Wednesday, September 30, 2009

The Endotrend Festival has some great ideas worth latching onto

Jeremy Gregory had some innovative ideas for this weekend's endOtrend Festival — such as silk-screening T-shirts for admission rather than issuing hard tickets. Unfortunately, it's going to take a little while longer for some of those ideas to take flight. Just a week before the event &mdas...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

The Intelligence

Tue., October 6, 9:00pm - Like a jerkier, dirtier version of avant-rockers Clinic, California's the Intelligence hijacks indie rock with an arsenal of skin-peeling distortion, jackhammer repetition and oxymoronic moronism. And that's a good thing: On its latest full-length, this summer's Fake Surfers, the group accordingly m...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

With its bewitching old-timey-roots sound, Paper Bird is a species to behold

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 pictu...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

The Postmarks

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' fou...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Jucifer

Sat., October 3, 10:00pm - Anyone silly enough to believe that music journalism is populated exclusively by deep thinkers will be quickly disabused of the notion after thumbing through the Jucifer clip file. Most articles about the combo mention that it sprang from the same Athens, Georgia, scene that produced R.E.M. -- an ac...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Gil Scott-Heron & the Amnesia Express

Thu., October 8, 8:00pm - In 1970, Gil Scott-Heron became one of the godfathers of hip-hop with the release of his debut album, Small Talk at 125th & Lenox. His playful wit and incisive rhetoric developed more fully on later releases such as Pieces of a Man and Winter in America, establishing him as a countercu...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Maree McRae

"Urgency," this album's title track, was inspired by the chronic illness of Maree McRae's youngest son, so it makes sense that her performance is sincere and heartfelt. But her delivery of lines like "Baby, I'm just burstin' at the seams" doesn't match their content. Her relaxed, honeyed vocals a...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Andy Monley and the High Horses at Meadowlark

Andy Monley isn't exactly a household name, but maybe he should be. He's definitely made the Denver music scene a lot more interesting for more than two decades. As a guitarist for pioneering local bands Jux County and Velveteen Monster, Monley showed an impressive range as a guitarist and songwr...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Sian Alice Group

Sian Alice Group's dusky, contemplative songwriting is intense and vibrantly electric, with layers of percussion, non-traditional and otherwise. Although this avant-garde soul outfit borrows liberally from the aesthetics of electronica, jazz and experimental rock, it has crafted a sound all its o...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Gypsy Swing Revue

Every week Wednesday, 8:00pm - One of Denver's finest gypsy jazz ensembles, this quartet beautifully captures the spirit of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli. Whether they're burning through up-tempo cuts like Reinhardt's "Minor Swing" or slowing it down on ballads, these cats always come out swinging. Catch them every Wedn...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Meet Coles Whalen, a burgeoning Nashville Star from Denver

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 h...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Daedelus at Bluebird Theater

The music of Daedelus sounds like steampunk IDM, chock-full of strange boops and loops that would sound right at home recorded on wax cylinders. Perhaps it's only appropriate that an artist who looks like a foppish dandy from the Victorian era would produce dusty, antique tunes from a make...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Hope Sandoval

Most artists hope to develop an indelible personal style — but achieving that goal can produce both negatives and positives, as Hope Sandoval (joined on this bill by Dirt Blue Gene) has learned over the course of her come-and-go career. She first moved the pop-culture meter in the late '80s...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Clutch and Wino

Wed., September 30, 7:30pm - Since the dawn of the '80s, Scott "Wino" Weinrich has sung and played guitar in a string of revered bands, including Saint Vitus, the Obsessed, Spirit Caravan, Place of Skulls and the Hidden Hand. In all that time, though, he's never put out a solo album � until now. Punctuated EquilibriumRead More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Sian Alice Group

Tue., October 6, 9:00pm - Sian Alice Group�s dusky, contemplative songwriting is intense and vibrantly electric, with layers of percussion, non-traditional and otherwise. Although this avant-garde soul outfit borrows liberally from the aesthetics of electronica, jazz and experimental rock, it has crafted a sound all its...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions

Thu., October 1, 8:00pm - Most artists hope to develop an indelible personal style � but achieving that goal can produce both negatives and positives, as Hope Sandoval (joined on this bill by Dirt Blue Gene) has learned over the course of her come-and-go career. She first moved the pop-culture meter in the late �80...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

The Dear Hunter

Sat., October 3, 7:30pm - It�s important to take note of Boston's the Dear Hunter, if for no other reason than to not confuse the group with Deerhunter, the Atlanta-based art-rock outfit. Fans of the latter's jagged yet atmospheric awesomeness are likely to run screaming from the former's pompous, overwrought, Danny Elf...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Blues Jam

First Wednesday of every month, 7:00pm
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

The Omens (European tour send-off)

Fri., October 2, 9:00pm - Although the Omens still show a strong Cynics influence here, there are marked departures from the formula. For one, Send Black Flowers is probably the best-sounding work in which singer Michael Daboll has been involved. All of the instrumentation has beautifully orchestrated separation, allo...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Panties at the Bar

Every week Monday, 9:00pm - Sometimes it's the simple things that get guys through the day, and they usually start with the letter B: bars, booze, and, uh, boobs. Every Monday there's all of that and more when the lovely ladies of the Ooh La La Burlesque serve up affordable drinks while dressed provocatively in panties and fis...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Lipgloss

