Category: Local

Live reviews of local acts playing in, around, and of Denver.

Threading the Scene: An Interview with The Dont’s and Be Carefuls
December 3, 2009 Off

Threading the Scene: An Interview with The Dont’s and Be Carefuls

By Billy Thieme

Officially a band for just under two years (and a significant part of that time was spent finishing school up in Greeley), Denver’s The Don’ts and Be Carefuls are quickly racking up a live history that many local bands would die for. In that short time, they’ve shared the stage with bands like Hot IQs, Tapes ‘N Tapes, Mumiy Troll and HEALTH, to name a few, and they’re already throwing an EP Release party Friday night, December 4, at Meadowlark.

Not to say they sound alike – well, maybe a little (I wouldn’t be surprised to find that their sheet music shared similar coffee stains) – but Hot IQs corpse has barely quit steaming, and with The DBCs, Denver’s already faced with a suitor more than capable of helping us to move out of mourning, and back on to the dance floor. This band’s catchy thrash-while-you-stomp-and-giggle style is bound to prick up more than a few dozen ears after Friday night, and should be well on its way into the local scene’s psyche by the time the weekend’s over.

Mason Jennings, Nathaniel Rateliffe & the Wheel @ the Bluebird Theater – Reverb
November 15, 2009 Off

Mason Jennings, Nathaniel Rateliffe & the Wheel @ the Bluebird Theater – Reverb

By Billy Thieme

You might think that Mason Jennings’ decision to become a member of Jack Johnson’s Brushfire label family would be an iffy move for the fiercely independent singer-songwriter that he is, and whether the association would soften his style. I did, until I saw him play at the Bluebird last Friday night. I was certain I would be subject to a too-clean, pop-folky string of bouncy, happy tunes, the ilk of which build up the majority of Johnson’s oeuvre. Not so. Jennings remains a strong, almost surly and unabashedly political songwriter, with more in common with Paul Westerberg or Elliott Smith than the lighthearted crooner.

DenverThread Live Review: Vitamins w/The Outfit, Meadowlark, 11/7/09
November 11, 2009 Off

DenverThread Live Review: Vitamins w/The Outfit, Meadowlark, 11/7/09

By Billy Thieme

The Meadowlark Bar continues to set the bar for live national and local lineups in a hip, comfortable environment night after night. Last Saturday’s lineup was no exception, and featured The Outfit and headliners Vitamins, both originally from Greeley, after being supported by Johnny Burroughs (also a Greeley native) and Seattle’s garage-bluesy The Curious Mystery. The last two groups stole the night, and each packed the place with what looked like two separate crowds.
Vitamins’ style ranges from sweeping, ethereal arrangements that recall Cocteau Twins and Ride, to grooving psychedelic noise pop reminiscent of Sonic Youth or Yo La Tengo. Strong, anchoring euro-jazz bass lines and often sparse, lilting vocals also add an otherworldly, Stereolab quality to it as well. Their mixture of these influences creates a sound that’s almost entirely their own – but not quite. For a relatively young band – they formed in 2005 in Greeley, and transplanted themselves in Denver not too long after – they’ve come a long way in a short time, but still seem to favor different influences on an almost song-by-song basis. Overall, though, the variety makes for one of Denver’s more exciting live shows.

Speedwolf hits the road to tour the midwest, after opening for Valient Thorr at Larimer Lounge
November 9, 2009 Off

Speedwolf hits the road to tour the midwest, after opening for Valient Thorr at Larimer Lounge

By Billy Thieme

One of Denver’s hardest working metal bands, Speedwolf, is about to embark on a week-long tour of the midwest to spread their raucous brand of speed metal to the heartland. Starting out in Des Moines, IA on Thursday, November 19, the band will play shows back-to-back every night for six nights, traveling through Chicago, Lakewood (Ohio), Lansing, St. Louis and Kansas City before heading back home to Denver (dates are listed below). Seems exhausting, but if any band can pull it off and live to tell about it, it’s this one.

After months of playing multiple shows around Denver nearly every week, the band is excited to take their high energy, explosive speed metal show on the road – and answer to the public that’s been calling them out. They’ll be sharing stages on the tour with bands like Borderline Insanity, Animal Mothers, Calin’s Murder, Music Hates You, Wastelander and Die Wasted, among others, but they’re most excited to be playing a few with Nunslaughter and SuperChrist.

New Release: Local Shakedown, Vol. 3 – Radio 1190’s brilliant snapshot of the Denver scene
October 13, 2009 Off

New Release: Local Shakedown, Vol. 3 – Radio 1190’s brilliant snapshot of the Denver scene

By Billy Thieme

If you’re familiar with Radio 1190 (KVCU Boulder, The University of Colorado at Boulder’s independent station) in general, or their weekly Friday afternoon show dedicated to the local scene in particular, you already have a pretty good idea of the significance of this release. “Local Shakedown, Vol 3,” is the third installment of the radio station’s compilation of the best of the local best, and this year’s promises to be the best so far.