The best concerts in Denver this week

TUES | MANOWAR at OGDEN THEATRE | 2/18/14 Manowar is powered by lyrics crowned in fantasy-flamed swords, armor, and everything having to do with metal warfare clashing into Norse mythology. Eric Adams’s powerful vocals are steeped in wordy wizardry that really drives home the aggressive themes. “Man o’ War” was…

Morrissey at Ellie Caulkins Opera House May 17

After teasing Denver with a couple of dates that were eventually scrapped altogether due to health issues on his part, Morrissey is finally slated to make his way to the Mile High City for what will surely be a highly anticipated show at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House on Saturday,…

Pixies at Fillmore Auditorium, 2/13/14

PIXIES at FILLMORE AUDITORIUM | 2/13/14 Like the Ramones, the Pixies took stage and had little in the way of breaks between songs. There was no banter, no awkward joking and no meandering dialogue while anyone tuned or tried to read a set list. The only interruptions came when the…

The best concerts in Denver this weekend

FRI & SAT | DEVOTCHKA at MERCURY CAFE | 2/14-2/15 DeVotchKa is for lovers. So is Valentine’s Day. An absolutely ideal pairing, the two have been making beautiful music together for years, and the former is celebrating the latter with a three-day run, the second night of which is slated…

The best EDM in Denver this weekend

FRI | WINTER WARMER FESTIVAL at FILLMORE | 2/14/14 Since dropping his debut solo album Dreaming of a Bigger Life, Michal Menert has been steadily touring the country building a grassroots following in the same way Derek Vincent Smith of Pretty Lights did when he first hit the scene. Menert…

Artist Drowning

Artist Drowning doesn’t stick to one kind of sound or formula on Driving Home In Reverse, the debut studio album from the Boulder-based indie-rock outfit. That diversity is for the best, considering that the record weighs in at an ambitious nineteen tracks, which include understated instrumentals like “Darkness Coming” as…

The Hayward Strangers

While the Hayward Strangers have a few high-octane foot-stomping bluegrass cuts, like “Drinkin’ Ain’t Hard to Do” and “Standing in the Kitchen,” on their fifteen-song debut, Making Ground, it’s fairly clear elsewhere on the disc that the six-piece isn’t solely a bluegrass act. Sure, these folks have an affinity for…

Project Aspect

On Hyperspace, Jay Jaramillo’s fourth 1320 release as Project Aspect, he keeps things pretty status quo. On “The Beat Drops,” which features fellow Mile High Sound Movement member Kruza Kid and Boss Miller, the vocals are chopped and repeated until, well, the drop. Some of the tracks seem a little…

Paw Paw

“Fox,” the opening track on Paw Paw’s new three-song EP, 3 Eye, immediately separates this release from the band’s 2012 album, Lay Down In the Flower Bed. Whereas that effort was bright and glistening with luminous, uplifting tones, these songs are darker and more organic. They’re the next step in…

Brian Blade journeys through Landmarks with the Fellowship Band

On every album that drummer Brian Blade has made with his group the Fellowship Band, from the act’s 1998 self-titled debut to its forthcoming release Landmarks, there’s a cohesive group sound that’s immediately recognizable. “I have to attribute that evolving oneness to everyone in the band,” Blade says. “I’m thankful…

Paul Simon and Sting at Pepsi Center, 2/11/14

PAUL SIMON & STING at PEPSI CENTER | 2/11/14 When Paul Simon and Sting took the stage together, they were each accompanied by their full bands, which often appeared on the stage with them at the same time throughout the set, working together to create an even more lush and…

Lotus at Fillmore Auditorium, 2/8/14

Taking jazzy grooves and elevating them to frenzied funk levels through samples, synths and heavily textured percussion, Lotus played two sets of high energy dance to the younger skewed crowd Saturday night. Though no surprise MCs showed up to perform any songs off the act’s latest hip hop release, Monks,…

The best concerts in Denver this week

TUES | STING & PAUL SIMON at PEPSI CENTER | 2/11/14 Sting and Paul Simon have had a hand in producing some of the most memorable pop and rock songs of the past four decades (five, in Simon’s case). Sting, of course, was the lead singer of the Police, but…