Live reviews of act traveling through Denver, many published originally on Denver Post Reverb
The power of a trio probably comes from its simplicity. Probably (at least that’s my take, and I’m sticking with it). It’s been proven again, and again and again – Rush, The Minutemen, Nirvana, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream, ZZ Top, the Police – even Triumph (ferchrissakes) – all innovators, all brilliant (well –...
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Coming from Denmark means that, invariably, at some point you’re going to get a Hamlet comparison – probably from a smart-assed music journalist. So here goes – Iceage’s Elias Bender Rønnenfelt definitely rocks a Hamlet-esque demeanor, both on record and onstage. At their Denver show at the Marquis theater last Thursday night, he sulked in...
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If you’re not planning to be at the Marquis Theater tonight to catch Iceage, you’re giving up on the chance to see a replay of the power that anchored most of post-punk. At the very least, we’re going to be in the presence of a band whose noise and passion invoke Warsaw (pre-Joy Division,...
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Blues Control has a reputation. The duo – Russ Waterhouse and Lea Cho, originally from Queens, NYC and now calling Coopersburg, PA home – are known as “unclassifiable,” “completely unique,” “incomparable.” Reviews tend to color the duo as almost inaccessible, even opaque. They were in the Hi-Dive last Thursday night, and proved that these...
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It’s been a good three years since their last release – the seminal (in so many ways) “Embryonic” – so it’s a damn good thing that Wayne Coyne and The Flaming Lips have announced their next release. On April 1 (in Europe, April 2 in the US), Wayne and the globe’s purveyors of positive...
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Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds are scheduled to release a new record – their 15th overall and first since 2008′s “Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!” “Push The Sky Away” will drop on February 18th (February 19th in the US). They’ve also announced some North American tour dates, including one at the Ogden on April 3rd...
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Wovenhand released “The Laughing Stalk,” the Denver-based band’s seventh studio album, in September – so we may be a little late in reviewing. But then, so is Friday night’s CD Release Dance at the Oriental Theater – November 16, 9:00 PM, with Reverend Deadeye – a little late in coming (and we’re happy to...
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If you’re unfamiliar with METZ, you’re behind on the buzz. Their loud, crunchy, loud, fun, loud, shit-hot, loud and aggressive (did we mention LOUD??!!) style is exploding into venues and destroying hipsters in its wake. It was on display last night at the Larimer Lounge, and we were there with HeyReverb.com. Take a few...
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Watt covered some major ground in that short time. From his current stint with the Stooges, to some of the history of Minutemen and his beloved San Pedro (CA), to the tour he was bout to kick off in a few days, he led me on a musical, improvisational, stream-of-thought journey - and maintained...
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When Henry Rollins speaks, it’s kind of amazing how many - and which - people listen. His background - longtime lead singer of seminal punk act Black Flag, provocateur, film and TV star and the epitome of prolific when it comes to writing - is nothing to balk at, to be sure. But he...
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“This place is so awesome,” exclaimed Mike Palm, frontman of Orange County’s legendary surf punk trio Agent Orange last night in the Oriental Theater. “Not like the Bluebird.” His mini-review of another of Denver’s fine venues came just before the band ripped into “Living In Darkness,” one of a 20-song set that lasted a...
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This year’s Denver Post Underground Music Showcase (UMS) may have been the biggest and best yet, and – barring the weight of the tragedy in Aurora that clouded an otherwise perfect opening night – all four days went off without a hitch. As in previous occurrences since the festival relocated to South Broadway, The UMS invaded...
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Denver’s amidst a record-setting streak of over-90-degree days (we’re on day nine – or ten – or somewhere around there, now). We wouldn’t be surprised to find that this heat wave is being fanned by the lineup of shows July has to offer. If you’re able to peel yourself from the naugahyde, or leather,...
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When MCA and King AdRock announced a few years ago that the Beastie Boys would be delaying the release of their next album due to Adam Yauch beginning a battle with throat cancer, I don’t think anyone of us fans took the news lightly. But I also don’t think many of us ever thought...
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Ben Dicke, local theater professional, looks for Kickstarter Funding to Premiere the Controversial Emo-Punk Musical at the Aurora Fox, Just in Time for Election Day. Could it be any more ... prophetic? In an election year that’s rife with populist rhetoric, where pundits on both sides seem to pontificate endlessly about the problems of the common...
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If you’ve heard it, chances are you’re either mesmerized by its outlandish beauty, haunted by its sweeping sonics or fascinated by the physics. Either way, there’s not another vocal style that’s anything quite like Tuvan throat singing. And there’s no touring troupe that pulls it off like the Alash Ensemble. Four native Tuvans, Alash...
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How often do you find yourself inadvertently – almost subconsciously humming Blister in the Sun, Kiss Off, Add It Up, American Music or just about any of the seminal hits from early alt-folk (alt-punk? folk-punk? Angst-folk?) trio Violent Femmes? I know for me – and a whole sew of folks who were dragging themselves...
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OK - Who remembers Flipper? More appropriately: Who knows why they should remember - or at least be aware of - Flipper? Get this: - It could be argued that without Flipper, there may have been no Nirvana, or much of the sloppier side of "Grunge," or at least the whole scene would likely sound a...
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Gira discusses SWANS and more, before an upcoming gig with Wovenhand, The Howling Hex, March 24 at the Oriental Theater When I discovered SWANS at a 1986 punk show at the Eagle's Lodge (they played cuts from their then-current LP "Greed," with two bombastic drummers, thundering bass and bulldozing guitar, Jarboe screaming and Michael Gira...
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Local troubadour Erik Husman – of Erik Husman and the Golden Rule – was lucky enough this week to be able to stop in and take in Radiohead’s sold out Tuesday night show at 1st Bank Center, and was also gracious enough to write DenverThread a review of what will, no doubt, stand as...
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You could say that The Black Heart Procession bears a large portion of responsibility for the sound of “indie” today, and you wouldn’t be wrong. Since the members’ initial involvement in the seminal Three Mile Pilot in the late ‘90s, they’ve been championing a slow, psychedelic-but-gruff Pink Floyd style that’s only been solidified and...
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At the risk of eliciting a chorus of jaded groans: Yes, Peter Hook & the Light, led by the bassist for the influential Joy Division, performed a rousing rendition of the post-punk swan song “Love Will Tear Us Apart” last night at the Bluebird in the first of two encores. Did you think they...
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In January, ’95 or ’96 (who can say for sure?), after a Flaming Lips show that (despite the fact that they’d opened for, of all bands, Candlebox) remains one that shaped my world view, my friend and I approached an open side door, shivering and giggling as we continued to find bits of confetti...
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So I guess it’s customary to pull a quote from the interview in question for an appropriate headline – but I didn’t. I pulled this headline out of the feeling I got from reading Kevin Greenspon‘s answers to my questions this evening, while being washed with his compositions. I came across Greenspon’s work as...
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