Friday, December 28, 2007

Hip hop tackles corporate rock radio

Flobots won 93.3 FM's Hometown for the Holidays!

The top 3 bands in 93.3's contest, whittled down by listeners over the past few weeks, all performed last night at Andrew's on Lincoln. Flobots won a thousand bucks as the best live performance. The Heyday and Roe rounded out the top 3. You'll probably hear much more from all 3 bands though in the future.

On Feb. 16, Flobots bring hip hop to the Gothic in a show with wit-pop trio Hot IQs and folksy, Americana band Paper Bird. $8. ($10 day of)

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Free holiday fun

The Larimer Lounge FREE Christmas party is Thurs. night, 12/20. With music late into the night.

The Hot IQs play FREE this Saturday at the Bluebird. Go to their Web site to print out your tickets, or go here. With Cat-a-Tac, D. Biddle and The Knew.

(And put this on your new 2008 desk calendar: In the new year, 1/12, Eric Bachman plays at the Hi-Dive. Ian Cooke is one of the openers. $8 (advance).)

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Meese

Meese played to a packed, sold-out house Friday night to celebrate signing onto Atlantic Records. It was a night for the fans, with Meese giving away 3-song CD samplers and cards for a free download of their single "Start of It," and copies of their full-length album for a mere three bucks (free w/ a T-shirt! How bout that!) Pint-sized Patrick Meese pranced like David Bowie, there was a full-on light show going, and Meese played all the crowd pleasers. They also played "Colder Where You're From" (hope I got the name right) -- an aptly titled song about how when you go back home, things aren't quite the same as you remembered. Plus Nathan and Patrick Meese are from Cleveland, so xceppin' fer this week, it probably is colder in Cleveland than Denver most of the time. Another song dealt w/ Patrick's stint in rehab as a teen. Anyway, the crowd ate it up. Meese will be back for more shows in the new year. Stay tuned

Friday, December 14, 2007

Fashion Denver

If you can brave the cold, head out to Fashion Denver's winter market, Freeze, at the Hot House on 29th and Larimer Saturday, 12/15. From noon til 7 p.m. Designers who will be there include Melissa May (you saw her stuff at Frock Out Denver) and DVLP Clothing.

Meese is playing at the Bluebird w/ Tickle Me Pink tonight, 12/14. It's sold out altho I hear there are some extra tix floating around. Good luck finding them. If you can't get in, check out "Juno" playing at the Mayan.

Sunday, December 09, 2007

Recap

Stephanie Ohnmacht won Frock Out Denver, after a fashion show with models including Christy from ManiaTV (for Melissa May). Check out the designs here

Voxtrot is done touring for a bit after their show in Denver, so they have time to record. Opening band Division Day got stuck in a snowstorm in Wyoming, and Voxtrot was sharing some equipment with them. So Voxtrot had to borrow somef stuff for the Denver show. Seems like they had a good time celebrating the end of the tour.

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

The Forecast

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Voxtrot plays at the Bluebird on Friday, 12/7

Before that, stop by Orange Cat Studios on 26th and Larimer (near the Larimer Lounge) for 4x4x400: Brainbox Creative has organized what it calls the biggest SMALL show on earth, w/ 400 pieces, all 4x4 inches in size. Pieces start at $5 apiece.

Also this weekend, as part of Vail Snow Daze, Social Distortion is playing in Vail for $25 on Friday, 12/7. The Roots and Ludacris play Saturday for $40. (Ziggy Marley plays Thursday) Ticket prices go up if you wait to buy until Saturday.

If you're stuck in Denver on Saturday night, go to the Larimer Lounge and catch Office, out of Chicago.

The Headlights play at the Hi-Dive Monday, 12/10, for a mere $6 if you get tix early (buy them from Sputnik next door). Openers include Kissing Party of Denver. An early show.

Monday, December 03, 2007

Frock Out Denver

The new season of Project Runway is under way, and now the Denver Library has Frock Out Denver, a contest giving 12 local designers three months to create five looks to be shown off in a runway show this Thursday, 12/6, at 8 p.m. Tickets are free, although donations are encouraged. VIP tix are also available, to help the library raise money. Details here. Each designer has a look on display now at the main library downtown. Or you can see them online and vote for your favorite.

Designer Melissa May is one of the youngest in the competition. She took some time to talk with us:

How did you get involved with the competition?
I honestly do not remember how I found out about the competition but I saw a note about it online and thought I would give it a shot. I had just graduated from college and was looking for every opportunity to get my name out in Denver. I knew that being so young (21) I might not get in, but I knew that I had something special to offer and felt pretty confident that I had a chance.

We were assigned five different outfits to make. We had to make one for each season from specified materials and then one that could be anything we felt really showed our style. Four of the five outfits are not due until the show, but the Winter dress made from silk was due at the end of October so they could put up the gallery exhibit (at the downtown library). Our budget for our Winter and Fall outfits (silk and wool) was $200 supplied by Denver Fabrics and our Spring and Summer outfits (linen and cotton) was $150 and $100. Our choice outfit could be made from any material for any amount.

How would you describe your design style?
I create day and party dresses that are a mixture of girly and rock 'n' roll. I like to keep the silhouettes simple but focus on creating special details that make the outfit really stand out.

As far as the dress on display at the downtown library, who do you see wearing it?
I wanted to make a dress that was beautiful with some edgy touches that could be easily worn by a younger woman (18-26) to a holiday party. I kept it short because I feel that that is a more realistic look and that it also stands out in a crowd.

How can people buy designs from you?
Right now I am selling my pieces in local stores, such as The Fabric Lab and Fancy Tiger. I also have dresses on my myspace page that are available for purchase. In the next few months however I am remodeling my company to include a professional website and seasonal lines available for wholesale or custom orders.

Would you ever consider doing something like Project Runway? What do you think about that show?
I actually tried out for the season on right now. They told me that they saw potential but to come back when I had a little more professional experience. I think it is a very entertaining show and that it can do great things for the designer's careers, but I do not take it too seriously since it is, after all, a show. In the end it is about ratings.

Anything else you'd like to add?
I'm really looking forward to getting to compete against some of the best designers in Colorado. To them I say bring it on!

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Indie rock Christmas music

Are you a hipster in need of background music for your holiday party? Fire up your computer, go to woxy.com's Holiday Mixer, choose your player, and let 'er go. They've got everything from Robbers on High Street to Loretta Lynn to Charlotte Martin and Guided by Voices singing holiday tunes. Good stuff

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Hometown for the Holidays

Here's your chance to give your favorite local bands some play on corporate radio.
KTCL (93.3 FM) is holding a contest that works like this: Songs from 35 local bands are online, and voters choose which ones they like best. The top 10 get airplay and get rated by listeners. From there, the top 3 play a holiday show at Andrew's on Lincoln. And the winning band gets studio time, a slot at the Not So Silent Night concert next year and they play at a Colorado Mammoth game at the Pepsi Center. If you've ever felt goofy about online polls, now is the time to get over it for the sake of your favorite Colorado bands.

Listen to all 35 songs here and vote here

A lot of the contenders sound like they'd slide right into the skater mix on KTCL (Saving Verona, Swear by This, Sky Fox), though Roe sounds like it's making a bid to become the next Fray with "Looking at You," and Kyle Britton's song "Heart 2 Heart" kind of sounds like Maroon 5.

The list includes heavyweights like "Anthem" by Born in the Flood. Love.45, Hot IQs, Flobots, P Nuckle, Swayback, Nathan and Stephen, and The Heyday are also on the list.

C's favorites, in no particular order:
"I Was Only Passing By," Spiv
"Caused by Me" by Educated Figures
"Going Home," Nathan & Stephen
"Handlebars," Flobots
"Anthem," Born in the Flood
"Come in or Stay Out," The Heyday

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Annuals and Manchester Orchestra did an early bird, lightning quick show Monday night. (Two, sometimes three drum sets!) It wasn't even 10:30 when Annuals ended their set. The audience cheered for them to do an encore, which caught the band by surprise, then sang along with the band. Kenny says the response was quite different from their last trip to Denver, when maybe two people showed up.

CP reminds us of the Apple one-day event on the day after Thanksgiving. Now is your chance to look for deals on Apple stuff. Online may be less madness than showing up at your local Apple store.

