Weekend Preview: December 16th – December 18th, 2011

Here’s what’s going on in Denver this weekend. The events I plan on attending are in RED. Come say Hi!

Friday, December 16th, 2011

SEXTAPE

• Yonnas Abraham “SEXTAPE” @ Conceited Bastard Art Gallery (738 Santa Fe Dr, Suite A) – After releasing a song a week for 8 weeks in a cycle known as “A Prequel to SEXTAPE”, Yonnas Abraham is ready to reveal what is perhaps his most ambitious project. The night will include a photography exhibit, a live model in a glass box, an all-star band performing “SEXTAPE” and “Prequel to a SEXTAPE” in its entirety, and free food and booze. Not to be missed. 9PM, 21+, $10. Also, there will be a REVERB sponsored after-party at 3 Kings Tavern DJ’d by Savior Breath. 21+, FREE.
• Serious Moonlight w/ Attic Attack @ Illegal Pete’s Lodo – Come here Alan Andrews complain about Colorado going soft-rock while he plays his acoustic Americana jams. Donny Rose of Attic Attack will be stoked just to be out of the house! 10PM, All Ages, FREE! After party at Donny’s house (ask him for directions).
• In The Whale Video Release Party @ In The Whale House (1805 Irving Street Unit C) – Ugly sweaters, new video for their HftH entry “Heels”, and a dog named Porkchop. That’s all I need to know. And, Yes, I WILL hit all three of these events in one night! 10PM, All Ages, FREE (but float the band a couple bucks for beers, ya cheap bastard).
• Micah Schnabel (of Two Cow Garage) CD Release w/ Tin Horn Prayer @ Hi-Dive – 10PM, 21+, $7.
• P-Nuckle w/ The A-OK’s and Special Guests @ Gothic Theater – 8PM, 16+, $12.
• KBPI Mistletoe Jam – Plan B featuring Wayne Static and Special Guests @ Fillmore Auditorium – 7PM, 16+, $10.67.
• The Fox Street Allstars w/ Broken Tongues @ Cervantes’ Other Side – 9PM, All Ages, $8.

Saturday, December 17th, 2011

Hometown for the Holidays

• Channel 93.3’s Hometown for the Holidays @ Casselman’s – Congratulations to The Heyday, My Body Sings Electric, and Churchill! 8PM, 18+, FREE
• Colfax Speed Queen w/ Sun Red @ Wax Trax Records – Sun Red is one of my favorite new bands. Do yourself a favor and come check them out for free in the afternoon. 3PM, All Ages, FREE
• John Common & Blinding Flashes of Light w/ Achille Lauro @ Larimer Lounge – A very cool lineup. Wish I could make it… 9PM, 21+, $13.
• Bonnie & The Beard w/ The Ghost Towners @ Berkeley Inn (38th & Tennyson) – 9PM, 21+, FREE
• Be Brave w/ Calibrate Me and Special Guests @ Marquis Theater – 7PM, All Ages, $15.
• Garage A Trois w/ Zobomaze @ Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom – 9PM, All Ages, $15.
• Salt N Pepa w/ Wheelchair Sports Camp @ Gothic Theatre – 9PM, 16+, $50. Did I read that right? FIFTY BUCKS?!? Damn…
• Matisyahu w/ Dubskin @ Ogden Theatre – 9PM, 16+, $30.

Sunday, December 18th, 2011

• Sleeptalk w/ The Patent Pending and Special Guests @ Marquis Theater – 5PM, 21+, $10.

Weekend Preview: November 17th – November 20th, 2011

Here’s what’s going on in Denver this weekend. Events I plan on attending are in RED. Come say “Hi”!

