Concerts

PIXIES at FILLMORE AUDITORIUM | 2/13/14 Like the Ramones, the Pixies took stage and had little in the way of breaks between songs. There was no banter, no awkward joking and no meandering dialogue while anyone tuned or tried to read a set list. The only interruptions came when the…

FRI & SAT | DEVOTCHKA at MERCURY CAFE | 2/14-2/15 DeVotchKa is for lovers. So is Valentine’s Day. An absolutely ideal pairing, the two have been making beautiful music together for years, and the former is celebrating the latter with a three-day run, the second night of which is slated…

FRI | WINTER WARMER FESTIVAL at FILLMORE | 2/14/14 Since dropping his debut solo album Dreaming of a Bigger Life, Michal Menert has been steadily touring the country building a grassroots following in the same way Derek Vincent Smith of Pretty Lights did when he first hit the scene. Menert…

Sure, romantic gestures are always a nice way to observe Valentine’s Day, but so is going to a good concert or dancing the night away with your significant other. Looking for something to do tomorrow night? You’ve come to the right place. We’ve put together a comprehensive rundown of ways…

STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS at GOTHIC THEATRE | 2/12/14 During their time in Denver, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks were apparently staying in a hotel in Cherry Creek. We know this because Malkmus asked if anyone hung out there or skateboarded in Cherry Creek or went rafting in it…

Artist Drowning doesn’t stick to one kind of sound or formula on Driving Home In Reverse, the debut studio album from the Boulder-based indie-rock outfit. That diversity is for the best, considering that the record weighs in at an ambitious nineteen tracks, which include understated instrumentals like “Darkness Coming” as…

While the Hayward Strangers have a few high-octane foot-stomping bluegrass cuts, like “Drinkin’ Ain’t Hard to Do” and “Standing in the Kitchen,” on their fifteen-song debut, Making Ground, it’s fairly clear elsewhere on the disc that the six-piece isn’t solely a bluegrass act. Sure, these folks have an affinity for…

On Hyperspace, Jay Jaramillo’s fourth 1320 release as Project Aspect, he keeps things pretty status quo. On “The Beat Drops,” which features fellow Mile High Sound Movement member Kruza Kid and Boss Miller, the vocals are chopped and repeated until, well, the drop. Some of the tracks seem a little…

“Fox,” the opening track on Paw Paw’s new three-song EP, 3 Eye, immediately separates this release from the band’s 2012 album, Lay Down In the Flower Bed. Whereas that effort was bright and glistening with luminous, uplifting tones, these songs are darker and more organic. They’re the next step in…

On every album that drummer Brian Blade has made with his group the Fellowship Band, from the act’s 1998 self-titled debut to its forthcoming release Landmarks, there’s a cohesive group sound that’s immediately recognizable. “I have to attribute that evolving oneness to everyone in the band,” Blade says. “I’m thankful…

PAUL SIMON & STING at PEPSI CENTER | 2/11/14 When Paul Simon and Sting took the stage together, they were each accompanied by their full bands, which often appeared on the stage with them at the same time throughout the set, working together to create an even more lush and…

This past weekend, the Solution crew kicked off #TheSolution7 at the Meadowlark, commemorating the seventh year of the long-running, award-winning hip-hop night. The celebration continues this Friday, February 14, with a special Valentine’s Day edition at the Meadowlark with a playlist of slow jams at the end of the evening,…

Taking jazzy grooves and elevating them to frenzied funk levels through samples, synths and heavily textured percussion, Lotus played two sets of high energy dance to the younger skewed crowd Saturday night. Though no surprise MCs showed up to perform any songs off the act’s latest hip hop release, Monks,…

Chad Aman, like many musicians in Denver, has been playing at El Chapultepec for years. Celebrating its eightieth birthday last August was no small feat for the jazz club that has survived the changing face of its Lower Downtown neighborhood, and now Aman is spearheading an effort to bring the…

TUES | STING & PAUL SIMON at PEPSI CENTER | 2/11/14 Sting and Paul Simon have had a hand in producing some of the most memorable pop and rock songs of the past four decades (five, in Simon’s case). Sting, of course, was the lead singer of the Police, but…

Back with another edition of In the Mix, a feature in which we spotlight new dance tracks and mixes from local producers and DJs. This week, we feature Mantaray’s set from Denver Disco a few weeks ago, Spencer Foreman and DJ Wushu’s latest hip-hop/dance mix-up, Big Gigantic collab with Cherub…

WAKE UP AND LIVE at CERVANTES’ OTHER SIDE | 2/6/14 Despite the negative temperature, people flocked to Cervantes’ Other Side last night to celebrate Bob Marley’s birthday with local tribute band Wake Up and Live and to welcome Portland’s Quick and Easy Boys to Denver. While it didn’t exactly feel…