Saturday, October 31, 2009

The Rouge

Fri., November 6, 7:30pm - Some scars are forever, some fade with time.

For the members of the Rouge, who all have matching cigarette-burn scars on their arms, it doesn't matter how long the mark stays, as long as the feeling of camaraderie that caused them to do it in the first place lasts forever.

The guys � g...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Headlights

Thu., November 5, 9:00pm - When the critically acclaimed dream-pop band Absinthe Blind broke up in 2003, four of its members started a band called Orphans that would ultimately become Headlights. Under its current moniker, the foursome largely departed from the drifty, melancholy sounds of its previous project. Retaining the ...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Juliet Mission

Sat., November 7, 9:00pm - the early 1990s, Andre Lucero, Doug Seaman, Tony Morales and Elizabeth Rose formed the popular experimental-rock band Sympathy F. Seaman later went on to a brief stint in Worm Trouble, and Morales played in the Kalamath Brothers with Kevin Soll of 16 Horsepower. Lucero and Seaman also performed as t...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Skinny Puppy

Sat., November 7, 9:00pm - Skinny Puppy started in 1982 as a side project of cEvin Key�s old band, Images in Vogue. With Puppy becoming a full-time concern in 1986, Key and collaborators Nivek Ogre, Dwayne Goettel and Dave Ogilvie spent the next several years putting out seven landmark releases, including Rabies and Too ...
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Number Nin6

Sat., November 7 - Dubstep producer/DJ NumberNin6 (aka Nishant Parikh) came to the style by way of trance. That�s an unusual progression � dubstep�s roots in drum and bass are about as far from trance as can be imagined � but he manages to make it work to his advantage. Occasionally, wisps of tranc...
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Art Brut

Fri., November 6, 9:00pm - o one will ever mistake Art Brut for a hip-hop act; musically, the London-based combo specializes in power-pop edginess, new-millennium style. Nonetheless, frontman Eddie Argos's vocals are every bit as declamatory as any rap MC's, if considerably wittier and more jaundiced than the vast majority. O...
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Pinback

Fri., November 6, 9:00pm - In a world where indie rock has become the Next Big Thing and marketing plans exist before the music, Pinback's sincerity is a joy. Zach Smith and Rob Crow have no identifiable image, no signature wardrobes or hairstyles, and they've created three albums of such peculiar pop that no major-label exec...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Friday, October 30, 2009

Headlights

Thu., November 5, 9:00pm - When the critically acclaimed dream-pop band Absinthe Blind broke up in 2003, four of its members started a band called Orphans that would ultimately become Headlights. Under its current moniker, the foursome largely departed from the drifty, melancholy sounds of its previous project. Retaining the ...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Skinny Puppy

Sat., November 7, 9:00pm - Skinny Puppy started in 1982 as a side project of cEvin Key�s old band, Images in Vogue. With Puppy becoming a full-time concern in 1986, Key and collaborators Nivek Ogre, Dwayne Goettel and Dave Ogilvie spent the next several years putting out seven landmark releases, including Rabies and Too ...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Bill Nershi, Darol Anger, Tao Rodriguez-Seeger & Scott Law

Sun., November 8, 7:00pm - Bill Nershi hasn't had a shortage of talented musicians at his side over the years. As a founder of the String Cheese Incident, leader of Honkytonk Homeslice and part of the Emmitt-Nershi Band with Leftover Salmon's Drew Emmitt, Nershi has found simpatico accompaniment for his wide range of s...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

JAAMM Festival: The Idan Raichel Project

Thu., November 5, 8:00pm - I first heard of the Idan Raichel Project when I saw a screener of the film Black Over White, which documents the unusual Israeli worldbeat aggregation�s trip to Ethiopia, also a homecoming and pilgrimage of sorts for the band�s Falasha Ethiopian singers. It was a somewhat st...
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Thursday, October 29, 2009

Funhouse and Juliet Mission

Thu., October 29, 9:00pm - In the early 1990s, Andre Lucero, Doug Seaman, Tony Morales and Elizabeth Rose formed the popular experimental-rock band Sympathy F. Seaman later went on to a brief stint in Worm Trouble, and Morales played in the Kalamath Brothers with Kevin Soll of 16 Horsepower. Lucero and Seaman also performed a...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

El Ten Eleven

Tue., November 3, 8:00pm - The post-rock duo takes its electronically laced instrumentals into hard-rockin' territory. A two-minute thumbnail sketch of Radiohead's "Paranoid Android" on These Promises Are Being Videotaped � in which Kristian Dunn covers nearly all parts with a double-neck guitar/bass ...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Snake Mountain

Sat., November 7, 10:00pm - On the third floor of a giant, dilapidated Victorian mansion on Franklin Street just south of Five Points, Andy Wild and Joe Ramirez are mixing. The soft gold of the evening lights up the massive yellow structure, restoring it to a bit of its former majesty: It towers over the other houses on the bl...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Pete Tong

Thu., October 29, 9:00pm - As the longtime host of the BBC Radio 1 shows Essential Selection and Essential Mix, Pete Tong is arguably one of the most influential DJs in the world. Beamed across the U.K. and the world, those shows have introduced millions of listeners to the latest and greatest sounds in dance music for years....
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Valient Thorr

Thu., November 5, 8:00pm - Although Warped Tour lineups differ from year to year, plenty of the acts on them are essentially interchangeable. But not Warped vets Valient Thorr, appearing here with Early Man and Speed Wolf. The band is from North Carolina by way of outer space (the players have constructed an amusingly overcoo...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Deadmau5

Wed., November 4, 10:00pm - Canada has nurtured some of the more intriguing musical acts of recent years, including various members of the Broken Social Scene collective. Joel Zimmerman, who goes by Deadmau5, extends this tradition even though he operates in a genre � club music � that's har...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Celtic Jam

First Monday of every month, 7:00pm
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Wednesday, October 28, 2009

The Skyline Surrender

Denver has no shortage of young, hungry metalcore bands. The Skyline Surrender isn't any less ambitious than the rest — but its debut EP, This Is Character, shows that the quartet has more than just high hopes. The disc draw equally from the metallic undertow of Darkest Hour and the ...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Modeselektor

Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary, better known as the German dance-music duo Modeselektor, aren't afraid to expand the horizons of techno in their productions. Studio collaborations with Thom Yorke of Radiohead, noisemeister Otto von Schirach and fellow techno traveler Apparat are evide...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Plastic Fantastic Lover

It's hard to put your finger on Plastic Fantastic Lover's music. Most of it falls somewhere between a folkier Tom Waits and a mildly psychotic take on the Grateful Dead's mellow, hippie-folk side. But then it takes a turn into something like electronic down-tempo for a track or two before slippin...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

White Rabbits

Too often, the term "pop" rightfully conjures images of hackneyed premises about love and longing and music too lacking in an individual sound to be more than cultural wallpaper. White Rabbits (from Brooklyn via Missouri) clearly dispensed with such refinements and forged songs that are thematica...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Christ on Parade

Born Against, Millions of Dead Christians, Christ on a Crutch: Traditionally, hardcore punk bands haven't cut the Christian religion a hell of a lot of slack. San Francisco's Christ on Parade proudly considers itself part of that lineage, and for good reason. After forming in 1985, the group rele...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

The Show Is the Rainbow

Never afraid to lubricate the dance floor with a little well-slung mud, Darren Keen of Nebraska's one-man band The Show Is the Rainbow is as known for his frequent lambasting of the prominent Omaha indie-rock scene as he is for his own abrasive yet massively catchy dance jams. Keen seems to have ...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Spellcaster's Rock 'n' Roll Time Travel Committee at Rhinoceropolis

