Anyone who’s seen Itchy-O knows that the thirty-piece group is a far cry from your average marching band. About half the band is made up of percussionists, so seeing Itchy-O live can be a totally bombastic experience. But while the drums and cymbals can sometimes overpower the other instruments in…

Although Snake Rattle Rattle Snake has been playing some of the finest dark dance rock around these parts for more than two years, the band has only released a few recordings, including a four-song EP and a two-song seven-inch single. One spin of Sineater, the band’s debut long-player, and you’ll…

Although gypsy-jazz guitar pioneer Django Reinhardt died in 1953, there’s been a steady stream of players inspired by him over the past few decades. One such player is Robin Nolan, who’s hailed as one of the world’s leading guitarists in the Reinhardt tradition, as well as being a favorite guitarist…

Although Celebrity Sports Center closed in 1994 after a 34-year run on Colorado Boulevard, its memory lives on through a number of memorial sites on the Internet. And now its name will be resurrected at the 50,000-square-foot Celebrity Lanes, which will open later this month at 15755 East Arapahoe Road…

THE FLAMING LIPS + PRIMUS at RED ROCKS | 8/3/11″This will probably go down as one of the greatest shows at Red Rocks – ever!” So declared Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne as part of his introductory rundown on what would be happening over the course of the evening before…

After a riot ensued at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre last week for the premiere of Electric Daisy Carnival Experience documentary, nearly all of fifteen local theaters that were originally slated to show the film have backed out of showing it. So now if you want to see the film, which is…

One of the more energetic live bluegrass bands around these parts, Spring Creek brings a fair amount of that energy to Hold on Me, the quartet’s fourth release. On spirited and foot-stomping cuts like “Mockingbird,” “See Me On” and “Chase the Sun,” the bandmembers, who’ve played at some of the…

David Rynhart drew from a diverse pool of influences, including folk, blues and Eastern European music, on his excellent solo effort, By the Hollow Tree. He also founded the traditional Irish quartet Bodha. Kevin Larkin, one of Rynhart’s bandmates in Chimney Choir, released music under the Pineross moniker, which fused…

BJ’s Carousel, Denver’s longest-running gay bar, finally closed its doors at 1380 South Broadway at the end of July, leaving a big hole in the local drag-queen scene. Now Delilah Winters, Sable West Lamar and Cher West are moving Divalicious and the Way Out West Revue, two of the biggest…

Although the music veterans who make up the New Olds spent a fair amount of time rocking out in the ’80s and ’90s in groups like Tremblers, Damn Shambles, Aviators and Rock Advocates, their latest project, the aptly titled New Olds, finds them all cooling their jets a little. Led…

Jim Norris, who’s part of 3 Kings Tavern (60 South Broadway) and Rockaway Tavern (2036 Broadway), knows how to get people into clubs — whether through live music or just lively programming. For example, there’s Panties at the Bar, hosted by some of the members of the Ooh La La…

Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne often sketches ridiculous doodles while he does phone interviews. They usually start off with naked women, Coyne reveals, and the one he’s working on right now, evidently, has turned into a naked chick riding the back of a giant skull. “Some gushy shit is shooting…

Eric Johnson has only released a handful of studio recordings over the past three decades. Although hailed as a guitar virtuoso, Johnson has also been known as something of a perfectionist when he’s in the studio, which might explain the four- and five-year gaps between albums. Johnson took a slightly…