John Butler Trio and Brett Dennen play KBCO's holiday show, this Friday and Saturday at the Ogden, to get over your turkey hangover

Voxtrot in Denver 12/7! At the Bluebird

Meese plays the Bluebird, 12/14 for $10. Just be 16 or older.

It's official: The Denver area is over ozone limits and needs to go back to the drawing board to figure out how to get beneath the caps, plus how to stay under an even stricter cap the EPA is considering imposing. To see how you can help limit emissions, go here and scroll down. Little behaviors by a bunch of people can make a difference

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Tifah's new name :: more hipster Birds :: Annuals / Manchester Orchestra

Tifah, now known as Autumn Film played at the Lion's Lair last night in a low dough show. But C+S, who got to the Lair early, insist that opener Paper Bird stole their show with their Americana act with tight three-part harmonies (think sweet adelines, barbershop almost) and rootsy folk. Have a listen but it's worth checking out live. They've got shows with The Wheel (12/28 at the Bluebird and 12/15 with Ian Cooke and Bela Karoli @ the Bluebird) coming up, among others.

Tomorrow, 11/19, it's Annuals and Manchester Orchestra at the Hi-Dive. The music starts early, but there will be two openers: Kevin Deane and the New Frontiers. This is your chance to pick up the split 7" in which Annuals and Manchester Orchestra each cover one of the other's tunes. Listen before you buy >>>>>>
Listen to Annuals covering "Where Have You Been."
Listen to Manchester Orchestra's (marvelous!!) version of "Brother."
(Annuals' own "Brother" is on their MySpace page, and MO's version of "Where Have You Been" is on their MySpace page.)

Friday, November 16, 2007

Robbers on High Street / Great Northern in Denver



Congrats to all the peeps who stayed out late on a school night to bop along with Robbers on High Street and catch a beautiful set from opening band Great Northern last night. The bands played Seattle earlier this week. (GN bassist Ashley recommends hitting the Cha Cha Lounge. I digress.) Robbers on High Street: This Brooklyn bunch isn't kidding around. They were polished, tight, fun-lovin' _ even on their third pitcher of beer (or is that seventh?) and roadie Doug was working the crowd after four shots of Jager. Ben Trokan's vocals were dead on. Trokan, Steven Mercado, Morgan King and their touring keys and drummer were crisp, and opening band Great Northern jumped in on tambourine and vocals toward the end, including on the big-party finale of the band covering Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now"! Yee-haw! Mercado shook off his blazer, pulled off his sweater (and then put the blazer back on over his bare chest but still) traded places with Ben and sang lead. And good night!

The band sets up:



Souvenir of former days of touring drummer Mikey, who used to be in a band called Good lookin Shoes:



Rachel from Great Northern grabs a tambourine, Mercado grabs the mic, and we're off to the races with Queen!



By the way, Great Northern has some great music, and they performed "Home" to perfection last night. Check them out. After Denver, Robbers on High Street head to Lawrence, Kansas; Minneapolis and Chicago, with Great Northern in tow, to close out the week.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

The Forecast

ROBBERS ON HIGH STREET :: Great Northern ::
old crow medicine show

Robbers on High Street brings its jangly Brooklyn-created but British-tinged pop to the Larimer Lounge on Thursday night, 11/15. Here's a live performance of "Across Your Knee" off the new album "Grand Animals" from this summer:


But mostly I want to see what shoes they all wear. Talk about a good bill...they're playing with Great Northern, out of L.A.

And Old Crow Medicine Show out of North Carolina plays Wednesday, 11/14, at the Bluebird in Denver, then Thursday, 11/15, at the Boulder Theater in Boulder. Be ready to jump! To a mix of bluegrass and old style pop

Denver Film Festival

Denver film fans are in luck, because the Starz Denver Film Festival is bringing a lot of worthy films to town that might not otherwise make it to local theaters. Among them is the Chinese film "Luo Ye Gui Gen" ("Getting Home"), in Mandarin with English subtitles. By Zhang Yang. It's billed as a comedy about construction worker Zhao as he tries to fulfill a promise to a deceased friend to take him home to the Three Gorges to be buried. This simple, light-hearted movie has something to say about friendship, loyalty, loneliness, life morals, but also life for the underprivileged in China. In particular it makes a statement about the plight of thousands of villagers displaced by the Three Gorges dam, which continues to uproot thousands of people today. (Read more about it). If you missed it, there's still a chance to see it tonight, 11/10 at 5:15 p.m. or Tuesday, 11/13 at 4:15 p.m.. If you like seeing previews, you can watch the clip below, although it reveals a lot of the film. I recommend going into this movie not having seen it so you can be charmed on its own merits instead of preconceptions.

Monday, November 05, 2007

I gave up a New Pornographers concert and watching the Carol Burnett special on PBS to have pasta made by Mike Laughlin. He served homemade ravioli stuffed with roasted butternut squash. First it was dunked in hot water, then put in a frying pan with butter, sage, salt and pepper, with shaved parmesan cheese on top. Mmmmm.

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Behind the news


FOSSILS ROCK
At The Geological Society of America annual meeting earlier this week, scientists publicized the findings of a rock, 330 million or so years old, with full-body imprints of three ancient amphibians. (Read more about theancient amphibians) The rock was sitting in a museum for years and noticed by David Fillmore, a 62-year-old retiree who had worked in computer science for 30+ years and got interested in fossils after reading about some of the first fossil explorers. He ended up going back to school in geology, graduated two years ago, and is still digging around looking at fossils with one of his professors Edward Simpson at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania. "I'm retired and I'm 62. Instead of watching TV, I'm studying that
specimen (the one with the three full-body imprints), studying footprints."

ROCKIES
Yes, it was crowded at the post-Series rally for the Rockies on Wednesday. But it was held in Skyline Park so that it would look like a lot of fans showed up and filled the park (it's a block long, a quarter of a block wide). Not quite like the lined streets through downtown for the parade after the Broncos won the Super Bowl (twice!) or the rally at Civic Center park after the Avs won the Stanley Cup, but the Rockies didn't win the big title either, so all in all, it met with expectations.

NREL
The new research support facility being built at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden will one day get some of its heat from biomass, such as wood chips from thinning forests in Colorado. A mechanical engineer there says don't worry that the lab is going to cut down trees for heat. They say thinning goes on enough with forest-fire prevention that they will not require additional cutting. They also say there will be a symbiotic relationship, with NREL getting wood chips in winter from those who typically sell mulch in spring and summer and don't have much of a market in the winter. When the sellers need to fill demand for mulch, NREL won't need to heat its building.

MUSIC NEWS:
Chin Up Chin Up plays with the Ponys at the Larimer Lounge this Saturday, 11/3, late. Have a listen to "This Harness Can't Ride Anything" off the new album. $12 tix or $10 in advance

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

If you were like us, your hopes of getting a ticket to see the World Series at Coors Field crashed into the hard rocks of reality yesterday. (By the way, did you HEAR about the GUY who somehow managed to buy tickets on the Rockies Web site TWICE yesterday??? And the guy who bought tickets from SAN FRANCISCO while we were clicking away in DENVER???) But you can still watch the games in Denver's great outdoors. The parks and rec department and some others conspired to show the games on a 40x20 foot screen on the 16th Street Mall for free. There will even be hot dog sellers and concessionaires. Of course, if you're a Rockies fan and all the games are like tonight, you may not want to watch. Game 2 Thursday night!

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Rockies World Series tickets

The Rockies try one more time to sell World Series tickets for games at Coors Field, today, 10/23, at noon MDT online. Businesses already lost some productivity as workers took Monday off to try to buy tickets or logged on from work. So will it be a repeat today, or will employees feel too guilty wasting another day on tickets?

Friday, October 19, 2007

Music news

Rogue Wave plays tonight @ the Bluebird. They also have a song on the benefit CD Urban Outfitters is selling starting Monday. Long Winters, The Klaxons, Voxtrot, and Sonic Youth also have songs on the album along with Annuals.

Speaking of Annuals, they will soon be touring America with Manchester Orchestra, and fans who go to the shows can find limited edition 7-inches of each band covering a song by the other.

Listen to Annuals covering "Where Have You Been."
Listen to Manchester Orchestra's (marvelous!!) version of "Brother."
(Annuals' own "Brother" is on their MySpace page, and MO's version of "Where Have You Been" is on their MySpace page.) The bands visit the Hi-Dive in Denver on Nov. 19.

