Concerts

Last year we played this show at the Roxy,” remembers Taylor Kirgan, singer/guitarist of Ascaris. “We played with three hip-hop groups that night. We were the only band with amps; everyone else was up there with turntables and laptops. We opened up that show with full stacks. At the end…

Two decades ago, a buddy and I were eating burritos on the patio of a place in downtown Isla Vista, California, home of the University of California’s Santa Barbara campus, when a sixty-something guy started chatting us up. His cheeks were leathery, and his hair, bushy eyebrows and beard were…

After Boulder’s melodically atonal Mansfield Ghost broke up, it was entirely possible that the band’s unique guitar sound would follow it into the annals of local music. Fortunately, two thirds of Mansfield went on to form the decidedly noisier and more beautifully abrasive Gangcharger (due at the hi-dive on Friday,…

Funny, sexy and slightly insane, Princess Superstar is unquestionably a distinctive talent. As a recording artist, she takes a clever and far-out approach that mashes hip-hop, pop and electro into funky, overtly sexual and hilarious anthems such as “Bad Babysitter,” with its lyrics about sending the kids to bed so…

After fronting the Fort Collins-based indie-rock band the Jimi Austin for three and a half years, Chris Anderson was at a bit of a crossroads. Drummer Shane Zweygardt and guitarist Ian Haygood were pushing for more of a progressive dance-rock sound, while Anderson wanted to explore mellower songwriting. Before Anderson’s…

In an era when genuine political dissent has been considered treason — or, at the very least, seditious — it’s entirely appropriate that a punk band would form under the moniker Witch Hunt. Hailing from Philadelphia, this foursome plays the kind of raw, socially conscious punk that usually gets the…

Phoenix, appearing with Amazing Baby, is generating a buzz nearly a decade in the making. The electro-tinged French group, whose lineage has links to both Air and Daft Punk, released United, its diverting Astralwerks Records debut, back in 2000 — and the imprint issued two more impressive long-players, 2004’s Alphabetical…

Dan Hicks is one of those artists you’re pretty sure was never in it for the money. It’s not that he doesn’t take his craft seriously; it’s just that his formula — a combination of just about everything under the sun — is a guarantee for cult status. In that…

The Fat Possum Records aesthetic, whether it pertains to rock groups like the Black Keys or blues artists à la R.L. Burnside, champions primitivism over polish and rawness over refinement — which is why the music of Crocodiles (on this bill with White Rabbits) belongs in the imprint’s catalogue. Guitarist…

Experimental pop-folk songwriter Luke Temple has released a short string of critically acclaimed albums and even had one of his songs featured in an episode of Grey’s Anatomy. Within the last year, Temple put together a band called Here We Go Magic to perform his songs and release an album…

Patrick Meese’s friendship with Isaac Slade was handy from a getting-noticed standpoint. But now that Meese’s namesake band is receiving the major-label-release treatment, Broadcast will undoubtedly be viewed through a Fray-ed prism — and that brings minuses along with pluses. Heavily pianistic tracks like “Taking the World On” and, especially,…

Otis Taylor’s tenth album (issued locally this Thursday, June 25, at the Toad Tavern, in the company of John-Alex Mason) explores more love and its myriad aspects across thirteen tracks than most songwriters have or will in an entire career. And he does so with the soulful and colorful storytelling…

In the press release that accompanies Weapon of Choice, Dangerous Nonsense lists one influence: human rights. Accordingly, it’s clear the trio prizes social consciousness as highly as it does musical prowess. Many well-meaning bands, of course, have been hamstrung by giving their politics and their music equal billing; thankfully, Dangerous…

Every time legendary North Carolina-based blues guitarist Steady Rollin’ Bob Margolin comes to Colorado, he has the Delta Sonics back him up. Margolin, a former Muddy Waters sideman, knows a hell of a lot about Chicago-style blues, and he probably uses the Delta Sonics because they’re deft at the style…

Post-punk is supposed to have a sharp, concise edge to it — but I Sank Molly Brown ushers the genre down meandering byways littered with warbling vocals, wobbly rhythms and weird cul-de-sacs of dissonance and dynamics. And then, of course, there’s the humor; named after one of Denver’s most hallowed…

Just in case you’re interested — and we’re assuming this applies to just about everybody, as generally it seems you’re pretty hard pressed to find anybody who hasn’t swooned over her music at some point — NPR is streaming Björk’s latest effort, Votaic, in its entirety before its release next…

And the award for the most unfortunately named release of the year goes to… drum roll, please … Rhino Records. Just under a month after the crushing elimination of our Denver Nuggets from the NBA Western Conference Finals, comes word of a box set being issued by the folks at…

So, it looks like our favorite singer-songwriter, Danielle Ate the Sandwich, has become everybody else’s favorite, after all. Ms. Sandwich (or Ms. Anderson, if you prefer formality), appearing this Friday, June 26, on the Meadowlark patio, has garnered invitations to perform at the upcoming UMS and Monolith festivals, and was…

Last month, ManeLine was the first hip-hop act to hit Channel 2 The Deuce’s Guitar Center Stage and now we’re getting an encore tonight. The group’s first appearance was early the morning while people were getting up and getting ready for work, but Mane Rok, Inkline and DJ tense have…

Update: Well, that was short lived. Scotty Ramone has officially been retired, and Magic Cyclops has returned to compete tonight in… Seattle! After crushing defeats in Denver and Fort Collins, the Magic one somehow raised enough loot to take a road trip to the Emerald City to make one more…

If you’re available tonight around 8 p.m., Beta Nightclub (1909 Blake St) will be hosting the Red Bull Big Tune Beat Battle, a hip-hop producer head-to-head competition. The event, which is a premier national hip-hop event, will be hosted by well-renowned rapper/producers Exile and Black Milk.Twelve Colorado and regional hip-hop…