Every week Friday, 9:00pm - In the restaurant world, you're considered a success if you still have a standing wait after being in business for a certain amount of time. That said, Lipgloss is the club equivalent of the French Laundry. Founded in 2001 by the Denver 3 (now the Denver 2 since Tim Cook has parted ways with Lipglos...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Andy Monley & the High Horses

Thu., October 1, 8:00pm - Andy Monley isn�t exactly a household name, but maybe he should be. He�s definitely made the Denver music scene a lot more interesting for more than two decades. As a guitarist for pioneering local bands Jux County and Velveteen Monster, Monley showed an impressive range as a guitarist and...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Jazz Jam with Mark Diamond

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

Song Circle

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

Gypsy Swing Revue

Every week Wednesday, 8:00pm - One of Denver's finest gypsy jazz ensembles, this quartet beautifully captures the spirit of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli. Whether they're burning through up-tempo cuts like Reinhardt's "Minor Swing" or slowing it down on ballads, these cats always come out swinging. Catch them every Wedn...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Federico Aubele

Tue., October 6, 8:00pm - Before Argentinean Federico Aubele began working on 2007's Panamericana, he realized that most of the music that influenced him, particularly reggae, hip-hop and tango, came from the Americas. So the Pan-American Highway, a network of roads that runs from the tip of Argentina to Alaska, becam...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Lipgloss

Every week Friday, 9:00pm - In the restaurant world, you're considered a success if you still have a standing wait after being in business for a certain amount of time. That said, Lipgloss is the club equivalent of the French Laundry. Founded in 2001 by the Denver 3 (now the Denver 2 since Tim Cook has parted ways with Lipglos...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

The Postmarks

Mon., October 5, 8:00pm - 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...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Pitbull

Wed., September 30, 8:00pm - Judging by an appearance at Aspen�s Belly Up earlier this year, rapper Armando Christian Pérez didn�t choose the pseudonym �Pitbull� at random. As seen in a popular YouTube clip, Pitbull pulls a man on stage � but when the guy throws cash in his face, strip-club style...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Joe Bonner

Every week Sunday, 8:00pm - Legendary jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders dug Joe Bonner's chops so much he recruited the pianist to play on six of Sanders's albums throughout the '70s. Bonner has also performed with other legends Freddy Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Max Roach and Billy Higgins. Bonner's heavy-handed block chords recall M...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Monday, September 28, 2009

The Entrance Band

Blessed with a big thumbs-up from Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and the membership of bassist Paz Lenchantin of A Perfect Circle and Zwan, the Entrance Band seems to have appeared fully formed and ready to take over the world. But the project — the brainchild of singer/guitarist Guy Blakesle...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Pitbull

Judging by an appearance at Aspen's Belly Up earlier this year, rapper Armando Christian Pérez didn't choose the pseudonym "Pitbull" at random. As seen in a popular YouTube clip, Pitbull pulls a man on stage — but when the guy throws cash in his face, strip-club style, the star of th...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Mon, Nov 2, 2009 - Panties at the Bar

Sometimes it's the simple things that get guys through the day, and they usually start with the letter B: bars, booze, and, uh, boobs. Every Monday there's all of that and more when the lovely ladies of the Ooh La La Burlesque serve up affordable drinks while dressed provocatively in panties and fis...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Red Wire Black Wire

On the surface, the music of Red Wire Black Wire sounds as though frontman Doug Walters grew up on a steady diet of the Human League's landmark album, Dare! A closer listen, however, reveals roots in Grandmaster Flash-era hip-hop, with an emphasis on fluid bass lines and playfully melodic ...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

After stints in St. Vitus and the Hidden Hand, Scott "Wino" Weinrich is trying his hand as a solo artist

Since the dawn of the '80s, Scott "Wino" Weinrich has sung and played guitar in a string of revered bands, including Saint Vitus, the Obsessed, Spirit Caravan, Place of Skulls and the Hidden Hand. In all that time, though, he's never put out a solo album — until now. Punctuated Equilibri...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Wed, Sep 30, 2009 - Clutch and Wino

Since the dawn of the '80s, Scott "Wino" Weinrich has sung and played guitar in a string of revered bands, including Saint Vitus, the Obsessed, Spirit Caravan, Place of Skulls and the Hidden Hand. In all that time, though, he's never put out a solo album � until now. Punctuated EquilibriumRead More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Crack Magic

Reminiscent of noise-jazz-spazz rockers Total Shutdown and the Low Down, Crack Magic also seems steeped in the abbreviated brutality of hardcore and early screamo. Opening with the abrasive "Missed Connections," the band sounds as though its singer were engaged in some kind of weird BDSM asphyxia...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Sun, Nov 1, 2009 - Joe Bonner

Legendary jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders dug Joe Bonner's chops so much he recruited the pianist to play on six of Sanders's albums throughout the '70s. Bonner has also performed with other legends Freddy Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Max Roach and Billy Higgins. Bonner's heavy-handed block chords recall M...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

DJ Craze

How do you know when you're one of the best DJs in the world? Well, winning the DMC World DJ Championships three times in a row — which no one has done before — is a pretty good indication. DJ Craze has done all of that and more, including releasing two of the most popular battle reco...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Sat, Oct 3, 2009 - Pretty Lights