Less a band than a loose agglomeration of musicians engaging in a performance-art piece, Spellcaster's Rock 'n' Roll Time Travel Committee (due at Rhinoceropolis on Friday, October 30) brings the danger back to an indie-rock show like few have since the Kindercide last performed. Spellcast...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Potcheen

Originally called the Potcheen Folk Band, this outfit has dropped the "folk" from its name, and that makes sense — because while the musicians delve into traditional Irish folk songs like "Foggy Dew" and "Whisky in a Jar," they also use the genre as a foundation to build upon and then toss ...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Juliet Mission is a master of the sad and dark

In the early 1990s, Andre Lucero, Doug Seaman, Tony Morales and Elizabeth Rose formed the popular experimental-rock band Sympathy F. Seaman later went on to a brief stint in Worm Trouble, and Morales played in the Kalamath Brothers with Kevin Soll of 16 Horsepower. Lucero and Seaman also performe...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Snake Mountain commemorates the closing of an underground Denver institution with a new record

On the third floor of a giant, dilapidated Victorian mansion on Franklin Street just south of Five Points, Andy Wild and Joe Ramirez are mixing. The soft gold of the evening lights up the massive yellow structure, restoring it to a bit of its former majesty: It towers over the other houses on the...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Steely Dan

Steely Dan sounds like the 1970s incarnate — not because its music makes you think of earth tones, discotheques, quaaludes or the Eagles, but because its classic oeuvre was so non-threatening that it hid the lurid tales and subversive content of its seemingly innocuous songs, written in a d...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Weird Turn Prose

A little too experimental to be straight-out country and too countrified and honky-tonk to rightfully be considered alt-country, this latest release from Weird Turn Prose is nevertheless a sonically consistent and rewarding listen. It's obvious the songwriters didn't bother with genre considerati...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

House music is back, according to Pete Tong

As the longtime host of the BBC Radio 1 shows Essential Selection and Essential Mix, Pete Tong is arguably one of the most influential DJs in the world. Beamed across the U.K. and the world, those shows have introduced millions of listeners to the latest and greatest sounds in dance...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

David Bazan

Christmas is still a couple of months away, but one of its biggest supporters will be coming to Denver early. David Bazan, formerly of Pedro the Lion and Headphones, may seem an unlikely St. Nick, but he's taken the Christmas spirit by the reigns and just released his sixth installment of the Chr...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Three weeks after a fight broke out, Hai Bar keeps it low-key

I'm rarely carded these days: I'm nearly twice as old as the legal drinking age, and what hair I still have is starting to go gray. So when the bartender at Hai Bar (3600 West 32nd Avenue) asked for my ID on a Thursday night, I gave her such a "Jesus, you know I'm old enough, why the hell ...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Modeselektor

Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary, better known as the German dance-music duo Modeselektor, aren't afraid to expand the horizons of techno in their productions. Studio collaborations with Thom Yorke of Radiohead, noisemeister Otto von Schirach and fellow techno traveler Apparat are evide...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Christ on Parade

Born Against, Millions of Dead Christians, Christ on a Crutch: Traditionally, hardcore punk bands haven't cut the Christian religion a hell of a lot of slack. San Francisco's Christ on Parade proudly considers itself part of that lineage, and for good reason. After forming in 1985, the group rele...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Weird Turn Prose

A little too experimental to be straight-out country and too countrified and honky-tonk to rightfully be considered alt-country, this latest release from Weird Turn Prose is nevertheless a sonically consistent and rewarding listen. It's obvious the songwriters didn't bother with genre considerati...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

White Rabbits

Too often, the term "pop" rightfully conjures images of hackneyed premises about love and longing and music too lacking in an individual sound to be more than cultural wallpaper. White Rabbits (from Brooklyn via Missouri) clearly dispensed with such refinements and forged songs that are thematica...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

House music is back, according to Pete Tong

As the longtime host of the BBC Radio 1 shows Essential Selection and Essential Mix, Pete Tong is arguably one of the most influential DJs in the world. Beamed across the U.K. and the world, those shows have introduced millions of listeners to the latest and greatest sounds in dance...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Plastic Fantastic Lover

It's hard to put your finger on Plastic Fantastic Lover's music. Most of it falls somewhere between a folkier Tom Waits and a mildly psychotic take on the Grateful Dead's mellow, hippie-folk side. But then it takes a turn into something like electronic down-tempo for a track or two before slippin...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Three weeks after a fight broke out, Hai Bar keeps it low-key

I'm rarely carded these days: I'm nearly twice as old as the legal drinking age, and what hair I still have is starting to go gray. So when the bartender at Hai Bar (3600 West 32nd Avenue) asked for my ID on a Thursday night, I gave her such a "Jesus, you know I'm old enough, why the hell ...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Snake Mountain commemorates the closing of an underground Denver institution with a new record

On the third floor of a giant, dilapidated Victorian mansion on Franklin Street just south of Five Points, Andy Wild and Joe Ramirez are mixing. The soft gold of the evening lights up the massive yellow structure, restoring it to a bit of its former majesty: It towers over the other houses on the...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Potcheen

Originally called the Potcheen Folk Band, this outfit has dropped the "folk" from its name, and that makes sense — because while the musicians delve into traditional Irish folk songs like "Foggy Dew" and "Whisky in a Jar," they also use the genre as a foundation to build upon and then toss ...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

The Skyline Surrender

Denver has no shortage of young, hungry metalcore bands. The Skyline Surrender isn't any less ambitious than the rest — but its debut EP, This Is Character, shows that the quartet has more than just high hopes. The disc draw equally from the metallic undertow of Darkest Hour and the ...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

David Bazan

Christmas is still a couple of months away, but one of its biggest supporters will be coming to Denver early. David Bazan, formerly of Pedro the Lion and Headphones, may seem an unlikely St. Nick, but he's taken the Christmas spirit by the reigns and just released his sixth installment of the Chr...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Spellcaster's Rock 'n' Roll Time Travel Committee at Rhinoceropolis

Less a band than a loose agglomeration of musicians engaging in a performance-art piece, Spellcaster's Rock 'n' Roll Time Travel Committee (due at Rhinoceropolis on Friday, October 30) brings the danger back to an indie-rock show like few have since the Kindercide last performed. Spellcast...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Juliet Mission is a master of the sad and dark

In the early 1990s, Andre Lucero, Doug Seaman, Tony Morales and Elizabeth Rose formed the popular experimental-rock band Sympathy F. Seaman later went on to a brief stint in Worm Trouble, and Morales played in the Kalamath Brothers with Kevin Soll of 16 Horsepower. Lucero and Seaman also performe...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Steely Dan

Steely Dan sounds like the 1970s incarnate — not because its music makes you think of earth tones, discotheques, quaaludes or the Eagles, but because its classic oeuvre was so non-threatening that it hid the lurid tales and subversive content of its seemingly innocuous songs, written in a d...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Jazz Jam with Mark Diamond

First Sunday of every month, 7:30pm
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Colorado Youth Poetry Slam

First Monday of every month
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Monday, October 26, 2009

The Show is the Rainbow

Wed., November 4, 9:00pm - Never afraid to lubricate the dance floor with a little well-slung mud, Darren Keen of Nebraska's one-man band The Show Is the Rainbow is as known for his frequent lambasting of the prominent Omaha indie-rock scene as he is for his own abrasive yet massively catchy dance jams. Keen seems to have mel...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Sunday, October 25, 2009

