Martin Scorsese may be presenting Matteo Garrone’s Gomorrah, but this corrosive, slapdash, grimly exciting exposé of organized crime in and around Naples comes on like Mean Streets cubed. Detailing daily life inside a criminal state, it’s a new sort of gangster film for America to ponder. Gomorrah takes its punning…
Susan, a mailwoman played by Erin Rollman, finds little meaning in her profession — but a lot of significance in the splat of birdshit on her windshield. Lovingly framing it with her fingers, she declares the thing “a bird poop angel” and bursts into a rapturous, American Idol-style song of…
She was in herself, like a woman near term, and did not think of the man, going on ahead, or the path, climbing upwards towards life. She was in herself. And her being-dead filled her with abundance. As a fruit with sweetness and darkness, so she was full with her…
Like many other people, I’m pretty bummed out about the closure of the Rocky Mountain News. But for me, it’s mainly because Mary Chandler (pictured), the paper’s ace art reporter, is now out of a job. Chandler graduated from the University of Missouri in 1970, and she’s worked in the…
Girls Only. The trouble with Girls Only, a two-woman evening of conversation, skits, singing, improvisation and audience participation, is that it’s so relentlessly nice. Creator-performers Barbara Gehring and Linda Klein have worked together for many years; at some point, they read their early diaries to each other and were transfixed…
Want to do all your St. Paddy’s Day partying in one place? Then after Saturday’s parade, head to Katie Mullen’s, the massive new Irish bar at 1550 Court Place. Not only does Katie’s feature owners who run proper pubs back on the old sod, masterfully pulled Guinness on tap and…
Last year, the Colorado Folk Arts Council had a dream: to host a series of free multicultural performances in Aurora, which has the fastest-growing Hispanic population in the metro area, and to schedule them between Día de los Muertos and Cinco de Mayo, during the day, mid-week, so that schools…
Found-object artists bring into focus the white noise of the world, giving commonplace items a shot at more than utility. Although Dave Phelps is not the first artist to find meaning in the mass-produced, his collage technique combines the shapes and colors of the everyday into something beautiful and universal…
Burlesque ain’t what it used to be. Which is exactly why acclaimed entertainers Reyna Von Vett and Michele Baldwin are converting the Civic Theatre’s Black Box Cabaret into Denver’s newest spot to get cheeky: the Black Box Burlesque. Here Vett is reviving last fall’s Leadville or Bust!, while Baldwin —…
Obviously, movies are an important part of Munchkins, Movies & Music, a biweekly event whose third edition takes place on Friday morning at the Oriental Theater. After all, the word itself gets second billing in the title. But specific films aren’t part of the draw, according to Scott LaBarbera, a…
Buntport has done it again. The little theater company that could has come up with another unique programming concept to bring people in the door at 717 Lipan Street on the third Tuesday of each month. If you’re a fan of Pecha Kucha Night or Teacher’s Pet, then you’ll love…
I’ve always wanted a secretary, someone to whom I could dictate any and every thought that crosses my mind for documentation. And how cool would it be to dictate a letter to someone — especially someone important, like President Barack Obama? Well, you don’t need to hire a fast typist…
In what became my favorite memory of a family vacation, my uncle coaxed the owner of a Cape Cod pub to allow me and my equally underage cousins admission to an Irish jig. Despite the bar’s atmosphere, the event was remarkably family-oriented. If you’re looking for similar family-style fun that…
Five years ago, Antoine Valot, Kenn Penn and Rick Bivens got together to write short sketches using the exquisite-cadaver method: One of them would type a line, then pass the laptop to the next guy. “So absurdity was built into the process,” Valot explains. The Department of Redundancy Department, the…
It’s debatable whether the “good old days” of the 1950s were really as golden as some folks remember. But there’s one aspect of that time about which everyone can wax nostalgic: the price of dining out. Can you imagine a $5 prime rib plate or a $1.50 martini? Wouldn’t it…
Children of the night, rejoice: You’ve got a brand-new option for getting your spooky on. DeathWish Night, a monthly goth/industrial dance party and concert event, kicks off tonight — and what better day than Friday the 13th to launch such a trip into the darkness? The promoters promise an eclectic…
The impressive Timecrimes is one of an increasingly rare breed: a science-fiction film that relies on a well-executed story rather than expensive special effects for its impact. The movie tells the story of Hector, an unremarkable, middle-aged Spanish man who spies a beautiful stranger in the woods while relaxing at…
Art is nice to look at — to hang on walls, set on tables, display for friends and family to admire. But that’s not all that art — or the individuals who create it — is good for, of course. “I think it’s important for people to realize that artists…
It’s been five years since the X-ecutioners released Revolutions, and six years since the DJ collective last toured North America on the Scratch tour. In other words, this old-school turntablist crew is long overdue for another town-to-town live showcase of talents. Formerly known as the X-Men (the members changed their…
This is the beginning of what could be called “Rex Ray Days” in Denver. Tonight he’s the guest of honor at the opening of his eponymous solo at Gallery T; tomorrow evening, there’s a reception at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, where he’s taking over the Promenade Space. Rex…
Assuming the weather holds — and since we live in Colorado, you never can tell — this could be just the day to play hooky from work and loll about at the Denver Botanic Gardens, 1005 York Street, where delicate winter hellebores will be blooming, and cheerful daffodils and other…
The morning after playing a party for his high-school graduation, Josh “Reverend” Peyton woke up with severe pain in his hands. Doctors thought that Peyton, who had been playing guitar for five years, would never play again. “For almost two years, I didn’t play,” Peyton notes. “I ended up having…