Earlimart plays with Office @ Larimer Lounge on Sat., Oct. 20. $10 in advance

Denver Roller Dolls have a calendar release party @ Bender's Tavern that same Saturday, no cover.


TIDBITS:
There's actually room for huge mansions in Beijing, The Wall St. Journal reports. Watch the video if you don't have time for the article. 2 min.

The WSJ also has an article on Ohio State's ridonkulously huge athletics budget.

Perhaps you remember us telling you about deep-fried cookie dough. Well, here's a recipe.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

The Flobots are heading out for some shows on the East Coast but will be back in Denver to play @ Cervantes MasterBall Room w/ Lyrics Born on Oct. 23. Then they play Oct. 25 in Boulder with Public Enemy. They also play @ Herman's Hideaway for a measly $7 on Oct. 27. E-mail us if you need to get discount tickets for the Herman's show.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Rockies are going to the World Series!!!!!!!

The D-Backs did make it interesting after the Rockies took a 6-1 lead in Game 4, but the Rox ended up winning 6-4 to sweep the NLCS. All the World Series ticket info you need is here. Cheapest tix for Games 3, 4, 5 (Oct. 27, 28, 29) will be Rockpile, for $65. Limit is 4 tix per person. UPDATE: ALL tickets sold on Monday will be sold online. So don't go to Coors Field. Everything will be online at 10 a.m. MDT. There's not going to be much left after allotments for season ticket holders, the teams and Major League Baseball, so good luck. Prices on StubHub are already crazy, but prices should come down a bit in the next several days. Keep watching. Otherwise, start seeing who you know who works for the team or other MLB teams and try to get tickets that way.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Tidbits

Mobius Band couldn't play in Denver last night because Ben was in the ER in New Mexico. But sounds like he'll be OK.

Great American Beer Fest closes out today. On Friday, a big line was formed at the Dogfish Head Brewery booth, where legendary extreme brewer Sam Calagione was serving his beers himself. The alcohol content in everything Dogfish is offering at the fest is so high that you get a long of bang for the little sipping cup you're given. But you definitely have to sip. Oskar Blues of Lyons has the new Ten Fidy. Check out their lip balm too. Smells terrible but it's kind of funny.

No Broncos tomorrow, so support runners in the Denver Marathon on Sunday.

"Calvin and Hobbes" creator Bill Watterson reviews the new book on the life of Charles Schulz. The review appeared in The Wall Street Journal.

"Wordplay" airs on PBS on Tuesday. Check local listings.

Monday, October 08, 2007

Denver

Good reading today on fortune cookies and a man whose chopped off finger grew back with the help of some pig powder,

CALENDAR,
John Vanderslice @ Hi-Dive Tuesday night, 10/9
Colorado Rockies open NLCS against Arizona, Thursday, 10/11
Great American Beer Fest opens, 10/11-10/13
Mobius Band @ the Hi-Dive, Friday, 10/12
Rogue Wave, 10/19! @ the Bluebird.

Check out Rogue Wave on TV not so long ago:

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

ROCKIES WIN!!!!!


OMG! The Rockies have won the Tour de France! In case you missed it, the Rockies' win of the NL wild card in a tiebreaker game Monday against San Diego was just as wild and storybook as their ride to get to the tiebreaker game. The Rockies led 3-0 before the Padres scored 5 in the third inning. The game went to 13 innings tied 6-6 before San Diego had a two-run homer off Jorge Julio, who was booed heavily when he was finally pulled. It was the top of the order for the Rockies in the bottom of the 13th, and every single batter either got on base or advanced a runner. Kaz Matsui and Troy Tulowitzki doubled, MVP candidate Matt Holliday hit a triple (that at first looked like it might be a homer but it bounced off the right field scoreboard), and the Padres walked Todd Helton. Then Jamey Carroll was out on a fly to right, but Holliday tagged and slid home face first. It looked sooo close (we'll have to check replays to see if Holliday's hand really touched the plate), and then the ball dribbled out from the catcher. The ump finally signaled he was safe, and the Rockies poured out from the dugout. (Kinda makes up for a miffed call on a Rockies homer that was ruled a double for "bouncing off the yellow railing" when in fact replays showed it hit a chair or something behind the yellow before it bounced back onto the field, so it should've been a homer). Holliday looked like he was hurt, but he was walking around afterward and even jumped on Helton. He did have blood on his chin though. Afterward the pilots from Buckley Air Force Base who did the flyover before the game, during the national anthem, were giving high fives to fans on their way out of 20th and Blake. Anyways, relive the bottom half of the 13th with video on the Rockies Web site.

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Go Rockies!!!

The Broncos lost Sunday, but who cares? The Rockies' playoff hopes are still alive! A tiebreaker game is tonight, 10/1, at Coors Field against San Diego to decide who gets the NL wild card. Remaining tickets are on sale online, and the Coors Field ticket office reopens at 7 a.m. You can also go to King Soopers (7 a.m.) or Rockies Dugout stores. A rally at Coors Field takes place today around lunch time. Get a Rockies rally towel. Josh Fogg starts on the mound for Colorado. Padres ace Jake Peavy starts for San Diego. First pitch 5:37 p.m.!!!! On TBS if you can't make it in person.

Friday, September 21, 2007

Olga Kern

The Colorado Symphony Orchestra opened its season last night with pianist Olga Kern (platinum blonde now) playing Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. It was a perfect selection for an opening night: It showed off both the orchestra and the soloist, and the 18th variation is so popular and recognized that it can draw the crowds in. There were still several empty seats, but Boettcher Hall was fuller than I've seen it for midweek. The audience lured Kern out for 2 encores, including a somewhat mushy Flight of the Bumblebee. Kern's right hand seemed played crystal clear towards the end. The night started off with the orchestra playing Glinka's fast-paced overture to "Russlan and Ludmilla." The cello section was luxurious. The violins kept up with the frantic pace. The evening closed with Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5, with the audience giving long ovations recognizing sections of the orchestra. Hearing an orchestra live is an unmatched experience. The pizzicato sections sound plumper and richer in person, you can see everyone playing. I was sitting in the first row of mezzanine 3. After intermission you can move to a better seat if there is one available, but mine wasn't bad. Students with ID are half price _ a great deal.

RANDOM NOTES: Did you miss seeing The National when they were in Denver this week? They will be live on woxy.com on Monday, noon MDT.

Innerpartysystem is out with "The Download EP," which has the song Don't Stop on it.

Remember that Brazilian Girls song Don't Stop. Obviously not the same song, but it's like how TLC has a song "Creep" and so does Radiohead. How about all the people with songs called "Crazy." Anyway. Have a good weekend. Go Broncos.

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Monolith Festival..::..::..(recap)


Good times, good times. The very first Monolith Festival at Red Rocks is all over, and my, what a great time! The brand new festival had two days of no rain, manageable crowds, fantastic acoustics and while there may have been a few glitches here and there, overall Year No. 1 went off well.

Friday afternoon got off to a mellow start, probably because lots of people were still at work. Temps were in the 60s and it was cloudy.

On Day One ....
The Dirty Novels checked out a tight set by The Broken West, out of LA (above).

Then Ghostland Observatory took the main stage, with a blue cape.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah got people dancing with "Summer Teeth" (below) I have to say, I like their new stuff better than their old stuff. The singer also had striped pants. New hipster trend?


Cat-A-Tac dealt with some hecklers on the woxy.com stage, inside the visitors center. After that Ra Ra Riot put on a high-energy show with an almost violently dancing lead singer, electric violin and cello, guitar, bass, drums. They said this was their first show in the Mountain Time zone (they're from Syracuse). Ra Ra Riot is out touring with ....

The Editors (below)

A terrific set on the stage at the top of the amphitheatre.

Caught snippets of Mobius Band, Born in the Flood, Vienna Teng and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (666). The Decemberists played a long set, including "16 Military Wives." Which by the way, there was a lot of anti-Bush rhetoric this whole weekend.

Then Cake closed out Day One, revvin' up the college kids and bong hitters

On Day Two...

The sun was out, it was above 80 degrees, and The Little Ones were dancing and having a good time (below)


Like Ra Ra Riot, Margot & the Nuclear So and So's showed that cello and violin do belong in rock bands.

Ian Ball of Gomez ("See the World") was solo with a guitar (below).

