Sonic Youth singer-guitarist Thurston Moore was integral to his band’s vibrant performance at the Ogden Theatre on Friday. Photos by Tina Hagerling.
After almost 30 years, Sonic Youth still wield an intoxicating power to wrangle noise, sludge and cacophony — and to transform it into the now-pervasive style of music they themselves created and popularized. Friday night’s performance at the Ogden Theatre was a perfect example of the band’s artistic prowess. They led an incredibly packed Ogden Theatre through about two hours worth of their noisy, [...]

Phish isn’t generally known for its verbatim performances, but they pulled out all the technical stops on Saturday at Red Rocks. Photos by Candace Horgan.
In case anyone was thinking Phish just jams – rooting through each song for a door to another – Saturday night revealed a band that has spent many recent months practicing. In an intensely focused and tactical performance, Phish on Saturday night left the aimlessness of Friday’s show on the shelf and raced through some of its most technical, risky compositions, [...]

Cool or forced? You decide. Photo by John Leyba.
When you reach a certain age, rocking out stops looking so cool.
Aerosmith – hailed by many as the great American rock band of the last 30 years — certainly showed signs of its age at Fiddler’s Green Ampitheatre on Saturday. It was an evening of greatest hits, rock star clichés and ubiquitous, out-of-touch stage antics from lead singer Steven Tyler.

True Phish fans, i.e. every single person at Red Rocks Friday night, were rewarded for their vigil through the rain with a transcendent second set that may have included some of the band’s finest live moments — ever. Photos by Todd Radunsky.
The rain just won’t quit. I’m huddling inside a trash bag and a stream is becoming a river underneath my feet. Waterfalls tumble down red rocks. Amid a sea of soon-to-be-swimming Phish fans, a single refrain pulses through my brain: “I got a blank [...]