David Bazan

Sun., November 1, 8:00pm - Christmas is still a couple of months away, but one of its biggest supporters will be coming to Denver early. David Bazan, formerly of Pedro the Lion and Headphones, may seem an unlikely St. Nick, but he�s taken the Christmas spirit by the reigns and just released his sixth installment of the C...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Christ on Parade

Tue., November 3, 9:00pm - Born Against, Millions of Dead Christians, Christ on a Crutch: Traditionally, hardcore punk bands haven't cut the Christian religion a hell of a lot of slack. San Francisco's Christ on Parade proudly considers itself part of that lineage, and for good reason. After forming in 1985, the group release...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Agent Orange

Sun., November 1, 2:00pm - Though birthed in the dysfunctional cradle of the Southern California hardcore scene, Agent Orange never stuck to convention. Although the group's debut, Living in Darkness, contained the instant punk-rock classic "Bloodstains," the outfit's influential sound is equal parts hardcore, power po...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Saturday, October 24, 2009

White Rabbits

Fri., October 30, 8:00pm - Too often, the term �pop� rightfully conjures images of hackneyed premises about love and longing and music too lacking in an individual sound to be more than cultural wallpaper. White Rabbits (from Brooklyn via Missouri) clearly dispensed with such refinements and forged songs that are th...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

The Most Interesting Show in the World

Mon., October 26, 8:00pm - Fishbone frontman Angelo Moore hosts this offbeat variety show that features all sorts of multi-national performers like acrobats, beatboxers, burlesque singer Melody Sweets, contortionist Mei Ling, crossbow marksmen and daredevils. While it's a free event, passes, which are available Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Steely Dan

Thu., October 29, 8:00pm - Steely Dan sounds like the 1970s incarnate � not because its music makes you think of earth tones, discotheques, quaaludes or the Eagles, but because its classic oeuvre was so non-threatening that it hid the lurid tales and subversive content of its seemingly innocuous songs, written in a decad...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Friday, October 23, 2009

One Kind Favor Reunion Show

Sat., October 31, 8:00pm - The freshly reunited Grateful Dead cover band One Kind Favor has decided to resurrect the Dead for one night only: Halloween, naturally.

When One Kind Favor was playing regularly years ago, explains Swallow Hill�s Rudy Betancourt, �American Beauty was one of their warhorse...
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<i>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</i> Sing-Along

Fri., October 30, 7:00pm-10:00pm - Halloween weekend starts tonight with the one and only Buffy the Vampire Slayer, at the Buffy Sing-Along at City Chicks Food & Flicks, 138 Main Street in Lyons. Obviously, the classic musical episode “Once More, With Feeling,� which chronicles the gang�s struggle with th...
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Haunted Hotel Colorado 2009

Sat., October 31, 9:00pm - A haunted hotel didn�t work out so well for the Torrance family in The Shining, but local promoter Kevin Larson is sure guests will find his haunted hotel much more appealing than the Overlook. Larson is expecting about 2,500 people to attend his Haunted Hotel Colorado 2009 �...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Spellcaster�s Rock and Roll Time Travel Committee

Fri., October 30 - Less a band than a loose agglomeration of musicians engaging in a performance-art piece, Spellcaster�s Rock and Roll Time Travel Committee (due at Rhinoceropolis on Friday, October 30) brings the danger back to an indie-rock show like few have since the Kindercide last performed. Spellcaster pu...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Everything Absent or Distorted

Sat., October 24, 9:00pm - Hey Guys,

So, your last show is this Saturday, October 24 at the Bluebird. I understand that circumstance dictates it, but it makes me sad. You guys have been one of my favorite bands over the past three years since I first saw you live at the Donnybrook Bastille Day party and you played a Neutr...
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Devil Doll

Wed., October 28, 10:00pm - Roy Orbison once sang about falling in love with a Devil Doll. Old Roy's gone now, but we have a sneaking suspicion that if he was still kicking, he'd flip head over heels for Miss Colleen Duffy, aka Devil Doll, a sultry pinup-girl-gone-bad ingenue who's graced the covers of countless tattoo and cho...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Modeselektor

Thu., October 29, 10:00pm - Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary, better known as the German dance-music duo Modeselektor, aren�t afraid to expand the horizons of techno in their productions. Studio collaborations with Thom Yorke of Radiohead, noisemeister Otto von Schirach and fellow techno traveler Apparat are evidence o...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

The Motet

Thu., October 29, 9:00pm - Even bands like to dress up for Halloween. Last October, Boulder funk outfit the Motet picked the Talking Heads as the inspiration for its annual string of tribute concerts � but this time around, the funk will be a bit less tidy. The Motet is taking on the music of Sly & the Family Ston...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Drop the Lime and Mochipet

Fri., October 23, 9:00pm - At some point in the future, all music is going to transmogrify into one big crazy-ass mess of sound, and the smart money says that future fusion is going to sound a lot like what Mochipet � aka David Wang � is doing right now. He's worked with everyone from Berlin techno masters such as E...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

A Place to Bury Strangers

Fri., October 23, 9:00pm - New York trio A Place to Bury Strangers burst on the scene on a wave of comparisons to the Jesus and Mary Chain � comparisons that certainly weren't unfounded. Still, APTBS has take one particular sliver of that sound (namely, it's early, white-noise era) and amped it to an exponential degree. ...
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Benny Benassi

Thu., October 22, 9:00pm - Better watch your girlfriend around Benny Benassi. Not only is he a suave-looking Italian guy, but he's a rising star in the dance-music scene who specializes in sexed-up, electro-fueled house sleazefests such as "Who's Your Daddy?" and "I Love My Sex" � you know, just the sort of thing to get ...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Adrian Belew

Sun., October 25, 7:00pm - Few, if any, living guitarists can match Adrian Belew's impressive resumé in terms of depth and range of accomplishment over the course of his four-decades-long career. Belew first came to prominence as a player on Frank Zappa's 1979 album Sheik Yerbouti, which led to his long-term rol...
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As much as he loves being in Drag the River, Chad Price digs making music on his own

Let's live hard together!" So declares the MySpace bio of Ault-based singer-songwriter Chad Price, a man known to pack more heartache and drunkenness into a single song than some do in their entire careers. No one who's been following Price's alt-country band Drag the River up close over the past...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Mochipet at Beta

At some point in the future, all music is going to transmogrify into one big crazy-ass mess of sound, and the smart money says that future fusion is going to sound a lot like what Mochipet — aka David Wang — is doing right now. He's worked with everyone from Berlin techno maste...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

The Dodos

Unlike their sonic brethren the Animal Collective on the East Coast, San Francisco's the Dodos keep it simple — but hardly stupid. Steeped in psychedelic folk and classic pop, leader Meric Long and crew focus on tattered guitars, huge yet warm drums and the kinds of melodies and harmonies t...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

The Chinese Stars

Eric Paul and Craig Kureck both inspired and confounded audiences as members of the influential noise-rock combo Arab on Radar. After that act disbanded in 2002, Paul and Kureck formed the Chinese Stars and continued in a similar vein, still making deranged, outré music but incorporating d...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Casselman's is destined for big things

I only went to Shakespeare's once after it moved to 2620 Walnut Street, and I never ventured beyond the front section of the bar, so I had no idea how massive the space was until I met with Adam Ranes, who took it over after Shakespeare's moved out. This was back in April, just before Adam and hi...
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With Shane MacGowan back on board, the Pogues make their first trip to Denver