Thursday, November 17th, 2011

• Fishbone w/ The Dendrites and Bop Skizzum @ Cervante’s Other Side – The Fishbone documentary “Everyday Sunshine” will be shown at 7:30PM followed by a Q&A with the band.  Live performances will start around 9:30. I’m looking forward to seeing Bop Skizzum’s new leading lady Julie Almeria for the first time! 7:30 PM, All Ages, $18.
• Empires w/ Wire Faces and Greenery Book Club @ Larimer Lounge – Larimer Lounge will be rocking with Chi-Town’s Empires and FoCo’s Wire Faces. 8:30 PM, 21+, $10.
• Michal Menert w/ Gramatik @ Fox Theater (Boulder) – Catch the Pretty Lights collaborator and co-producer Menert at The Fox. Sure to be hot and sweaty. 9PM, All Ages, $20.

Friday, November 18th, 2011

• In The Whale w/ Loom and Be The Ant @ AF Ray’s (Greeley) – I wonder what it would feel like to be the ant in the whale. 9PM, 18+, $5.
• Shwayze w/ Cobraconda and Mod Sun @ Cervante’s Other Side – I loved Shwayze in “Point Break”. Just kidding – this Cali duo is chill. Unlike Cobraconda, who sweat a combination of PBR and stripper glitter. 9 PM, All Ages, $18.
• Bonnie & The Beard w/ Special Guests @ Lion’s Lair – B&B headline the 1st Annual Girl Wreck Fest. See four of Denver’s hottest female-fronted bands. 9PM, 21+, $6.
• Caramel Carmela w/ Kill Paradise, Places, and Fulcrum @ Marquis Theater – 7:30PM, All Ages, $10.
• Wax Trax Benefit Show with Party Hard, The A-OK’s, and More @ Moe’s Original BBQ & Bowl – 8:30PM, All Ages, $10.
• Elephant Revival w/ SHEL @ Bluebird Theater – Indie/Americana straight outta Nederland, CO. 9PM, 16+. $20.
• Royal Bangs w/ Bear Hands @ Hi-Dive – These bands put on two of the most attended gigs at this summer’s Underground Music Showcase. A killer double-bill! 9PM, 18+, $12.
• Zed’s Dead @ Ogden Theater – The Toronto dubstep duo plays the first of two nights at the Ogden Theater. Different supporting lineups each night. Word. 9PM, 16+, $26.
• Anchorage w/ Forty Fathoms, Parallels, More! @ Summit Music Hall – 7PM, All Ages, $8.
• Tedeschi Trucks Band w/ JJ Grey @ Gothic Theater – 8PM, 16+, $50.

Saturday, November 19th, 2011

• Air Dubai w/ The Food Chain & Cobraconda @ Fox Theater (Boulder) – I was hoping to finally see Reno Divorce tonight, but all my friends are going to be here so… 9PM, All Ages, $14.
• Reno Divorce w/ MF Ruckus and Mad Dog & The Smoking J’s @ Herman’s Hideaway – 7:30PM, 21+, $10.
• Dirty Backseat Lovers and Demon Funkies CD Release Party w/ Brent  Loveday @ Soiled Dove Underground – Two Denver rock bands celebrate simultaneous release (pause) of their respective CD’s.  Iron man Brent Loveday will put in a solo performance before fronting Reno Divorce at Herman’s later in the night. Coooool! 8PM, 21+, $10-15.
• Little Scream w/ Bobby and Sarah Slaton @ Larimer Lounge – I wuv you, sarah! 7:30PM, 21+, $13.
• Calling Out West w/ Calibrate Me and More @ Moe’s Original BBQ and Bowl – Sorry, Calling Out West. I know I’ve promised to come check you guys out. But just look at the schedule for today! It’s crazy stacked! I’ve got two words for Calibrate Me: “chromatic” “tuner”. lulz. 9PM, 16+, $5.
• Wheelchair Sports Camp w/ Special Guests @ Hi Dive – 9PM, 18+, $6.
• Elephant Revival w/ Steep Canyon Rangers @ Bluebird Theater – Steve Martin’s backup band opens for Elephant Revival. 9PM, All Ages. $22.
• Corey Taylor (of Slipknot and Stone Sour) @ Gothic Theater – The singer will perform songs from throughout his career and answer questions from the audience. Neat! 9PM, All Ages, $28.
• Blessthefall w/ The World Alive + More @ Marquis Theater – 6PM, All Ages, $16.
• Plaid  w/ Hollidayrain and Water Babys @ Bluebird Theater – 9PM, 16+, $16.
• PANTyRAID w/ Nit Grit @ Fillmore Auditorium – 7:30 PM, 16+, $35.

