an old VHS camera — to capture its dark and warbling down-tempo tracks. Since Foom works out of Amsterdam most of the year, Modern Witch shows in Denver are both rarities and gems: With a rotating cast of musical artisans and a heavy dose of visuals to complement the sounds, no two shows are alike. And even though the group works remotely 90 percent of the time, video and audio releases are plentiful, and everything, down to Modern Witch's digital tracks, comes with gorgeous collaborative artwork to match.

Best Colorado-Themed Bar

Stoney's Bar & Grill

Molly Martin

Stoney's Bar & Grill touts itself as "a local kind of place," and the owners take that concept pretty damn seriously. This rustic spot, which moved into the former Andrew's on Lincoln space last summer, practically screams "Colorado," with a pond and miniature campsite near the entrance, a ski gondola turned photo booth up front, 150-year-old reclaimed barn wood lining the walls, and antique skis and bikes hanging from the rafters. In keeping with the theme, Stoney's uses locally sourced meat (including some exotic critters) for its sliders and offers plenty of Colorado beers in cans — which all get recycled, with the proceeds going to local charities. And with twenty HDTVs scattered around the place and two 120-inch projection screens, Stoney's is not just a "local kind of place," but a great spot to watch the home teams.

Best Communal Collective

Lunar Fire

You really have to see Lunar Fire to understand what's so special about this collective. You can't accurately call it a band, because dancers are an integral part of the show, often leading the musical improvisation through movement. And what dancers they are, implementing fantastical costuming, spinning fire, aerial acrobatics and more while the world-jam-rock fusion pounds out behind their graceful gestures. Each member of the group has fingers in several other pies; they all come together in Lunar Fire to cut loose and let the music go where it will. With two percussionists, two vocalists, a bass player, several dancers and a rotating cast of guest musicians playing unusual instruments in the group, you never know where this journey is going to take you — but it's a given that it will involve deep, inspirational lyrics and some of the sweetest eye candy you'll ever see.

Best Community Orchestra

Jefferson Symphony Orchestra

Founded in 1953 as the Mines Chamber Ensemble, the Jefferson Symphony Orchestra has evolved into the toast of Golden, thriving in an era when even big-name orchestras are struggling to fill the seats. Chalk it up to the dedication of nearly a hundred talented musicians who volunteer long hours to the cause; stability at the helm (conductor William Morse has been the maestro in these parts since 1999); a commitment to a distinguished young artists competition; and a real connection to a community that loves the orchestra's fine-tuned blend of pops, holiday and classical fare.

Best Concert

Roger Waters

There was no shortage of memorable concerts over the past year, with shows ranging from Lady Gaga at the Pepsi Center to LCD Soundsystem at the Fillmore to Gorillaz at Wells Fargo. But none were quite as memorable as this one. Three decades after Pink Floyd first conceived this production, technology finally caught up to the original vision, and Roger Waters brought the whole spectacle to life with flawless precision. From the opening explosions of "In the Flesh," complete with a WWII-era biplane dive-bombing the partially erected wall, to the closing notes of "Outside the Wall," the evening was positively mesmerizing. The sound wasn't just good — it was an expansive, enthralling, spectral, three-dimensional experience. Combined with the stunning visuals, pyrotechnics, inflatable creatures and airborne pig, it was like watching a digitally remastered version of The Wall in 5.1 surround with thousands of your friends.

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