Although the Pogues' storied career spans nearly four decades and includes several tours to the States, the London-based band has never played Denver before. Instead, the Irish punk-folkers stuck primarily to the East and West coasts, with occasional forays down south, even when boisterous frontm...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Weed Diamond

Mirror Universe isn't a subsidiary of Siltbreeze, but the ultra-lo-fi production on this album's nine tracks makes it sound like it is. From the beginning, it's a bit like what you might get using an old reel-to-reel machine you picked up at a garage sale to listen to some unmarked tapes you foun...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Emmitt-Nershi Band

Nimble-fingered Leftover Salmonite Drew Emmitt teams with String Cheese Incident strummer Bill Nershi for a soul-warming platter of acoustic fare. The shimmeringly clear recording enables a rootsy blend of strings to ring through on everything from the Gypsy jazz-inspired instrumental cut "Surfin...
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Fifteen years into the game, Babah Fly is keeping the raw hip-hop vibe alive

For the past fifteen years, Matthew Kelly has been entrenched in the local hip-hop scene. Although his stage name has changed over the years, Kelly, now known as Babah Fly, has been one of the most consistent artists in that scene. Whether he's putting in work as a solo artist or as part of group...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Uncle Monk

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Tommy Ramone knows a thing or two about sheer volume: As a founder and producer of the Ramones, the drummer helped pioneer the sound of rock as we know it. Now in his sixties, Ramone spends his time apart from the drum kit and, surprisingly, behind the mandolin...
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The Damned

Although there's video of the Damned titled Final Damnation, which includes footage of a 1988 reunion show in London, it was hardly the last straw for an act that got its start during London's burgeoning punk movement in the late '70s. Just the same, there were a few rough patches along th...
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Hello Kavita

It's not often that you encounter an instantly satisfying record that also rewards repeated listens. Hello Kavita's sophomore effort blows in like a lost 1972 Flying Burrito Brothers record, tumbling across the California desert. The seductively spare ten-song collection has the polish and profes...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Chad Price

Fri., October 23, 9:00pm - "Let's live hard together!" So declares the MySpace bio of Ault-based singer-songwriter Chad Price, a man known to pack more heartache and drunkenness into a single song than some do in their entire careers. No one who's been following Price's alt-country band Drag the River up close over the past t...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

The Bottesini Project

On the Bottesini Project's outstanding self-titled debut, leader and saxophonist Paul Riola recruited high-caliber musicians like Tortoise guitarist Jeff Parker and drummer Scott Amendola to play on tunes that were largely improvised. For its followup, Naima's Grass Pajamas, Riola assemble...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Sole at the hi-dive

After launching the anticon. label with Pedestrian in 1998, Sole (due at the hi-dive on Sunday, October 25) has become one of the world's most influential underground hip-hop artists. With a dense stream-of-consciousness lyrical delivery and emotionally charged beats and music to accompany...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Babah Fly (CD release)

Sat., October 24, 8:00pm - For the past fifteen years, Matthew Kelly has been entrenched in the local hip-hop scene. Although his stage name has changed over the years, Kelly, now known as Babah Fly, has been one of the most consistent artists in that scene. Whether he's putting in work as a solo artist or as part of groups l...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Youth Brigade

Formed in 1980, Youth Brigade played shows with hardcore bands, but its music didn't focus on speed or brutality. Instead, the Stern brothers wrote songs that addressed the concerns of conscious young men of the day, like existential angst and criticizing a power-mad government vastly streamlinin...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Belew Man Group Seeing Adrian Belew in an intimate space like the Toad Tavern is a special treat, and that's the way he likes it

Few, if any, living guitarists can match Adrian Belew's impressive resumé in terms of depth and range of accomplishment over the course of his four-decades-long career. Belew first came to prominence as a player on Frank Zappa's 1979 album Sheik Yerbouti, which led to his long-term ...
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Casselman's is destined for big things

I only went to Shakespeare's once after it moved to 2620 Walnut Street, and I never ventured beyond the front section of the bar, so I had no idea how massive the space was until I met with Adam Ranes, who took it over after Shakespeare's moved out. This was back in April, just before Adam and hi...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Belew Man Group Seeing Adrian Belew in an intimate space like the Toad Tavern is a special treat, and that's the way he likes it

Few, if any, living guitarists can match Adrian Belew's impressive resumé in terms of depth and range of accomplishment over the course of his four-decades-long career. Belew first came to prominence as a player on Frank Zappa's 1979 album Sheik Yerbouti, which led to his long-term ...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

The Damned

Although there's video of the Damned titled Final Damnation, which includes footage of a 1988 reunion show in London, it was hardly the last straw for an act that got its start during London's burgeoning punk movement in the late '70s. Just the same, there were a few rough patches along th...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

With Shane MacGowan back on board, the Pogues make their first trip to Denver

Although the Pogues' storied career spans nearly four decades and includes several tours to the States, the London-based band has never played Denver before. Instead, the Irish punk-folkers stuck primarily to the East and West coasts, with occasional forays down south, even when boisterous frontm...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

As much as he loves being in Drag the River, Chad Price digs making music on his own

Let's live hard together!" So declares the MySpace bio of Ault-based singer-songwriter Chad Price, a man known to pack more heartache and drunkenness into a single song than some do in their entire careers. No one who's been following Price's alt-country band Drag the River up close over the past...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Emmitt-Nershi Band

Nimble-fingered Leftover Salmonite Drew Emmitt teams with String Cheese Incident strummer Bill Nershi for a soul-warming platter of acoustic fare. The shimmeringly clear recording enables a rootsy blend of strings to ring through on everything from the Gypsy jazz-inspired instrumental cut "Surfin...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Uncle Monk

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Tommy Ramone knows a thing or two about sheer volume: As a founder and producer of the Ramones, the drummer helped pioneer the sound of rock as we know it. Now in his sixties, Ramone spends his time apart from the drum kit and, surprisingly, behind the mandolin...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Sole at the hi-dive

After launching the anticon. label with Pedestrian in 1998, Sole (due at the hi-dive on Sunday, October 25) has become one of the world's most influential underground hip-hop artists. With a dense stream-of-consciousness lyrical delivery and emotionally charged beats and music to accompany...
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Weed Diamond

Mirror Universe isn't a subsidiary of Siltbreeze, but the ultra-lo-fi production on this album's nine tracks makes it sound like it is. From the beginning, it's a bit like what you might get using an old reel-to-reel machine you picked up at a garage sale to listen to some unmarked tapes you foun...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

The Dodos

Unlike their sonic brethren the Animal Collective on the East Coast, San Francisco's the Dodos keep it simple — but hardly stupid. Steeped in psychedelic folk and classic pop, leader Meric Long and crew focus on tattered guitars, huge yet warm drums and the kinds of melodies and harmonies t...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

The Chinese Stars

Eric Paul and Craig Kureck both inspired and confounded audiences as members of the influential noise-rock combo Arab on Radar. After that act disbanded in 2002, Paul and Kureck formed the Chinese Stars and continued in a similar vein, still making deranged, outré music but incorporating d...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Hello Kavita

It's not often that you encounter an instantly satisfying record that also rewards repeated listens. Hello Kavita's sophomore effort blows in like a lost 1972 Flying Burrito Brothers record, tumbling across the California desert. The seductively spare ten-song collection has the polish and profes...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Belew Man Group Seeing Adrian Belew in an intimate space like the Toad Tavern is a special treat, and that's the way he likes it

