Category: National

Live reviews of act traveling through Denver, many published originally on Denver Post Reverb
New Threads: New tunes from Gypsy Nomads, Mad Dog and the Smokin’ Js and Deadbubbles
June 1, 2010 Off

New Threads: New tunes from Gypsy Nomads, Mad Dog and the Smokin’ Js and Deadbubbles

By Billy Thieme

The summer music overflow has begun, and Denver looks to be deluged with a constant influx, through-flux and home-spun-flux of music for the season, both live and recorded. Upstate New York’s Gypsy Nomads have released a new collection of twelve songs laced with oodles of magic – of both the cabaret/vaudeville and faerie ilk – that will have even the driest of cynics swaying, maybe even singing along, to the duo’s French medieval folk meets West-Mass punk instrumentation. Mad Dog and the Smokin’ Js recently released a live recording of a show at the Tomichi Tavern in Gunnison, CO that captures the bands’ sonic mayhem and should whet any aficionado’s roots appetite. Among other projects – which include a tribute album (currently in the works) and hosting the legendary Hugh Cornwell (frontman of the seminal British punk band Stranglers) in a truly exclusive show recently – Deadbubbles recently produced the “24 Hr. Nemesis” EP, a collection of early ambient recordings featuring White and current guitarist Paul Humphrey.

The Reverend Horton Heat @ the Boulder Theater, 01/15/10 – Reverb
January 21, 2010 Off

The Reverend Horton Heat @ the Boulder Theater, 01/15/10 – Reverb

By Billy Thieme

As far as psychobilly goes, you’re not likely to find a better practitioner than Jim “Reverend Horton” Heath and the rest of his legendary trio, the Reverend Horton Heat. The Texas group graced the Boulder Theater last Friday night in the middle of a multiple night tour in Colorado. Too bad the Boulder crowd didn’t completely wake up for the show!

Slim Cessna’s Auto Club @ the Bluebird Theater, 12/30/09 – Reverb
January 6, 2010 Off

Slim Cessna’s Auto Club @ the Bluebird Theater, 12/30/09 – Reverb

By Billy Thieme

Leave it to Slim Cessna’s Auto Club, who have put on one of Denver’s best live shows for more than a decade, to be the only band that could outdo their own reputation. That’s what happened last Wednesday at the Bluebird in the first of two New Year’s Eve celebratory shows. The six-piece not only proved their consummate showmanship, often sardonically tongue-in-cheek, but also a grasp of drama, playing as the cast of the classic cartoon Popeye. And they added some new tunes to their set — the first in more than three years.

Melt Banana @ the Bluebird Theater – 12/07/09 – Reverb
December 10, 2009 Off

Melt Banana @ the Bluebird Theater – 12/07/09 – Reverb

By Billy Thieme

For the first 25 minutes of their set at the Bluebird Theater Monday night,Melt Banana blasted the crowd with a melange of noise and darkness — pierced only by the members’ head-mounted lights — that felt like my imagination of shock therapy, without the benefit of that thick piece of rubber they shove in your mouth to keep you from biting through your tongue. Never have I been so impressed by the venue’s sound system, nor have I ever felt the need to don earplugs so badly. And yet I, along with the smallish, half-capacity (at best) crowd, loved every ear drum piercing minute of it. So much so that when the four piece settled into more accessible, 30- to 90-second pieces with recognizable rhythms and chords for the remainder of their set, we all seemed to miss the cacophony.

Pixies @ the Fillmore Auditorium (Day 1) – Reverb
November 17, 2009 Off

Pixies @ the Fillmore Auditorium (Day 1) – Reverb

By Billy Thieme

If you were a young adult anywhere near the “alternative” music scene in 1989 when the Pixies’ “Doolittle” album was originally released, you remember its buzz. This was no “ordinary” record, and it came from a decidedly un-“ordinary” band, at least for their time. Its significance has more than survived the test of time, which is exactly why the band was at the Fillmore Auditorium on Monday night to perform the whole damn thing — along with some subsequently released B-sides from around the same time.

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.

Live review: Art Brut @ Bluebird Theater 11/6/09 – Reverb
November 9, 2009 Off

Live review: Art Brut @ Bluebird Theater 11/6/09 – Reverb

By Billy Thieme

Argos’ stage persona, always confident and mumblingly hilarious, seemed to continuously morph. He channeled Mark E. Smith, Lester Bangs, John Lydon and Joey Ramone — sometimes all four at once — in front of the constantly wild antics of Catskilkin and Future. All of it was backed by the rhythm section formed by Feedback’s raucous bass and Breyer’s pounding drums.