Derek Vincent Smith is the electronic-music mastermind behind Pretty Lights, the Fort Collins-based act whose last two albums just surpassed 110,000 digital downloads. The music of Pretty Lights is like a mixtape of styles Smith grew up listening to, from '70s AM Gold-era soul to bass-heavy club bea...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Thu, Oct 1, 2009 - Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions

Most artists hope to develop an indelible personal style � but achieving that goal can produce both negatives and positives, as Hope Sandoval (joined on this bill by Dirt Blue Gene) has learned over the course of her come-and-go career. She first moved the pop-culture meter in the late �80...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

The Entrance Band

Blessed with a big thumbs-up from Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and the membership of bassist Paz Lenchantin of A Perfect Circle and Zwan, the Entrance Band seems to have appeared fully formed and ready to take over the world. But the project — the brainchild of singer/guitarist Guy Blakesle...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Rome

Performing in the United States for the first time at the Vendetta Festival in Denver, Luxembourg's Rome has caught the attention of fans of neo-folk and lushly dark music in general. Jerome Reuter is often compared to Leonard Cohen for his deep, resonant voice and the band to Angels of Light bec...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Skream at Bass Invasion, Cervantes'

Dubstep is slowly but surely becoming one of the hottest flavors of dance music out there, and U.K.-based producer/DJ wunderkind Skream has been at the forefront almost since its inception. He's grown and evolved with the movement as it changed from its dark, gnarly, tech-driven roots to a...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Sun, Sep 27, 2009 - Vendetta Festival

Performing in the United States for the first time at the Vendetta Festival in Denver, Luxembourg�s Rome has caught the attention of fans of neo-folk and lushly dark music in general. Jerome Reuter is often compared to Leonard Cohen for his deep, resonant voice and the band to Angels of Light b...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Chella Negro

These days, folk singers tend to tart up their arrangements under the assumption that the simple combination of voice and guitar puts too many people in mind of Boy Scout jamborees or other similarly traumatizing experiences. But not Ms. Negro, whose latest sticks to singing and strumming. The ta...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Fri, Oct 2, 2009 - The Omens (European tour send-off)

Although the Omens still show a strong Cynics influence here, there are marked departures from the formula. For one, Send Black Flowers is probably the best-sounding work in which singer Michael Daboll has been involved. All of the instrumentation has beautifully orchestrated separation, allo...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Thu, Oct 1, 2009 - Andy Monley & the High Horses

Andy Monley isn�t exactly a household name, but maybe he should be. He�s definitely made the Denver music scene a lot more interesting for more than two decades. As a guitarist for pioneering local bands Jux County and Velveteen Monster, Monley showed an impressive range as a guitarist and...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Popwreck

To a certain cross-section of Coloradans, Aaron Hobbs's scratchy, aching cry is the voice of a generation. As high-blown as that may sound, it's true: While plenty of local bands have come and gone over the past decade and a half, Hobbs's Small Dog Frenzy and Acrobat Down have stayed the course, ...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Sat, Sep 26, 2009 - St. Elias (CD release)

"We wanted to avoid this whole inevitable Partridge Family thing," jokes singer/guitarist Ted Alvarez, who, along with drummer Jeff Alvarez and bassist Jonathan Pease, make up St. Elias. "People are like, 'How do you guys know each other?' And we say, 'Oh, we go way back.' We don't really look alike...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Some say Denver's goth scene is dead. Dave Vendetta says otherwise.

Goth is dying in Denver, some fans complain.

Charles Russell, aka One Skinny DJ, and Dave Vendetta, two prominent proponents of the scene, don't disagree. But when they say they think goth deserves to be put to rest, they're not talking about the music, which they fee...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Sat, Sep 26, 2009 - Bad Boy Bill

Before he discovered house music and the rave/club scene, Chicago's Bad Boy Bill was a hip-hop-based battle DJ. That experience as a turntablist has given him an edge that most dance-music DJs don't have. Any track he plays becomes his own, as he applies battle-jock techniques -- scratching and cutt...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Sat, Oct 3, 2009 - The Dear Hunter

It�s important to take note of Boston's the Dear Hunter, if for no other reason than to not confuse the group with Deerhunter, the Atlanta-based art-rock outfit. Fans of the latter's jagged yet atmospheric awesomeness are likely to run screaming from the former's pompous, overwrought, Danny Elf...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Wed, Sep 30, 2009 - Pitbull

Judging by an appearance at Aspen�s Belly Up earlier this year, rapper Armando Christian Pérez didn�t choose the pseudonym �Pitbull� at random. As seen in a popular YouTube clip, Pitbull pulls a man on stage � but when the guy throws cash in his face, strip-club style...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Bongo Fury at Glob

Led by Tripp Nasty and Zach Spencer, Bongo Fury (due at Glob on Tuesday, September 29) combines the fascination that Nasty and Spencer share for traditional Middle Eastern music and the folk music of northern India. Never amplified vocally or instrumentally, this project uses natural sound...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Thu, Oct 1, 2009 - The Bravery

Since the Bravery and the Killers are the two American groups most likely to be misidentified as British, their 2005 pissing match was wholly predictable but more entertaining than anticipated. Recall that the Killers' Brandon Flowers chided the Bravery's Sam Endicott for having once played in an ou...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Tue, Oct 6, 2009 - Sian Alice Group