Few, if any, living guitarists can match Adrian Belew's impressive resumé in terms of depth and range of accomplishment over the course of his four-decades-long career. Belew first came to prominence as a player on Frank Zappa's 1979 album Sheik Yerbouti, which led to his long-term ...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

The Bottesini Project

On the Bottesini Project's outstanding self-titled debut, leader and saxophonist Paul Riola recruited high-caliber musicians like Tortoise guitarist Jeff Parker and drummer Scott Amendola to play on tunes that were largely improvised. For its followup, Naima's Grass Pajamas, Riola assemble...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Youth Brigade

Formed in 1980, Youth Brigade played shows with hardcore bands, but its music didn't focus on speed or brutality. Instead, the Stern brothers wrote songs that addressed the concerns of conscious young men of the day, like existential angst and criticizing a power-mad government vastly streamlinin...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Open Jam

Third Tuesday of every month, 6:30pm
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Blues Jam

First Wednesday of every month, 7:00pm
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Bluegrass Jam

Second Tuesday of every month, 7:00pm
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Sunday, October 18, 2009

The Damned

Wed., October 28, 8:00pm - Although there�s video of the Damned titled Final Damnation, which includes footage of a 1988 reunion show in London, it was hardly the last straw for an act that got its start during London�s burgeoning punk movement in the late �70s. Just the same, there were a few rough patc...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

The Chinese Stars

Wed., October 28, 9:00pm - Eric Paul and Craig Kureck both inspired and confounded audiences as members of the influential noise-rock combo Arab on Radar. After that act disbanded in 2002, Paul and Kureck formed the Chinese Stars and continued in a similar vein, still making deranged, outré music but incorporating danc...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

The Damned

Wed., October 28, 8:00pm - Although there�s video of the Damned titled Final Damnation, which includes footage of a 1988 reunion show in London, it was hardly the last straw for an act that got its start during London�s burgeoning punk movement in the late �70s. Just the same, there were a few rough patc...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

The Chinese Stars

Wed., October 28, 9:00pm - Eric Paul and Craig Kureck both inspired and confounded audiences as members of the influential noise-rock combo Arab on Radar. After that act disbanded in 2002, Paul and Kureck formed the Chinese Stars and continued in a similar vein, still making deranged, outré music but incorporating danc...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Dan Deacon

Tue., October 27, 9:00pm - Dan Deacon's name should be familiar to anyone keeping an ear to what's going on in American underground music. As one of the founders of the Wham City collective, Deacon is one of the pillars of the modern DIY movement in Baltimore. Deacon's exuberantly playful electronic music bears none of the sc...
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Friday, October 16, 2009

Uncle Monk

Sat., October 24, 8:00pm - Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Tommy Ramone knows a thing or two about sheer volume: As a founder and producer of the Ramones, the drummer helped pioneer the sound of rock as we know it. Now in his sixties, Ramone spends his time apart from the drum kit and, surprisingly, behind the mandolin, a...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

The Pogues

Fri., October 23, 8:00pm - Although the Pogues� storied career spans nearly four decades and includes several tours to the States, the London-based band has never played Denver before. Instead, the Irish punk-folkers stuck primarily to the East and West coasts, with occasional forays down south, even when boisterous fron...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

The Dodos

Thu., October 22, 8:00pm - Unlike their sonic brethren the Animal Collective on the East Coast, San Francisco's the Dodos keep it simple � but hardly stupid. Steeped in psychedelic folk and classic pop, leader Meric Long and crew focus on tattered guitars, huge yet warm drums and the kinds of melodies and harmonies that ...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Youth Brigade

Sat., October 24, 8:30pm - Formed in 1980, Youth Brigade played shows with hardcore bands, but its music didn�t focus on speed or brutality. Instead, the Stern brothers wrote songs that addressed the concerns of conscious young men of the day, like existential angst and criticizing a power-mad government vastly streamlin...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Victorian Fetish Ball

Sat., October 24, 9:00pm-2:00am - The Victorian era is known for many things � but sexual openness isn't one of them. The reign of Queen Victoria during the latter half of the nineteenth century in England saw strict moral codes and crusades against prostitution and promiscuity, the particular target being "fallen women" who da...
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Steve Martin

Sat., October 24, 8:00pm - One of my earliest childhood memories is watching Steve Martin playing banjo on The Muppet Show. (Can you think of a better early memory!?) This was �77 or �78, when he had a head of ashy brown hair and his performance was still a fusion of banjo picking and standup comedy. These da...
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Thursday, October 15, 2009

The Dodos

Thu., October 22, 8:00pm - After the breakthrough success of 2007's Visiter by San Francisco psychedelic folk group the Dodos, frontman Meric Long stated that, for his next album, he "wanted to make a rock record." And what better way for the acoustic-based duo to accomplish this feat than to become a trio? Although the vibra...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Dark Star Orchestra

Fri., October 16, 8:00pm - The members of Dark Star Orchestra might take issue with those who say you cannot bring the Dead back to life. For more than a decade, this Chicago-based act has built a national following by resurrecting the music of the late Grateful Dead. Each night, the Orchestra repeats a particular performance...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Le Loup

Mon., October 19, 9:00pm - Le Loup's 2007's debut, The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millennium General Assembly, was essentially a Sam Simkoff solo project with some help from Christian Ervin that relied on a fair amount of knob-twiddling and multi-tracking. Over the last two years, Simkoff assembled a ba...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Ayo Awosika

Wed., October 21, 8:00pm - While vocalist Ayo Awosika might have steeped herself in the music of jazz singers Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Carmen McRae, she delves into more of a soul/folk amalgam on her latest EP. As the title suggests, the disc is filled with songs coming from the singer's heart, especially on "As Fa...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Gossip

Mon., October 19, 8:00pm - The hurricane that is Beth Ditto and her band, Gossip, just released the fourth full-length of their ten-year career, their first for a major label. The album, Music for Men, produced by Rick Rubin, finds Ditto and her mates � guitarist/synth Nathan Howdeshell (Brace Paine) and drummer H...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Fierce Bad Rabbit

Fri., October 16, 8:00pm - After fronting the Fort Collins-based indie-rock band the Jimi Austin for three and a half years, Chris Anderson was at a bit of a crossroads. Drummer Shane Zweygardt and guitarist Ian Haygood were pushing for more of a progressive dance-rock sound, while Anderson wanted to explore mellower songwrit...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Mark Mallman

Sat., October 17, 9:00pm - Mark Mallman has been pedaling along for more than a decade as one of the most underappreciated voices in rock and roll. His pathos-packed piano rock is all about spectacle: Mallman plays his instrument like Danny Federici and straddles it like Tori Amos in heat. His cigarette-and-insomnia-addled vo...
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Roger Daltrey

Tue., October 20, 8:00pm - "I am a pensioner!" Roger Daltrey declares with a laugh. "I'm not just a few years from it. Technically, I am. That's the age we are."

