Well, it’s a wrap. The nineteenth annual Westword Music Showcase Awards are now officially in the books. The Bluebird was packed, and, man, what a good time. Drinks, food, friends — what else do you need? Next to the Showcase itself, this is one of the best nights for local…
Global Dance Festival is a growing, changing phenomenon that’s taken founder Ha Hau to places he probably didn’t foresee when he found himself in an unenviable situation. In 2003, when radio station KTCL canceled Rave on the Rocks — the massive annual dance party held at Red Rocks — Hau…
I told somebody at the kitchen that I work in that it was a ‘mind-over-matter situation,'” says Caleb Tardio, talking about how his band, I Sank Molly Brown, came up with the name for its new EP, Mind Over Mothra. “She was like, ‘Did you say ‘mind over Mothra’? That’s…
For his latest release, A Color Map of the Sun, Derek Vincent Smith ventured outside the box for a unique project in which he created his own samples using handpicked instrumentalists. Here the Pretty Lights maestro explores the foundations of jazz, funk and soul, offering his own modern take using…
Connie Hong shares vocal duties in the five-piece band Reviving Cecilia, but with Ivory Circle, her solo project, she wanted to strip things down. And that’s just what she’s done here, with the help of producer and multi-instrumentalist Chris Beeble. On “Pretend,” the opening cut of Ivory Circle’s five-song debut…
On his latest album as Ancient Mith, Braden Smith has more fully integrated the synthesizer and the noisier end of his beats than he did on previous efforts. “They’ll Always Call at Nine” has the same stark but spine-tingling sound that Wendy Carlos used in her compositions for the Clockwork…
A note of confrontation underlies Bad Brad & the Fat Cats’ latest release, Eyes on the Prize. Brad Stivers kicks off the finger-pointing on “Payin’ My Dues,” the album’s first track: “How does it feel to be stuck?” he challenges as the band plays a standard blues shuffle. “You kept…
Along with booze and a bowl, a metalhead’s favorite pastime is arguing about all things metal — the who, what, where, when, why and how something is the best of the best. These arguments typically end with broken teeth, bloody noses, fat lips and a cold can of beer on…
PETER MURPHY @ SUMMIT MUSIC HALL | 7/16/13 Near the end of his set last night, Peter Murphy paused a moment as the last echo of “She’s In Parties” rang out and the repetitive yet urgent bass line for “Stigmata Martyr” rolled in for a measure or two. Then the…
Mudhoney formed around the same time as Sub Pop, the record label its sound became synonymous with; Mark Arm and Steve Turner had recently left Green River and teamed up with former Bundle of Hiss drummer Dan Peters and ex-Melvins bassist Matt Lukin. The band crafted an exhilarating and influential…
Music is life — or at least it is for us. When we’re not writing about it, we’re thinking about it, talking about it or listening to it. These are the things that were in heavy rotation for us this week. What are you listening to? What should we be…
This Wednesday, July 17, we’ll be hosting the nineteenth annual Westword Showcase Awards at the Bluebird Theater. The votes have all been tallied, and tomorrow night, we’ll be announcing the winners and handing out the awards. Following a VIP reception for nominees (shoot us an email if you’re nominated and…
The Hate has changed its name to Wiredogs. Since we last heard from the band, the guys have been hard at work on a new EP, which is slated for release sometime this fall. The Resistance, which was recorded at Black in Bluhm by Chris Fogal, is even more aggressive…
You awkwardly danced to “End of the Road” at your middle-school dances. You sang along to “I’ll Make Love to You” on the radio, even if you didn’t fully understand the subject matter. “Motownphilly” will always be back again. After taking a break for several years, the Boyz behind these…
Along with having a killer set of pipes, the best frontman can simultaneously stand at his pulpit on stage, engage with the crowds, rage and conduct the flow of the show. Decisive, commanding and blunt, these men are the alpha males of alpha males, the kings of kingpins and, like…
Passion Pit, still touring on the strength of last year’s Gossamer, is making its way back to the 1STBANK Center on Tuesday, October 15, for a show with the Joy Formidable. General-admission tickets ($29.75-$36.50) go on sale this Friday, July 19, at 10 a.m. Keep reading for more on the…
We’ve got some sad news to share with you this morning: Tanner Seebaum, the sixteen-year-old DJ we told you about last month who was battling brain cancer, passed away this past Friday, July 12. As you might remember, a number of Denver dubstep icons stepped up to support the young…
SAVOY @ RED ROCKS, MAIN STAGE | SAT, 7/20/13 Savoy’s laser show is now one of the most acclaimed in the country, and that’s just the visual element. The acts sound, which draw influence from dubstep, trap, house and electro, is equally as compelling, and the group’s live act offers…
Melvins have been an influence on some of the most sonically forward-thinking rock bands and other musical experimentalists of the last three decades. Impossible to consistently pigeonhole as simply punk, or metal, or even rock, Melvins have set a high bar for integrity, both as a live band and as…
MELVINS @ SUMMIT MUSIC HALL | MON, 7/15/13 Since 1983, the Melvins have been perfecting their brand of influential rock, inspired in part by punk and in part by the music Buzz Osborne and Dale Crover grew up hearing as kids in the ’60s and ’70s. With the Melvins, the…
Peter Murphy co-founded the influential post-punk band Bauhaus in 1978 with Daniel Ash, David J and Kevin Haskins. Over the course of four full-length albums, Murphy and company creating an experience of heightened reality with its music that broke from convention, not just sonically but with lyrics informed by the…
DAVID BYRNE & ST. VINCENT @ DENVER BOTANIC GARDENS | 7/13/12 When Annie Clark noted how the first time she had heard David Byrne’s music was when she saw Revenge of the Nerds, we thought we knew what was coming next. Instead, though, Clark played “Cruel,” one of her own…