He charmed the crowd, playing a 15-second song he wrote as a theme for some show, and also a song about premature ejaculation called Don't Let a Little Failure Get You Down, before going into a quiet soulful version of "How We Operate."

Members of De Novo Dahl checked out Brian Jonestown Massacre (DND are the ones with the goofy pastel decorated band uniforms; they're in the row closest to the camera)



Brian Jonestown Massacre had to work hard to keep people from fleeing at the end of their set on the main stage as the booming bass of Lords of the Underground took over from the stage at the top of the amphitheatre. Lords of the Underground actually got the crowd to chant out the phrase "Denver, psycho psycho!" Yeah, good job guys.

Earlier on that stage, Meese played. I like Meese's recorded stuff, but they didn't sound as polished live, and on one song, the lead singer pranced around like he was Iggy Pop or Mick Jagger. Um, you're not there yet, bud.

White Rabbits packed the woxy.com stage in the evening, as did Hot IQs.

Art Brut strutted their stuff, chanting out verses over music. I don't know. They're big in England. Spoon got down to business and did a long-ish set, with not much banter.

On the acoustic stage, William Elliott Whitmore -- bluesy, rootsy. And Rocky Votolato had a lot of female fans ask to take photos with him.

Cloud Cult -- again with the cello and violin! -- played at the top of the amphitheatre, with two artists painting live to the music behind them. The paintings were up for bid at the end of their set. Cloud Cult straight up lied to get people to stay to the end of their late-night set, saying The Flaming Lips weren't set to play for another 20 minutes, when in fact, the Lips were taking the big green balls that were sitting on the main stage all day up to the top of the amphitheatre ....


to release them down on the crowd for the Lips set!


Wayne said the band was trying to get these lights from the former USSR to the show, but they were detained in Oklahoma City because these were lights that had mercury and may have been tainted by Chernobyl...anyway, the lights didn't make it to the show.

Still, Flaming Lips got the crowd on their feet, closing with "Do You Realize" before two encores.

And good night.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Things to do today:
_Okkervil River w/ Damien Jurado @ Marquis Theater
_Bright Eyes @ the Ogden, $30
_Air Force plays TCU, at Air Force, football

and starting tomorrow, 9/14...MONOLITH FESTIVAL! At Red Rocks, with Flaming Lips, Decemberists, Spoon, Cake, Kings of Leon, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Cloud Cult, The Little Ones and many more including locals like Cat-a-Tac, Hot IQs

Sad to report that the October show of Voxtrot/The Little Ones is no longer taking place (Voxtrot will be coming off a tour w/ Arctic Monkeys, poo), but The Little Ones will still perform Oct. 1 at the Larimer Lounge!

Monday, September 10, 2007

Broncos - Bills

The Broncos season opener had a little of everything, from an option play to Jay Cutler throwing and running, and a last-second winning kick. Check it out. ***

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Deep fried cookie dough

For our post-Labor Day roundup, let's take a look at a clip a fan posted of the Christie Front Drive reunion show in Denver:



Perhaps you had a burger or hot dog over Labor Day weekend. Maybe even a fried Twinkie or fried Snickers. How 'bout deep-fried cookie dough

For those who had too much to drink, some University of Colorado grads have come up with The Cure for your hangover

And in case you missed it, the Hipster Olympics: (for viewing when you have time to kill)

Monday, September 03, 2007

Taste of Colorado

Besides football stadium burgers and samples from Taste of Colorado downtown, Labor Day weekend gave us a chance to check out Potager for the first time. The neighborhood spot in Capitol Hill (11th and Ogden) consistently gets good reviews, and it does have a laid-back yet upscale feel, with its large front windows, high ceilings, sprawling bar and open kitchen. They focus on seasonal cooking, so all our selections Friday night were mainly of ingredients from the Boulder Farmer's Market. Potager's smaller plates / appetizers are on the small side, then the menu builds with entree size plates towards the bottom. The $9 watermelon salad was a small, artfully arranged summer dish served as a special. I got the chilled cucumber soup and eggplant w/ veggies and cheese. Good but I wanted more. Then FCT got the tuna nicoise dish, with amazingly fresh, juicy tomatoes, but she said the beans were slightly undercooked. CP's prawn dish looked and smelled yummy. Came in the shell and with heads. For dessert we tried the raspberry tartlet with chocolate raspberry gelato. Sounded like it might be light and good, but it wasn't that impressive. Overall, the place gets a B. You won't spend as much here as you would at Fruition, but I think Fruition satisfies more. Potager does have a nice atmosphere though and the staff is friendly. It's also fun to be able to watch the cooks from your table. The menu suggests wine pairings for each dish.

Saturday night, we wandered to Luca D'Italia for dessert. The staff was very accommodating and friendly with finding us seats at the bar on a busy, busy Saturday night. Now that pastry chef Angela Yeung has left for Dallas, the restaurant seems to be trying to keep up on desserts. The crostada for summer is a peach crostada, served with vanilla gelato, rather than the ginger gelato served with the apple crostada when Ms. Yeung was cooking. The pastry wasn't as light and flaky or as artfully presented but it still tasted all right. The tiramisu is semi fredo, more of an ice cream dish. The almond cake was tasty, although CP thought there was way too much syrup drowning the cake. Good for sugar fiends!

Taste of Colorado is still going on Labor Day, so you have one last chance to grab a turkey leg or a taste of fried alligator. We tried etouffee, gumbo, bruschetta, a strawberry banana smoothie, and CP got a Philly cheesesteak downtown by the state Capitol. I'm not a fan of the sandwich but this one was very good with fat mushrooms. Grab some sunscreen, try to bring in your own water (it's 3 tickets if you buy it inside), and go to the shade early and often! $5 buys you 8 tickets, and a turkey leg is 12 tickets. The smoothie was 6 tickets. Some booths have tastes of certain items for 1 or 2 tickets. The Ghirardelli people are handing out chocolate for free! Go to the Office Max display (the one with the giant rubber band ball) for a coupon for $10 free at Denver stores. The KBCO booth by the Broadway and 13th entrance to the festival was handing out free CD samplers and post-it pads Sunday, and Starbucks was passing out free samples of pumpkin spice lattes. Perhaps not the best drink in 90-degree weather but it still tastes good. There's a lot to try...crab cakes, Phillippine-Asian grill, funnel cake, etc, etc

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Weekend planner

Labor Day weekend...a time for BBQ and one last party @ the pool. Here's a bit of what's going on:

Dfest3, w/ a Christie Front Drive reunion show!

Taste of Colorado, for free, by the state Capitol, in Civic Center Park

And to get you in the mood for CU vs CSU at Mile High on Saturday (9/1, 10 a.m.), here's a little joke we heard from Air Force Chief of Staff Michael Moseley on situational awareness, tweaked to fit our beloved Buffs and Rams: Two college rivals -- say CU and CSU -- were driving on a road in opposite directions and came along a narrow bridge at the same time, colliding in bad weather. The Buffalo got out, looked at the damage to both cars and was thankful to be alive and unhurt. His rival got out, saw the damage and also was thankful to be alive and unhurt. He went to his trunk and found an unopened bottle of Jack Daniels. "Hey, this is a sign. We should toast and forget about old differences," the Ram said. He handed the bottle to the Buff, who said cheers and drank about half before handing the rest back to his rival. "Your turn," the Buff said. "No," the Ram said. "I think I'll wait til after State Patrol gets here."

Sniagrab at the sports castle, 10th and Broadway, for ski deals, 9/1. People are already in line

Red Rocks has the B.B. King Blues Festival on Saturday, 9/1, and the Yonder Mountain String Band on Sunday, 9/2, for all the hippies.

The Colorado Rockies are out of town for the weekend but host San Francisco on Labor Day.

Don't forget The National play Denver on Sept. 18. Here's an interview from The Onion's A.V. Club

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Blast from the Past

Crowded House played the Fillmore last night, with Fountains of Wayne opening. It was FoW's very first Denver show. I'm short but it looked like FoW had 5 on stage. They played Stacy's Mom (I kinda hate that song) and Radiation Vibe, but also selections from the new album in a short set before turning things over to Crowded House. FoW said back in the day they went to a Crowded House show and threw demos at them, so they were so eXcItEd to share the stage w/ them.

