Koko Taylor / Pinetop Perkins

We went to Boulder for the live taping of "Queen of the Blues" Koko Taylor's first appearance on the national radio show etown. (The show tapes about 2 hours' worth of material, then cuts it down to about 1 hour for the show you hear each week) Koko Taylor came out on stage at the Chautauqua Auditorium dancing and kept on going. She was backed by her Blues Machine, with Calvin Louden on guitar, Melvin Smith on bass, Shunsuke Kikuta on rhythm guitar, Stanley Banks on keyboards and Ricky Nelson on drums. Even her bodyguard got an introduction. After a couple of songs, she talked about growing up poor in Bartlett, Tennessee, being orphaned at age 11 with her two sisters and three brothers. All of them sang in church. Her dad wanted them to sing gospel, but she and her siblings would secretly sing blues. She later went to Chicago with her secret boyfriend ("the only one who knew he was my boyfriend was me!"). The bus driver let her on the bus even though they didn't have enough money for her to ride. They sat in the back of the bus ("I sat in the back but I got there the same time as the front!") She later married her boyfriend, who encouraged her to sing.

Also on the show, Mississippi bluesman Pinetop Perkins, just shy of 95. He came out sharply dressed in a bright red suit and matching top hat. (Not really a top hat but I'm not up on my haberdashery terms.) He played piano and sang. Willie "Big Eyes" Smith accompanied on harmonica and also sang. They tried to interview him but he mostly wanted to play. At the end he and Big Eyes and Koko Taylor and her Blues Machine all played together. Anyway, you can hear it for yourself on etown. Most likely airing in 4-6 weeks.

Westword's recap of the music festival yesterday if you missed out.

This afternoon (6/15) on into evening, Popwreck, Hemi Cuda, The Omens and others are playing at the Larimer Lounge BBQ. Bring dad.

More Denver bands putting out new albums: Achille Lauro's CD release party is 6/27 (that's a Friday) at the Larimer Lounge

Electric Daisy Carnival

The Electric Daisy Carnival comes to Colorado this weekend. 6 stages, music from 6 p.m. to 4 a.m. at the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds this Saturday, 6/14. Mark Farina, Colette and Kaskade plus locals like The Swayback and The Photo Atlas. Tickets are $50, but you have to buy them now. They stop selling them mid morning Saturday.

People's Fair is going on right NOW. Downtown at Civic Center park. Lots of good free music, and great weather today. Check out Gubment Cheese at Colfax and Bannock tomorrow at noon.

Also this weekend, check out the sidewalk chalk drawings in Larimer Square

Tonight, 6/7, Ellison Park at the Meadowlark. $5
Also tonight Pseudo Dates / Vitamins / et al at the Lion's Lair. $5

David Sedaris is coming to the Tattered Cover in Lodo (just north of 16th and Wazee). 6/22 at noon. Tickets to see and hear him are gone (you had to buy his new book, from what I understand), but you can still get overflow tickets beginning 11 a.m. 6/22 to get books signed. Details

Grand Archives of Seattle will be in Denver to play at the Hi-Dive this Saturday, 5/31. $10. They play at Sub Pop's 20th annual festival in Seattle on 7/13, the same day as Wolf Parade!

Block party on Colfax tomorrow, 5/31. Free. Vine Street to Race Street, 1 to 5 p.m. At night there's music and drink specials at west of Lafayette at places like Irish Snug and Satellite Bar.

Free music

Thanks to Southern Comfort, if you're over 21, you can see Gnarls Barkley for free 6/28 at the Coors Field parking lot. With Bassnectar, Dead Confederate, DJ Star Eyes but also locals like Hot IQs.

Those bike messengers and other assorted cyclists racing through Denver tonight are part of the Gang Bang dusk til dawn race ... cycling scavenger hunt with checkpoints across town, with points earned by reaching checkpoints, performing stunts and buying/downing certain drinks. Race starts 9 p.m. tonight, 5/24. Cure the hangover 5/26.

Downtown Denver Arts Festival continues this weekend at the Pavilions. Free. Today, tomorrow and Memorial Day.

Khale at the Hi-Dive tonight, 5/24
Death Cab for Cutie and Rogue Wave at Red Rocks 5/28!
REM, The National, Modest Mouse at Red Rocks 6/3

Langhorne Slim

Langhorne Slim at the Hi-Dive tonight. $10
And Khale is there tomorrow night, 5/24, for the CD release show! $6. This show and another one 6/5 at the Meadowlark are their last shows before their European tour

Denver Art Museum's Friday night event next week, 5/30, will have a fashion show (hair styled by 3 Little Birds salon) plus music, including Ian Cooke. Details here

cinco de mayo :: civic center park

Monolith Festival lineup

The lineup for Monolith Festival is out! Highlights include Silversun Pickups, Band of Horses, Vampire Weekend, Denver's own DeVotchKa, TV on the Radio, Cut Copy, The Cribs, The Fratellis, Tilly and the Wall, much more. Denver bands Hearts of Palm, The Photo Atlas and Bright Channel are also scheduled. The festival, in its second year, is Sept. 13-14 at Red Rocks. Hit this for more. Pre-sale going on NOW. Tix on sale to the public beginning 10 a.m. Friday, 5/2, for $110 for both days or $59.50 for single day. (It's TicketMaster, so prep for fees, blah blah)