Concerts

After three decades together, the guys in R.E.M. announced today in a statement on the band’s website that they’re throwing in the towel…

Caribou Ranch, near Nederland, was a major recording studio throughout the ’70s and early ’80s. The 178 artists who recorded there over the years include such legends as Elton John, Billy Joel, the Beach Boys, Frank Zappa and Joe Walsh. But when a fire destroyed the control room in 1985,…

Sub Pop had kind of jumped the shark on us and was making boring grunge records,” says Dwarves frontman Blag Dahlia. “They didn’t really see the whole pop-punk thing coming up in their rear-view mirror.” Formed in the mid-’80s and inspired by the punk antics of GG Allin, the Dwarves…

Since the two owners and the manager of Tennyson’s Tap are all musicians, it’s not surprising that this spot at 4335 West 38th Avenue has turned into a full-fledged music venue. After securing a cabaret license over the summer, owners Dave Fox (a drummer) and Bryan Duncan (a guitarist) have…

Scheduled on the actual date that Nirvana’s Nevermind was released in 1991, this show (dubbed Come As You Are and slated for Saturday, September 24, at the hi-dive) features local talent covering songs from the entirety of the band’s back catalogue. Everyone playing rock music since Nirvana — and, as…

Many people will probably stamp this band with the “lo-fi garage” label or something equally inaccurate. But while Grave Babies’ sometimes raw recordings and live performances are reminiscent of Siltbreeze artists like Eat Skull, the group’s melancholic atmospheres are more akin to some bizarre hybrid of Sonic Youth and 154-era…

Releasing dozens of singles over the course of more than 25 years together, Erasure has become a foundational act and point of reference for many modern electro-pop groups, with Vince Clarke’s smart, shiny and sometimes dark compositions laying the groundwork for Andy Bell’s unmistakably soulful voice, which has transcended the…

In a sea of pop starlets, Taylor Swift shines like a modest diamond: The 21-year-old singer-songwriter has been making records about innocent teenage love and heartbreak since her freshman year in high school. Stylistically, Swift has the rare gift of being a country-to-pop crossover, combining the literal storytelling template of…

Zach Condon’s backstory, in which he left a small city to travel around Europe with his older brother, absorbing the indigenous music of the eastern part of the continent, reads like something that might have happened fifty years ago at the height of the early folk scene in Greenwich Village…

From the opening song, “Brew Ha Ha,” Hawk Attack celebrates rock’s hedonistic era. Yes, there is a hint of early solo Ted Nugent here and there in the guitar harmonics of “Set ‘Em Up,” but it’s not some ironic pose or attempt to sound just like another band. The crunchy,…

B.Sue frontwoman Brandi Shigley has an infatuating baby-girl voice that sounds like spun sugar tastes: It’s a guilty pleasure, heavy on the pleasure. The five songs on this EP, including the fittingly titled “Cuteness Overload,” all seem meant for Sunday mornings, smooth and cozy. You may not know exactly what…

Playalitical has churned out an album that is bearable, in spite of a lack of substance, lukewarm lyrics and uninspiring production. The lyrics are crass — on “Player of the Year,” he boasts of selling pussy for a million dollars and fucking virgins — and the MC seems to only…

First meeting at college in Virginia, the members of Driftwood Fire, Lynn Scharf and Charlotte Formichella, took a small piece of Appalachia with them when they relocated to Fort Collins. There’s plenty of folk pop on the band’s excellent long-player How to Untangle a Heartache, the followup to 2008’s self-titled…

If you’re a kid growing up in Estes Park, there isn’t much to do besides get into trouble — or, if you’re Blake Hinson, you turn boredom into a band. While still in high school, he and friend Colin Golitko started Vandelay Industries, sharing guitar and vocal duties, but they…

Like many producers, Bluetech (aka Evan Bartholomew) is a classically trained pianist who’s also adept at dealing with all the software available for producing tunes these days. Bluetech’s music is probably best described as downtempo, though he ventures into the mid-tempo range; his sound is improvisational, ambient, warm and sweeping,…

While Jane’s Addiction’s fourth full-length, The Great Escape Artist, the follow-up to 2003’s Strays, was originally slated to hit stores September 27, the album was pushed back to October 18. The just-released album art — a semi-naked guy wearing a thong — harks back somewhat to Perry Farrell and Casey…