Crowded House performed "Private Universe," (which would've been really cool to hear at Red Rocks), "Don't Dream It's Over," "Something So Strong," "Italian Plastic," "Four Seasons in One Day," Take the Weather With you, with some sweet audience singalongs. Also "Locked Out," "Pineapple Head," "Distant Sun" a cover of "Happy Together." Neil Finn's son Liam played in the band. Crowded House will be at Austin City Limits in Sept. Only bad thing about the show was it was hot inside the Fillmore and it smelled like stinky feet

More here here and probably eventually here

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Christie Front Drive reunion

Christie Front Drive, the emo band that captured Denver hearts and minds back in the 90s, gets back together to play at DenverFest, Sept. 1 at the Marquis Theatre. Planes Mistaken for Stars playing too. $10 gets you into the show, or get a $30 pass for all the venues and shows for DenverFest (Aug. 31-Sept. 2).


The Cubbies are cleaning up the Rockies. Two more games, one tonight, one tomorrow afternoon. Lots of tickets left


Monday, August 06, 2007

Tidbits

_ Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper made it inside the pages of Esquire, in a feature on what mayors of America are wearing. He wasn't just mentioned. He got a full page.

_ Page France at the Hi-Dive, 8/7 (Tuesday)

_ The National @ the Ogden, Sept. 18. Yippeeee

_ Voxtrot! and the Little Ones! Together! @ the Bluebird Oct. 1

_ Buy a Cuban sandwich from the guy at the stand across from the Denver main library. So what if it's made of lard. It's Eric Bachmann

Saturday, August 04, 2007

Ryan Adams @ Red Rocks

Ryan Adams played Red Rocks last night w/ Lucinda Williams, Devotchka, Old 97's (love them!) and others as openers. A looong evening of music.

Old 97's had to start off w/o lead singer Rhett Miller because of flight delay issues, but he came running on stage in the middle of one of the songs and the crowd was so happy. He sang for "Timebomb" and "Murder or a Heart Attack." Yippeee!

Ryan Adams played w/ the Cardinals. He was well-behaved, even when he refused a request from a guy in the crowd for "New York."
"No," he said. Then added, "Because if I play that song then you'll all go home. And you'll go home and you won't take me. And if you do take me home, you won't like me. So. No."
There was a lengthy, lengthy encore ... I think 5 songs? At least? He tried out his 5-groan Red Rocks standup: ("If the wind picks up anymore, I'm really gonna storm off the stage! Then you'll be stuck between a rock and a hard place! It's all downhill from here! That's OK, this place rocks!")
He played despite having a major wedgie. ("It's been going on for quite a while," he said about midway thru)

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

The nuns who live at Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital (they're big big fans of the Denver Broncos) are getting filmed for a Broncos commercial today (7/31)

Single File plays free 8/1 as part of McDonald's free summer concerts. But you'll have to go to Aurora. At the McDonald's at 1444 S. Havana. 6p. That's the same night Modest Mouse and Band of Horses play at Red Rocks and the same night Mike Laughlin will be guest chef at Bella Bistro in Arvada, so you'll have to pick and choose what you want to do

In sad news, Bottom of the Hudson had a van accident Sunday on tour. Absolutely Kosher Records says the van went out of control and flipped on I-40 near Clinton, NC, when a tire blew out. Bassist Trevor Butler was killed and drummer Greg Lytle is in the hospital. Absolutely Kosher is collecting donations for Butler's family and Lytle's medical bills.

Sunday, July 29, 2007

LadybiRdS


The LadybiRdS' debut LP may just be the best powderpuff dance pop side project yet. Gym Class Heroes keyboardist Tyler Pursel teamed up with former bandmate Teeter Sperber of Ley Royal Scam (hence the capitalized LRS in LadybiRdS). Throw in guest vocals from Matt Pryor of The Get Up Kids, Max Bemis of Say Anything, Justin Johnson from The Danger O's and Neil Sabatino of Fairmont and you've got the infectious sugar-sugar dance confection "Regional Community Theater," out this fall. Tyler provides the Atari-style hooks (listen to "Shark Party"...you really can picture the pixelated kung fu) while Teeter provides the heart and charm with chirpy vocals. "I only sing because, because you told me that I can't," she sings on "Oh No! The Unicorns are Knife Fighting Again." I don't know. You'll have to check it out yourself.

LadybiRdS interview



LadybiRdS lead singer Teeter Sperber has been a rock publicist, did A&R at Virgin Records, sold band T-shirts at MerchDirect and runs 31 Corn Lane with her family. You've probably seen 31 Corn Lane totes and wallets at Fancy Tiger in Denver. She took some time to answer some of our questions. Read on

_ I saw Gilmore Girls on the band's MySpace page! What did you think of the finale, (or did you give up on the show before then)?

* Do you love GG too??? I was absolutely OBSESSED with Gilmore Girls for many years, especially with the shows classic case wrong-side-of-the-tracks punk rock bad boy, Jess Mariano (Milo Ventimiglia, OMG. Hottest! Dude! Ever!) I loved all the alt alt alt cultural/ indie rock references that you could find buried within the storyline if you really paid attention.

A few shining examples: Jess sitting on a bench covertly reading Punk Planet, Rory and he planning a date to go see The Distillers, a Slint album being shown in an independent record shop scene, Jess wearing a Dinosaur, Jr. t-shirt, Sonic Youth playing a show in the town square, and continuous mentions of Bowery Ballroom, a seminal NYC rock venue. Dude, GG was like no other show on TV - it was crystal clear that the writers knew what was up!

That said, it was DEVASTATING to me, like, TOTAL HEARTBREAK HOTEL STYLE when the shows creator, Amy Sherman-Palladino decided to leave for the last season, because she was very obviously the root of all the awesomeness. I tried my super hardest to give the new writing team a chance for Season 7, but it KILLED me to watch the shows swift fall from kick ass-ed-ness. The quippy banter between Rory and Lorelai didn't work anymore, the characters weren't as snarky or funny as they had been at it's peak. I stopped watching, final straw style, around the 6th episode, but would shamefully ask my best bud what was going on and would still secretly read the Television Without Pity message boards. While I did watch the season finale, I didn't cry giant dinosaur tears, which is what I had always imagined I would do at the end of this amazing part of my television life. In closing, I totally hated Logan. Ewh!

_What convinced you to be a part of LadybiRdS?

* I was living in a super small cottage on the Oregon Coast when Tyler asked me to be 1/2 of LadybiRdS. He had been in Gym Class Heroes for awhile and was looking for an outlet for his own magical creations. At the time, I was still very much nursing my musical wounds over the breakup of Ley Royal Scam. That little band had been the most amazing, frustrating, fantastic, humbling experience of my life up until to that point. I had promised myself while living in the little cottage that I was going to break up with music almost entirely, with the exception of listening to Lucinda Williams, our nations saddest, most earnest, drunkest, most desperate lady songwriter. (OMG love her.)

I thought about it for awhile, said no a few times, and then ultimately changed my mind because Ty kept asking and I finally admitted to myself that the part I liked most about my rusty relationship with music was the actual making of it, in the studio, and that's all he was really asking me to do. To lend my voice to a project between friends. Ty was one of my besties from back in our LRS days and it just made sense to grow with him.

_How does working w/ Tyler now compare w/ when you guys were in ley royal scam?

* Neither Ty or myself had much creative input in The Scam, even though we both totally wanted it. I would fight to write my own lyrics and Ty, who, might I mention, is THE BEST GUITAR PLAYER I HAVE EVER KNOWN, would write some of his noodly fantastic licks, but wasn't really able to participate much beyond that. It was certainly a challenge for us both, especially considering we're both opinionated to boot, but, for whatever reason that was the predetermined LRS structure.

For the 'Birds, it couldn't really be a more collaborative, symbiotic relationship. It just works so amazingly well. Ty creates all the instrumentation on this ridiculous keyboard called a FANTOM and he gets to be the boss of all things studio-related. I write all my own lyrics, can totally kick down ideas about how I think vocal patterns should sound, and get to be responsible for absolutely everything beyond the creating of the record; package design, licensing, marketing, choosing radio, video, and press promotions teams. Like everything. It rules because I worked in the music industry for what feels like a bazillion years, so these are the business-y things I like to do.

_How much of the songs did Tyler have written before you jumped in?