Sunday, November 20th, 2011

• Priory w/ Reviving Cecilia and Jesse Manley Band @ Hi Dive – Gotta see Reviving Cecilia again. Those Eisley-like vocals just make me feel all gooey inside. 9PM, 21+, $7.
• Tommy & The High Pilots w/ In The Whale @ Moe’s Original BBQ & Bowl – I’ll probably shoot back and forth between Hi Dive and Moe’s. 9PM, 16+, $5.
• Afton Showcase w/ All Waffle Trick, Say Yes, Top Hat Manifesto, Liberator, MIX Music, SET IN MOTION, Fall Line, Paige Barret @ Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom. 6:30PM, All Ages, $12.
• Sting @ Wells Fargo Theater – Heard of him? This tour is to celebrate his 25th anniversary as a solo artist! He formed The Police 10 years before that! Amazing. 8PM, All Ages, $Arm-$Leg

Concert Preview: Hawthorne Heights w/ ViFolly, Life in Electric, and Calibrate Me @ Hi Dive

I am really feeling the effects of back-to-back drunken nights with Places/Dirty Rotten Rhymers and In The Whale/Petals of Spain. But, that’s the way it goes sometimes and I must power through – particularly since the Hi Dive has such a strong lineup tonight.

Hawthorne Heights
Success has not been easy for Dayton, Ohio’s Hawthorne Heights. Since releasing their debut album in 2004 on the strength of their emo anthem “Ohio is for Lovers”, the band has been sued by two of its record companies, been in a high profile media feud with rapper Ne-Yo, and lost their lead guitarist/”screamer” vocalist Casey Calvert to an accidental prescription drug interaction. In August, they released the first in a trilogy of self-issued EP’s. “Hate” features more “aggressive songs” that are “a lot heavier than anything we’ve ever done”, according to the band’s lead singer JT Woodruff. Judging by the “Is This What You Wanted?”, that claim is hard to dispute.

ViFolly
Also from Ohio, ViFolly is making their first trip to Denver. ViFolly is the project of twin brothers Matt and James Prather. They write different styles of music both for themselves and others, and the tracks they’ve posted on ReverbNation are scattered. Their strongest track is the ambitious, A Perfect Circle inspired “Feathers”. Check out this fan-made video:

Life in Electric
As documented in my September interview with Ross Ryan, Denver’s Life in Electric has had an interesting last 12 months. After going on hiatus in the Fall of 2010, guitarist Ryan, Bassist Zach Newton, and drummer Ryan Ramirez hooked up with former Speakeasy Tiger vocalist Kyle Simmons to form the band Boys. But, Boys had internal problems of their own and went on hiatus in June of 2010. That gave new life for Life in Electric. As has been well documented, the band was preparing for tonight’s show when Boys got called up by Jane’s Addition to open up for them on three shows – the last of which is tomorrow (October 17th) in New York City. Whether the two bands can continue to coexist is yet to be determined. I certainly hope so, as both bands feature very songs with strong hooks, sludgy guitars, and unique vocalists.

Calibrate Me
Calibrate Me was chosen by 93.3 KTCL listeners to play the big stage at the 93.3 Big Gig earlier this year – sharing a stage with one of the band’s most obvious influcences: Blink-182. At the last minute, the stage manager at Comfort Dental Amphitheater booted them off the the main stage lineup because there wasn’t enough room for their equipment (it is typical for stage managers to stack equipment from the back to the front – headliners to openers – in order to facilitate faster changeovers. Still, that’s a pretty hard pill for a young band to swallow, as they were moved to the smaller “locals” stage.

See you at the Hi-Dive! It starts early, so make sure to arrive before 6:30 PM.

