GROWednesdays has been transplanted several times since it debuted three years ago at the Funky Buddha, where it was dumped for a disco night. It was resurrected last spring at Harry’s, the downstairs bar in the Magnolia Hotel, where it blew up big time — too big, as it turned…
If you want to get off on nutmeg, seasoned psychonauts recommend 200 milligrams per two pounds of body weight. But trust us: A face-melting, booty-shaking, soul-massaging, four-hour dance set by DJ Nutmeg is a way better high. A master mixer who reads a crowd’s vibe with X-ray eyes, Nutmeg plays…
One of the most hard-line proponents of hip-hop culture is an unassuming record clerk from Boulder. Yeah, we know, Boulder sometimes seems like the polar opposite of everything street, but in the hip-hop galaxy, think of it as the Dagoba System, with DJ Vajra as Yoda. Vajra holds down turntables…
There’s a Smithsonian quality to the Lion’s Lair juke, a beat-up old box that houses a carefully curated collection of rock-and-roll historica: Start with Hank Williams Sr. or Muddy Waters and work your way forward through the last fifty years, stopping at every major genre along the way, from Motown…
Devotees of Unity Gain refer to the Sunday-night climaxes of these 72-hour, multi-location marathons as “Church.” And Unity Gain is worthy of worship. Since it started in the summer of 2000 as a mere club night at Boulder’s Soma, the series has garnered a well-deserved reputation as the premier showcase…
Stepping into Mario’s Double Daughters Salotto is like waking up from an overdose of LSD and Pop Rocks. The downtown bar has a trippy Alice in Wonderland-meets-City of Lost Children vibe that jells perfectly with Bare Witness, its Monday-night DJ residency. Selectors Ryan Mates and Zach Dunn — aka Monke…
Aesthetically speaking, nothing much stands out about the Larimer Lounge: The stage is awkwardly placed, the sound is merely adequate, and the bathrooms are cramped and dingy. But the Lounge does one thing better than anyone else: It brings the rock. Besides, some of the great rock rooms of history…
Queer Eye for the Straight Guy has nothing on Serengeti, where the stylish roam free. The newest grand-scale venture to be blessed by nightclub impresario Regas Christou is a primarily gay club that promotes itself as “the evolution of nightclub culture.” Unlike so many of the other Denver gay clubs,…
The first thing that hits you as you walk into Sharp’s Roadhouse is the smell. The club reeks of honky-tonk, that sweet mixture of smoke, beer and sweaty bodies. But contrary to its name, Sharp’s is much more than a roadhouse. Over the past year, this joint has attracted a…
With a nondescript alleyway entrance between Lincoln and Broadway, Two AM is inconspicuous enough that first-timers may miss it. Located in the heart of the Golden Triangle, Two AM is a stone’s throw from the Church, Serengeti and Vinyl (which will reopen after its collapse in last March’s epic blizzard)…
A true headbanger’s ball in the depths of suburbia, House of Rock is a natural as the area’s best metal club. The absence of nearby neighbors means the local heavyweights can — and do — turn the dials all the way to eleven. Local bands can also rejoice now that…
A lot of venues, especially those that cater primarily to the hip-hop crowd, are employing various security measures to ensure patrons’ safety. But most of the tactics — from invasive pat-downs that border on manhandling to token once-overs from a $15 handheld wand from Radio Shack — are insulting, humiliating…
You Night! at the Soiled Dove is the place to be for aspiring MCs and DJs. Organized and run by Neil McIntyre of Yo, Flaco! and Minezai fame, the Monday-night extravaganza is proof positive that hip-hop is not only alive and well, it’s also the new punk rock. The room…
Boulder’s Fox Theatre is a required destination for the nation’s hottest up-and-coming hip-hop acts, from Dilated Peoples and Jurassic 5 to People Under the Stairs and the Pharcyde. The theater consistently has its ear to the street, with an aggressive booking policy that takes chances on up-and-comers and gives locals…
When it comes to the elusive spirit of jazz (past and present), colorful Colfax watering hole Dulcinea’s is one swinging primate. Taking pains to stock the jukebox with both legends (from Coltrane to Miles, Monk to Holiday) and newer members of the genre (Charlie Hunter, Norah Jones), the Monkey covers…
Over the past half-dozen years, Dazzle Restaurant & Lounge has bloomed into one of the most vibrant rooms in town, with live music seven nights a week and a schedule that moves deftly across the jazz strata and features many of the region’s most accomplished players. But Dazzle has also…
Since last October, a cozy nook on West Colfax called Angie’s Place has featured top-notch local jazz performers such as singer Teresa Carroll, pianist/vocalist Ellyn Rucker and tenor saxophonist Max Wagner. The music, showcased on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, attracts a largely Lakewood crowd, and no one performs much…
The primary artist on the Aurora-based Mobstyle label is self-styled gangsta Don Blas, whose latest platter, The Modus, is one of the best-sounding rap CDs to come out of the Denver area in forever. As Don goes, so goes Mobstyle, and the quality of the company’s first effort, which has…
Since the late ’70s, London-based Recommended Records, founded by eccentric musician Chris Cutler, has been the place that true connoisseurs of progressive rock turn for the latest and weirdest examples of this willfully edgy form. Prog continues to survive on the distant fringes of the music industry, and drummer Dave…
At first Sci-Fidelity’s website was principally a venue for the String Cheese Incident, Colorado’s most extravagant gift to the neo-hippie crowd. No more. The success of the band has allowed the label to expand its roster to include Incident-related acts such as Comotion (a side project) and DJ Harry, as…
Boulder’s Tom Steenland has been putting out challenging avant-garde sounds on his Starkland imprint for over ten years now, and by keeping his product list modest in size, he’s able to maintain high-quality music and packaging. Take Mystery Dances, by Robert Een, who uses voice and cello to create striking…
Headquartered in Bailey, the Capri and Tapestry imprints are the brain-children of Tom Burns, a jazz lover who’s devoted himself to getting some of Colorado’s finest musicians heard beyond the state’s borders. His catalogue features material by saxophonist Fred Hess and trumpeter Ron Miles, both of whom appear on a…