Sian Alice Group�s dusky, contemplative songwriting is intense and vibrantly electric, with layers of percussion, non-traditional and otherwise. Although this avant-garde soul outfit borrows liberally from the aesthetics of electronica, jazz and experimental rock, it has crafted a sound all its...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Tue, Sep 29, 2009 - Brother Ali

If the idea of an albino Muslim rapper sounds like the start of a bad and potentially offensive joke, you haven't met Brother Ali, an MC with skills that render all biographical trivia irrelevant. Though the Minneapolis wordsmith's introspective and occasionally self-loathing lyrics have much in com...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Sat, Oct 3, 2009 - Jucifer

Anyone silly enough to believe that music journalism is populated exclusively by deep thinkers will be quickly disabused of the notion after thumbing through the Jucifer clip file. Most articles about the combo mention that it sprang from the same Athens, Georgia, scene that produced R.E.M. -- an ac...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Fri, Nov 6, 2009 - Lipgloss

In the restaurant world, you're considered a success if you still have a standing wait after being in business for a certain amount of time. That said, Lipgloss is the club equivalent of the French Laundry. Founded in 2001 by the Denver 3 (now the Denver 2 since Tim Cook has parted ways with Lipglos...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Thu, Oct 8, 2009 - Gil Scott-Heron & the Amnesia Express

In 1970, Gil Scott-Heron became one of the godfathers of hip-hop with the release of his debut album, Small Talk at 125th & Lenox. His playful wit and incisive rhetoric developed more fully on later releases such as Pieces of a Man and Winter in America, establishing him as a countercu...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Get a read on the Sports Book, LoDo's new sports bar with a twist

While the Ballpark neighborhood still has the town's highest concentration of sports bars, the 1400 blocks of Market and Blake streets could soon be giving them a run for their money.

In July, Francois Safieddine opened the Oak Tavern in the former home of Monarck, at 1427 Market S...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Science Partner is the other half of Dualistics guitarist Tyler Despres's musical persona

It's just a week before Dualistics guitarist and singer Tyler Despres is slated to release the debut five-song EP of his new side project, Science Partner (which features Charley Hine from Dualistics on bass and Carl Sorensen on drums), and he isn't even close to having the disc finished. He stil...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Mon, Oct 5, 2009 - The Postmarks

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...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Sat, Sep 26, 2009 - Amazing Baby and the Entrance Band

Blessed with a big thumbs-up from Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and the membership of bassist Paz Lenchantin of A Perfect Circle and Zwan, the Entrance Band seems to have appeared fully formed and ready to take over the world. But the project � the brainchild of singer/guitarist Guy Blakeslee, f...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

GT & the Sidewinders

As far as album titles go, GT & the Sidewinders found a perfect one with Across America. The album's pretty much about traveling in one way or another, whether it be musically or through the lyrics — like the opener, "Coming Home," in which frontman G.T. Scragg sings about driving ba...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Wed, Nov 4, 2009 - Gypsy Swing Revue

One of Denver's finest gypsy jazz ensembles, this quartet beautifully captures the spirit of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli. Whether they're burning through up-tempo cuts like Reinhardt's "Minor Swing" or slowing it down on ballads, these cats always come out swinging. Catch them every Wedn...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Sun, Sep 27, 2009 - Red Wire Black Wire

On the surface, the music of Red Wire Black Wire sounds as though frontman Doug Walters grew up on a steady diet of the Human League�s landmark album, Dare!. A closer listen, however, reveals roots in Grandmaster Flash-era hip-hop, with an emphasis on fluid bass lines and playfully melod...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Tue, Oct 6, 2009 - Federico Aubele

Before Argentinean Federico Aubele began working on 2007's Panamericana, he realized that most of the music that influenced him, particularly reggae, hip-hop and tango, came from the Americas. So the Pan-American Highway, a network of roads that runs from the tip of Argentina to Alaska, becam...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Making music is a family affair for St. Elias

It's natural for children to absorb musical talent from their parents. For St. Elias, though, music isn't just an inherited proclivity; it's also something that the band's three members — two brothers and their cousin — have cultivated among themselves since they were kids growing up ...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Tue, Oct 6, 2009 - The Intelligence

Like a jerkier, dirtier version of avant-rockers Clinic, California's the Intelligence hijacks indie rock with an arsenal of skin-peeling distortion, jackhammer repetition and oxymoronic moronism. And that's a good thing: On its latest full-length, this summer's Fake Surfers, the group accordingly m...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Sat, Sep 26, 2009 - Ellison Park

Driving eastbound on I-70, Ellison Park has one hand on the wheel while the other navigates an iPod mounted to his dash. Scrolling through the songs, Park makes his way to the batch of demos he recorded on his MacBook and pushes play. As his voice pours from the speakers over a gritty blues progress...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Fri, Oct 2, 2009 - The Omens (European tour send-off)

Although the Omens still show a strong Cynics influence here, there are marked departures from the formula. For one, Send Black Flowers is probably the best-sounding work in which singer Michael Daboll has been involved. All of the instrumentation has beautifully orchestrated separation, allo...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Fri, Sep 25, 2009 - Skream