* Ty sent me an entire record of instrumental tracks about 3 days before we went into the studio for pre-production. In a neat twist of events, by the time pre-production was over not one of those songs sounded the same. After my arrival it became a completely different record and the cool part is that it happened in a totally organic way. He would sit at his keyboard, I would sit in the beg red armchair across from it, and he would tell me that he was trying to "Teeter-fy" the songs, to get them to sound more like the sonic manifestation of my spazztard personality. Oh man, did he ever do a great job. Little dude is brilliant.

_What are your hopes for the band? Will you do another album? Any plans to tour?

* I have worse performance anxiety than Catpower, so, if all goes my way we'll never ever have to play a live show. It's terribly daunting for me, I still have visions of this lil' 14 year girl up front at one of our LRS shows - she was holding her ears, had her eyes closed and was nodding her head back and forth mouthing the words "No, No, No." I mean, granted, all she really wanted was to see Taking Back Sunday play - and we we're the last thing standing in her way -- but that was the worst feeling evs! I was not meant to be on stage.

Plus, Ty's schedule with Gym Class Heroes is absolutely bananas right now, he's been traveling through Germany, Japan, Australia, New Zealand - you name it, and he's been there bringing the indie hip-hop to the kids. Neither of us has any idea when his next break will be. Howevs, I know fer sure fer sure that he and I wold both really like to someday make another LadybiRdS record. Ty makes me laugh so much in the studio and also, his girlfriend JoJo makes the best guacamole ever.

_The song "Cooper, Thanks for the Birds" ...what's it about?

* The song itself is about loss, I know I know, par for the course - but! The title is a dedication to one of my best friends on earth, Cooper Sanchez. He's an amazing artist and a fantastic Southern gent. He made every bird image you see attached to this band (with an ink dropper and a piece of plywood, no less!) so we thought it would be nice to secretly thank him through one of our song titles. He didn't even see the title until the saw the finished record.

In other news, before I ever knew him I watched him stomp around in an adult diaper on the Jerry Springer show.

_For "You are the Torro King"...was it always an instrumental or did you consider adding lyrics?

* "You are the Torro King" was always intended to be instrumental. When it was first written it was supposed to be the record intro, but by the time I heard it, it was so long (almost 3 minutes!) that I suggested we make it the outro instead. I think that song is super beautiful and messy and organic and something about the end of it, those noises that sound like they were pulled off a Nuetral Milk Hotel album, makes me really sad.

_anything else about the album or you or the band you want people to know?
* Our one dream is to be on the soundtrack to DeGrassi: The Next Generation. HOLEY COW. That show is amazing!

Friday, July 27, 2007

Street art


Jesse LeDoux, who worked for Sub Pop Records and has done album designs for The Shins and The Little Ones, has one of his murals on the side of Andenken Gallery near Coors Field.



And some street art on a pole near Andenken: (you'll have to click to get a closer look at his T-shirt. I know, classy)

Music news

_Did you get your tix for Meese @ the Bluebird on Aug. 10? (Check out their song "Letters"). With Nathan and Stephen.
Meese also opens for the Fray at Red Rocks 8/4

_You can hear songs from Tegan & Sara's new album on MySpace. Some dates on their tour are already sold out, but you can still seem them in Boulder, Nov. 3, @ the Boulder Theatre. Check out a recent video interview with them here

_Silversun Pickups are here in Denver on Monday, 7/30, at the Ogden

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Denver Graffiti: 13th ave


Mitt Romney in Colorado

Romney was in CO yesterday for fundraisers in Denver, Colorado Springs (hosted by his Olympic pal Bill Hybl, former USOC head) and Aspen ($1,000 for entry, or up to $2,300 for a VIP photo reception). The expected haul was at least $150,000 for this swing through the state. Afterward he stopped by for a speech to El Paso County Republicans. It wasn't a fundraiser for him, just for the local party, but about 700 people attended.

Romney, a Mormon, spoke for strengthening the definition of marriage (as between a man and woman), strengthening the military, and cracking down on online predators. But he also had plenty of anecdotes.

On his wife Ann:
They met as teens at a party, but another guy was interested in her. So he told the other guy, since he lived closer to Ann, he'd take her home for him. They've been together ever since. "I said to her, sweetheart, in your wildest dreams, did you ever see me running for president of the United States. And she said, Mitt, you weren't in my wildest dreams."

For his 60th birthday, his five sons handed him a car key. "I thought Mustang, Corvette ... I let my mind wander. It was a 1962 Rambler American." "We started it up, drove it down the street from the house, pushed it home..." (Romney's dad had led American Motors and the '62 was the last one he presided over before he went on to be governor of Michigan.)

Monday, July 16, 2007

Capitol shooting

Legislators were not in session when a man with a gun walked into the state Capitol today, but the governor was in his office. (Police say a state trooper shot the man, after he refused to drop his gun outside the governor's office.) AP reporter Steve Paulson, Denver Post reporter Mark Couch and Charles Ashby of The Pueblo Chieftain (they regularly cover the statehouse) were among those who heard the gunshots in the building. Construction has been going on at the Capitol, in the basement. At the Capitol, the center is open all the way from the basement to the third floor, so you can look up and down to each floor when you're standing in the middle of the building. Some inside the Capitol said their first thought when they the bangs was that it was a plank or something that fell during construction.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Internet radio

If you love online radio as much as we do, go to WOXY, read the message on calling your senators and act now. Otherwise royalties that online stations have to pay will spiral far beyond what many stations will be able to pay, and poof, your favorite station(s) may go silent.

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Oh and I saw Marcus Camby at the grocery store today! Camby rules!!!

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

The Forecast

_ 7/12, Sweet Land, winner of an audience award at the 2005 Hamptons International Film Festival plays at the Starz Film Center at 7 p.m. and director Ali Selim is scheduled to be there for it.

_ 7/13, Hipster yarn- and local artists'/musicians' shop Fancy Tiger turns one! And has a party with a DJ and free stuff to celebrate. 7-10 p.m.

_ 7/21 Tokyo Police Club @ the Larimer Lounge, with the Laylights. $10 now or $12, day of show. 10p

Perhaps you've been at Sputnik for Bingo with Ben Kronberg on Mondays. On 7/23 he's supposed to be on TV...Jimmy Kimmel Live

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Independents Day: PocketFuzz

When you want a ringtone that says you're way hipper than that one girl who got Rihanna's "Umbrella" as her ringtone: PocketFuzz. It's the Denver-based startup that lets indie bands offer their songs as ringtones, and fans get to choose which 30-second snippet of the song they want to use. Songs from Conner, Born in the Flood and Meese are my favorites of the ones offered so far. (And it seems to be a company for the good of the people...the company _ which is already profitable _ shares profits with bands)

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

The Forecast

Don't forget, Johnny and the Moon on Independence Day @ the Larimer Lounge for cheap ...
Or, Nathan & Stephen for $6 at the Hi-Dive, also 7/4.

And on 7/6, go to the Hi-Dive for Cat-a-Tac, Tifah and Joshua Novak.

This Saturday, 7/7/07, DC10 celebrates its 1-yr birthday

...and WIN FREE GROCERIES. Go here for a chance to win $100 or $2,500 in groceries from Safeway.
(contest rules here)

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Crocs

Reax to Niwot-based Crocs seems to be mixed. Either people love Crocs' lightweight, brightly colored hole-y signature or hate them. But now look at Crocs' most fashionable shoes yet: prima (a ballet flat, odor resistant if you care about that kind of thing) and sassari (peep-toe backless wedges). Who knew Crocs would make something like this.

Monday, June 25, 2007

Westword Music Awards

Awards from the Westword music showcase went out tonight at the Bluebird. Monolith organizer Matt Fecher was there and photog Bill Ross. VIPs got buffet from Sketch and some free drinks. Lots of people you thought would get awards did (Born in the Flood, Hot IQs -- actually their first win in 3 nominations --, Sara T, Planes Mistaken for Stars among them.) Some nominees like Cowboy Curse, 3OH!3, Bela Karoli and Tifah could soon be picking up awards tho. Plus word is Blusom is starting to record some more stuff. Just goes to show there's plenty of talent in Denver and beyond, so much that you actually have to make choices to pick winners in each category. Up next: The Denver Post Underground Music Showcase in August

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Michael Moore in Denver




Filmmaker Michael Moore ("Sicko," "Fahrenheit 9/11," "Bowling for Columbine") drew a few hundred people to a health care rally at the state Capitol today, a record-breaking day for Denver (100 degrees at the airport).

