“We like to do 2 percent jazz and 98 percent funky stuff,” proclaimed Maceo Parker on his 1992 live album, Life on Planet Groove. Sure, he’s a deft jazz player, but when it comes to funk and R&B sax, Parker is the king. After honing his chops in James Brown’s…
Emmylou Harris explored the arty side of the street on her previous three studio albums: 1995’s indelible Wrecking Ball, helmed by studio auteur Daniel Lanois, plus 2000’s Red Dirt Girl and 2003’s Stumble Into Grace, made with Lanois protegé Malcolm Burn. In contrast, All I Intended to Be, her forthcoming…
You know your band is in trouble when it’s being covered by MTV and lumped in with a movement called “Lo-Fi Punk.” Fortunately, the music of Columbus, Ohio’s Times New Viking does not lend itself well to vast commercial accessibility. In both recordings and live performances, the group brings a…
“Post-rock” may not be the most ridiculous descriptor in contemporary music; I’d cast my vote for either “sadcore” or “neo-prog.” Still, the term means next to nothing when it’s applied to a band like Russian Circles, which co-stars on this roster with Daughters and Young Widows. On 2006’s Enter and…
What do you get when your dad leaves the priesthood and your mom gives up on the nunnery? If you’re Martin Dosh, the answer is: piano lessons. And thank God for that. On his fourth proper album, Wolves and Wishes, the Minneapolis native gracefully transforms his love for ambient electronica,…
In “Crystal Beach Memories,” an animated video accessible at www.FunnyOrDie.com, 32-year-old singer-songwriter Hayes Carll remembers his early gigs at Bob’s Sports Bar and World Famous Grille, a Texas eatery that promoted his appearances with a sign that read “All U Can Eat Fried Chicken & Hayes Carll, $4.99.” Carll saw…
Soul singer Bettye LaVette and the Drive-By Truckers recorded The Scene of the Crime in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, where one of the most significant things in LaVette’s 47-year singing career happened. In 1972, she recorded Child of the Seventies for Atlantic Records, but instead of it being the breakthrough record…
Denver has long been a home to intelligent, sophisticated pop music. In their relatively brief time together, the Pseudo Dates have established themselves as purveyors of thoughtful, ambitious, infectious pop, with songs that recall the Kinks, early Floyd and various acts from the Elephant 6 collective. On the eve before…
You know when your mom sometimes goes on and on about how handsome you are, or how talented you are and whatnot, and you’re all like, “Ah, ma’, you’re supposed to say that crap. You’re my mom”? Keep that sentiment in mind right now as we tell you just how…
Panic at the Disco, Motion City Soundtrack, The Hush Sound and Phantom Planet June 3, 2008 Fillmore Auditorium Trend-hopping highfalutins who place equal value on their hipster credibility and their genitalia likely view Panic at the Disco with contempt bordering on the pathological, and that makes perfect sense. The band…
R.E.M., the National and Modest Mouse Tuesday, May 30, 2008 Red Rocks Better Than: Every large-scale rock show I’ve seen for ten years. Last night was a perfect night for a concert at Red Rocks. What more could you ask for to complement a night of great music besides a…
Slide show by Jon Solomon Return to Forever Tuesday, June 3, 2008 Paramount Theatre Better Than: Going back to the future. When it comes to chops, Lenny White, Chick Corea, Al Di Meola and Stanley Clarke are heavyweights. Just seeing one of these guys on his own would be a…
Jamie Lidell w/ James Pants Bluebird Theater Monday June 2, 2008 Better than: Any Monday night show in my personal history. From the moment Jamie Lidell and his band take the stage, it’s apparent that something weird is afoot. It’s the clothes. Three of the five are in costume. Lidell…
James Pants Welcome Stones Throw Records 00:00-00:45 of “Cosmic Rapp” Whoa, set your ears to stun because “Cosmic Rapp” is a surprisingly interesting song that appears to showcase Stones Throw’s taste for the odd. The song combines everything that was wrong with the ‘80s with everything that is right from…
The Silver Cord w/Split Second Massacre and Slight Harp Friday, May 30, 2008 Café Cero, Denver Better Than: Going to The Shelter to hear faux-Goth EBM. Unfortunately I arrived just as Slight Harp’s set had ended and didn’t get to enjoy its experimental ambient/post-rock goodness. When they say the show…
Photo by Anna Hrnjak Thrones, Epileptinomicon, 19ADD and Munimula Friday, May 30, 2008 3 Kings Tavern Better Than: Any other doom rock show I’ve ever seen. The incarnation of Epileptinomicon that performed this night included Mike Reisinger (ex-Motheater) and Pat Keck (artist behind Bogwitch and Ghetto Dogs). Reisinger had set…
White Rabbits, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, Blue Million Miles, Pop Wreck Saturday, May 31, 2008 Bluebird Theater Better than: A Jefferson Airplane cover band. When I stepped up to the Bluebird I was a little confused – there wasn’t anybody outside, there was music coming from the stage and the…
George Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic Saturday, May 31 Fillmore Auditorium Better than: getting up for the downstroke. For years, George Clinton and P-Funk have been delivering marathon sets of uncut funk where four –hour shows seem to be the norm. While Saturday’s Fillmore shore was just under four hours, it really…
All right, since this is presumably on the super DL, you didn’t hear this from us, but supposedly, those crazy Machine Gun Blues bastards are playing a show in — are you ready for this?! — Globeville. (The quaint little neighborhood just north of I-70 and just east of I-25)…
Choosing a flyer to highlight in this week’s Pole Position was an absolute no-brainer. As you may be aware, d.biddle is one our favorite bands, so naturally, we have no qualms about hyping the act’s CD release show on Friday, June 13 at the hi-dive. Regardless, even if we didn’t…
LOCALS ONLY The name Frank E may not ring bells in the local hip-hop scene, but the DJ/producer is working like a mad man to help put the Colorado hip-hop scene on the map — by going outside the scene…
Trima Replicates OK Computer Live Thursday, May 29, 2008 Oriental Theater Better Than: anyone had a reasonable right to expect it to be. Well, color me impressed. Against all odds, they pulled it off. Trima, the band assembled by drummer Damon Scott with the sole purpose of replicating The Greatest…
