The fully functioning home in which Glenn Grassi is standing in isn’t much larger than his bedroom was that time he joined the circus. It is significantly smaller than the sets he made and won national awards for during the two decades he spent in theater. It is smaller, even,…
Yesterday, Denver made number fifteen on The Advocate’s list of the Gayest Cities in America. But we need only to tell you (spoiler alert!) that Salt Lake City is ranked number one in order to convince you that our own status means nothing. Before you roll down the windows in…
Colorado currently hosts the number two space economy in the country, but the possibility of adding a spaceport on the Front Range could raise our rank while raising the industry’s stakes. Whether you plan to see the moon in your lifetime or not, the issue is a hot topic for…
CATTLE DECAPITATION @ MARQUIS THEATER | 1/6/12It’s a pretty strange reality to hear a lead singer, in preparation for his show, soundcheck first his real voice and then his “metal” voice in repeat succession. For the record, Cattle Decapitation leader Travis Ryan’s do not match — at all. Both his…
This has been a busy month for Shelby, Occupy Denver’s temporarily absent leader and erstwhile scapegoat for those who’d like the group to have one. The political Border collie celebrated New Year’s in style: On her first trip to Zuccotti Park, Occupy Wall Street’s capitol, Shelby was greeted with a…
The Santa Fe offices of the Colorado Progressive Coalition contain no front desk or really any lobby, just a series of colorful hallways unevenly decorated with Chicano and Native American artwork. The tables are covered with snacks and political literature, and the back wall marks a recent round of staff…
There’s a lot going on with the new Calder’s Revolvers EP, but at the same time, it’s incredibly simple. Recorded in vocalist Andy Schneieder’s basement in the Highlands over the span of seven months, the four tracks on Black Bloc invoke heavy soul sympathies and prove their subtle pop potential…
In this week’s feature, “He’s Got Game,” Westword takes a look at the state’s bridge culture and the importance of young players for a card game generally associated with your grandparents. After meeting him at a bridge holiday party (where he actually played against a friend’s grandparents), Westword spoke to…
With only five days left to voice public concerns over plans for extra football stadium signage, opponents of Sports Authority Field at Mile High’s new corporate branding are getting creative. Most recently, this includes comparing the proposed new signs to other large emblems across the cityscape. When it comes to…
After hearing comments from the public and city council last night, Boulder City Manager Jane Brautigam is finalizing an ordinance that will close all city parks to residents from 11 p.m. until 5 a.m. daily. Despite debate from Occupy Boulder, city officials backed the bill mirroring Denver’s own park curfew…
In his six years on the job, Herman’s Hideaway security manager David Barber has seen mike stands get broken, equipment get mashed, sets lit on fire, bands fall off the stage and, at least once, a bandmember threaten to stab the staff. This, he admits nonchalantly, did not increase that…
Last week marked the end of the Metropolitan Football Stadium tax, the ten cents residents have paid on every $100 since 1990. With the sales tax’s end comes the news that Sports Authority Stadium at Mile High is officially paid off. But it hasn’t reached the end zone quite yet:…
A recent Occupy Denver general assembly looked suspiciously different than the group’s typical gatherings. The 21 people who took part facilitated the agenda, proposed their own resolutions, voted on them, passed them, and even communicated with spirit fingers as the meeting went on. The only difference: All of that day’s…
If age were measured in symbols rather than numbers, Burke Snowden would be strawberry Pop Rocks. On the corner of his nightstand sits a half-consumed package that he opened weeks ago, then decided to save “just in case.” Many of the items stashed inside his disheveled green bedroom speak of…
There is some irony in the fact that three of the four current members of a band named Cattle Decapitation are staunch vegetarians — but there is also awesomeness here. The same goes for the longtime death-metal act’s songs, a rowdy and riveting back catalogue that decries animal abuse, genocide…
Some things, guys, are just too good to be true. Backbeat discovered the perfect example of this fact this morning when, while watching TV, we saw the blog on CNN and wondered what the hell was going on. The story behind that story involves Radiohead, a bakery, the major media…
Occupy Wall Street became an unofficial part of history the moment it spread to all seven continents, but now it’s becoming one for the books. At least six big-name museums and cultural organizations have launched quests to gather evidence, ephemera and relics from the movement for future collections. Should History…
In a way, Joanne Kron’s political problem-solving began in high school. It was there, at the Denver Center For International Studies, that the future executive director of ProgressNow Colorado got her subtle start in activism and advocacy through the combination of Model United Nations and something called World Affairs Challenge…
In the week since Occupy Denver was evicted on December 21, the Denver Police Department has kept Chief Robert White’s promise to remove any and all structures on a daily basis. Last night, this feat involved nine officers, eight police cars, two Public Works trucks and one arrest when police…
It takes longer for most people to argue over their favorite parts of the original Star Wars trilogy than it takes Charlie Ross to just act them all out. The force has been with him since 2002, and the actor and comedian has visited four continents and more than 180…
On December 23, Occupy Denver quietly celebrated three months of loud, tense and occasionally fiery statements downtown. In that time span, the local chapter of the national movement has kept busy — and kept Westword busy — with stories that change not just daily, but hourly. If you’ve been following…
In the past three months, Civic Center Park has been lived in, spray-painted on, used as a venue for First Amendment freedoms and even set on fire during its tenure as the physical and ideological home to Occupy Denver. This month, the well-loved and well-used park earned national attention on…
