The music of local dubstep artist Alert is dark, deep and a little bit scary — kind of like the man himself. “My tracks are a personal diary. There is no ‘me’ in the bigger picture, only a catalyst for the listener’s personal evolution,” he explains. “Also, I am a…
Twenty years is a long time to do anything, but that’s how long Terrance Hobbs has been playing guitar for New York-based death-metal legends Suffocation — well, aside from a five-year group hiatus between 1999 and 2004. Suffocation is about to release its sixth full-length studio album, Blood Oath, which…
Seriously, just punch me in the fucking head. Severe cranial trauma delivered with extreme malice would’ve been less painful for me than watching What We Do Is Secret. The 2008 film was, or at least marketed itself as, the story of the Germs — the legendary L.A. punk band that…
Damn it! What a punch in the gut. Seriously. If this isn’t a sucker punch, we don’t know what is. Earlier this afternoon, one of Denver’s more visceral live acts, American Relay — the subject of this week’s Critic’s Choice — announced its split. The soul-drenched, positively combustible duo comprised…
The Suffocation piece running in this week’s paper was culled from Phil Freeman’s recent conversation with Terrance Hobbs of Suffocation. As with many of our other Rough Mixes features, there’s far more to the story of this stalwart New York-based death metal band than there was space. As such, after…
With all the Showcase hoopla last week, a few of our normal features slipped through the cracks, including this one, wherein I provide you with a rundown of the radio show and then offer up the playlist for your consumption. A week removed, honestly, I can’t really remember too much…
Here what the area’s local-centric specialty radio shows were spinning this week. We’re currently tracking the playlists a number of different shows, including Radio 1190’s long-running Local Shakedown, KTCL’s Locals Only, the Colorado Sound, which originates at KRFC and is re-broadcast all over Colorado, and the Colorado Wave, which is…
The Flaming Lips know all about putting on a hell of a show, and the Monolith Festival gig at Red Rocks in 2007 was one most phenomenal things to happen to that venue in the last few years. Lets hope for a repeat performance when the Lips return to Red…
Join us in praying for a Faith No More American tour that includes a stop in Denver, won’t you?…
Obviously there are tons of photos of the Showcase on our slideshow page, if, like us, you’re having trouble letting go. But we’d be remiss to not share with you the one above, which was shared with us by Gabe Rovick of Focus4Design. Click to enlarge the photo. If that’s…
See more Showcase photos at westword.com/slideshow. Arby’s, 6:30 p.m. The most insane, out-of-control venue at the Westword Music Showcase? No, it wasn’t Broadway’s with the metal bands or The Garage for the punkers. It was at the fucking Arby’s. Never before have I witnessed a fast food restaurant in a…
See more photos from Curious Theatre at westword.com/slideshow.Elin Palmer, 12 p.m.Overcoming technical difficulties and an initially cumbersome stage setup (the stage manager had to find room for a drum riser amid the creative and complicated set — including a desk, a bed and a road — for Curious Theatre’s latest…
Eminem has been holding on to the top spot at Independent Records for a month now with his latest release, Relapse. Mos Def’s The Ecstatic and Black Eyed Peas’ The E.N.D., both released last week, grabbed the second and third slots while Method Man & Redman and DJ Quick &…
After two decades on Geffen Records, Eternal, Sonic Youth’s Matador Records debut released last week, was the top seller at Twist & Shout for the week ending June 14. Mos Def’s The Ecstatic, Dirty Projectors’ Bitte Orca, both released last week, came in at the second and fourth slots while…
See more photos from Dazzle at westword.com/slideshow. The Culhanes, 12:00 p.m. The Culhanes may be most straight-ahead country I’ve ever seen live. This is no ironic alt-country posturing; this Longmont-based act could be Merle Haggard’s backing band, with the guitarist nailing it on the twangy leads, and the pedal-steel player…
KS-107.5 Summer Jam Fiddler’s Green June 12 By their very nature, hip-hop radio station festivals like KS-107.5’s Summer Jam (the station’s twelfth consecutive sell-out) tend to promise more than they can deliver. The lineups are generally stellar — proof that despite changes in the music industry, terrestrial radio remains so…
See more photos from Sutra at westword.com/slideshow.Ideal Fathers, 12 p.m.Ideal Fathers kicked off the Sutra stage with a high-charged set of post-punk that included some keyed up takes on songs from its new brand new EP, A Complete Waste of Time Travel. Frenetic frontman Jesse Hunsaker screamed and wailed over…
See more photos from the Bannock Street Garage at westword.com/slideshow. Red Stinger, 12 p.m. One of the defining characteristics of punk is guys who love the people in the room exactly as much or more than they hate the System. No one who played Saturday at the garage embodied this…
See more photos from Broadways at westword.com/slideshow. Havok, 12 p.m. This four-piece band sounded like classic Bay Area thrash, stuff reminiscent of Testament and Exodus with a splash of Anthrax. The guitar work owed a clear debt to a death metal influence, and the vocalist’s wail and singing was akin…
Virgil Dickerson’s Suburban Home Records is the latest in a line of indie labels giving away music, in hopes of generating interest in tours, merchandise and other artists on the label. This time, it’s not simply a teaser EP, designed to grab your email address to promote the full-length when…
See more photos from Vinyl at westword.com/slideshow. Fresh Breath Committee, 12:00 p.m. The day started off nice and sunny and Club Vinyl’s rooftop, but I was a bit late in catching the set from the Fresh Breath Committee. The collective was rocking a decent-sized crowd and ended their set on…
See more photos from Fidel’s at westword.com/slideshow. Yerkish, 12 p.m. The crowd inside the cramped cantina is building slowly as Yerkish takes the stage, and the band wastes no time in laying out its frenetic, frantic rhythms. It’s a dynamic complimented by lead singer Tim Kaminski’s impassioned, insistent vocals and…
