When Specials co-founder Jerry Dammers launched his 2 Tone Records ska revival label in England in the late ’70s, it sparked a 2 Tone movement with bands like his own, along with Madness, Bad Manners, the Bodysnatchers and the Selecter. The Selecter’s vocalist, Pauline Black, says the whole idea of…
Editor’s Note: The Denver Bootleg is a series chronicling the history of local music venues by longtime Denver cartooniest Karl Christian Krumpholz. Visit Krumpholz’s website to see more of his work…
Last December, Snoop Dogg launched his own line of weed here in Denver, and earlier this year he headlined his third annual Merry Jane Wellness Retreat on 4/20 at Fiddler’s Green. Since the smoke has cleared from that show and if you’re jones-ing for some more Snoop, he’s bringing his Puff Puff Pass Tour…
On an evening at Red Rocks that felt like the tipping point between the tail end of summer and cool start of fall, Tears For Fears caught the perfect weather for its music. Tears For Fears fuses fond memories, melancholia and a celebration of life — a mood also tapped…
Andrew W.K. wants you to ask yourself: What would a wizard do? “Try to imagine that you’re the strongest, most noble, most thoughtful, most compassionate, intelligent person in the world,” he says, “and pretend to be that. Speak from that place. It’s more than self-awareness; it’s the ability to access…
One of Kelley Williams’ most boasted memories of his recent tour was the night his band, Back of a Car, played a show on the roof of a trophy-engraving center in Arlington, Texas. “There were like forty people who came. It was really cool,” he says. These are the kinds…
Ned Garthe Explosion’s highly experimental music, and the artistic concepts surrounding it, began with a realization that the cops weren’t paying attention, which allowed the bandmembers to get away with whatever they wanted. “Stuart [Confer] and I used to live in this house by Fort Logan mental hospital,” guitarist and…
There has never been a mega-festival quite like Desert Trip. There are just six acts and only one stage. No art installations, no dance tent, no bands you never heard of serenading you in the distance while you stand in line at the beer garden. Just a half-dozen rock &…
Four years ago, Dave Matthews performed at an Obama rally at the Community College of Aurora. Matthews shows his support for the Democratic party again next Monday, October 10 when he teams up with senator and vice-presidential nominee Tim Kaine for a rally and concert at the National Western Complex…
Drake is happy. The hip-hop artist – whose sad-boy bravado not only made his name but made his sound mainstream in popular music – seems, at least for now, to have shed the chip on his shoulder. Though the rapper claims to have dedicated his Summer Sixteen Tour to “revenge,”…
A few weeks ago, we published a list of “The Ten Finest Tribute Bands in Colorado,” and this is a sequel of sorts. Every city needs its cover bands, those groups that play out-of-the-way bars on a Thursday night, or weddings and corporate events, giving the audience exactly what they want…
Brian Wilson celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the Beach Boys’ landmark album Pet Sounds on Tuesday at the Paramount Theatre, while Tears for Fears is at Red Rocks tonight and in Colorado Springs on Wednesday, and Maroon 5 headlines the Pepsi Center on Thursday. Also on Thursday is the Lampedusa: Concerts for…
Last night Drake’s blistering Summer Sixteen tour stopped at Denver’s Pepsi Center for the first of two sold-out shows. The two-hour set never lagged in energy, jam-packed with the rapper’s hits, and also featured special guest Future. We don’t want to ruin any surprises for the folks going to tonight’s…
On Friday, October 7, the Open Media Foundation hosts its next monthly free Open Music Session event, which will feature musical guests Jux County and comedian Brent Gill. Last month, the September 2016 Open Music Session welcomed bluesy pop-rock band the Symbols, a band that actually describes its own music…
Drake is at the Pepsi Center for a two-night stand this weekend, while Neil Young + Promise of the Real are in Telluride Town Park for two nights. This weekend’s lineup also includes GRiZ, Megadeth, Danny Brown, Alan Jackson, Devin Townsend Project and Lera Lynn. See the full list of our picks below. …
The first round of artists performing at this year’s Decadence NYE in Denver has been announced! And it’s shaping up to be a star-studded lineup of EDM superstars, including DJ Tiesto, hometown hero GRiZ, 2015 Westword Showcase headliner Flume, Bassnectar, Chainsmokers and Disclosure, to name a few. At the Colorado Convention Center…
Legendary British ska band The Specials eased into Wednesday night’s set at the Ogden Theatre with “Ghost Town” and “Do Nothing” but gradually built up the energy throughout the hour-and-a-half long set. “It’s time to start skanking!” said original guitarist Lynval Golding just before “Rat Race.” Golding, along with other original members, including…
Wednesday night’s Crystal Castles show at the Bluebird Theater was comfortably sold out, but it wasn’t a cramped affair. No, it felt like being in a stadium that had “sold out” because some corporation bought a lot of seats. A scalper out front looked particularly lonely and downtrodden; he could’ve…
She was brought into the venue on the shoulders of two hunky, shirtless gentlemen. I watched her, then I looked up at the crowd up top watching her — as a venue, Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox is set up to let dining patrons in the halo of booths above observe the…
This weekend, Drake (aka the Canadian Crooner, the Wonder From Up Yonder, the Rihanna Whisperer) is taking over the Pepsi Center, and what better way to honor his arrival than by addressing the age-old question: Is Drake emo? Emo, of course, is a label ascribed to pop-punk bands who wax…
Panic! at the Disco brings its Death of a Bachelor arena tour to the Pepsi Center on Friday, March 17 with openers Misterwives and Saint Motel. Tickets ($29.50-$59.50) go on sale on Friday, September 30 at 10 a.m. The Experience Hendrix Tour returns to the Paramount Theatre on Tuesday, March…
Without some context, the scribbles in my reporter’s notebook would read like they were made by someone on an acid trip: “Floating, tetrahedral animals…fuck yeah!” “Band appears like a hologram, immersed in surrounding light.” “Jónsi has such a unique voice…Now there’s a spaceship beaming light down on him, like he’s…