Dubstep is slowly but surely becoming one of the hottest flavors of dance music out there, and U.K.-based producer/DJ wunderkind Skream has been at the forefront almost since its inception. He�s grown and evolved with the movement as it changed from its dark, gnarly, tech-driven roots to a more...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Thu, Oct 1, 2009 - Andy Monley & the High Horses

Andy Monley isn�t exactly a household name, but maybe he should be. He�s definitely made the Denver music scene a lot more interesting for more than two decades. As a guitarist for pioneering local bands Jux County and Velveteen Monster, Monley showed an impressive range as a guitarist and...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Sun, Sep 27, 2009 - Vendetta Festival

Performing in the United States for the first time at the Vendetta Festival in Denver, Luxembourg�s Rome has caught the attention of fans of neo-folk and lushly dark music in general. Jerome Reuter is often compared to Leonard Cohen for his deep, resonant voice and the band to Angels of Light b...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Sun, Nov 1, 2009 - Joe Bonner

Legendary jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders dug Joe Bonner's chops so much he recruited the pianist to play on six of Sanders's albums throughout the '70s. Bonner has also performed with other legends Freddy Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Max Roach and Billy Higgins. Bonner's heavy-handed block chords recall M...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Thu, Oct 1, 2009 - The Bravery

Since the Bravery and the Killers are the two American groups most likely to be misidentified as British, their 2005 pissing match was wholly predictable but more entertaining than anticipated. Recall that the Killers' Brandon Flowers chided the Bravery's Sam Endicott for having once played in an ou...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Crack Magic

Reminiscent of noise-jazz-spazz rockers Total Shutdown and the Low Down, Crack Magic also seems steeped in the abbreviated brutality of hardcore and early screamo. Opening with the abrasive "Missed Connections," the band sounds as though its singer were engaged in some kind of weird BDSM asphyxia...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Fri, Nov 6, 2009 - Lipgloss

In the restaurant world, you're considered a success if you still have a standing wait after being in business for a certain amount of time. That said, Lipgloss is the club equivalent of the French Laundry. Founded in 2001 by the Denver 3 (now the Denver 2 since Tim Cook has parted ways with Lipglos...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Mon, Oct 5, 2009 - The Postmarks

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...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Science Partner is the other half of Dualistics guitarist Tyler Despres's musical persona

It's just a week before Dualistics guitarist and singer Tyler Despres is slated to release the debut five-song EP of his new side project, Science Partner (which features Charley Hine from Dualistics on bass and Carl Sorensen on drums), and he isn't even close to having the disc finished. He stil...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Fri, Sep 25, 2009 - Carbon Leaf and Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers

�You try and you try and you try again/But you can�t try enough,� Stephen Kellogg sings on �Shady Esperanto and the Young Hearts,� a key track from The Bear, his latest recording � and that pretty much sums up his worldview. Through much of the album, he comes ac...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Sun, Sep 27, 2009 - Red Wire Black Wire

On the surface, the music of Red Wire Black Wire sounds as though frontman Doug Walters grew up on a steady diet of the Human League�s landmark album, Dare!. A closer listen, however, reveals roots in Grandmaster Flash-era hip-hop, with an emphasis on fluid bass lines and playfully melod...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Sat, Sep 26, 2009 - Bad Boy Bill

Before he discovered house music and the rave/club scene, Chicago's Bad Boy Bill was a hip-hop-based battle DJ. That experience as a turntablist has given him an edge that most dance-music DJs don't have. Any track he plays becomes his own, as he applies battle-jock techniques -- scratching and cutt...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

The Entrance Band

Blessed with a big thumbs-up from Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and the membership of bassist Paz Lenchantin of A Perfect Circle and Zwan, the Entrance Band seems to have appeared fully formed and ready to take over the world. But the project — the brainchild of singer/guitarist Guy Blakesle...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Friday, September 25, 2009

Popwreck

To a certain cross-section of Coloradans, Aaron Hobbs's scratchy, aching cry is the voice of a generation. As high-blown as that may sound, it's true: While plenty of local bands have come and gone over the past decade and a half, Hobbs's Small Dog Frenzy and Acrobat Down have stayed the course, ...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Wed, May 23, 2007 - Gypsy Swing Revue

One of Denver's finest gypsy jazz ensembles, this quartet beautifully captures the spirit of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli. Whether they're burning through up-tempo cuts like Reinhardt's "Minor Swing" or slowing it down on ballads, these cats always come out swinging. Catch them every Wedn...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Skream at Bass Invasion, Cervantes'

Dubstep is slowly but surely becoming one of the hottest flavors of dance music out there, and U.K.-based producer/DJ wunderkind Skream has been at the forefront almost since its inception. He's grown and evolved with the movement as it changed from its dark, gnarly, tech-driven roots to a...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Some say Denver's goth scene is dead. Dave Vendetta says otherwise.

Goth is dying in Denver, some fans complain.

