Music

Monolith, Day Two September 15, 2007 Red Rocks Better than: Another boring workout on the Stairmaster with your iPod The first thing everyone has mentioned about Monolith so far is those infernal stairs. I, too, sweated and panted my way up the ramp into the park, then up that interminable…

Just received the following e-mail regarding Tony Krantz’s services, which are being held this evening. As mentioned at the end of this week’s Beatdown, Tony, who passed away early last week, will be remembered by fellow members of the well-regarded Krantz family, whose jazz club El Chapultepec has anchored the…

“And fuck Bush,” Common proclaimed at the end of a sick freestyle at the Fillmore Auditorium on September 13 — and the crowd went nuts. His flow touched on everything from gang-banging to economic standing before he walked the crowd through a melodic hip-hop history in which he covered everyone…

Slide Show Bright Eyes September 13, 2007 The Ogden Theater Better than: The Eagles ever thought country rock would be after they ruined it. I missed Nik Feitas, so I’ve got no opinion there. But arriving at the Ogden last night to see the stage filled with racks of guitars,…

I’m a little worried about Amy Winehouse. I mean, have you seen her lately? The girl’s a mess — and I’m not talking about that godawful, steel-wool, Mistress of the Dark beehive of hers or the whoriffic, toddler-set-loose-with-a-Sharpie-smeared eye shadow with which she frames her peepers. I’ve got a sinking…

I never really think of our stuff as that depressing,” says Matt Berninger, “so when I’m asked it over and over again, it makes it obvious to me that our records must sound depressing to so many people, and I’ve never really wanted them to or thought of them that…

A few years back, Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne asked fans to don animal costumes and cavort on stage, unaware that the invitation would appeal to self-proclaimed furries, many of whom enjoy having sex while clad as cartoonish mascots. “We didn’t know there was a furry subculture until we started…

While guitarist Duke Robillard has been hailed as a world-class blues player, the guy is equally adept in jazz, swing and rockabilly. The Roomful of Blues founder’s diverse playing style has attracted the attention of Tom Waits, who took him on the road for a short tour of the Midwest…

After a summer full of hour-long sets at European festivals, the Arcade Fire’s Richard Reed Parry was tired when he answered the phone. Nonetheless, he offered insight into the band’s performances, which are magical events to be savored like lost teenage summer nights. He also discussed the tone and content…

Kanye is the most exciting man in rap because he puts out quality, popular albums. Forget the artless 50 Cent and Akon — Kanye tries harder, and Graduation, which has thirteen bangers and zero skits, reflects the man’s tireless work ethic. Having united backpackers and clubbers with his first two…

Earlier this year, 50 Cent made millions from an investment in Glaceau Vitamin Water — so much loot, in fact, that he’s bragged about how he “doesn’t even have to rap.” That’s clearly the case on Curtis: 50 is no longer hungry, and it shows. This summer alone, he released…

The opening salvo of Astronautilus, New Ancient Astronauts’ second long-player, is the bombastic and campy “Catasteroid.” Who else but maybe Blue Öyster Cult could take the idea of a gigantic asteroid about to hit the earth and end all life on the planet as we know it and not only…

Their moniker may sound jokey, but the Skivies — who’ll join New Ancient Astronauts and Amphibious Jones on Saturday, September 15, at Cricket on the Hill, for a three-way Denver Art Rock Collective CD-release party — are more than a novelty. The humor on Between Appliance and Apparel has a…

Black Francis, Blue Finger (Cooking Vinyl). What’s in a name? Attitude. Under the Black Francis moniker, Frank Black returns with a gritty performance reminiscent of his earliest Pixies days. Angular guitars thrash against embattled basses, angry drums, spacey harmonies and creepy organ fills, backed by edge-of-scream vocals that cover Black’s…

Portland troubadour Kelly Joe Phelps began as just another kid locked in his bedroom hacking out Led Zeppelin riffs. He eventually broke free of the confines of hard rock to study classical guitar, delve into the free-jazz movement and discover a passion for blues-centric folk. This stylistic combination and an…

The adventurousness of Kate Bush’s quirky and consistently innovative music didn’t just inspire Tori Amos’s intense, introspective songwriting. Clearly, Annie Clark, performing under the name St. Vincent, has learned a thing or two from Bush’s unique and artistically ambitious vision. Clark’s songs have an oddly nostalgic feel to them, as…

In the video for “Pretty Handsome Awkward,” an entertaining track from Lies for the Liars, the latest CD by the Used, bassist Jeph Howard dons drag — and he believes he pulls off the look pretty well. As he points out, “I think I could fit in on Santa Monica…

Like their contemporaries in U.K. Subs, who lived in the same building, the seasoned pub musicians who formed the Vibrators in 1976 brought a blues tradition to the infantile punk scene. But while the scene was highly politicized and angry, the Vibes got their kicks from sexually charged fun; tunes…

Austin-based singer-songwriter Chris Simpson, who was raised in Littleton, first came to the fore as a member of Mineral, a band whose two full-lengths, 1995’s The Power of Falling and 1998’s End Serenading, would undoubtedly hit the sweet spot of many a post-millennial modern rocker. Simpson, though, was too creatively…