Before he spoke, ralliers heard from two insured Americans who have still struggled to receive proper care for themselves and their loved ones. One was Donna Smith of Aurora, who appears in "Sicko" with her husband, Larry. She introduced Moore, who emerged wearing a baseball cap, black T-shirt and shorts.

Moore spoke about health care:

The U.S. ranks right around Slovenia and Costa Rica on the World Health Organization's ranking of the world's health systems. America has that pioneer spirit, pull yourself up by the bootstraps, solve your own problems, Me, Me, Me. But thinking of it as "we," "we're all in the same boat," that's the Canadian way. And the El Salvadorean way, the Ghanian way, British, Irish, French, Polish, Czech way ...

A guy tried to rush Moore, perhaps to pummel him, but he was intercepted.

He talked about his own health and personal stuff:
One of the questions reporters always ask him is, "How are you still alive?"
"Those of you from my part of the country realize I'm one of the skinny ones."
Moore said he realized that doing little things like walking 30 minutes a day and "eating these things some of you call fruits and vegetables" can help. He said little steps like that have helped him lose 30 pounds.




He went off on the war in Iraq a little bit:
The media wasn't asking the questions, wasn't demanding answers. He doesn't blame George Bush. "He doesn't know any better!" He blames the media.

And then he tied it all together:
The war is costing $100 billion a year, and it's been going on five years. "Don't ever tell me that we can't find the money again to do things like universal health care. We have the money. Don't ever tell me that again!"

He says he's optimistic we can get universal health care in this lifetime

Friday, June 22, 2007

what's in a name

some veterans of Denver's music scene are coming together yet again with yet another project and they need a name. So stretch your mental muscles ... what would be a good name for a band of indie rockers trying to catch their fifth wind? Hit comments, make a suggestion or email us. We'd call it a contest except we won't be giving any prizes besides a bump in pride. Start listing ....

The 411 ... or something

Denver and Boston get to try out a new directory service Verizon is announcing. Just call 800-THE-INFO, and you can look up businesses for free, plus you can narrow down your choices using local landmarks, intersections. The tradeoff is you hear an ad while you wait for the info.

Verizon says you can have the info texted to you (cha-ching for mobile providers, but if you don't have anything to write with, it's handy) or just listed verbally (using air time).

Who knows, weather, sports scores and restaurant reviews could be added to the service later. National rollout of 800-THE-INFO planned later.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

The Forecast

_ The Comas, tonight, 6/21 @ Larimer Lounge, (also tonight Pulitzer Prize winner/Rocky Mountain News reporter Jim Sheeler signing copies of his book @ Tattered Cover on Colfax)
_ Feist, Boulder Theater, Fri., 6/22
_ Hot IQs, Everything Absent or Distorted, and Laylights at the Bluebird 6/23, Saturday. $8 now or $10 day of show.
_ On Monday, 6/25 the Westword Music Awards @ the Bluebird
_ 7/2, Hot IQs live on WOXY.com!
_ 7/4, @ the Larimer Lounge for cheap ... Johnny and the Moon (Dante DeCaro of Hot Hot Heat and Wolf Parade)

Two shows we're eXcItEd about at Red Rocks:
_ 8/1, Wed: Modest Mouse w/ Band of Horses
_ 8/3, Fri: Ryan Adams, with Denver's own DeVotchka, and Old 97s, plus Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter. It's a Starbucks show, so a Starbucks employee's band supposedly will play too. Whatever. Rest of the lineup is great. Maybe the worker band will be Ok too

Ride the Rockies

About 2,500 cyclists from nearly every U.S. state and a few foreign countries are riding through Colorado for Ride the Rockies. The scenery took a shift Wednesday with the ride from Rifle to Glenwood Springs passing by a 1,800-acre wildfire threatening about 200 homes in Canyon Creek. Opposite rippled, steep treed mountains and opposite the Colorado River, smoke plumed from the base of Storm King (where 14 elite firefighters died in 1994) as crews set back burns to eat up fuel near houses. TV trucks set up nearby. Some cyclists stopped to take photos. Wildfires are stressful for residents but seem to happen in some of the most beautiful spots in the state...Lots of friendly people. Eric Ashley runs a boys and girls club in Wisconsin and took time off to Ride the Rockies. "I trained maybe four months, but being from Wisconsin, nothing prepared me for this!" Coming up: Independence Pass!

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Tidbits

Tonight, 6/14, when the big hand hits the 12 and the little hand hits 6, make sure you're at Pandora Jewelry on 220 13th Ave. (near Moxie Hair Co. and City O'City/the old Watercourse location). The first 50 people there get free tote bags! All for the store's bday. This is the best place to get unique greeting cards, by the way, and fun toys/gifts.

Saturday, 6/16, is the Westword Music Showcase. Pick up the Westword to see who all is playing and where. **Dinosaur Jr. is headlining

Earl's on the 16th St. Mall seems destined to cater to the suits working downtown. OK, let's just say it, the men in suits willing to unload dough. Have you noticed the wait staff ... and the amazing percentage of bottle blonds? The posh prices you pay for lunch are what keep the atmosphere up: all dark woods, fancy sculptural large light fixtures, and a second floor that opens up like a patio in the summer. Earl's is the place to suggest when someone else is footing the bill -- enjoy the atmosphere w/o any of the guilt on the wallet

Gripes

When they talk about the airlines wringing savings out of their operations and slashing costs, they're really not kidding, especially not at US Airways. I recently took a flight from Denver outta town and then back:
_ It $5 for everything from headphones for the inflight movie to a snack
_ The inflight movie was shown on shared screens, one of which wouldn't snap into place properly
_ One overhead compartment stubbornly wouldn't shut until the flight attendant slapped it over and over
_ Duct tape held another overhead bin closed
_ The oxygen masks popped out uncalled for before the flight took off
We won't even get into the lack of employees to help out after storms in Philadelphia fouled up travel plans for hundreds of passengers this week

Friday, June 01, 2007

Monolith PRESALE

Presale starts at 10 a.m. today for Monolith, Sept. 14-15. E-mail us if you need the password

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Around Colorado

Crowded House tix PRE-SALE going on now! For the show w/ Fountains of Wayne on 8/22 at the Fillmore.

Air Force Academy graduation was today. If you go here or here quickly now, you can see some of the great photographs of the tradition of Thunderbirds flying overhead as cadets toss their hats in the air as graduates. Then read this to find out how that moment comes together with precision each year.

People's Fair is this weekend in Civic Center Park. Right now Tifah is scheduled to play 2:30 Saturday on the main stage.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Monolith vs. Austin City Limits

Austin City Limits Music Festival is Sept. 14-16, but right here in our own backyard is the first Monolith Festival, Sept. 14-15 at Red Rocks. Some bands are skedded to hit both, like Spoon, The Decemberists, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Broken West, Ghostland Observatory.

ACL: Check out My Morning Jacket, Pete Yorn, Arcade Fire, Bjork, Crowded House, Denver's own DeVotchka and Rose Hill Drive, and on and on .....

Monolith: Tons of Denver bands like Hot IQs, Born in the Flood, The Laylights, Cat-a-Tac, The Swayback .... Tix on sale June 2!

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Crowded House

It was a full house for Tim Finn (of Crowded House and Split Enz) @ the Walnut Room on Friday night. Sold out. Though no one was checking tickets for the back room after the concert started, so you could've gotten in without a ticket. Like listening to a blast from the past in Tim Finn's living room -- not a full band. Anyway, Crowded House is set to play Aug. 22 (a Wednesday) in Denver at the Fillmore. TIX ON SALE JUNE 2.

:::This::: has nothing to do with anything. It's just a shocking story of a woman dying in an ER while no one at the hospital cared for her.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

The Forecast

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club plays tonight, 5/17, at the Gothic.

Tim Finn at the Walnut Room, 5/18, for a mere $5

Man Man plays FREE Saturday at Urban Outfitters in Boulder, 5/19 at 8 p.m. Go here to find an invite. First come, first serve to get in, but you must have one of those evite thingies. It's a Freeyrradio event for KGNU. You lucky Santa Cruz-ers get Rogue Wave on 5/25

And just a look back for a brief moment: Bjork in her rainbow Technicolor dreamdress was at Red Rocks, with laser lights, pyrotechnics and the Icelandic brass choir backing her up, dressed in neon, glow-in-the-dark poofy onesies. Started the show with a bang, went out in a flash of lasers, it was cool and it didn't rain. Bonus.

