Concerts

Flying Lotus swooped into Two AM Afterhours absolutely beaming after his set at Red Rocks on Saturday night and absolutely tore it down, setting a new precedence for incredible, wordlessly. He let the music do most of the talking without much toasting to the crowd from the microphone. In a…

Last night, Lorin Ashton (aka Bassnectar) brought his massive production to Red Rocks Amphitheatre for night one of the bass-infused mayhem. Backbeat’s own Britt Chester (who was also commissioned by the Bassnectar camp to document the evening) was on-hand for the festivities and brought back these photos from the night…

There’s some ridiculous talent in town, including Bassnectar at Red Rocks, Julius Papp at Bar Standard, and there’s also some dope parties, including the inaugural Full Moon Gathering of 2012, an underground camping blowout, and more. Page down for the weekend’s best dancing and nightlife bets…

A collaboration between Duane Taylor, Francois Baptiste and Alvin LaCabe of 3Deep and Kevin Kain Ent., Soiree is the brainchild of three of the city’s top promoters and Bar Standard’s latest Saturday night party. Judging from last week’s packed patio opening, the results thus far are impressive. The launch of…

Update (6/1/12): We’ve received word that services for Jerry Krantz will be held next week on Thursday, June 7 at 10 a.m. at St Catherine of Siena Catholic Church at 4200 Federal Boulevard, followed by an interment at Ft. Logan National Cemetery at 12:30 p.m. in area “B.” Jerry Krantz’s…

BON IVER @ RED ROCKS AMPHITHEATRE | 5.31.12 Flanked by talented multi-instrumentalists and standing in front of two drummers, both of whom played kits so sprawling they resembled Neil Peart’s smaller setups in the ’70s, Bon Iver compelled the packed Red Rocks crowd with songs from across its powerful catalog…

Prime Element is hitting the road this week, bringing its classic Colorado hip-hop style to the rest of the country. This Friday, the group joins Sweatshop Union for several dates as it kicks off its summer tour in Boise, Idaho, and then throughout the rest of the summer, beginning with…

Lipgloss is changing locations. After an award-winning, eight-year run at La Rumba, one of Denver’s longest-running dance nights is on the move from the Golden Triangle to Capitol Hill, where it will land at Beauty Bar.This Friday, June 1, will be your last chance to experience Lipgloss as you’ve known…

Welcome to round seven of this year’s VIP upgrade contest for the Westword Music Showcase — June 23 in the Golden Triangle — in which we’ll give two people VIP upgrades (totaling $150) for the festival each week leading up the show. Read on to find out how to play…

JANE’S ADDICTION @ FILLMORE AUDITORIUM | 5/29/12 Before closing out an hour-and-a-half long set last night, Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell told a packed Fillmore Auditorium: “I read a review of this tour. It was not good. It said, and I say verbatim, ‘Jane’s Addiction has no reason for existing…

SANTIGOLD @ OGDEN THEATRE | 5.29.12 Last night at the Ogden, there were horses and what looked like buffalo skins, elaborate umbrellas and a rhythm-perfect band dressed in…we don’t know what. There were striking red, blue and green lights, with plenty of space for Santigold to emerge, flanked by two…

THE SHINS @ RED ROCKS AMPHITHEATRE | 5/29/12 Fewer than thirty seconds into their set and the Shins already needed a do-over. Playing Red Rocks could make any band nervous, but its grip is especially tight on one for whom U2 were gods growing up and for whom “this Red…

Tim O’Brien, Dakota Blonde, Nick and Helen Forster and Dick Weissman performed on Saturday night at the L2 Arts and Culture Center as part of the Denver Folklore Center’s fiftieth anniversary, a weekend-long celebration that began on Friday and culminated with a concert at Four Mile Historic Park on Sunday…

There’s something about a dancing robot that cuts right through our collective cynicism and makes us laugh. The costume made from a refrigerator box, some tin foil and a few cans of spray paint, with arms made from dryer ventilation tubes. But while making a robot costume is easy to…

LMFAO @ RED ROCKS AMPHITHEATRE | 5.28.12 The long climb up the stairs at Red Rocks seems even longer when those stairs are littered with party rockers, all of whom seem too tired to trudge onward — or, as was the case with one particularly fascinating man, unable to bring…

The members of Fingers of the Sun love to push themselves. “The fun is in the challenge of utilizing everybody’s instrument without making it excessive,” says Suzi Allegra, one half of the songwriting team for the band. “It takes thinking more like an orchestrator,” agrees Nathan Brasil, the other half…

A few years back, a promising act called Makeout Point put out a couple of noteworthy releases that evoked a fascinating combination of Throwing Muses and Fire Party. Unfortunately, that group parted ways in early 2011, before it could really capitalize on the hints of greatness in the handful of…

When Bon Iver won a Grammy for Best New Artist earlier this year, most people who bothered to watch the awards ceremony had probably never heard of the band. But for the past six years, Justin Vernon has been touring and releasing albums with a small group of collaborators. Bon…

Occasionally relaxed but never repressed, London techtronica duo Simian Mobile Disco has existed outside of the mainstream since the moment its members pressed fingers to buttons. This is precisely where they want to be: Annoyed by aggro-electro and fascinated by the potential of technology, James Ford and Jas Shaw issued…

Lorin Ashton knows exactly what it means to put on an earth-shattering show. Every performance Bassnectar delivers is unforgettable, something heavenly, something deep. Accompanied by his own top-of-the-line sound system, Bassnectar reaches into the depths of all musical genres and pulls out only the finest pieces to display. It’s more…

Over the course of 21 releases since its inception in 2001, Brooklyn’s Japanther has evolved its hybrid of noise rock, punk and garage rock into a mutant form of music all its own. Throw in the performance-art aspect of Japanther’s shows, and you have a unique live experience often only…