Concerts

The power of suggestion? Nah. We’re no where near deluded enough to think that we wield that kind of power — well, not when we’re sober anyway. Remember last week when we bemoaned the fact that there hasn’t been any new holiday songs of note? Obviously, we spoke a little…

Susan Boyle is the top seller at not one, but two independent record stores this week. Let that sink in for a moment. Susan fucking Boyle. No offense to Ms. Boyle; I’m sure she’s a lovely person. But she’s a middle-aged woman who got famous singing fucking show tunes on…

Strange happenings: We’ve received word that frontman Ryan Malloy has parted ways with Strange Condition, which signed a development deal with Universal Records this past summer. The outfit is keeping the reason for Malloy’s exodus quiet, but has confirmed that his slot is now being filled by Matthew Furlong, who…

Nathaniel Rateliff & the Wheel Variety ShowSaturday, December 12, 2009Bluebird TheaterBetter Than: The V Ultimate Variety show featuring Wally Eastwood. An estimated 48 musicians took part in the third annual Nathaniel Rateliff and the Wheel variety show on Saturday night. All of them played brilliantly, some of them played for…

Moore, Blindfold the Devil and Born in Winter Friday, December 11, 2009 Gothic Theatre Better Than: A lot of metal shows I’ve seen. Blindfold the Devil, a four-piece with the lead vocalist also playing guitar, kicked off its set with its speed/thrash metal sound, which contains more than a dash…

Hot Congress Comp. 1 Release Party Achille Lauro, The Vitamins, Fissure Mystic, Action Packed Thrill Ride October 12, 2009 The Oriental Theater Better Than: A community garden, or most other team projects you can think of. There is more than music to address here because Hot Congress is more than…

Today marks yet another bittersweet day for the scene, a day when we bring you word that Tommy Nahulu, a tireless champion of Denver music over the years, is picking up stakes and moving back to his native Hawaii. To commemorate the occasion, the Toad Tavern is hosting the second…

When Josh Friedman’s old band, Sleeperhorse, broke up, he figured it was time for a change. So a few months ago, he moved to Prague to teach English, travel and to move his life forward in a positive direction after having a “pretty shitty first half of the year.” Unfortunately,…

We would hate for you to miss out on all the awesome that happens every weekend in our fair city, so we’ve decided to run down three of the best shows in one easy-to-swallow post, with video and audio. Tell us — and the rest of the world — what…

From the outside looking in, things still look incredibly grim for the Monolith Festival and its prospects for the future. Organizers set up a Kickstarter account a few weeks ago in response to an overwhelming outcry from fans, who offered to pitch in when word first leaked that the festival…

Thanks to a YouTube user named ProblematicAndroid, who posted this unbelievably awesome video of his seventeen-month old son Caddock singing along with Cephalic Carnage’s “Let Them Hate So Long As They Fear,” we now need a new keyboard and monitor. Just seeing the grimaces on the little dude’s face as…

Every season, once Thanksgiving is in the books (and sometimes earlier, god forbid) and the shopping frenzy begins in earnest, my most-hated time of the year comes around: Christmas music season. See, I don’t hate Christmas, per se — I’m no Scrooge. I just despise Christmas music with a passion…

Kegan Warner has some big shoes to fill. Next month, he’ll be taking over the reins as host of Radio 1190’s long running Local Shakedown program, the weekly hour-long show devoted strictly to the best independent music coming out of Colorado. Warner replaces the outgoing and ever popular Katherine Peterson,…

Ask F.O.E. to describe himself in three words and you may find yourself surprised. Cool, determined, focused — these are all adjectives that elude him. No, F.O.E.’s answer is simple and to the point: fucking rock star. “How many people do you know that says “sex, drugs and rap?” he…

Paul Piciocchi likes intimate, cozy spaces where you can have fun without huge crowds. As the owner of Tryst (1512 Larimer Street) and Sutra (1109 Lincoln Street), a club that Piciocchi recently sold to its manager, Mark Strazisar, he’s done pretty well with smaller spaces. So when he took on…

With clear stylistic nods to the various projects of garage-pop luminary Billy Childish and a playful sensibility inspired by classic Denver indie-pop bands, Bluebelle (due at the Meadowlark on Saturday, December 12) writes pop songs with a bit of an edge. Fronted by guitarist Sarah Fischer, this band could be…

As much a conceptual project as what can perhaps best be described as a touring collective, Ten Out of Tennessee (Erin McCarley, Andy Davis, Katie Herzig, K.S. Rhoads, Tyler James, Matthew Perryman Jones, Trent Dabbs, Butterfly Boucher, Jeremy Lister and Andrew Belle) began in the imaginings of Kristin and Trent…

Hoarse, coarse and slavishly crude, the Texas outfit known as O Pioneers!!! might come across as a punk band at first — and, at its heart, it is — but beneath the growled aggression and blocky chords churns an artlessly artful, melancholy pulse that peels skin from flesh and pretention…

Although largely unknown outside its home town of Brooklyn, Telepathe is quickly earning renown for its gorgeous, otherworldly experimental music. Conjuring an amalgamation of Broadcast, Lush and early Ladytron, Busy Gangnes and Melissa Levaudis sound like they created their music in a place isolated from immediate outside influences — a…

Most people in their right mind run for cover when they hear of yet another new band described as indie folk or Americana. Letting that dissuade you from the music of We All Have Hooks for Hands would be a grave mistake. While there’s definitely plenty of jangle and twang…

If it’s true that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then a number of celebrated indie-rock bands should be positively gushing after hearing this record. Flashbulb Fires (formerly the Atlantic and Fiance) recalls a more sullen Arcade Fire, an act it name-checks in its bio; although Flashbulb Fires is…