Concerts

Spoke-In-Wordz will always be lauded for his rapid-fire flow but does he get the same props when he spits fire in Spanish? Spoke connected with the group 20/12 to record a song for the soundtrack of the film Platinum Illusions, which features cameos from folks like Chino XL, Mr. Capone-E,…

Although I typically loathe battle-of-the-bands competition, this one actually seems pretty worthwhile: Beginning this Friday, January 16, at Herman’s Hideaway, Alice 105.9 will be hosting a ten-week search for the    area’s best band. Out of 32 contestants, one band will claim a prize package valued at over $15K, specifically…

Goodness gracious. Our man Yonnas Abraham has got his hustle down cold. Just received word that the Pirate Signal has been tapped as the house band in some fabuloso mansion during the Sundance film festival in Park City, which kicks off next week in Park City, Utah. Broseph is going…

Looks like massive props are due to the fine young gentlemen of Havok. The thrash metallers just became label mates of Opeth, Obituary, Emperor and Crowbar, by joining the Candlelight Records roster. Good for them, we say. The guys have certainly put in their work since I first caught them…

The Potato Pirates take various styles of music considered dead — or at least exhausted of ideas — and injects them with an infectious, youthful exuberance. Part ska, part punk, part whatever it is that this quintet has absorbed over the years, the resulting sound crackles with a wiry energy…

VIBE music editor Sean Fennessey recently posited that contemporary R&B music has gone soft. He’s on to something: There are too many emasculated, blue-balled crooners on the radio right now with no true identity. (Hell, whispering whiner/platinum sensation Lloyd’s last name is Polite.) But Fennessey overlooks a larger point: R&B…

When Mezcal (3230 East Colfax Avenue) celebrated its fifth anniversary last month, owner Jesse Morreale booked a mariachi band as part of the festivities. He’s featured live music in the restaurant before, mainly on special occasions; under his liquor license, he can do so ten times a year — as…

Any time you feel like you’ve stepped through a door to another era at a show, it’s usually because the band on stage is perpetrating a hopelessly retro musical crime against the audience. Contemporary heavy music is especially guilty of this. But once in a while a group will embody…

I’m a sucker for a great name, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard as perfect a DJ moniker as Treasure Fingers. The fingers in question belong to Ashley Jones, a man who’s already had a fair amount of success as part of Evol Intent, one of the jungle scene’s…

Everything about Dang! screams “bar band,” from the ridiculous name and cheesy CD graphics to the generic hard rock/blues boogie style and instantly forgettable tunes. That’s not to say that you wouldn’t enjoy a Dang! set if you happened upon it during an epic dive-bar bender; it might be just…

With surprising aggression and brutality, this five-song EP seethes with angst and burns with boiling, irrepressible fire. Former Mood Syrup frontman Lloyd Arcesia possesses the vocal savagery of a John Brannon, and it’s not difficult to imagine the entire band throwing itself into a performance with a frightening and electrifying…

In his info sheet for the 2007 Westword Music Showcase, Zack Nichols described his music as “vulnerable,” “soulful” and “optimistically heartbroken” — and these terms can also be applied to his first release since relocating to Los Angeles. Naming a mildly twangy disc Bright Eyes may not be the best…

Mike Marchant’s crystalline songwriting and lived-in vocals provide the beating heart of Widowers’ psychedelic pop scintillation. With his solo debut, Marchant cuts that heart wide open and lets it bleed in raw, vivid colors. Tracks drenched in delay, contributions from his bandmates and the singer’s distinctive whiskey-cigarettes-and-bubble-gum voice make for…

If you’re looking for some new music and in need of a new ring tone for your phone, have a listen to Baji. This pop/rock outfit reminds me a lot of the Heyday: similar radio-ready sound, same big, soaring choruses and hook-filled tunes. As a promotion, they’re offering free ringtones…

The Fray Gothic Theatre Tuesday, January 7, 2009 You know you’ve arrived when you can front-load your set with the hits that you used to save for last, the ones that let you quit your day job. And there they were: three songs into the set, the illustrious “Over My…

Just received word that Diane Reeves, a Denver native and four-time Grammy Award-winning jazz vocalist, is slated to open the Colorado Senate’s 67th general assembly. Tomorrow morning at 10 a.m., Reeves, a George Washington High School and University of Colorado alumna, will join Senate president Peter Groff and his colleagues…

When buddies A.V.I.U.S., Es-Nine and DJ Cysko Rokwel formed 3 the Hardway last year, fans knew that this hip-hop collective would be putting out some hot music. And for good reason: With A.V.I.U.S. on the mike, Es-Nine on the beats and Cysko on the wheels of steel, how could the…

Strange how that whole train-of-thought thing works, isn’t it? One minute you’re talking to your buddy on the horn and he brings up a certain Faith No More song, and the next thing you know, you’ve pissed away the better part of a half-hour watching old videos on YouTube. Although…

As we write this, DJ Sabotage is most likely on his way to Los Angeles, where he’ll compete in the finals of Scion’s Hypeman contest. What’s a hypeman, you ask? Flavor Flav may be the most famous hypeman, but you definitely can’t forget folks like Spliff Star (Busta Rhymes’s hypeman),…