Music

This isn’t exactly Mr. Van Driessen’s New Age Drum Circle for Men out in the woods. Oh, sure, the members of Foot Village perform in a big circle and they’re all playing drums, but there’s none of that namby-pamby, faux-civil keep-things-down-so-as-not-to-disturb-the-neighbors thing going on. Foot Village is more a raw,…

Years before Lady Gaga helped champion ambiguously oriented — and blatant — sexuality, Scissor Sisters went there without apology. Musically, the act wears its influences proudly, from disco and rock to New Orleans piano and even, once, bluegrass. The Sisters are too tricky to be straight pop, too glammy to…

They seem pretty different on the surface, but NFL football and the music industry actually have a lot in common: Both take place in arenas, both have draconian management structures that rake in grotesquely bloated profits by bilking the talent, both inspire insipid adulation and zombie-like loyalty.  And both, for…

Beloved Denver art-rockers the Inactivists have always seemed to stray a bit off the conventional path, but that’s one of the things that makes the band bizarrely endearing. On their fifth release and first double album (the second disc can be downloaded from the band’s website), the Inactivists declare war…

There’s an unmistakably classic sensibility to Robin Walker’s songwriting. Her versatile voice is central to the appeal of each of these songs, but like her creative use of ukulele in crafting gossamer atmospheres and drifty, daydreamy melodies, it’s Walker’s gift for subverting convention by actually knowing how to break the…

Bands best known for high-energy shows often don’t translate well in the studio. With Elevate, Apex Vibe has created an LP that’s enjoyable but not necessarily innovative or new; the reggae/rock outfit is more reminiscent of Sublime and 311 than Bob Marley and the Wailers. But while Apex Vibe isn’t…

Formerly Vonnegut, Take to the Oars has gone through plenty of changes since the first incarnation of the band in 2005. Since then, it’s locked in a steady lineup and defined a solid identity with its new moniker. American Volume, the group’s full-length debut, is a long wail of guitar…

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark came to the attention of a wide audience through early singles like “Enola Gay” and an appearance in the 1981 documentary Urgh! A Music War. For American audiences, OMD’s breakthrough came with the song “If You Leave,” made famous by the John Hughes film Pretty…

With a stage name like Someone Else, it’s clear that Philadelphia’s Sean O’Neal doesn’t take himself too seriously. O’Neal’s impressive musical pedigree (his grandfather was a high-school music teacher who played bass with Bill Haley and His Comets) combined with early experience in choir and musicals helped him become a…

The brainchild of guitarist and vocalist Adam Granduciel, The War On Drugs came to be almost a decade ago and has seen it’s share of line-up changes — Kurt Vile was a longtime member — but has consistently created a sort of Americana-meets-Sonic-Youth sound. Last year’s Future Weather EP continued…

As the labor protests wage on in Wisconsin, several prominent musicians have taken to using their art to express their support. John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats recorded a hundred-year-old folk song “There is Power in a Union,” and Steve Earle rereleased a single of his own to benefit The…

STRING CHEESE INCIDENT Winter Carnival, Night Three 03.12.11 | 1STBANK CENTER See full slide show and read reviews of Night One and Night Two The String Cheese Incident brought its three-night stand to a close at the 1STBANK Center in front of the wildest crowd yet. Complete with a costume…

MARNIE STERN & TERA MELOS Lil’ Slugger 3.12.11 | Moe’s Original BBQ The self-described week-long Marnie Stern Birthday tour came to Denver last night, and while it wasn’t Marnie Stern’s actual birthday, bassist Nithin Kalvakota predicted that when it is later this week in San Francisco, he and drummer Vince…

GIRL TALK With Max Tundra and Junk Culture 3.11.11 | Ogden Theatre See full Girl Talk slideshow It was like a bad dream, a deja vu shit show, that, when repeated, almost always seems to involve young women barfing all over the carpeted foyer and tiled bathroom floors of the…

STRING CHEESE INCIDENT Winter Carnival, Night Two 03.11.11 | 1STBANK Center Read reviews of Night One and Night Three In the second night of its three-night run at 1STBANK Center, the String Cheese Incident showcased its diversity throughout the evening dipping from its bluegrass roots weaving in elements of funk,…

PLANET OF THE DRUMS DJ Dara • AK1200 • Dieselboy • MC Messinian Sure Shot • Mystical Influence • DJ Fury 3.11.11/Gothic Theatre It’s been a while since a drum-and-bass show of this caliber hit Denver — most DNB has been eclipsed by the dubstep movement, and although there are…

Drum-and-bass seems to be re-surging, due perhaps in part to the current obsession with all things bass-heavy. Reload: Planet of the Drums, tonight at the Gothic Theatre, features a familiar line-up: Dara, AK1200 and Dieselboy, three selectors who have long been at the forefront of the American DNB scene, MC…