The Pirate Signal are finishing up their nationwide tour with 3OH!3, along with own shows, and will be heading home in a week or two. In the meantime, the group has made their new mixtape, “Of Gods and Gangsters” available for download on Datpiff.com.All you have to do is register…
Photo: Jon SolomonOurs, Plane Jane Automobile and YerkishFriday, November 28, 2008 Toad TavernI was floored the first time I saw Ours at the Walnut Room nearly two years ago. I was fully drawn into the band’s performance and awestruck by singer’s Jimmy Gnecco’s vocal delivery, especially his soaring Jeff Buckley-esque…
Wil Swindler’s ElevenetSunday, November 30, 2008Dazzle Restaurant & LoungeWil Swindler’s weekend show at Dazzle helped me recover a lost memory. I must have been three years old at most. My mother was rifling through my parents’ vinyl collection at our suburban home in Aurora, and the Beatles’ “White Album” was…
Photo: Tom Murphy Baby Birds Don’t Drink Milk w/Yellow Elephant and Married in BerdichevSaturday, November 29th, 2008RhinoceropolisBetter Than: Seeing well-established bands in a less idealistic setting.As a relatively new, experimental band, Yellow Elephant is still working out its kinks and inconsistencies, but this show was one where things came together…
Photo: Chad FahnestockBoyz II Men, Stevie B and Break EFXFriday, November 28, 2008Ogden TheaterBetter than: Listening to the recorded soundtrack from the ten-year high school reunion of any graduating class from the 1990s.The reactions varied wildly. When I told people that I was covering the Boyz II Men show at…
Wetlands, Widowers, the Dendrites, Monofog and Fissure MysticFriday, November 28, 2008Larimer LoungeBetter than: Stuffing down turkey sandwiches while watching David Lynch films and weepingOn the day after Thanksgiving, the good hipsters of Denver shook off the tryptophan hangover and braved the snow to catch the Wetlands’ CD release party at…
Yeasayer and Icy DemonsSaturday, November 29, 2008Bluebird TheaterBetter than: Flashbacks.Druggies, take notice: Yeasayer is a band you need to know. Between the trippy, hypnotic visuals provided by the lightball tree sculptures on stage and the wall-of-sound performance, this is a band that will help you get maximum mileage from your…
Last Tuesday night’s headliner at the Larimer Lounge was the amazing Dub Trio. I was absolutely astounded by the outfit’s instrumental collage of math rock, Jamaican dub and progressive metal. If you missed that show, or the next night’s set at the Fox Theatre in Boulder, kick yourself…
A few months ago, Distrakt debuted his video for “Fire Escape,” a quirky, sci-fi-inspired tale with the “special effects” to go with it. The song is one of the standout tracks from his 2006 album, Distraktions, but the imagery from the clip makes it that much better. The video has been featured on…
The Procussions originally started out with a handful of members; eventually, the crew was pared to a trio, then a duo. The group called it quits earlier this year — but over the summer, the Procussions announced that they were going to do at least one more album together. Or…
Here’s a guide to all the great content you might have missed this week while you were eating turkey, drinking heavily, watching football or the Sarah Palin video where the guy is slaughtering turkeys behind her. Just so happens that guy’s half brother sings for Yerkish…
Bela Karoli has been in Helmet Room Studio working on the follow-up to band’s outstanding debut, Furnished Rooms. Tentatively titled, Digital Sixes, the album will feature members Julie Davis (vocals, bass), Brigid McAuliffe (accordion, vocals), Carrie Beeder (violin, cello) and James Han (keyboards), as well as some help from cellist/singer…
Stuck at work or bored at home, these three links should keep you busy for the rest of the day, either way. Fist up, enjoy these one-line summaries of the meaning behind some of the biggest pop songs in history.Second, electronic music pioneer and legendary producer (U2, Talking Heads, Coldplay,…
Gregory Alan Isakov has been laying down tracks for his new album tentatively titled This Empty Northern Hemisphere, which is also the title of one of the dozen new songs that will appear on the disc. He’s been recording in his home studio and getting some engineering help from Blue…
I haven’t seen the new Flaming Lips movie Christmas on Mars yet (I’m saving it for the next time I go on an ether binge) but if this bizarre Flash game the band is using to promote the film is any indication, it’s going to be a hell of a…
Eat too much yesterday? Yeah, you and the rest of the nation. You’re in luck though — you can go out tonight and dance it off with the help of Giano, of Italiano Recordings, plus the Denver House Authority crew as back up. It’s happening in the Beatport Lounge at…
ohGrThursday, November 27, 2008Bluebird TheaterBetter Than: Not being able to resist the lull of tryptophan.Having seen the previous ohGr tour through Denver in 2001 as well as Skinny Puppy for the Greater Wrong of the Right, I expected the show to be decent but it ended up being even better.For…
Paper Bird, The Autumn Film, Laura Goldhamer, Chuck Potashner, Rob DrabkinWednesday, November 26, 2008Oriental TheatreBetter than: The typical Thanksgiving birdThanksgiving Eve (that’s a thing, right?) is always a good night to get out and have a little fun, unless maybe you’re the one stuck cooking the next day. Cooking is…
Freddy Rodriguez Sr. and the Jazz ConnectionWednesday, November 26, 2008El ChapultepecBetter than: Celebrating Thanksgiving Eve with critical in-laws.Atmosphere makes a difference.I’ve attended countless shows where the skill and power of a performer has failed to make up for obnoxious concertgoers, cramped quarters, poor lighting schemes or bad sound. Fortunately, the…
Most of us live our lives in closed boxes… home, work, the DMV, our car, the bar, a hospital room, a dressing room at the mall. And then, when we die, we get to spend eternity (depending on your belief system) in another closed box.I realize this.So pardon me, in…
I’m calling for a revitalization and renewal of that time-honored cheapskate gift: the mixtape.
Q: How do you know you have the right bass player?A: They’re good. And they’re confident.Example:JOHN: “What do you think of that last take?”JIMMY: “I love it. Take a picture of it. Then put it in a frame and hang it on the wall. Then take a picture of THAT,…
