Sia hides behind a rainbow scarf an audience member knitted for her. Photos and text by Laurie Scavo.
I admit, I’ve been listening to Sia’s new CD, “Some People Have Real Problems,” as background music for about the last month. And I like it — as background music.
My first opportunity to “really” listen, however, was in the car on the way to see her at the Fox Theatre in Boulder on Sunday. Everyone makes fun of me for this, but I always listen to music from [...]

David Amram (above) joined Flobots and various slam poets at the Denver Public Library on Saturday. Photos by Brian Carney.
I resent it when bands instruct me to “wave my hands in the air,” and furthermore I become increasingly uncomfortable if they add “like you just don’t care.” Who are you, sir, to tell me what to do with my hands, or to pontificate about my level of involvement?
Call me a party pooper, a scrooge, or some evil killer of youthful solidarity, but I feel embarrassed [...]

Joshua Novak bested the opening bands at the Hi-Dive last Thursday. Photos by Reverb contributor Brian Carney.
New contributing writer Lisa Gedgaudas checks in with this review of Thursday’s Joshua Novak show at the Hi-Dive with Andrea Ball and Carbon Choir:
Denver’s Andrea Ball has been pretty aggressive with her basic viral marketing skills the last few months, continuously putting her virtual self and music in your face. Sometimes you just have to refuse a MySpace friend request simply to find the will to see for yourself. [...]

Color is good. It reminds us that we have little rods and cones in the back of our eyeballs that tell our brain that what we are looking at is funny or sparkly. Men is both funny-colored and sparkly. Photos by contributor Doug Beam.
Men, a DJ act that consists of JD Samson and Johanna Fateman of electro-indie torchbearers Le Tigre, performed at the Hi-Dive on Sunday with Hey Willpower. Our intrepid writer Loren Speer and photographer Doug Beam could barely be roused to notice anything [...]

Drive-By Truckers clearly stepped up their game at the Bluebird on Friday. Photos by contributor Julio Enriquez.
The shoulder-to-shoulder crowd at the Ogden Theatre on Friday was more of a zoo than other evenings. The crowd was an eclectic mix of hippies, yuppies, hillbillies and a certain hybrid of all of the above. Drive-By Truckers opened up with my second-favorite track off “The Dirty South,” entitled “Puttin’ People on the Moon” (my favorite being “Carl Perkins’ Cadillac,” to be played later).
This cut had a strong, larger-than-life [...]

Yeah, we know how it looks: Weird. Photos by Rever contributor Matt Schild.
When HorrorPops’ lead singer Patricia Day asks an audience a question there’s only one answer — “HELL YES!” And “hell yes” pretty much sums up the way you’ll feel after watching HorrorPops perform. Taking the stage with two of the hardest working go-go dancers I’ve seen, the trio displayed its signature mix of punk rock energy and rockabilly swagger to a sold out Bluebird Theater on Friday.
The crowd reflected the differing musical styling [...]

Ellison Park opened a stunning-yet-empty show at Dulcinea’s 100th Monkey on Wednesday. Ego vs. Id took the stage later. Photos by Reverb contributor Brian Carney.
It’s happened to all of us all too many times. You’re at a killer rock show, but it’s only you, a few friends, a couple girls linked to the band and the bartender paying any attention to the music.
Wednesday’s show at Dulcinea’s featured two of the area’s brightest up-and-comers, solo soul act Ellison Park and garage popsters Ego vs. Id. Not [...]

Bang Camaro brought their gigantic stage show to the Bluebird Theater on Saturday night, and it was easy to feel the Boston metal band’s energy. Photos by Reverb contributor Doug Beam.
Twenty lead singers and a plethora of guitarists railing old-school metal with the assistance of a bass player and drummer.
That’s all we knew about Bang Camaro going into the Boston band’s Saturday gig at the Bluebird Theater. Of course, only one stat sticks out in that equation: 20 lead singers.
That’s right. 20. Lead. Singers.

Atlanta’s Black Lips tore up an almost-capacity Bluebird Theater on Saturday night with their ’60s-rooted, hyper-melodic garage rock. Photos by Reverb contributor Laurie Scavo.
As the Black Lips worked up a happy sweat on Saturday night at their Bluebird Theater gig — singing “Do you really wanna hold my dirty hand?” in a way that sounded like John was alive and back together with Paul … kind of. It was easy to feel the love.
The Beatles comparisons go on and on at a Black Lips [...]

The Flobots used their sold-out Gothic Theatre show on Saturday to spread the good word of activism via hip-hop. Photos by Reverb contributor Brian Carney.
Sure, bands use the big shows as platforms to release their new CDs or music videos.
But the Flobots might be the only group in town that use their biggest headlining show (to date) to launch their very own non-profit organization.
“We were thinking that music could be something more than entertainment,” said Jamie Laurie, a.k.a. Jonny 5, one of the Flobots’ MCs, [...]