Do the math. Circa 1965, Daltrey was the 21-year-old lead singer of a U.K. band called the Who � a flinty young tough with a forceful vocal style who wore h...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Mark Mallman

Sat., October 17, 9:00pm - Mark Mallman has been pedaling along for more than a decade as one of the most underappreciated voices in rock and roll. His pathos-packed piano rock is all about spectacle: Mallman plays his instrument like Danny Federici and straddles it like Tori Amos in heat. His cigarette-and-insomnia-addled vo...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Ayo Awosika

Wed., October 21, 8:00pm - While vocalist Ayo Awosika might have steeped herself in the music of jazz singers Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Carmen McRae, she delves into more of a soul/folk amalgam on her latest EP. As the title suggests, the disc is filled with songs coming from the singer's heart, especially on "As Fa...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Fierce Bad Rabbit

Fri., October 16, 8:00pm - After fronting the Fort Collins-based indie-rock band the Jimi Austin for three and a half years, Chris Anderson was at a bit of a crossroads. Drummer Shane Zweygardt and guitarist Ian Haygood were pushing for more of a progressive dance-rock sound, while Anderson wanted to explore mellower songwrit...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Le Loup

Mon., October 19, 9:00pm - Le Loup's 2007's debut, The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millennium General Assembly, was essentially a Sam Simkoff solo project with some help from Christian Ervin that relied on a fair amount of knob-twiddling and multi-tracking. Over the last two years, Simkoff assembled a ba...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Gossip

Mon., October 19, 8:00pm - The hurricane that is Beth Ditto and her band, Gossip, just released the fourth full-length of their ten-year career, their first for a major label. The album, Music for Men, produced by Rick Rubin, finds Ditto and her mates � guitarist/synth Nathan Howdeshell (Brace Paine) and drummer H...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Roger Daltrey

Tue., October 20, 8:00pm - "I am a pensioner!" Roger Daltrey declares with a laugh. "I'm not just a few years from it. Technically, I am. That's the age we are."

Do the math. Circa 1965, Daltrey was the 21-year-old lead singer of a U.K. band called the Who � a flinty young tough with a forceful vocal style who wore h...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

The Rear Inn's karaoke menu is a little behind the times

I dropped by the Rear Inn Lounge (4991 West 80th Avenue in Westminster) on a recent Wednesday and stumbled on a roomful of kickballers. There had to be at least a dozen teams there, the players all wearing their team's colored T-shirts, drinking pitchers of beer and playing beer pong and s...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Liam Finn & Eliza Jane

On Liam Finn's outstanding 2007 debut, I'll Be Lighting, the New Zealand-based singer-songwriter played nearly every instrument save for drum tracks and some bass help from his father, Crowded House and Split Enz alum Neil Finn. Liam's vocals definitely recall his old man's, even more so o...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Les Freres Courvoisier at Libra, at the b.side lounge

All the way from France comes the sexy, deep techno of Les Freres Courvoisier. Okay, it isn't really French; it's local artists Jonathan Canupp (aka Ten and Tracer) and Joshua Smith's (aka Time for Trees) collaboration as the faux-French brothers Jean-Pierre and Stefan Courvoisier. Togethe...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Devil Got Five

This debut album from Devil Got Five reveals that there's more to the band's songwriting than being couched in the realm of metal. The tastefully rapid changes of pace and melodic breakdowns in "This Is Now" sound like a melding of speed metal and a more progressive aesthetic. "Can't Abide" has a...
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Mount Eerie

When performing solo, Washington state's pop savant Phil Elverum operates under the name the Microphones — but when he hauls his troupe of players along with him, the project is known as Mount Eerie. The difference may be mostly academic, but the live experience is vastly different; drawing...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Erik Applegate

Denver-based jazz bassist Erik Applegate has strong enough chops to have performed with jazz heavies like Milt Jackson, Harold Mabern and Tom Harrell, but on Red Skies, his debut as a leader, Applegate shows he's a skilled and well-versed composer, as well. Over the course of his six origi...
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nervesandgel at Rhinoceropolis

With a broad sonic brush, Johnny Wohlfahrt creates music that blurs the line between pop and the avant-garde with a rare daring and openness of spirit. Writing and performing under the moniker nervesandgel (due on Tuesday, October 20, at Rhinoceropolis), Wohlfahrt has been a prolific songw...
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Le Loup was essentially a solo project for Sam Simkoff that has grown into a band

Le Loup's 2007's debut, The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millennium General Assembly, was essentially a Sam Simkoff solo project with some help from Christian Ervin that relied on a fair amount of knob-twiddling and multi-tracking. Over the last two years, Simkoff assembled a...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Talk Talk

The hurricane that is Beth Ditto and her band, Gossip, just released the fourth full-length of their ten-year career, their first for a major label. The album, Music for Men, produced by Rick Rubin, finds ditto and her mates — guitarist/synth Nathan Howdeshell (Brace Paine) and drumm...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Lords of Fuzz

On their self-titled LP, the Lords deliver a potent, sludgy blend of heavy, super-fuzzy riffs, a thundering rhythm section with just a hint of swing and throaty, passionate vocals that fall somewhere between Alice in Chains and Stone Temple Pilots. It's a sound that would have been huge fifteen y...
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BrakesBrakesBrakes

"Don't take me away, spaceman/I want to stay here on this wasteland," sings BrakesBrakesBrakes' Eamon Hamilton on "Don't Take Me to Space (Man)," one of the many high points of the British band's new and third full-length, Touchdown. The outfit's weird, sinewy yet innocent garage rock is f...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

St. Elias

Hindsight may be 20/20, but it still seems too soon to truly get a big-picture idea of what the '90s were all about. Luckily for St. Elias, the big picture is moot. With its debut full-length, Believe It, the Denver trio has homed in on one tiny but worthwhile slice of '90s pie: all the he...
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LAKE

Hailing from Olympia, Washington, LAKE has a refreshingly un-ironic and musically solid take on mixing together indie pop with R&B for a sound that is essentially blue-eyed soul. The delicate harmonies and infectious melodies present in most of the band's material are reminiscent of popular songs...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Damon & Naomi

Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang first burst onto the international underground rock scene as two-thirds of influential dream-pop band Galaxie 500. When Galaxie split in 1991, on the verge of stardom, Damon and Naomi released their first EP as a duo. Ever since, Krukowski and Yang have produced a s...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Roger Daltrey isn't quite ready for his senior discount

I am a pensioner!" Roger Daltrey declares with a laugh. "I'm not just a few years from it. Technically, I am. That's the age we are."

Do the math. Circa 1965, Daltrey was the 21-year-old lead singer of a U.K. band called the Who – a flinty young tough with a forceful vocal style who...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Dia de los Muertos

Sat., October 31, 10:00pm - For the last few years, d. biddle has made it a tradition of playing the hi-dive on the Day of the Dead. While the band is knows for some killer live shows (which are a lot less frequent since frontman Duncan Barlow relocated to Florida), the guys don the skull make-up and usually seem to ramp up th...
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Afterlife: Halloween Night Massive

Sat., October 31, 9:00pm - The Triad Dragons crew is bringing in nationally known DJs like Micro, Baby Anne, Miss Lisa, Kimball Collins and Slynk to spin in four different rooms on three levels of Two a.m. and City Hall. Some fine local DJs like Dragon, Trajikk Hycloud and Ghosh will be manning the decks as well. There's als...
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Saturday, October 10, 2009

Blitzen Trapper

Tue., October 20, 9:00pm - For a buzz band, Blitzen Trapper is extremely modest. Instead of trying to overwhelm listeners with their awesomeness, singer-songwriter Eric Earley and crew create casually adventurous tracks that draw from American music in ways that seem both familiar and fresh. "Sleepy Time in the Western World"...
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KISS Mania

Fri., October 30, 9:00pm - It's a bummer that KISS is skipping over Denver on its current American tour, but that doesn't mean you still can't rock and roll all night with tribute band KISS Mania. The act digs into the 1977-78 Love Gun era material complete with make-up, costumes and a smaller version of the stage set ...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Mount Eerie