Monday, May 14, 2007

Meet the authors

The Tattered Cover has more meet-n-greets w/ authors coming up. Here's just a few of note:

_ 6/8, @ Tattered Cover on Colfax :: Catherine Mabe, aka Jayne Manslaughter, one of the founders of Denver's own Rocky Mountain Rollergirls, w/ her new book, "Roller Derby: The History and All Girl Revival of the Greatest Sport on Wheels."

_6/11, 7:30 p.m., @ Tattered Cover in LoDo :: Joyce Carol Oates :: She'll read from and sign her new novel "The Gravedigger's Daughter." Free, but you need a ticket, available at 6:30 p.m.

_ 6/12, 7:30 p.m. @ LoDo :: Rick Reilly of Sports Illustrated :: Reilly will discuss and sign his new collection "Hate Mail from Cheerleaders and Other Adventures from the Life of Reilly." Free tickets available at 6:30 pm

_6/18, 7:30 p.m. @ LoDo :: Mike Jones, the guy who got Ted Haggard in trouble :: Jones discusses and signs his book "I Had to Say Something: The Art of Ted Haggard's Fall."

_ 6/19, 7:30 p.m. @ Tattered Cover on Colfax :: Michael Ondaatje ("The English Patient") reads from his new novel "Divisadero."

_ 6/20, 7:30 p.m. @ TC in Highlands Ranch :: Robert Kurson ("Shadow Divers") reads from his new book about blind athlete and CIA employee Mike May, who decided to undergo srugery to restore his vision.

_ 6/21, 7:30 p.m. @ Colfax :: Jim Sheeler :: Sheeler, who won the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing in 2006 while working for the Rocky Mountain News, will read from and sign his new collection "Obit: Inspiring Stories of Ordinary People Who Led Extraordinary Lives." (Before winning the Pulitzer at the Rocky, Sheeler wrote amazingly crafted obits for The Denver Post, which decided not to move him from freelance to staff. Whoops!)

Sunday, May 06, 2007

How's that E string sound?

"I think I'm ready now"



Nickle Creek cover of Britney Spears' "Toxic"

Food extravaganza!

Sorry for the lack of posts. ATT was in town, so we've been stuffing our faces.
Wednesday night was Sputnik (next to the Hi-Dive at Ellsworth and Broadway), where we had the yummy sweet potato fries with ketchup, banana ketchup and ranch as our sauces. Quite addictive. We also got the banana fritters, which our server told us is not going to be served there much longer. Fine by me. The fritters are fine but nothing special.

Thursday night we went to Frasca for the pork loin (serves two), sorrel soup (a chilled soup, with King salmon and potato in it...not for everyone but if you know you like sorrel...) and crispy Hawaiian sea bass with arugula (like fish and chips!). Paired with a very yummy Riesling. I didn't get the details. We were going to walk around Pearl Street after but instead went home to avoid a coming storm.

Back in Denver, we stopped at City O'City, (13th and Sherman) the bar/coffeehouse/vegetarian pizza shop in the former space of WaterCourse Foods. Owned by the same people. City O'City has just been added to my list of favorite bars in Denver. There's a wide bar to sit and eat or spread out a newspaper without feeling like you're infringing on someone else's space or the bartender's. There are booths along the wall like at a bar, tables like at a restaurant and some couches and a floor lamp to sit under like at a coffeeshop. Same vibe as at WaterCourse. Anyway.

Friday lunch was at Limon (17th and Franklin), which is expanding, by the way. The setting is all comfy, dark woods, dark red paint on the walls, banquettes with fluffy pillows. The food is Peruvian, with lots of kick, colorful presentations. We had plaintain chips with passionfruit aioli. From the Causa selections (potato cake with fillings, served cold), we had the Limena (chicken, scallions, avacado and tomatoes) ... refreshing choice for hot weather. I'd be curious to try the cured tuna one with garlic oil and Limon salsa. We also had Locro Serrano con granos andinos y queso (stew of squash, Andean grains, cheese,olives and garlic rice, w/ a fried egg on top). The cheese was a great part of the dish. There's quite a bit of kick to the dish.

The highlight of the whole gorge fest for me was Fruition! The spring menu is out now. We had the seared Alaskan halibut cheeks w/ zucchini squash tagliolini (great texture and flavors), and the house cured pork belly. Both were a bit on the salty side, so you had to get a big spoonful of sauce or eat w/ bread. But the appetizers whet the appetite for the main courses. (Like the guy at the table behind us said, "if the main courses are as good as the appetizers, i'm in heaven!") and YUM, we had the pan roasted petrale sole w/ Pine-Nut Crusted, Braised Baby Artichokes, Lemon-Truffle Hollandaise. ATT really liked the artichoke flavor she was getting. It was a big hit of the evening for other diners around us as well. We also had Maple Leaf Farms duck breast, w/ duck prosciutto, arugula, risotto and red onion marmalade. You have to get a little bit of everything in one bite because the flavors , textures, etc all go so well together. We were not planning on having dessert here at all. At all! But we got tempted by the lemon meringue w/ blueberries, which went great w/ the light graham cracker crust of the meringue, yum. ATT liked how attentive the service was and thought Maitre d’ Paul Attardi was very nice. So there.

Then we went to Luca D'Italia, hahaha, for more dessert. We had the deconstructed tiramisu (coffee custard pudding -- so the basic tiramisu flavors but they're served in a glass, with a ladyfingers), plus the pear crostada with ginger gelato. The crostada is amazing. Served warm, it's got the perfect pastry construction, dusted w/ powdered sugar. Favorite dessert here by far. We also tried the rice pudding with strawberries now and basil. and the amaretti!!!!

At this point I was extremely stuffed ... not quite "quail full" ... I could still breathe at least. I won't have to eat again for 3 days.

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

New music stuff

The Fratellis were supposed to play @ the Bluebird tomorrow, 5/2, but according to their Web site, looks like the show is canceled...

On 5/17, Denver-based ManiaTV.com starts airing Dave Navarro's new online talk/music show from Hollywood's Dragonfly nightclub, near Dave's house. Should be on 6 p.m. MDT. Weekly.

UPDATE: The Horrors won't be touring w/ BRMC but are doing some dates on their own. Details on their Myspace page. AND Black Rebel Motorcycle Club plays 5/17 in Denver with THE HORRORS, whose new album "Strange House" is out this month. I've heard the album, and thanks to the magic of MySpace, you can hear for yourself what they sound like. It's straight-ahead, high energy RAWK, M@ch!nes! NoIse! ElECTR!c! bwaaaah! Soundtrack to a wacky sprint through a garage punk haunted house. The best treat may be seeing them live. If you've heard the word from SXSW, you know all about their hair, stage dives and general chaotic behavior that makes you wonder if frontman Faris Badwan is a cutter.

***We got a lovely little package in the mail from Santa Dog, plucky UK band from Bristol. They've been putting out their own EPs and spreading their music around the world these past two years. In that short time they've attracted attention from SoundsXPerience and Quince Records, which is putting out their debut, full-length album "Kittyhawk" on June 4. It includes some of the best stuff from the EPs ("Chemical" where the vocals go from ethereal to rich), plus new songs, like the first single "Big Bang," out later this month via SoundsXPerience, and "Martyr on the Ropes," fun little song for changeup rhythms and dancing along. The vocals get top attention in the recordings. I'm curious to hear what Rowena's voice sounds like at a live show, so any of you overseas who've been to a Santa Dog show, drop a comment. Anyway, til the album comes out, check out more at Santa Dog's site::here::

Finally, Boston band Ashby (duo of Evelyn and Bill from OK, Somerville, not Boston) has a spot on MySpace where you can hear that great song "Horizon" whenever you want. No idea why they only have 33 friends.

Saturday, April 28, 2007

News to make you smile

From FCT:
Washington Post article on beauty in art. Long, but worth the read. Be sure to have your speakers on for the video clips.
and the followup.

And Stephen Hawking gets to feel what it's like to be weightless!

By the way, Joshua Bell plays with the Colorado Symphony May 9. 7:30 p.m.