Charles Russell, aka One Skinny DJ, and Dave Vendetta, two prominent proponents of the scene, don't disagree. But when they say they think goth deserves to be put to rest, they're not talking about the music, which they fee...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Red Wire Black Wire

On the surface, the music of Red Wire Black Wire sounds as though frontman Doug Walters grew up on a steady diet of the Human League's landmark album, Dare! A closer listen, however, reveals roots in Grandmaster Flash-era hip-hop, with an emphasis on fluid bass lines and playfully melodic ...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Pitbull

Judging by an appearance at Aspen's Belly Up earlier this year, rapper Armando Christian Pérez didn't choose the pseudonym "Pitbull" at random. As seen in a popular YouTube clip, Pitbull pulls a man on stage — but when the guy throws cash in his face, strip-club style, the star of th...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Wed, Sep 30, 2009 - Pitbull

Judging by an appearance at Aspen�s Belly Up earlier this year, rapper Armando Christian Pérez didn�t choose the pseudonym �Pitbull� at random. As seen in a popular YouTube clip, Pitbull pulls a man on stage � but when the guy throws cash in his face, strip-club style...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Bongo Fury at Glob

Led by Tripp Nasty and Zach Spencer, Bongo Fury (due at Glob on Tuesday, September 29) combines the fascination that Nasty and Spencer share for traditional Middle Eastern music and the folk music of northern India. Never amplified vocally or instrumentally, this project uses natural sound...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Thu, Oct 1, 2009 - The Bravery

Since the Bravery and the Killers are the two American groups most likely to be misidentified as British, their 2005 pissing match was wholly predictable but more entertaining than anticipated. Recall that the Killers' Brandon Flowers chided the Bravery's Sam Endicott for having once played in an ou...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

After stints in St. Vitus and the Hidden Hand, Scott "Wino" Weinrich is trying his hand as a solo artist

Since the dawn of the '80s, Scott "Wino" Weinrich has sung and played guitar in a string of revered bands, including Saint Vitus, the Obsessed, Spirit Caravan, Place of Skulls and the Hidden Hand. In all that time, though, he's never put out a solo album — until now. Punctuated Equilibri...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Sat, Sep 26, 2009 - Ellison Park

Driving eastbound on I-70, Ellison Park has one hand on the wheel while the other navigates an iPod mounted to his dash. Scrolling through the songs, Park makes his way to the batch of demos he recorded on his MacBook and pushes play. As his voice pours from the speakers over a gritty blues progress...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Fri, Sep 25, 2009 - Skream

Dubstep is slowly but surely becoming one of the hottest flavors of dance music out there, and U.K.-based producer/DJ wunderkind Skream has been at the forefront almost since its inception. He�s grown and evolved with the movement as it changed from its dark, gnarly, tech-driven roots to a more...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Thu, Oct 8, 2009 - Gil Scott-Heron & the Amnesia Express

In 1970, Gil Scott-Heron became one of the godfathers of hip-hop with the release of his debut album, Small Talk at 125th & Lenox. His playful wit and incisive rhetoric developed more fully on later releases such as Pieces of a Man and Winter in America, establishing him as a countercu...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Thu, Oct 1, 2009 - The Ideal Fathers

The Ideal Fathers are four guys (singer Jesse Hunsaker, guitarist Adam Rojo, bassist Michael King and drummer Michael Perfetti) who play gloriously chaotic, hyperkinetic dance punk with verve and abandon. If you haven't caught one of their sets or heard any of their songs on one of the fine radio pr...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Chella Negro

These days, folk singers tend to tart up their arrangements under the assumption that the simple combination of voice and guitar puts too many people in mind of Boy Scout jamborees or other similarly traumatizing experiences. But not Ms. Negro, whose latest sticks to singing and strumming. The ta...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

The Entrance Band

Blessed with a big thumbs-up from Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and the membership of bassist Paz Lenchantin of A Perfect Circle and Zwan, the Entrance Band seems to have appeared fully formed and ready to take over the world. But the project — the brainchild of singer/guitarist Guy Blakesle...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Fri, Sep 25, 2009 - Science Partner (CD release)

It's just a week before Dualistics guitarist and singer Tyler Despres is slated to release the debut five-song EP of his new side project, Science Partner (which features Charley Hine from Dualistics on bass and Carl Sorensen on drums), and he isn't even close to having the disc finished. He still h...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Sat, Oct 3, 2009 - Jucifer

Anyone silly enough to believe that music journalism is populated exclusively by deep thinkers will be quickly disabused of the notion after thumbing through the Jucifer clip file. Most articles about the combo mention that it sprang from the same Athens, Georgia, scene that produced R.E.M. -- an ac...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Tue, Sep 29, 2009 - Brother Ali

If the idea of an albino Muslim rapper sounds like the start of a bad and potentially offensive joke, you haven't met Brother Ali, an MC with skills that render all biographical trivia irrelevant. Though the Minneapolis wordsmith's introspective and occasionally self-loathing lyrics have much in com...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Making music is a family affair for St. Elias

It's natural for children to absorb musical talent from their parents. For St. Elias, though, music isn't just an inherited proclivity; it's also something that the band's three members — two brothers and their cousin — have cultivated among themselves since they were kids growing up ...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Mon, Nov 2, 2009 - Panties at the Bar

Sometimes it's the simple things that get guys through the day, and they usually start with the letter B: bars, booze, and, uh, boobs. Every Monday there's all of that and more when the lovely ladies of the Ooh La La Burlesque serve up affordable drinks while dressed provocatively in panties and fis...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Sun, Nov 1, 2009 - Joe Bonner

Legendary jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders dug Joe Bonner's chops so much he recruited the pianist to play on six of Sanders's albums throughout the '70s. Bonner has also performed with other legends Freddy Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Max Roach and Billy Higgins. Bonner's heavy-handed block chords recall M...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Sat, Sep 26, 2009 - Amazing Baby and the Entrance Band