Tue., October 20, 9:00pm - When performing solo, Washington state's pop savant Phil Elverum operates under the name the Microphones � but when he hauls his troupe of players along with him, the project is known as Mount Eerie. The difference may be mostly academic, but the live experience is vastly different; drawing fro...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Gossip

Mon., October 19, 8:00pm - The hurricane that is Beth Ditto and her band, Gossip, just released the fourth full-length of their ten-year career, their first for a major label. The album, produced by Rick Rubin, finds ditto and her mates � guitarist/synth Nathan Howdeshell (Brace Paine) and drummer Hannah Billie � co...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Friday, October 9, 2009

Liam Finn & Eliza Jane

Mon., October 19, 8:00pm - On Liam Finn�s outstanding 2007 debut, I�ll Be Lighting, the New Zealand-based singer-songwriter played nearly every instrument save for drum tracks and some bass help from his father, Crowded House and Split Enz alum Neil Finn. Liam�s vocals definitely recall his old man�...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Ezra Furman & the Harpoons and Brakes Brakes Brakes

Thu., October 15, 9:00pm - "Don't take me away, spaceman/I want to stay here on this wasteland," sings BrakesBrakesBrakes� Eamon Hamilton on "Don't Take Me to Space (Man)," one of the many high points of the British band's new and third full-length, Touchdown. The outfit's weird, sinewy yet innocent garage rock is...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Les Freres Courvoisier

Fri., October 16 - All the way from France comes the sexy, deep techno of Les Freres Courvoisier. Okay, it isn�t really French; it�s local artists Jonathan Canupp (aka Ten and Tracer) and Joshua Smith�s (aka Time for Trees) collaboration as the faux-French brothers Jean-Pierre and Stefan Courvoisier. To...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

LAKE

Sun., October 18, 9:00pm - Hailing from Olympia, Washington, LAKE has a refreshingly un-ironic and musically solid take on mixing together indie pop with R&B for a sound that is essentially blue-eyed soul. The delicate harmonies and infectious melodies present in most of the band’s material are reminiscent of popular son...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Manchester Orchestra

Fri., October 9, 8:00pm - If you're seeking Nirvana, you shall find it. It's all there. From the dark, diary-style lyrics to the tortured-growl delivery to the loud-quiet-loud dynamic, you can hear the influence Kurt Cobain has had on Andy Hull as you listen to the super-serious, 22-year-old Manchester Orchestra frontman how...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

A Hawk and a Hackshaw and Damon & Naomi

Fri., October 16, 8:00pm - Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang first burst onto the international underground rock scene as two-thirds of influential dream-pop band Galaxie 500. When Galaxie split in 1991, on the verge of stardom, Damon and Naomi released their first EP as a duo. Ever since, Krukowski and Yang have produced a stri...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Girl in a Coma

Sat., October 17, 10:00pm - Though the band seemed to rocket out of nowhere with its 2007 debut, Both Before I'm Gone, San Antonio trio Girl in a Coma has been plugging away for nine years � since then-thirteen-year-old Nina Diaz played one of her songs for her older sister Phanie and their friend Jenn Alva. "Jenn said, '...
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Elin Palmer

Sat., October 17, 8:00pm - Elin Palmer has spent a great deal of her career playing a supporting role, adding majestic violin textures to the music of some this town's most critically revered acts, including the Czars, 16 Horsepower, DeVotchKa, Wovenhand and Munly and the Lee Lewis Harlots, as well as performing and guesting ...
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Star Wars: In Concert

Sun., October 18, 2:00pm - Far more than a tired, kitschy recycling of the Star Wars brand, Star Wars: A Musical Journey is a reimagining of the six-part science-fiction saga into a ninety-minute, multi-media extravaganza. Simply put, it's a different way of looking at the familiar. Call it a night at the sympho...
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Michael Ian Black & Michael Showalter

Sat., October 17, 9:00pm - The cult-classic sketch-comedy show The State introduced the peculiar comic stylings of Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter to the world. They followed that with projects such as the movie Wet Hot American Summer and Stella, an ambitious take on the sitcom genre. Their lates...
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Open Jam

Third Tuesday of every month, 6:30pm
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Fred Hess Big Band (CD release)

Daily from Thu., October 8 until Fri., October 9, 7:00pm - Tenor saxophonist and composer Fred Hess is comfortable playing songs by Lester Young, Ornette Coleman and pretty much everyone in between, as he�s shown on the thirteen albums he�s released over the past seventeen years. While most of those were done with smaller groups, the local ...
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Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Brand New and Manchester Orchestra

Thu., October 8, 7:30pm - If you're seeking Nirvana, you shall find it. It's all there. From the dark, diary-style lyrics to the tortured-growl delivery to the loud-quiet-loud dynamic, you can hear the influence Kurt Cobain has had on Andy Hull as you listen to the super-serious, 22-year-old Manchester Orchestra frontman how...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Masta Ace & Fresh Breath Committee

Thu., October 8, 9:00pm - In 2008, Westword named Boostwell the best hip-hop crew in Denver. Headed by SP Double, Boostwell consisted of local MCs and producers Flawless, Fo Chief, ManDaMyth, Catch Lungs, EMB, Purpose, Procise, Kontrast and a few others. Shortly after the recognition, a number of members left and launched th...
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Har Mar Superstar

After his noise-rock band Calvin Krime broke up in the late '90s, Sean Tillman performed as Sean Na Na before that project ultimately transformed into his current persona. Before it became something of a trend, Tillman performed profane and sexually oriented R&B as a solo act called Har Mar Super...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

The Fresh Breath Committee aims to breathe new life into hip-hop

In 2008, Westword named Boostwell the best hip-hop crew in Denver. Headed by SP Double, Boostwell consisted of local MCs and producers Flawless, Fo Chief, ManDaMyth, Catch Lungs, EMB, Purpose, Procise, Kontrast and a few others. Shortly after the recognition, a number of members left and l...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Herb's is a music lover's � and player's � paradise

I really wanted to play the sax when I was a kid, but ended up with the trombone, since a family friend let me borrow one. I got pretty good at it, and my folks finally bought me my own trombone — but once I was old enough to drive, I traded it for a guitar at a pawn shop. The guitar just s...
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Mark Knight at Beta

Mark Knight is on an upward trajectory in the DJ world. Last year, he broke the top half of the DJ Magazine top 100. As head of the Toolroom label, he's put plenty of records in DJ's boxes from artists such as David Guetta, Deadmau5 and Audiofly. His own hits include remakes of the ...
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Manchester Orchestra frontman Andy Hull takes his cues from a heavenly place

If you're seeking Nirvana, you shall find it. It's all there. From the dark, diary-style lyrics to the tortured-growl delivery to the loud-quiet-loud dynamic, you can hear the influence Kurt Cobain has had on Andy Hull as you listen to the super-serious, 22-year-old Manchester Orchestra frontman ...
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Meet the New Model Army, same as the Old Model Army

These days, a real punk band (sorry, Green Day) can almost never find its way onto the pop charts. But back in the day (see: mid-'80s), England's New Model Army released political punk that sold to more than just left-wing extremists. Nearly thirty years ago, frontman/mastermind Justin Sullivan, ...
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Time

Few artists have explored the theme of paranoia as thoroughly as Time does on this latest release. In "Naked Brunch," conspiracy-theory icon William Cooper is woven into that story about Paul McCartney being dead and Billy Shears acting as his stand-in for one of the most deft lyrical and concept...
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Box Elders

