Paper Route, above, was great last week at the Black Sheep, but the Nashville band was upstaged by locals the Epilogues, who put on an excellent show. Photos by Denise Chambers.
It was a pretty thin crowd at the Black Sheep on Wednesday, but that didn’t stop Paper Route and the Epilogues from putting on a great show. Paper Route was pretty good, and I’m a fan of their music. But it was the Epilogues who stole the night. Their energy was infectious. When they [...]

Thao Nguyen (and her big guitar) fronted an energetic set at the Hi-Dive on Wednesday. Photos by Marla Keown.
Samantha Crain & the Midnight Shivers opened up the show Wednesday night. One of Crain’s strings broke on the first song, so a guitarist was left telling jokes to the crowd while Crain replaced her string real quick. Next up was Sister Suvi, and their set was a lot less mellow than Crain’s — and they even invited all the bands up to the stage to beat [...]

If you’re into psych-infused instrumental surf-rock, you’ll dig Skeletonbreath. Photo by Mike White, courtesy of myspace.com/skeletonbreath.
Last Tuesday’s line-up at the Larimer Lounge was auspicious enough that even Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper was there. And Denver, if you ever had any doubt about how truly rad your mayor is, imagine him enjoying a few beers to the homeless tunes of Slak Jaw. ‘Nuff said.

Ponytail got crazy — and thankful — at their Hi-Dive show on Tuesday. Photo: myspace.com/ponytailtunes
“Thanks, you guys! It feels really good … it feels really great!”
This token of appreciation was extended to the meager Hi-Dive crowd via a blissfully-exhausted huff from singer Molly Siegel. Her band, Ponytail had just finished their set on Tuesday, and Seigel’s goodbye seemed a little odd given what preceded it moments earlier.

The Faint played the Ogden Theatre on Tuesday, and the Nebraska-based electro band remains a force to be reckoned with. Photos by Julio Enriquez.
Is it still cool to label music as electroclash? When is electro not electro?
These questions are valid when listening to one of the pioneers of the movement and one of the movement’s followers. The Faint has not become the cliche electro band. It could have been really easy for them to fall into that trap. Insteadthe Midwesterners proved at the Ogden Theatre [...]

The Dead Weather — from left to right, “Little” Jack Lawrence, Jack White, Dean Fertita and Alison Mosshart — is touring the U.S. and will stop in Denver in August.
What is the speed of buzz? It depends who is involved.
When the buzz surrounds Jack White, let’s call it light speed. When the Dead Weather’s music started spreading a few months back, it spread quick. It helped, too, that Kills singer/spazoid Alison Mosshart is fronting White’s new band.

Slingshot Dakota played a small house show in North Denver last week. This photo, of a different show, by John Reiss: courtesy of myspace.com/slingshotdakota and flickr.com/buffaloa.
The band name Slingshot Dakota is a little misleading — geographically speaking. They are not from either of the upper-Midwestern states that share half of their names with the band. Instead the two-piece ensemble, consisting of keyboard and drums, splits their time between the hometowns of Tom Paterson (Easton, PA) and Carly Comando (Brooklyn, NY).

How do you define “stoner rock?” Let us — along with Crystal Antlers, see above playing the Larimer Lounge last week — count the ways. Photos by Sarah Slater.
Judging from the couple whiffs of Mary Jane I noticed in the Larimer Lounge and Crystal Antlers’ ’70s-style hard rock, blues and psychedelia combination, it’s safe to describe the band’s sound as “stoner rock.” And contrary to popular belief, not all pot smokers partake in two joints every day, nor do they all cite Sublime in their [...]

Rose Hill Drive singer-guitarist Daniel Sproul at the 2008 Mile High Music Festival. Photo by Laurie Scavo.
Is Boulder rock band Rose Hill Drive breaking up? The rumor has been circulating throughout Denver and Boulder for the last week. But The Post has the answer.
Not exactly.

3OH!3’s Nathaniel Motte flies through the air with the greatest of ease during his band’s recent AP Tour headlining set at the Fox Theatre. Photo by Joe McCabe.
O, snap.
After seeing their alternative rock single “Don’t Trust Me” take off at Top 40 radio, Boulder-based electro duo 3OH!3 watched the song go platinum this week with sales topping 1.1 million, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.