Blessed with a big thumbs-up from Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and the membership of bassist Paz Lenchantin of A Perfect Circle and Zwan, the Entrance Band seems to have appeared fully formed and ready to take over the world. But the project � the brainchild of singer/guitarist Guy Blakeslee, f...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Mon, Nov 2, 2009 - New Music Mondays

Though the idea of inviting completely inexperienced musicians, journalists, promoters and scenesters to get behind the decks seems like a bad one � especially at the Larimer Lounge, a venue that rarely showcases dance music � DJ Hot to Death (aka Monolith Music Festival's Matt Fecher) has...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

DJ Craze

How do you know when you're one of the best DJs in the world? Well, winning the DMC World DJ Championships three times in a row — which no one has done before — is a pretty good indication. DJ Craze has done all of that and more, including releasing two of the most popular battle reco...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Science Partner is the other half of Dualistics guitarist Tyler Despres's musical persona

It's just a week before Dualistics guitarist and singer Tyler Despres is slated to release the debut five-song EP of his new side project, Science Partner (which features Charley Hine from Dualistics on bass and Carl Sorensen on drums), and he isn't even close to having the disc finished. He stil...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Fri, Sep 25, 2009 - Carbon Leaf and Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers

�You try and you try and you try again/But you can�t try enough,� Stephen Kellogg sings on �Shady Esperanto and the Young Hearts,� a key track from The Bear, his latest recording � and that pretty much sums up his worldview. Through much of the album, he comes ac...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

GT & the Sidewinders

As far as album titles go, GT & the Sidewinders found a perfect one with Across America. The album's pretty much about traveling in one way or another, whether it be musically or through the lyrics — like the opener, "Coming Home," in which frontman G.T. Scragg sings about driving ba...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Get a read on the Sports Book, LoDo's new sports bar with a twist

While the Ballpark neighborhood still has the town's highest concentration of sports bars, the 1400 blocks of Market and Blake streets could soon be giving them a run for their money.

In July, Francois Safieddine opened the Oak Tavern in the former home of Monarck, at 1427 Market S...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Fri, Oct 2, 2009 - The Omens (European tour send-off)

Although the Omens still show a strong Cynics influence here, there are marked departures from the formula. For one, Send Black Flowers is probably the best-sounding work in which singer Michael Daboll has been involved. All of the instrumentation has beautifully orchestrated separation, allo...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Fri, Nov 6, 2009 - Lipgloss

In the restaurant world, you're considered a success if you still have a standing wait after being in business for a certain amount of time. That said, Lipgloss is the club equivalent of the French Laundry. Founded in 2001 by the Denver 3 (now the Denver 2 since Tim Cook has parted ways with Lipglos...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Wed, Sep 30, 2009 - Clutch and Wino

Since the dawn of the '80s, Scott "Wino" Weinrich has sung and played guitar in a string of revered bands, including Saint Vitus, the Obsessed, Spirit Caravan, Place of Skulls and the Hidden Hand. In all that time, though, he's never put out a solo album � until now. Punctuated EquilibriumRead More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Sun, Sep 27, 2009 - Red Wire Black Wire

On the surface, the music of Red Wire Black Wire sounds as though frontman Doug Walters grew up on a steady diet of the Human League�s landmark album, Dare!. A closer listen, however, reveals roots in Grandmaster Flash-era hip-hop, with an emphasis on fluid bass lines and playfully melod...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Sun, Sep 27, 2009 - Vendetta Festival

Performing in the United States for the first time at the Vendetta Festival in Denver, Luxembourg�s Rome has caught the attention of fans of neo-folk and lushly dark music in general. Jerome Reuter is often compared to Leonard Cohen for his deep, resonant voice and the band to Angels of Light b...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Popwreck

To a certain cross-section of Coloradans, Aaron Hobbs's scratchy, aching cry is the voice of a generation. As high-blown as that may sound, it's true: While plenty of local bands have come and gone over the past decade and a half, Hobbs's Small Dog Frenzy and Acrobat Down have stayed the course, ...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Sat, Oct 3, 2009 - Pretty Lights

Derek Vincent Smith is the electronic-music mastermind behind Pretty Lights, the Fort Collins-based act whose last two albums just surpassed 110,000 digital downloads. The music of Pretty Lights is like a mixtape of styles Smith grew up listening to, from '70s AM Gold-era soul to bass-heavy club bea...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Crack Magic

Reminiscent of noise-jazz-spazz rockers Total Shutdown and the Low Down, Crack Magic also seems steeped in the abbreviated brutality of hardcore and early screamo. Opening with the abrasive "Missed Connections," the band sounds as though its singer were engaged in some kind of weird BDSM asphyxia...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Tue, Oct 20, 2009 - Open Jam

No Description
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Science Partner is the other half of Dualistics guitarist Tyler Despres's musical persona

It's just a week before Dualistics guitarist and singer Tyler Despres is slated to release the debut five-song EP of his new side project, Science Partner (which features Charley Hine from Dualistics on bass and Carl Sorensen on drums), and he isn't even close to having the disc finished. He stil...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Popwreck