Weekend Preview: October 13th – October 16th, 2011

Here’s what’s going on in Denver this weekend. Events I plan on attending are in RED. Come say “Hi”!

Thursday, October 13th, 2011

• Dax Riggs w/ In The Whale, and guests @ Larimer Lounge – Riggs brings his band of Louisiana voodoo rock to the Larimer Lounge for two nights starting Thursday. Everyday (In The Mile High) friends In The Whale are opening! 8 PM, 21+, $15 ($20 for a 2-day pass).
• “FORTY FIVE with ALF” @ The Meadowlark – No, KTCL’s “Locals Only” DJ Alf is not turning 45 (but he’s not that far off). Wikipedia informs me that “45’s” are actually vinyl platters which are seven inches in diameter and have grooves that produce audio when a special needle is dragged along them. What will they think of next? He’ll mostly be playing instrumentals from the 50s, 60s and 70s.  Soul, funk, rock and jazz. 8 PM, 21+, cover unknown.
• Pete Stein w/ Statue of Liberty and Black Dots @ Lion’s Lair – 8 PM, 21+, $5
• Boulder Acoustic Society @ Illegal Pete’s Downtown – 7 PM, All Ages, FREEEEEE!
• The Photo Atlas begin their East Coast tour in Omaha, Nebraska. Knock ’em dead, boys!
• CSS @ Bluebird Theater – 7:30 PM, 16+, $20

Friday, October 14th, 2011

Dirty Rotten Rhymers

• Places w/ The Canopy, Dirty Rotten Rhymers, and CrOoKiD @ Rockstar Lounge – P is for Party! And S is for Sexy… and Shoes. Places rocks and Dirty Rotten Rhymers will debut their latest jam about footwear. 8 PM, 21+, $5
• Chris Daniels & The Kings @ Nissi’s (Lafayette) – The big news hear is “holy shit! There’s a live music club in Lafayette?!?”. 7:30 PM, 18+, $10
• Yellowcard @ Fox Theater (Boulder) – 9 PM, $25, All Ages

Saturday, October 15th, 2011 – HAPPY BIRTHDAY E.J. JOHNSON and ALEX HALVORSON (Popcult)!!!

Petals of Spain w/ In The Whale

• Petals of Spain w/ In The Whale @ Bar Bar – What’s black and white and has 14 arms and 18 eyes?  9 PM, 21+, FREEEEEE!
• Tankcsapda w/ Monroe Monroe @ Buffalo Rose (Golden) – Monroe Monroe has been pretty quiet while recording their new record. They’ll probably be playing lots of new stuff while opening for the Hungarian metal band. 8 PM, $15
• Rose Hill Drive w/ Dax Riggs and Mercuria and the Gem Stars @ Fox Theater – 9 PM, All Ages, $15
• Between Fate @ D-Note (Arvada) – Between Fate brings hard rock to Arvada! They’ll play some of their songs “unplugged” to make the ladies swoon. Sounds like a “target rich” environment! 9 PM, 21+, $5
• Howard Jones @ Summit Music Hall – The 80’s synth scientist will play his hit albums “Human’s Lib” and “Dream into Action”. I was totally gonna go until I realized that Jones and Thomas Dolby are not the same person – 7 PM, All Ages, $35
• Snake Rattle Rattle Snake begins their West Coast tour in San Diego, California. Knock ’em dead, boys (and Hayley)!

Sunday, October 16th, 2011

• Hawthorne Heights w/ Life in Electric, ViFolly, and Calibrate Me @ Hi Dive – The triumphant return of Life in Electric as they open for Ohio new-wave emo rock band Hawthorne Heights! Channel 93.3 Big Gig finalists Calibrate Me will also be on hand. Not to be missed! 6:00 PM, 16+, $10
• Roger Daltrey @ 1st Bank Center – The Who’s vocalist promises to perform the rock opera “Tommy” in its entirety plus Who hits and more! 6:30 PM, All Ages, $45 – $126