With his virtuosic playing and two-handed approach, Victor Wooten has long been a pacesetter on the electric bass. From his work with Béla Fleck & the Flecktones to a vibrant solo career launched with his outstanding 1996 debut, A Show of Hands, Wooten has proven the broad potential of the…
When Luis Etscheid and Caleb Henning launched their boutique effects-pedal company, Mantic Conceptual, in spring 2013, they had a great deal more curiosity than experience. Fortunately, the Denver-based musicians are pretty good at experimentation, and in their first year, they found an impressive list of clients. Etscheid sent Adrian Belew,…
Let’s keep it simple for a moment: Science Partner and In the Whale are playing a show next Friday, June 6 at Stoney’s, and it’s free. Doors open at 7 p.m. and it’ll be over by 10. “Science Partner all is about the bounce and the sigh” wrote Jason Heller…
The first time I saw tUnE-yArDs, the avant-pop project of Merrill Garbus, was in 2011 at Fun Fun Fun Fest. She was dressed as if she had fallen in a trunk of costumes with a painted face and was pounding on a taped-up ukulele while creating intricate loops on top…
[jump] Editor’s note: Each week, illustrator Noah Van Sciver shares his sunny outlook with the readers of Backbeat. You can see more of Van Sciver’s work and even buy it on his website. • BACKBEAT’S GREATEST HITS • – The fifty best rap lyrics of all time – The ten…
There is a generally agreed-upon set of rules among young and hungry music fans: You show up early, you stay late, you find new things, you stand in the front. That’s how Amber Taufen learned to love music. It’s how she met her husband, in fact. But in this week’s…
By Sarah Stanley-Ayre Electronic music’s recent surge in popularity comes with serious side effects for underground-party aficionados. Suddenly, Daft Punk is winning Grammys, and drunk girls (and guys) are ruining life at 4 a.m. in a warehouse somewhere. Take this recent incident: Under a haunting pink hue Dustin Zahn tended…
Natalie Tate is well-known for her role as the lead guitarist in Ark Life. She was recruited into that band by Jesse Elliott when he saw her perform at Leon Gallery. At the time, Tate had recently returned to writing and performing music, and she quickly proved capable of writing…
Like many who call Denver home, Jayce “FL” Cabell of hip-hop collective the Foodchain enjoys weed. But the reason his most recent album, Young Amsterdam, includes plenty of marijuana imagery and was released on 4/20 has more to do with the interest in Colorado’s weed culture than it does with…
The first time I met with my doula, she asked me about all of my feelings and fears about going into labor, about what was important to me. Much to her surprise, I told her one of those things was music. But she was supportive. She told me I should…
Mutiny Information Café may be ground zero for the next generation of Denver’s music scene. The shop sits on the southeast corner of Broadway and Ellsworth. Its modest but inviting exterior hasn’t changed too much since Matt Megyesi, Joe Ramirez and 3 Kings Tavern co-partner Jim Norris took over operations…
The outdoor summer concert series keep rolling in. Today, we have the full lineup for (of all places) a fancy steakhouse. But Elways Cherry Creek is no tourist in music. This year marks the steakhouse’s tenth Live From Elway’s Backyard series, and it will feature some impressive local talent. The…
A group of firefighters with yellow walkie talkies swaying at their chests were examining the new on-site structures at the first show at a renovated Fiddler’s Green Ampitheatre. They wanted to ensure that they were familiar with the new facilities in case they were called to the scene in the…
We hope your long weekend was as full of smoked meats and assorted outdoor activities as ours was. And now we’re back and ready to talk about Denver concerts some more. Obviously the selections are a little lighter in this week’s show round-up given that we lost a day. But…
Mixing business with pleasure is a dirty game, isn’t it? While necessary, practice spaces exemplify the tension that comes with sharing a small area with a number of personal friends and acquaintances. It’s like living in a tiny house with eight other unbalanced roommates. Between paying rent, keeping the space…
Sean Lennon could have coasted on his name alone — he’s a child of privilege, with two of the most famous people in the history of pop culture for parents. And sure, some doors were open to him that wouldn’t be to just any other teenager. He collaborated with Lenny…
I can’t help but think about last night’s mash up of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and the marijuana industry as a giant piece of performance art, though I know that wasn’t anyone’s intent. On the surface, the idea behind the “Classically Cannabis” series — of which this was the first…
It’s a great time to be a fan of country music. Mainstream artists like Kacey Musgraves are challenging old stereotypes. And in the vast field outside the pop country stratosphere, there are songwriters whose wit and clarity transcend genre. Key among those is Randy Rogers Band, which will headline Red…
By Mark Masters When Judge split up in 1991, it was in response to the growing skinhead violence of the time and the antipathy of their own fan base. “It was a fucking bloodbath,” recalls vocalist Mike Judge. “We were having to fight at what felt like every show. Sometimes…
Well, hopefully the hail and tornadoes are over. Certainly this is no weekend to be stuck at home, not with a Monday off and a shocking array of great shows. Esme Patterson will finally play that in-store performance at Twist & Shout to celebrate her excellent Woman to Woman. Country…
An anonymous donor gave Swallow Hill Music a 1976 chrome RV, and the organization plans to turn it into mobile music community. After extensive engine work, an interior refurbishment and an external paint job, the vehicle will travel to festivals, shows and events, where it will let people play instruments…
I drove all the way to Colorado Springs once because I heard a Myspace scene queen was going to be at a house party I was invited to. I wanted to see if she was real. She was. Seeing Riff Raff at the Bluebird last night felt similar; I went…
