Photos: Mother Nature sends snow on Earth Day

Mother Nature had a little fun with Earth Day yesterday. As environmental and community groups organized an Earth Day celebration at the Wellington Webb Building in Civic Center yesterday, snow fell around the event, which had been set up inside for that very reason. Westword photographer Danielle Lirette stepped out…

Photos: Hoodlab’s Extravaganja celebration lights up 4/20 weekend

While people puffed and passed in public and private this weekend, the Extravaganja (say that five times fast — without giggling) party lit up the Hoodlab over the weekend with a performance from Raekwon himself on Friday evening. Continue reading for scenes from the 4-20-friendly celebration, and visit our full…

Photos: The people, dogs and joints of 4/20 in Civic Center

This weekend’s 4/20 celebration, which was marked by a shooting that left three people injured, gathered tens of thousands of marijuana enthusiasts together in Civic Center Park. Before the two-day party in the park was cut down to one this year, photographer Brandon Marshall captured these scenes of Coloradans participating…

The Queen is dead; long live Nick’s Diner

For decades the Breakfast Queen was a greasy-spoon landmark at 3743 Federal Boulevard. But earlier this month it was transformed into Nick’s Diner, where Nick Mikelis and crew serve an extensive menu of Mexican, Greek and American diner fare to a growing number of Federal foodie fans. Westword’s Danielle Lirette…

The ten best concerts in Denver this week

JOE BONAMASSA @ BELLCO THEATRE | TUES, 4/23/13 Joe Bonamassa is a nouveau bluesman who favors a hybrid blues-rock sound that employs simple song structures and puts the emphasis on powerful fretwork, an approach that nods to a distinctive era of the 1960s, when British players such as John Mayall,…

The twelve best concerts in Denver this weekend

LUCERO @ BLUEBIRD THEATER | THURS, 4/18/13 Outside of perhaps the Hold Steady — which shares a proclivity for Bruce Springsteen — nobody plays straight-up rock these days as convincingly as Lucero. Led by Ben Nichols’s gravelly croak, Lucero borrows liberally from the Boss and Lynyrd Skynyrd on songs with…

Win tickets to Wanderlust at Copper Mountain! (updated with winners)

Update: Congratulations to amyreannie and caseyvg! You’ve each won two tickets to Wanderlust. Check your email for details on how to claim them. Original post: Despite today’s weather, the season of wanderlust is on its way, and with summer comes the big-W Wanderlust festival at Copper Mountain. The annual event…

Plans to open Cold Crush this weekend get crushed

Anyone who’s created a restaurant can tell you that there are many obstacles along the way to the actual opening. And that’s something the folks behind Cold Crush — a new spot going into 2700 Larimer Street in the hot, hot Ballpark neighborhood — are rapidly learning. Their plans to…

Update: Stan Lee will not be appearing at Denver Comic Con

Update: Sad news, everyone. Stan Lee announced this morning that he will not be returning to Denver for this year’s Comic Con, due to a scheduling conflict with one of his forthcoming cameos. Check out the Denver Post’s full story for more information. Original post, April 17: Our Spidey senses…

Photos: Pin-ups and Pasties celebrates the burlesque of yesteryear

The art of burlesque comes with a long (and sexy) history, from pin-ups to pasties. Over the weekend, Tatiana Tata and her troupe performed a glamorous tribute to the burlesque styles of yesteryear, at Lannie’s Clocktower Cabaret with performances from Orchid Mei, Midnite Martini, Honey Touche, Veronica Von Tassel, Peggy…

Photos: Get a Grip showcases skateboard art at Park Hill Skates

Get a grip! Over the weekend, Park Hill Skates transformed into an art gallery with the Get a Grip exhibit, featuring skateboard art from Denver and across the country — including a playable guitar/skateboard combination. Photographer Christy Dodd stopped by to capture the scenes for Westword. Continue reading for the…

Worst of Coachella 2013: Weekend one

Daft Punk Fake-Out Friday and Saturday, all anyone could talk about was if Daft Punk was going to show up during Phoenix’s set. Why? Because we were fucking teased. On the main stage before the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, a long commercial for their new album played, and then we found…

The ten best concerts in Denver this week

Update: The Ghostface Killah show at the Summit was canceled. Top ten has been updated with the addition of Black Thought at Club 64 with Immortal Technique. THE DEAR HUNTER @ MARQUIS THEATER | TUES, 4/16/13 The Dear Hunter was a side project launched in 2005 while Casey Crescenzo was…

A second helping of this week’s Cafe Society

Here’s a second helping of some of what we served on Cafe Society this past week: Gretchen Kurtz reviewed Punch Bowl – Social Food & Drink, and found a lot to like…even if she’s not in love with the place. Mark Antonat continued his travels up Federal Boulevard, and stopped…