To a certain cross-section of Coloradans, Aaron Hobbs's scratchy, aching cry is the voice of a generation. As high-blown as that may sound, it's true: While plenty of local bands have come and gone over the past decade and a half, Hobbs's Small Dog Frenzy and Acrobat Down have stayed the course, ...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Thu, Sep 24, 2009 - The Airborne Toxic Event

There's no denying just how derivative and calculating the music of the Airborne Toxic Event is. And while it would be easy to loathe the band out of hand � as Pitchfork did with its infamous 1.6/10 review of the act�s self-titled debut � the fact remains that The Airborne Toxic Event...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Pitbull

Judging by an appearance at Aspen's Belly Up earlier this year, rapper Armando Christian Pérez didn't choose the pseudonym "Pitbull" at random. As seen in a popular YouTube clip, Pitbull pulls a man on stage — but when the guy throws cash in his face, strip-club style, the star of th...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Sat, Oct 3, 2009 - Jucifer

Anyone silly enough to believe that music journalism is populated exclusively by deep thinkers will be quickly disabused of the notion after thumbing through the Jucifer clip file. Most articles about the combo mention that it sprang from the same Athens, Georgia, scene that produced R.E.M. -- an ac...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Fri, Nov 6, 2009 - Lipgloss

In the restaurant world, you're considered a success if you still have a standing wait after being in business for a certain amount of time. That said, Lipgloss is the club equivalent of the French Laundry. Founded in 2001 by the Denver 3 (now the Denver 2 since Tim Cook has parted ways with Lipglos...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Sat, Sep 26, 2009 - Amazing Baby and the Entrance Band

Blessed with a big thumbs-up from Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and the membership of bassist Paz Lenchantin of A Perfect Circle and Zwan, the Entrance Band seems to have appeared fully formed and ready to take over the world. But the project � the brainchild of singer/guitarist Guy Blakeslee, f...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Thu, Oct 8, 2009 - Gil Scott-Heron & the Amnesia Express

In 1970, Gil Scott-Heron became one of the godfathers of hip-hop with the release of his debut album, Small Talk at 125th & Lenox. His playful wit and incisive rhetoric developed more fully on later releases such as Pieces of a Man and Winter in America, establishing him as a countercu...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Wed, Sep 30, 2009 - Pitbull

Judging by an appearance at Aspen�s Belly Up earlier this year, rapper Armando Christian Pérez didn�t choose the pseudonym �Pitbull� at random. As seen in a popular YouTube clip, Pitbull pulls a man on stage � but when the guy throws cash in his face, strip-club style...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Tue, Sep 29, 2009 - Brother Ali

If the idea of an albino Muslim rapper sounds like the start of a bad and potentially offensive joke, you haven't met Brother Ali, an MC with skills that render all biographical trivia irrelevant. Though the Minneapolis wordsmith's introspective and occasionally self-loathing lyrics have much in com...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Sat, Sep 26, 2009 - St. Elias (CD release)

"We wanted to avoid this whole inevitable Partridge Family thing," jokes singer/guitarist Ted Alvarez, who, along with drummer Jeff Alvarez and bassist Jonathan Pease, make up St. Elias. "People are like, 'How do you guys know each other?' And we say, 'Oh, we go way back.' We don't really look alike...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Skream at Bass Invasion, Cervantes'

Dubstep is slowly but surely becoming one of the hottest flavors of dance music out there, and U.K.-based producer/DJ wunderkind Skream has been at the forefront almost since its inception. He's grown and evolved with the movement as it changed from its dark, gnarly, tech-driven roots to a...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

DJ Craze

How do you know when you're one of the best DJs in the world? Well, winning the DMC World DJ Championships three times in a row — which no one has done before — is a pretty good indication. DJ Craze has done all of that and more, including releasing two of the most popular battle reco...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Making music is a family affair for St. Elias

It's natural for children to absorb musical talent from their parents. For St. Elias, though, music isn't just an inherited proclivity; it's also something that the band's three members — two brothers and their cousin — have cultivated among themselves since they were kids growing up ...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Sat, Oct 3, 2009 - Pretty Lights

Derek Vincent Smith is the electronic-music mastermind behind Pretty Lights, the Fort Collins-based act whose last two albums just surpassed 110,000 digital downloads. The music of Pretty Lights is like a mixtape of styles Smith grew up listening to, from '70s AM Gold-era soul to bass-heavy club bea...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Sun, Nov 1, 2009 - Joe Bonner

Legendary jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders dug Joe Bonner's chops so much he recruited the pianist to play on six of Sanders's albums throughout the '70s. Bonner has also performed with other legends Freddy Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Max Roach and Billy Higgins. Bonner's heavy-handed block chords recall M...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Events]

Bongo Fury at Glob

Led by Tripp Nasty and Zach Spencer, Bongo Fury (due at Glob on Tuesday, September 29) combines the fascination that Nasty and Spencer share for traditional Middle Eastern music and the folk music of northern India. Never amplified vocally or instrumentally, this project uses natural sound...
Read More... [Source: Westword | Music]

Wed, Sep 30, 2009 - Clutch and Wino

Since the dawn of the '80s, Scott "Wino" Weinrich has sung and played guitar in a string of revered bands, including Saint Vitus, the Obsessed, Spirit Caravan, Place of Skulls and the Hidden Hand. In all that time, though, he's never put out a solo album � until now. Punctuated EquilibriumRead More... [Source: Westword | Events]