Archive for August 2009

Petition for 101.5 to return to airwaves

Petition for 101.5 to return to airwaves

Supporters of Indie 101.5 FM are compiling a petition to take to owners of the radio station in the hope they will use one of their open frequencies to bring the station’s unique format back to the air.
Time is of the essence: The petition will be submitted at a meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 1.



Interview: Fruit Bats

Interview: Fruit Bats

Eric D. Johnson (center) and his Fruit Bats have come into their own on the rambling new album “The Ruminant Band.” Photo by Annie Beedy, courtesy of Sub Pop.
Being part of a successful band is often a double-edged sword: You gain more attention, but it’s not always the right kind. Not that Eric D. Johnson is complaining. The Portland, Ore.-based musician recently became a fixture in indie rock figureheads the Shins. Johnson is a longtime friend and creative confidante of Shins leader James Mercer, so [...]



Live review: Joan Sebastian, Jenni Rivera, Banda el Recodo @ the Pepsi Center

Live review: Joan Sebastian, Jenni Rivera, Banda el Recodo @ the Pepsi Center

Joan Sebastian trotted out the hits — literally — at his Pepsi Center headlining slot on Saturday. Photos and text by Julio Enriquez.
Can you name the amount of shows you’ve been to that have had a pile of dirt nestled in the middle of an arena? I can. On Saturday, The Pepsi Center was converted to a makeshift rodeo with piles of dirt that adorned the middle of the floor for wild toro (bull) riding and show horses. On a bill heavy with regional Mexicano [...]



Live review: Def Leppard, Poison, Cheap Trick @ Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre

Live review: Def Leppard, Poison, Cheap Trick @ Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre

Poison’s Bret Michaels takes the stage to deafening cheers at Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre on Monday. Photos by John Leyba.
Usually there are two kinds of people in the world, but at Monday night’s nearly sold-out heavy metal breast-fest, there were three kinds, each one indignant because Cheap Trick, Poison or Def Leppard should have been the headliner.



Photo essay: Mos Def and Talib Kweli @ the Gothic Theatre

Photo essay: Mos Def and Talib Kweli @ the Gothic Theatre

Mos Def (above) holds his vintage mic close at the Gothic Theatre on Friday. Photos by Michael McGrath.
Talib Kweli and his longtime friend and collaborator Mos Def heated up the sold-out crowd at the Gothic Theatre in their sweaty sets there last Friday. Kweli and Hi-Tek performed as the duo Reflection Eternal, warming up for Mos Def’s eclectic set.



Live review: The Flaming Lips @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre

Live review: The Flaming Lips @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre

To say that the Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne loves confetti is an understatement. Photos by Tina Hagerling.
One could make the argument that you only need to see the Flaming Lips once every album cycle. As out-there/crazy as the Lips are with their live shows, there is a certain amount of repetition involved with their concerts.
But when a band’s rut involves crawling over the audience in plastic balls, confetti cannons, human-sized balloons released into the audience and dancing fans dressed as animals/monsters/creatures on the side of [...]



Live review: The Dead Weather @ the Ogden Theatre

Live review: The Dead Weather @ the Ogden Theatre

Jack White manned the drums — for the most part — at the Dead Weather’s show last week at the Ogden Theatre. Photos by Joe McCabe.
“I Cut Like a Buffalo” is hardly a stand-out track from the Dead Weather’s debut, “Horehound.” But the groove-jammed track was the highlight of the indie supergroup’s soulful set at the Ogden Theatre last week.



Live review: Great Northern, Night Owl, All Capitals, Vonnegut @ the Larimer Lounge

Live review: Great Northern, Night Owl, All Capitals, Vonnegut @ the Larimer Lounge

The odd booking at Great Northern’s Larimer Lounge concert on Friday didn’t diminish from the California rock act’s sterling performance. Photos by Lucia De Giovanni.
While I’ve become accustomed to the male-dominated nature of music in general, I found it particularly disappointing that by the time Great Northern took the stage at the Larimer Lounge on Friday night, not one of the three opening bands had any female musicians, or even a sound that could be considered somewhat reconcilable to Great Northern’s gothy, guitar-driven rock. Though [...]



Live review: The Pretenders, Juliette & the Licks @ Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield

Live review: The Pretenders, Juliette & the Licks @ Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield

Looking and sounding as great as ever, Chrissie Hynde led the Pretenders through a 75-minute set at a less-than-full Botanic Gardens stage at Chatfield on Saturday. Photos by John Leyba.
Chrissie Hynde took the stage at Denver Botanic Gardens on Saturday in a pinstriped vest, black tie, skin-tight jeans, thigh-high leather boots and a lime green tuxedo coat complete with tails. As the band launched into “Break Up the Concrete,” the heart and soul of the Pretenders started belting out the title track from their latest [...]



CD reviews: Radiohead, Colbie Caillat, Pissed Jeans

CD reviews: Radiohead, Colbie Caillat, Pissed Jeans

Radiohead, “Kid A,” “Amnesiac” and “Hail to the Thief” Collectors Editions (Capitol)
Radiohead broke cleanly, if a bit violently, from its guitar-driven past on 2000′s “Kid A,” an album more influenced by the jittery electro sounds of Richard D. James, Autechre and their stuttering ilk than the distorted squall of early heroes Sonic Youth and the Pixies. The band followed with the low-key sister album “Amnesiac” (2001) and the relative return to form “Hail to the Thief” (2003), although they’ve never really looked back since then.