Introducing: 43rd Street Zoo Presents – promoting Denver’s punk and techno scenes

Around the beginning of this year, Brandy Darling and Kevin Carlberg – AKA Cardinal – decided to pool their resources towards a common goal: to bring together two of Denver’s thriving sub-scenes. Cardinal is a fixture in Denver’s techno scene, while Darling promotes the punk rock side – and both of them have been stalwarts in the local scene for years. And so, they started booking and promoting local and national acts as “43rd Street Zoo Presents.” Pooling their resources and connections made perfect sense, and the association has already resulted in a few significant offerings.

Their first event, “Globally Dead: The Anti-Global Dance Party,” the  “. . .definitive anti-party after party to the annual Global Dance Party at Red Rocks,” according to Darling, was held at the Denver Creative Co-Operative Studios (DCCS) at 4th and Lincoln last July, and brought in more than 250 people to rock ’til dawn to tunes spun by more than 10 DJs.

Since then, the duo have presented more than a few shows at Denver’s world-famous Lion’s Lair, including D.F.O.S., Sons of Disobedience and The Taints on September 4th, DJ Baggett on September 20th and Privatized Air (California) with Brother Rockwell on October 1st. This weekend they’re presenting Punishment of Scaphae with Eldon Riley on Saturday, October 3rd, and meaTBikini, Slow Form of Suicide (Illinois) and Sons of Disobedience on Sunday the 4th.

Darling had this to say about the duo’s intentions: “. . . . Our vision for 43rd Street Zoo Presents [is] to bring together the people of two different music scenes, and to expose people to music they might not otherwise consider listening to. Cardinal, whose real name is Kevin Carlberg, is from the drum and bass/techno scene, and I have my roots in punk and rock. We cross-promote across the two scenes, and have begun building a community around this concept at different venues around Denver, including the famous Lion’s Lair on Colfax Ave.”

Simple? Sure! But a powerful combination, being promoted by a few of these scenes’ strongest insiders.

For a taste of the blend, and to help them continue growing, get out to the Lion’s Lair Sunday night for the meaTBikini (11 PM), Slow Form of Suicide (Illinois- 10PM) and Sons of Disobedience (9 PM) show. This is 43rd Street’s first national act, and they’re definitely worth the measley $5 cover (21+), especially if, like me, you appreciate good, solid punk rock. The show was going to include Doll Dumpster, but a few of the band members had to cancel. Rumor is that a few of the Doll Dumpsters will be at the show, and could be coaxed into playing a song or two!

Support your scene, and show the legendary Lion;s Lair some love! See you Sunday!