Tag: Live Review

“I told you all that to tell you this.” Henry Rollins speaks out at Paramount Theater, Friday, Sept. 21, 2012
September 22, 2012 Off

“I told you all that to tell you this.” Henry Rollins speaks out at Paramount Theater, Friday, Sept. 21, 2012

By Billy Thieme

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 hasn’t always been seen as the erudite, polite-alomst-to-a-fault, 21st Century renaissance philosopher that he’s grown into over the past decade.

Wait for it… the UMS isn’t over yet. It’s just getting stronger. Trust us.
July 24, 2011 Off

Wait for it… the UMS isn’t over yet. It’s just getting stronger. Trust us.

By Billy Thieme

The mighty UMS weekend may be drawing to a close, but it’s far from done. The last day brings some of the best of the bunch, and you won’t want to miss any of it. All three days previous have been more than spectacular – and have shown off the Denver scene for what it is: strong, diverse and more than anything just plain good.

So you’ll want to dust off your flippy-floppies and saddle up your hangover, drench yourself in sunscreen and get out on Broadway lickety-split – before it wraps itself up and we kiss another year goodbye!

The final day has its work cut out for it, with a lineup that’s definitely up to the task. Read on to see a few of our recommendations.

The UMS hits full speed today – plan accordingly! Don’t worry – we’re here to help.
July 23, 2011 Off

The UMS hits full speed today – plan accordingly! Don’t worry – we’re here to help.

By Billy Thieme

The 11th Annual UMS is now in its third day, and rounding the inside corner to slingshot itself into full, reckless, dangerous and foolhardy speed, and you’re going to want to grab on for dear life about now, and hold on. It’s going to get a lot more beautiful before too long, and there’ll be more than you can imagine to see, hear, taste and drink.

All the more reason to follow our recommendations for which bands to see, where, and just a little bit of why.

Today’s also the day that the all ages crowd can take the most advantage of the many, many options – and we’ve put a little emphasis on the bands playing that anyone can see, to encourage you to get out from under the Xbox and GET OUT HERE, NOW!

The UMS is rockin’ – Here’s DenverThread’s list for Day Two
July 22, 2011 Off

The UMS is rockin’ – Here’s DenverThread’s list for Day Two

By Billy Thieme

Day one’s in the books, and it looks as if the 11th Annual UMS is off to a roarin’ start!

But – if you thought last Thursday night’s activities were brilliant, epic, miraculous – or tragic, melancholy, maudlin – hold on to your pants. The momentum’s just beginning!
Friday is the New Black

Here are our toppers for Friday, July 22 – and we’re happy to say that it was a damned tough job boiling the lineup down! The first few are our predictions for Friday night’s owners of the UMS. Scroll on down for a listing of the rest of our recommendations, in chronological order (still just a fraction of all the action!).
Friday’s UMS Lineup is owned by …
Colourmusic –
3 Kings Tavern – Sailor Jerry Stage @11PM

Oklahoma seems to be fertile ground for a sort of bombastic optimism. Or maybe it’s a heightened sense of existentialism that leads artists to just say “Fuck it! I’m partying!” And then watch everything in their lives happily begin to fall into place. It’s chaos at its most beautifully complex, and most hilariously sublime.

Cue Colourmusic.

‘Nuff said. Go see them.

SRSLY.

Live Threads – Reverb: Wye Oak at Larimer Lounge, Saturday, April 2, 2011
April 4, 2011 Off

Live Threads – Reverb: Wye Oak at Larimer Lounge, Saturday, April 2, 2011

By Billy Thieme

At the Larimer Lounge on Saturday night, Jenn Wasner mentioned that she and bandmate Andy Stack of the Baltimore band Wye Oak, were tired. And justifiably so, having come from Salt Lake City that day, and in the very beginning of a 10-day stretch of their current tour that travels through the midwest and up into Montreal before they get a night off.

This apparent exhaustion, however, didn’t seem to make any difference in the duo’s performance.

A more valid reason the two should be tired, in fact, was the fury and passion they poured into an hour-long set. Often lumped in with indie or folk rock bands, presumably due to a tendency to alternate between screeching distortion and sparse minimalism on record, the pair was anything but mere folk that night. Wasner wailed meditations on solitude, love and aloneness and masterfully wrangled her guitar, while Stack covered the rest. Stack’s ability to multi-task the entire balance of such a huge sound — playing a trap set with both feet and his right hand while pounding on keyboards for both bass and melody with his left — was stunning to watch.