Concerts

In the world of heavy metal, lead singers are as indispensible as riffs and distortion–that is, except for when they get used up and thrown away like yesterday’s drumsticks. While frontmen are the face and voice of many bands, they seem particularly prone to quitting, dying or getting fired, leaving…

Calm has been quietly putting in major work between touring overseas and recording its latest album, Anti-Smiles. One-half of the group, Time, released his solo album, Naked Dinner, last month and is on the road again in Texas and Arizona pushing that effort. One of the songs off the record,…

The fine folks at Basslab are offering a free workshop on the popular DJ/production/performance software suite Ableton Live at 6:30 p.m. Friday, August 14 in the Beta VIP lounge. Three twenty-minute sessions dedicated to using Live for the specific tasks of DJing, producing tracks and mixing down will be followed…

Ever wonder what a languid version of “Don’t Trust Me” would sound like drained of its vitality with completely earnest, singer-songwriter styled vocals? Actually, if you’ve ever wondered what 3OH!3 would sound like hopped up on tranquilizers and stripped of its hyperactive delivery and ever present smirk and recast as…

Yo! Raps Magazine must really have their ear to the street, or they’re just awfully prescient. This morning the site posted a Q&A with the Starting Five in their Next 2 Blow section. Starting Five? Next 2 Blow? Scratching your head? Don’t feel bad if you haven’t heard of these…

You know how they say everybody’s a DJ these days? Based on the number of self-produced recordings we receive each week, the same can be said of recording engineers, too. These days, it seems, everybody also has a recording studio, thanks to the proliferation of cheap recording gear. Problem is,…

Yep. You read that right. The ladies of Hemi Cuda, another storied Denver band that’s been around for more than a dozen years, are hanging up their hot pants and heels for good. Although the act hasn’t announced when its final show will be, when it appears at Bender’s Tavern…

The folks at 3 Kings Tavern are in the process of updating their jukebox and they need your help. They’re creating a couple of mix CDs based around the timeless subjects of weed and pinball, and they’re soliciting input on what to include. The request includes the plea to, “Please…

Warped Tour Invesco Field at Mile High August 9, 2009 Fifteen years down the line, the Warped Tour, which took over the asphalt surrounding Invesco Field on Sunday, has a well-established formula: lots of bands (around seventy in Denver), most of them falling into the pop-punk or post-punk categories, on…

Houses, Snake Rattle Rattle Snake, Joseph Pope III Friday, August 7, 2009 Meadowlark Better than: The other performances I’ve seen from the same three acts. Houses’ schedule has been demanding lately. The group’s ambitious goal for the year — to release four separate EPs, each bearing the name of a…

Kings of Leon, The Whigs Sunday, August 9, 2009 Red Rocks Better than: Listening to generic music on the radio. I had no problems with the delivery. The Kings of Leon’s set at Red Rocks on Sunday didn’t suffer from any bum notes, off chords or flubbed lyrics. The quartet…

Although Mardi Gras festivities usually happen in February or March in New Orleans, there’s a chance Red Rocks might get soaked in a Bourbon Street vibe when some of the Crescent City’s finest musicians take over the venue tomorrow, August 8 as part of the Mountainside Mardi Gras Music Festival…

All right, as if there wasn’t already enough going on this weekend to entertain you, what with the Dancin’ In the Streets Festival, the Warped Tour, the Mile High Blues Festival, the Mardi Gras Music Festival, Kings of Leon at the Rocks and the Houses EP release party tonight, here’s…

Rock the Bells 2009 Red Rocks Amphitheatre Thursday, August 6, 2009 Better than: ringtone rap, anything associated with Auto-Tune or listening to the self-proclaimed newly anointed “King of Pop,” Kanye West, talk about himself endlessly. Since 2003, Rock the Bells has been the premier hip-hop festival to showcase rap music…

After four albums, extensive touring and a decade together, Zebra Junction, who just took home honors at this year’s Westword Music Showcase awards, will be playing its last show tonight in Golden at Parfet Park. Although the members intend to continue to collaborate and record music with one another, there’s…

Apparently, it’s never too early to be thinking about Christmas. At least, not if you’re in boozy, hard-rocking outfits such as HOSS or Supersuckers. Those two bands just dropped a limited-edition, split 10″ vinyl on July 30 to celebrate Christmas in July. The record features two songs each from the…

After rocking with folks like Nas, Reflection Eternal, Damian Marley and a host of other legendary hip-hop artists at the Rock the Bells concert tonight, be sure to make a stop at Mario’s Double Daughter Salotto (1632 Market Street) for the Beat Cave, an event showcasing the state’s hottest hip-hop…

Last time we checked, there’s still a good four months left until the end of the year. Regardless, that hasn’t stopped Bob Boilen and company from NPR’s All Songs Considered from weighing in on the best music of 2009 (so far). Actually, check that — the results, which were posted…

We’d just grabbed a table in the back of BJ’s Carousel (1380 South Broadway) when a drag queen sitting right in front of us and wearing a lot of turquoise-and-silver jewelry turned around in her seat and asked, “Are you here for the show, or did you just stumble in…

Whether on the world stage or local stages, having been in a moderately popular band can have its disadvantages. Some will immediately discount what you do as a clone of your other projects, while others will expect you to stick to your so-called roots. That’s why the heady, dark and…