It’s tough to find moments on Liars & Outliers where 4H Royalty frontman Zach Boddicker takes himself and his music too seriously: As on the outfit’s last two albums, there is plenty here in the way of levity. That light mood comes in the airy titles and lyrics of tunes…
Soul School, one of the busier acts in town, has dozens of covers in its repertoire, everything from Motown and R&B tunes to soul and funk to disco and hip-hop. On Chapter One, Soul School’s ten-song debut of original material, the group draws from the same genres it covers, opening…
The title track of Courage, the new Prism Waves EP, establishes an overarching aesthetic of melancholic yearning, which can be heard not just in the plaintive singing, but in the way the guitar notes are plucked, arranged and paced. The song sounds like something the Cure might have done for…
moe. returns to Denver this weekend for a two-night run at the Ogden Theatre, fresh from recording a brand-new album. These jam-band veterans will be celebrating their 25th anniversary next year, but they’re still creating interesting new stuff while refreshing old classics. Bassist Rob Derhak spoke with us recently and…
JELLO BIAFRA & GUANTANAMO SCHOOL OF MEDICINE at SUMMIT | 12/31 Jello Biafra first came to the attention of the world as the charismatic, hyperkinetic and relentlessly intelligent frontman of the Dead Kennedys. Never one to mince words, Biafra became a lightning rod with his unapologetic critiques of the regressive…
After more than two decades of being in the local music scene, from playing in Rubber Planet to booking places like the Cricket on the Hill to owning the Toad Tavern for the last five years, Brice Hancock is selling the venue and moving on. On Friday, December 13, a…
SAT | DENVER BLACK SKY at GOTHIC THEATRE | 12/14/13 December is a leaner month than usual with regard to the number of metal shows booked. But quality more than makes up for quantity thanks to Denver Black Sky. This absolute must-see metal festival is being curated by Sherwood Webber,…
Music is life — or at least it is for us. When we’re not writing about it, we’re thinking about it, talking about it or listening to it. These are the things that were in heavy rotation for us this week. What are you listening to? What should we be…
SAT-TUES | STRING CHEESE INCIDENT at 1STBANK | 12/28-12/31 String Cheese Incident will be presenting its twentieth-anniversary celebration with various openers during its New Year’s run at 1STBANK Center. The group has Bootsy Collins joining forces on Saturday, December 28, and confetti rockers Flaming Lips on Sunday, December 29. Past…
FRI | ALPHABETS at RHINOCEROPOLIS | 12/13/13 When Colin Ward was thirteen years old, he was already making an impression on older members of the underground music community in Denver with his project Pocket Dove. With Nick Peelor, Ward formed the experimental indie-pop band Tudaloos and made music that seemed…
Welcome to In the Mix, a brand-new feature in which we spotlight new dance tracks and mixes from Colorado producers and DJs. This week, we bring you an exclusive house track from Pruitt, a hard-hitting cut from DirtMonkey, Ishe’s take on drum-and-bass, plus a couple more gems from Project Aspect…
For someone who’s been shooting concerts since the ’70s, you’d think Jay Blakesberg would be burned out on music. Not so much, it turns out. On the heels of releasing his latest book, JAM, Blakesberg is still striving to capture the feverish energy that explodes from the stages when the…
Journey and Steve Miller Band co-headline the Pepsi Center, with Tower of Power opening, on Wednesday, July 16. Tickets range from $39.50-$135, and go on sale this Friday, December 6, at 10 a.m. Keep reading to see what other shows are on sale this week and to see what songs…
DECADENCE NYE at COLORADO CONVENTION CENTER | 12/30-12/31 Just to tease a few of the artists: Bassnectar, Beats Antique, Keys and Krates, Tiesto, Dada Life, Pretty Lights, Odesza, Above & Beyond, Paul Basic and 12th Planet. Need we say more? Decadence landed in Denver as a result of Triad Dragons’…
MON | JAY Z at PEPSI CENTER | 12/2/13 Ever since Reasonable Doubt was released, Jay Z’s esteemed career has continued on a path of lyrical and stylistic mastery that leaves no doubt whatsoever. Well beyond the need for braggadocio, the rapper’s confidence and long-sustained commercial success are self-evident, which doesn’t…
SUN | MILE HIGH SPIRITS JAZZ FEST at MILE HIGH SPIRITS | 12/8/13 Mile High Spirits and the Gift of Jazz have teamed up to put on this free daylong festival, which kicks off at 3:30 p.m. and runs until 10: 30 p.m. Each of the six local acts on…
MON | JAY Z at PEPSI CENTER | 12/2/13 Ever since Reasonable Doubt was released, Jay Z’s esteemed career has continued on a path of lyrical and stylistic mastery that leaves no doubt whatsoever. Well beyond the need for braggadocio, the rapper’s confidence and long-sustained commercial success are self-evident, which…
JOHNETTE NAPOLITANO at THE SOILED DOVE | 11/27/13 After opening with “The Real Thing,” a Concrete Blonde limited edition, single, Johnette Napolitano looked down at a woman sitting in front of her next to the stage and asked if she was okay. The singer, playing her last show of the…
The progression of music will always be weighed down by periods of stagnation. Although new rap acts are presented into the mainstream every year, the actual newness of the music is generally overstated. The prime exception to this rule is the so-called “golden ages,” pockets of time where innovation is…
In July 2012, we put together a list of Denver’s hippest bars, from the mainstays to the emerging hipster havens. The release of that list caused a considerable amount of hubbub — since then, the list has grown and evolved, separating the tried-and-true from the fleeting trend spots and adding…
SAT | MARC HOULE at NORAD | 11/30/13 Marc Houle has attracted attention from some of techno’s finest players, from Richie Hawtin to Miss Kittin to Troy Pierce. Houle’s studio tracks get snatched up and spun by everyone who’s anyone in dance music, spanning genres and lighting up clubs and…
FRI | NATHANIEL RATELIFF at GOTHIC THEATRE | 11/29/13 From his recent stint making music backed by the Night Sweats, to the incredibly moving songs he’s crafted on his own, to his cinematic work with Born in the Flood, Nathaniel Rateliff is a man who requires absolutely no preamble –…
