Concerts

FRI & SAT | BIG GIGANTIC at FILLMORE, RED ROCKS | 9/27-9/28 Last year’s Big Gigantic date at Red Rocks was the best EDM shows of the year in this state, and that speaks volumes, given how many stellar acts there were to choose from. The feeling of hometown pride,…

Riot Fest Denver was very well put together. The good things far outweighed the bad. In fact, any complaints we might have are incidental and barely worth mentioning, or they’re inherent to the location or simply beyond organizers control. The lineup was obviously the best thing about Riot Fest Denver,…

THE REPLACEMENTS at RIOT FEST | 9/21/13 Surely it wasn’t lost on anyone when Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson came on stage wearing pink skirts and orange cowboy hats. The two were clearly nodding to the absence of Stinson’s late brother Bob, who frequently performed in such attire. Clad as…

IGGY & THE STOOGES at RIOT FEST | 9/21/13 The Stooges came out on stage like a burst of fire and wind from another part of the world and got going with “Raw Power.” From there, it was near constant dramatic movement from Iggy Pop, who struck poses as he…

FURTHUR at RED ROCKS | NIGHT ONE | 9/19/13 Furthur kicked off its four-night run at Red Rocks last night, fresh from announcing the news of their upcoming touring hiatus. “Would this be the last time we would see these living legends of the Grateful Dead at Red Rocks?” seemed…

TOKIMONSTA at LARIMER LOUNGE | 9/19/13 Let’s face it: Really progressive urban shows are rare here in Denver. Given that, consider for a moment the genre-destroying line up of Tokimonsta, Gavin Turek, MNDR and Jesse Boykins III that took the stage last night at Larimer Lounge. Tokimonsta is this year’s…

SAT & SUN | RIOT FEST at MAY FARMS, BYERS | 9/21-9/22 When your band can be said to be a direct and obvious influence on the Ramones, the Sex Pistols and countless punk bands since, it’s fair to say you’ve made an impact on punk rock. But the Stooges…

SAT | KASKADE at SKYLAB, DENVER COLISEUM | 9/21/13 Kaskade has crafted his own signature sound out of an unusual blend of disco-kissed deep house and big-room trance. Somehow the Utah-born DJ manages to balance these two disparate genres into a unified whole, leaning heavily on female vocals and sexy…

RAKIM at CERVANTES OTHERSIDE | 9/18/13 Last night at the Otherside, Rakim stalked the stage like a lion on an African plain, controlling the mic with a swagger that hypnotized the room, which was filled with an audience that hung on his every word. The God MC showcased a presence…

In harrowing times like these with the recent flooding, I think it’s safe to say we all share an unbridled compassion for our community, the friends and family members of ours whose lives have just been upended by the unrelenting torrential rains of the past week. Myself, I have a…

Black Flag paved the way. It’s no exaggeration to say that the circuit of underground touring in America would not have happened as early as it did — or perhaps at all — without Black Flag opening the routes for so many bands, punk and otherwise, to follow. Along with…

Ben Goldberg is a virtuosic Bay Area clarinetist who grew up in Denver and went to East High School. For his outstanding new album, Unfold Ordinary Mind, Goldberg enlisted some of his favorite players, including guitar wizard Nels Cline, consummate tenor saxophonists Ellery Eskelin and Rob Sudduth, and brilliant drummer…

The Motherfucking Ruckus (or MF Ruckus, for those with more delicate sensibilities) couldn’t be more aptly named: Not only does the handle describe the musical mayhem these dudes create, both in the studio and on stage, but it’s also a perfect description of what hell the band’s sleazy hard rock…

When Ryan James recorded 2011’s Fall Systems Go under the Belle Jar moniker, he handled all of the vocals and all of the instruments. Since then, the project has grown into a six-piece; fittingly, for the recently released Union Station, the group took a collaborative approach to writing. As a…

On his latest release, Patrick Dethlefs seems to strip back the songwriting a bit from what we heard on 2012’s accomplished Fall & Rise. From the beginning, one of the virtues of Dethlefs’s songwriting has been a tastefully spare use of elements, and this remains at the core of the…

“Garuda,” the first song on Rossonian’s self-titled debut, sounds at first as though inter-dimensional aliens have taken over Steely Dan, but less than a minute in, the song shifts into syncopated, hazy pop akin to that of MGMT, only with more of a jazz foundation. “Love Clutch” has a power-pop…

Someday a monograph about punk will give Naked Raygun its proper place of prominence in the genre’s history. Naked Raygun was one of the most important punk bands to emerge in Chicago during the Reagan era. Inspired in part by the diversity of sounds in that initial wave of English…

The Dismemberment Plan formed on New Year’s Day 1993. Although the act hails from the Washington, D.C., area, it wasn’t really affiliated with the legendary DIY punk scene fostered by Dischord Records, but its eccentricity was embraced nonetheless. In its early years, the Dismemberment Plan truly explored a broad range…

DANNY BROWN & ACTION BRONSON at OGDEN THEATRE | 9/17/13 Danny Brown walked out in his $4,000+ outfit (or so I was told by a fashionable concertgoer) looking ratty as ever. It’s amazing how, when combined with Brown’s unkempt hair, missing front teeth and general aura of decay, even the…

MUSE at PEPSI CENTER | 9/17/13 A Muse show is never short on spectacle and stunning visuals, and this Pepsi Center date was no exception. One of the most impressive moments came at the beginning of “Sunburn” when a single turquoise beam came down from the ceiling to a sphere…

Ready? Riot Fest is just three days away, and if you haven’t planned your itinerary yet, now’s your chance. We’ve got the full schedule. While the entire lineup is stupid good, Saturday is the day we’re most looking forward to — The Replacements, Iggy and the Stooges, Superchunk, Rocket From…