It was one of my first days working at Wax Trax, and I was talking to Duane Davis,” recalls Jimmi Nasi. “It was a slow moment, and I just said something about liking Journey, and he pretty much fell off his stool laughing. Then he said, ‘That is the first…
If writing only one kind of song were a crime, Eldren (due this Friday, October 19, at the hi-dive) would be innocent of all charges. By design and inclination, these guys have a broad palette of instrumentation and sounds to use in the songs they write and the shows they…
Although considered by many to be a hip-hop producer, Steven Ellison has displayed musical and artistic ambitions that are clearly not confined to a narrow range of classification. Drawing inspiration from the late hip-hop genius J Dilla, Ellison, under the moniker Flying Lotus, has likewise brought considerable imagination and a…
Formed in Sydney, Australia, in 1977, Crime and the City Solution was one of the seminal post-punk bands of the era. Upon moving to Melbourne in 1978, the band and its leader, Simon Bonney, befriended like-minded souls the Boys Next Door (later called the Birthday Party) and had an impact…
When the Deftones came storming onto the scene in the mid-’90s, they were initially filed in with the much-maligned so-called nu-metal scene. A broad, all-encompassing term that applied to any metal act blending disparate elements into its music, nu metal proved to be an albatross for the Deftones, as it…
New York’s Freelance Whales is another big, bustling band that collects instruments like kids used to collect Pokémon cards, then deploys them in ebullient arrangements of soaring indie pop. Before the group unleashed its 2009 debut, Weathervanes, on the world, it tuned up by busking at subway stations, making for…
Somewhere between soul, hip-hop, jazz and funk lies Ten Pound Elephant’s self-titled EP, five tracks that stand alone as complete, diverse and distinct pieces, but that also hold together to an extent. Ten Pound Elephant’s sound is characterized by idiosyncratic funk guitar, smooth sax and tight, straight-ahead drums. The instrumentation…
A record to brighten up even the cloudiest of days, the debut from Denver’s latest orchestral rock collective, Mega Gem, is a hyper collection of anthemic melodies and ascending choruses. The band, which boasts an ever-fluctuating roster of seven to twenty members (including guest spots by Princess Music’s Tyler Ludwick…
Danielle Anderson (aka Danielle Ate the Sandwich) has said that a lot of her music is really bright and dreamy and whimsical; take a look at pretty much any of the singer-songwriter’s YouTube videos, and you’ll see a cute, bubbly gal having a lot of fun singing and playing her…
The immediate reference points for the latest Wind Does release are films like Monsters, The Mist and Begotten — something that evokes the sound of the clash between the everyday world and some other realm, mythological or otherwise extraterrestrial, where the two vibe off each other on some level below…
The term “weird” can have many connotations. You can call someone who prefers to eat the same meal at the same time every day weird, or you can use the word to describe a kid who talks to dead people. Weird’s a many-faceted adjective. “I used to try to invent…
There are a lot of reasons to be happy that Christian Martin started attending the legendary full-moon desert parties thrown by Moontribe in Southern California in 1995 — one of which manifested itself here in Denver this past July: Martin turned his younger brother, the illustrious Justin Martin, on to electronic…
SMASHING PUMPKINS @ 1STBANK CENTER | 10/16/12 “So, for those of you who are insiders into our multi-faceted world, you know that we’re playing our album first tonight, Oceania,” Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan told the crowd at 1STBANK Center on Tuesday night. “And then, if I’m in the mood…I…
SSION @ LARIMER LOUNGE | 10/16/12 SSION’s Cody Critcheloe has this ability to bring out the teenage idolatry in his audience; from the clothes to the attitude, there’s an energetic desire from his followers to be just like whatever incarnation of himself Critcheloe is wearing at that moment in time…
NEIL HALSTEAD / TENNIS @ eTown Hall | 10/16/12 For the end of the Tennis and Neil Halstead eTown show, host Nick Forster and co-host Helen Forster came on stage with both acts. Forster told us they had all learned a song that seemed appropriate for the occasion, and with…
YELAWOLF @ BLUEBIRD THEATER | 10/16/12 “If you’re over 21, make some noise!…. And if you’re under 21 but you’re still getting fucked up, MAKE SOME NOIIIIIIISE!” implored one Mr. Michael Wayne Atha, otherwise known as Yelawolf, the hip-hop pied piper of a younger, mostly male crowd, who would later,…
Just two years in, Beauty Bar has become one of the premier homes for vinyl geeks looking to have their aficionado minds blown by one local wizard of wax or another, curating nights of Brit pop, Motown or vintage hip-hop. Tomorrow night, Beauty Bar will play host to yet another…
DINOSAUR JR @ BLUEBIRD THEATER | 10/15/12 In a show full of strong performances, one of the biggest surprises came when, toward the end of the set, Lou Barlow said that he and J Mascis had been in a band called Deep Wound. “We played the Ramones at triple speed,”…
A$AP ROCKY @ OGDEN THEATRE | 10/16/12 A$AP Rocky walked onto the stage with his crew in tow, ski mask over his face, looking like some radical of ill repute. Odd Future and Pro-Era have pulled the same stunt, only more effectively. The rapper invigorated the Ogden immediately with overwhelming…
The hi-dive is in the process of changing hands. Rest easy, though: We know the new owners, and we like them. A lot. And trust us, so do you. Like the place they’re taking over, these dudes and their investors have got plenty of history in the scene, from playing…
This past weekend, Hoot and Howl, which recently opened in the former Twisted Olive space in Northfield Stapleton, celebrated its grand opening with performances by Lola Black, Scarlet Canary and Midnight Roulette. While the spot is a restaurant, it will also host live local music, open mike nights and karaoke…
East Colfax around closing time on a Saturday night — can you think of a more compelling scene? Neither can we, which is why we sent our intrepid photographer Christopher Morgan out to capture the faces and places that keep the ‘Fax rocking, from Sancho’s Broken Arrow and Streets of…
