Far too many musicians are scared to death of “What the hell?” moments — those times when a song’s sudden shift into unexpected territory leaves listeners puzzled and slack-jawed, for good or ill. In contrast, Gary Cobain and Brian Dougans thrive on such reactions. Since the early ’90s, the electro-obsessed…
Don’t believe the hype. Chuck and Flava said that back in the day, and how right they were. Losing your virginity: overrated. Lord of the Rings: whatever. Hockey: Don’t even get me started. And this admonition is particularly useful when considering music. I mean, the Von Bondies? C’mon. Still, every…
Otis Taylor Double V (Telarc) From a songwriting perspective, Otis Taylor, who joins Taj Mahal at the Boulder Theater on Monday, April 26, has been astonishingly prolific; he’s cranked out a CD’s worth of original material each year since 2001. Double V features another slew of Taylor ready-mades, but with…
Dark Star Orchestra Thursday, April 22, Boulder Theater, 303-786-7030; Friday, April 23, and Saturday, April 24, Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom, 303-297-1772. Crank up the Waybac machine, Sherman, ’cause Mr. Peabody needs to take another long, strange trip to catch the Dead, back when they were still Grateful. Maybe we should trip…
Some people prefer their beer in a can, while others wouldn’t touch the stuff and keep a plastic-ringed six-pack on hand just for visitors they don’t much like. But both of these groups keep showing up for .38 Special concerts, which could be why the Southern-fried band that’s been the…
Tons of bands shine on CD but lack luster (not to mention lust) when thrown on a stage. With Curious Yellow, it’s the opposite: The group’s 2003 debut EP, 1-2-3 Go Go Go, in no way preps you for the piercing incandescence of its live show. The disc’s five songs…
Few would expect frustration to be the catapult responsible for launching the career of an international DJ. Nevertheless, after continued disappointment with the musical segregation common in clubland, the stars finally aligned themselves for the entrance of New York City’s premier gender illusionist, Miss Honey Dijon. Showing no fear of…
“Sweet Emotion” isn’t a song you would generally associate with a Caribbean cafe, yet that’s what’s playing this night at Rhumba, 950 Pearl Street in Boulder. The bar’s cramped and crowded, so some patrons are braving the cold and sitting at tables outside. The temperature out there is far from…
For Tunde Adebimpe, frontman for the intriguingly contradictory act TV on the Radio, the last couple of years have been like an extended version of Opposites Day. He trained to be a visual artist, but now he works mainly with audio. He thought of music as a hobby, but it’s…
If you want to make a change, then you should vote,” says Rock the Vote spokesman Paul van Dyk from his home in Berlin. “If you want to prevent that other people make a change, then you should vote as well. I’m not telling anyone what to vote. I’m telling…
Ever seen a fat, balding, bearded guy crowd-surfing on a queen-sized mattress? How about kissing random men full on the mouth while plastered in a sweaty polyester jogging suit? No? Then you’ve never seen Les Savy Fav. Over the past nine years, this Brooklyn quartet has hauled post-punk and art…
Richie Hawtin has a grip of gear at his fingertips: turntables, computers, effects processors, drum machines, customized mixers, software programs, keyboards and scratch amps. And ten years into his skanking, cartoon-martian alter ego’s recording career, he’s a certified expert at twiddling every knob. But there is one particular instrument that…
Much will be made of the fact that Iron & Wine’s latest record for Sub Pop, Our Endless Numbered Days, was recorded in a real studio (Chicago’s Engine Studios) with a real producer (Brian Deck, whose credits include Modest Mouse, Lois, the Sea and Cake, among others). But don’t let…
Even dudes into orchestras love the ladies. It’s no wonder that marketing mavens trying to peddle classical music to audiences accustomed to guzzling pop have found success in selling various aspects of femininity, from purity personified (Charlotte Church) to sexuality magnified (ultra-hot violinist Vanessa-Mae and Bond, a U.K. string quartet…
The Misplaced Destruction Upon Us (Self-released) According to punk rock in England in the early ’80s, the world was about to face the Apocalypse. Prodded by the collapse of punk’s chart popularity and the rise of arch-conservative Margaret Thatcher, tons of groups ditched the pop leanings of Sham 69 and…
Roll call at Denver City Council on Monday, April 5. Charlie Brown. Check. Jeanne Faatz, Rick Garcia, Michael Hancock. Check. Doug Linkhart, Kathleen MacKenzie, Judy Montero. Check. Rosemary Rodriguez, Elbra Wedgeworth and the Dalhart Imperials. Check. What the — ? The Dalhart Imperials? Yessir. Among those present and accounted for…
An Albatross Friday, April 16, hi-dive, 720-570-4500. Getting naked and unconscious on stage is as played out as Jim Morrison. And ever since the rise of bands like the Locust and Black Eyes, so is mincing spazz-core and Tourette’s-addled electronics. Why, then, does the music of An Albatross feel as…
Everything’s bigger in Texas, which explains why 1989’s “What I Am,” by Lone Star denizens Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians, was played ad nauseam back then and still echoes on radio waves today. But Brickell’s subsequent creative output has been so on and off, you’d think she was attached…
In the early ’70s, when Funkadelic decried gluteal oppression with their smash hit “Free Your Mind…And Your Ass Will Follow,” bumpers and grinders the world over realized the unlimited possibilities between mind and body. And behind every subsequent jig lurked a booty-addled alchemist like Dr. Funkenstein in the wings, beaker…
If good things really do come in small packages, then it’s no surprise that DJ Micro’s offerings are considered the best of the lot. Born Michael Marsicano, the Long Island native has been helping give East Coast music fans a buzz since 1992. One of the original residents of the…
Ever wish there was a bit more SoHo in your LoDo? Flow Lounge, in the lobby of the Luna Hotel, at 1612 Wazee Street, is a unique and upscale urban oasis in the midst of lower downtown’s more sports- and college-oriented venues. Illuminated by steady streams of a gradually changing…
Randall Frazier calls the music of Orbit Service a “soundtrack for a dying world.” But as the band’s frontman and founding member, Frazier isn’t your typical gloomy Gus. When he was a teenage goth, for example, bouncing between psych wards in Eastern Texas and Denver, suffering from auditory hallucinations and…