Like a Brillo pad stuffed with a gooey cream filling, Nebraska's Box Elders smuggle sweet and luscious pop songs inside a raw, scratchy-as-hell shell. It's not a new recipe, but Box Elders know how to make it their own; brothers Clayton and Jeremiah McIntyre, along with drummer/organist Dave Gold...
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Strike Anywhere

After one look at Strike Anywhere's logo, it's clear that this is a band with a heavily political stance. The logo, comprising three downward pointing arrows, is a nod to the Antifascist Circle, which was first designed to cover up Nazi swastikas. Strike Anywhere's politically biting lyrics touch...
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Marty Jones & the Great Unknowns

Onetime Westword contributor Marty Jones knows a few things about boozing and singing, so it's no surprise that he'd dub his new five-song EP Drink & Song. While fronting his previous band, the Pork Boilin' Poor Boys, he penned quite a few tunes about imbibing, and he also booked ba...
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Science Partner

Although it's labeled as a mere demo, this three-song, self-titled disc from Science Partner — formerly the Tyler Despres band — is far from a sketch or work in progress. Tightly controlled and clean as a whistle, it offers a quick dose of acoustic-based indie pop that, while sugary a...
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Cattle Decapitation

If you like your militantly vegetarian metal fast, loud and brutal — splattered with specks of blood, shards of entrails and other bodily fluids — you owe it to yourself to catch Cattle Decapitation when the band stampedes into town with Soulfly and Prong. Earlier this year, after mor...
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Gritt Hitter at the hi-dive

Plenty of bands have overmined the new wave of British heavy metal and mixed it with a bit of glam rock and thrash. Sonically, Gritt Hitter (due at the hi-dive on Thursday, October 8) comes from that milieu, but instead of limiting itself to creating music in the shadow of its heroes, the ...
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Tr3CooH

The distinction between indelible hip-hop and the dismissible kind is so narrow that artists can straddle the line without realizing it — which pretty much tells the story of Tr3CooH's latest. He's got a strong voice — gritty, light and nimble — but his prose can be inconsistent...
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St. John's Cathedral Choir

Third Sunday of every month, 4:00pm
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Story Circle

Third Monday of every month, 6:30pm
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Monday, October 5, 2009

Strike Anywhere

Tue., October 13, 7:00pm - After one look at Strike Anywhere�s logo, it�s clear that this is a band with a heavily political stance. The logo, comprising three downward pointing arrows, is a nod to the Antifascist Circle, which was first designed to cover up Nazi swastikas. Strike Anywhere�s politically biting ...
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Box Elders

Tue., October 13, 10:00pm - Like a Brillo pad stuffed with a gooey cream filling, Nebraska's Box Elders smuggle sweet and luscious pop songs inside a raw, scratchy-as-hell shell. It's not a new recipe, but Box Elders know how to make it their own; brothers Clayton and Jeremiah McIntyre, along with drummer/organist Dave Goldber...
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MuteMath

Wed., October 14, 8:00pm - While the musical aesthetic that once flowed from Grey�s Anatomy may not have jumped Denny�s ghost just yet, it�s giving way commercially to Twilight rock, a style dictated to varying degrees by the tastes of Stephenie Meyer, thirty-something author and Mormon mom � and Mu...
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Mark Knight

Thu., October 8, 9:00pm - Mark Knight is on an upward trajectory in the DJ world. Last year, he broke the top half of the DJ Magazine top 100. As head of the Toolroom label, he�s put plenty of records in DJ�s boxes from artists such as David Guetta, Deadmau5 and Audiofly. His own hits include remakes of the Laurent...
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Soulfly and Cattle Decapitation

Fri., October 9, 7:00pm - If you like your militantly vegetarian metal fast, loud and brutal � splattered with specks of blood, shards of entrails and other bodily fluids � you owe it to yourself to catch Cattle Decapitation when the band stampedes into town with Soulfly and Prong. Earlier this year, after more tha...
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Har Mar Superstar

Tue., October 13, 8:00pm - After his noise-rock band Calvin Krime broke up in the late �90s, Sean Tillman performed as Sean Na Na before that project ultimately transformed into his current persona. Before it became something of a trend, Tillman performed profane and sexually oriented R&B as a solo act called Har Mar Sup...
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Saturday, October 3, 2009

The Postmarks

Tue., October 6, 9:00pm - Miami has more than its share of nice Jewish girls � but few of them can sing like Tel Aviv-born Tim [that�s not a typo] Yehezkely, who consistently delivers as frontwoman for the Postmarks, currently touring with Brookline. Memoirs at the End of the World represents the players� four...
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Thursday, October 1, 2009

Fred Hess Big Band (CD release)

Daily from Thu., October 8 until Fri., October 9, 9:00pm - Tenor saxophonist and composer Fred Hess is comfortable playing songs by Lester Young, Ornette Coleman and pretty much everyone in between, as he�s shown on the thirteen albums he�s released over the past seventeen years. While most of those were done with smaller groups, the local ...
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Paper Bird

Fri., October 2, 9:00pm - "Everyone in the audience was armed," says Paper Bird's Esme Patterson, recalling making that horrifying discovery on stage at a recent show. "It was like that scene in The Blues Brothers, where they play at the country bar and no one knows what to think."

While you can picture such a sce...
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Boulder Acoustic Society

Sat., October 10, 8:00pm - Few musicians can cite a specific turning point in their artistic lives. Boulder Acoustic Society bassist Aaron Keim is one of them. During a visit to rural New Mexico, the young instrumentalist � then a college student in his native Wisconsin � sat in on an honest-to-gosh, down-home hoote...
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Paramore

Sun., October 4, 7:30pm - Paramore lead singer Hayley Williams needn't wonder if she's having an impact on her audience. Odds are good that every time she looks into the crowd at a concert, she'll see a veritable ocean of tween and teen girls wearing her hair color of the moment and their best approximation of her latest fas...
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The Informants

Sat., October 10, 9:00pm - While being hailed as one of the city's best blues bands, the Informants also mix it up with soul, rock and rockabilly, as heard on their outstanding 2007 debut, Stiletto Angel. The group continues down a similar path on its new album, Crime Scene Queen, which was produced by Big Head Todd an...
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Danielle Ate the Sandwich

Fri., October 9, 8:00pm - Danielle Anderson does not like hugs. Despite this, she might as well be Tigger at Disney World every time she plays a show. The sound guy, the promoter, the other bands, the fans � everyone's got to get a squeeze.

It's an understandable mistake. After all, she's young and casually attracti...
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Coles Whalen (CD release)

Thu., October 1, 7:30pm - Four year ago, Coles Whalen moved out of her apartment and into a pickup truck with a camper. She says she decided if she was going to make anything work, she had to be on tour. She set up shows at Borders bookstores around the country, sold enough copies of her debut EP and merchandise to keep hers...
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Bluegrass Jam

Second Tuesday of every month, 7:00pm
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Jazz Jam with Mark Diamond

First Sunday of every month, 7:30pm
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Accordion Crimes

Before nerds took over the world, they weren't so meek. Watch almost any '80s nerd-centric movie, Revenge of the Nerds included: Some were mild-mannered, but just as many were horny, twisted and even downright aggressive. Denver's nerdy Accordion Crimes — featuring former members of ...
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Black Sleep of Kali

Tracing the lineage that Black Sleep of Kali evokes on this record isn't all that difficult. Listen closely and there's some of that hard-edged sludginess of Black Sabbath, the razory psychedelia and inexorable sway of Sleep and the progressive drive of Isis across these five songs. But Kali make...
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