Tag: local

Lion’s Lair Art Shows: East Colfax finds Jesus, and he’s hangin’ at the Lair!
January 27, 2010 Off

Lion’s Lair Art Shows: East Colfax finds Jesus, and he’s hangin’ at the Lair!

By Billy Thieme

Matthew Hunter is keeping his artful promises, and this time the results approach the sacred – and may come close to a little of the profane as well. Hunter promised himself recently that he would hold a cooperative art show in the Lion’s Lair, Denver’s venerated punk rock dive, every other month into perpetuity, or for as long as he (and the community) could stand it – whichever comes first.

Threading The Scene: The Inactivists spread their love straight into the heart of Denver
January 25, 2010 Off

Threading The Scene: The Inactivists spread their love straight into the heart of Denver

By Billy Thieme

I’ve been introduced to the perfect collection of songs to commemorate the “holiday,” complete with the appropriate level of irony, humor and lovelorn misgivings in The inactivists’ “Love Songs & Other Songs About Love,” released last year. So much more than merely a pile of rosy, soap opera schmaltz, this record, through The Inactivists’ sharp wit and sense of humor, represents probably the most honest revelation of love from the eyes of a constantly unrequited nerd (and let’s face it, all of us have been that, at one time or another), played by a band of Muppets that landed a daily gig in a bar inside David Lynch’s cranium.

The five piece plays an eclectic style of pop that defies any one genre, and deifies many. Sometimes it’s funk from Sly & the Family Stone – albeit often with an overwhelming flavor of Morris Day & The Time – and sometimes it’s arty rock from bands like King Crimson, or sick and flirty forays into psychedelia that rival Butthole Surfers’ wildest.

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.

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.

Fiercely Local: Jam Space USA and Whisper Fiercely join forces for the Denver music scene
November 5, 2009 Off

Fiercely Local: Jam Space USA and Whisper Fiercely join forces for the Denver music scene

By Billy Thieme

Two local businesses, each with some pretty serious clout and equally serious dedication to the local Denver music scene, recently joined forces to offer local bands, beginners or otherwise, a huge resource center to help them succeed. Whisper Fiercely has been a successful production company for the past two years and have always focused on the local. The group offers bands (and other businesses) design, merchandise, promotion and marketing help, and were also instrumental in organizing, promoting, booking and executing EchoFest ’09, the local band extravaganza (there were over 20 local bands on the lineup) at Echo Mountain. Jam Space USA, a local studio facility on North Federal, opened just a year ago, and offers local musicians professionally and fully stocked and wired studio and recording space, as well as promotional support. A few months ago, Whisper Fiercely moved into the building, and the two have decided to collaborate.