Best Shows in Denver 7/4/19 – 7/10/19

Priests perform at Lost Lake on 7/7, photo by Drew Hagelin

Thursday | July 4

Rubedo at Tree Fort Music Fest circa 2013, photo by Tom Murphy

What: Rubedo’s Independence Day V w/Matt Embree (member RX Bandits, Dispatch and The Sound of Animals Fighting), Poor Bodhi, DJ Reubot
When: Thursday, 07.04, 7 p.m.
Where: Bluebird Theater
Why: For five years now Rubedo has been doing an Independence Day show that includes friends and comrades in music and cultural resistance. This year includes Matt Embree, frontman of eclectic prog/punk/psych band Rx Bandits who is also a member of post-hardcore supergroup The Sound of Animals Fighting. Rubedo itself is no stranger to being difficult to pigeonhole. All its players have a degree of respectable musical chops and adept at mixing improvised sections in the songs based on the mood of the moment. One might call it a prog band because of the direct influence of The Mars Volta but also psychedelic rock and indirectly the musical thinking and techniques of hip-hop even though its all live instrumentation. The storytelling and themes of Rubedo songs somehow also manage to be positive and aimed toward a better future and celebrating the present without coming off as insincere.

Friday | July 5

Pictureplane circa 2015, photo by Tom Murphy

What: Pictureplane w/OptycNerd and DEBR4H
When: Friday, 07.05, 8 p.m.
Where: Larimer Lounge
Why: Pictureplane returns to Denver where he first made waves in the underground beyond his home state of New Mexico. As one of the residents of Rhinoceropolis he was a real ambassador to experimental electronic dance bands in Denver and far beyond, evangelizing the DIY ethic and Rhinoceropolis and Monkey Mania to the places far and wide including performances in Russia. His musical style has evolved over the years and recently included more industrial textures and sounds but at his core, he’s an idiosyncratic artist who is trying to push his aesthetic in interesting directions.

Saturday | July 6

Sour Boy, Bitter Girl circa 2011, photo by Tom Murphy

What: Get Your Eyes Swoll: Last Humans, Tears to Li6ht and Gothsta
When: Saturday, 07.06, 8:30 p.m.
Where: The People’s Building
Why: This edition of GYES features dark chillwave artist Tears to Li6ht, lush Americana band Last Humans and Gothsta which is series host Claudia Woodman in her guise as a weirdo Goth pop star known for bizarre covers and even stranger originals.

What: Angry Hand of God, Never Kenezzard, Flat Earth
When: Saturday, 07.06, 9 p.m.
Where: 3 Kings Tavern
Why: A doom/stoner rock show featuring the now active again Angry Hand of God which experienced a bit of a heyday in the late 2000s before Denver metal, with a few notable exceptions, started attracting much attention outside of Colorado. Also on the bill is Never Kenezzard whose mixture of sludge rock, prog and psychedelia pushes the boundaries of heavy rock into innovative territory.

What: Short Shorts album release, Sour Boy, Bitter Girl, Safekeeper and Florea
When: Saturday, 07.06, 8 p.m.
Where: Globe Hall
Why: Short Shorts is a four-piece from Denver who will release their new EP Hang-Ups tonight. Somewhere betwixt surf rock and the kind of punk with a footing in 2010’s garage rock, Short Shorts have a sound that fans of the likes of Tacocat and Bully might enjoy. Echoes of 90s K Records bands. Also with song titles like “Jumbotron Debutate” and “Quantum Entanglement” the band’s pop songs are clearly a cut above and more thoughtful than one might expect from a band with a name like Short Shorts. On the bill are like-minded acts like the dark Americana band Florea and Sour Boy, Bitter Girl. The latter has a real knack for taking down and out sensibilities and turning them into earnest and thought-provoking pop songs with a literary flair.

What: Heart Bones feat. Har Mar Superstar and Sabrina Ellis w/Good Fuck and Mark Mallman
When: Saturday, 07.06, 8 p.m.
Where: Oriental Theater
Why: Two powerhouse performers in the same soulful synth pop band? Har Mar Superstar has long been putting on the most absurdly entertaining performances mixing soul and punk an dance music while Sabrina Ellis has been the animated and powerful frontwoman of A Giant Dog. Also, Good Fuck, the latest project from Tim Kinsella and Jenny Pulse, is like an experimental electronic German pop band but more like ADULT. than electroclash. Its 2019 self-titled album is a moody and spacious set of dark, noisy, techno industrial dance music.

Sunday | July 7

New Ben Franklins circa 2009, photo by Tom Murphy

What: Priests w/Olivia Neutron John
When: Sunday, 07.07, 7 p.m.
Where: Lost Lake
Why: Fiercely DIY band Priests releases its what might be described as post-punk glam through its own label Sister Polygon Records. With the latter the group has helped to advocate for like-minded artists critical of the oligarchy like Downtown Boys and Snail Mail. It’s latest record is The Seduction of Kansas. Theatrical and dynamic, Priests make its flamboyantly strange aesthetic accessible. Olivia Neutron John is the dark, post-punk electroclash type of solo project of Anna Nasty whose 2019 self-titled debut is driven by brooding and stark low end and plenty of punk attitude.

What: New Ben Franklins w/The Smokestack Relics, Buck Fuffalo, Lank & The Shanks, Thomas Nap For President, The Wyatts, Schofield 45
When: Sunday, 07.07, 2 p.m.
Where: Globe Hall
Why: A bit of a country and Americana mini-festival that includes several of the local luminaries including New Ben Franklins whose flavor of that music has crossed over into post-punk and psychedelia.

What: Melissa Etheridge
When: Sunday, 07.07, 5:30 p.m.
Where: Hudson Gardens
Why: Melissa Etheridge is a cultural icon in various ways and beyond being a very public figure in the LGBTQ community going back decades. Before coming out in public in 1993, Etheridge had hit records on college and AOR radio with her 1988 self-titled debut, 1989’s Brave and Crazy and Never Enough from 1992. Etheridge came across as thoughtful, soulful, gritty and she had a kind of gravitas that relatively new artists don’t yet possess. Her songwriting held an appeal that transcended any specific considerations of sexuality and gender and her music even crossed over into the more adventurous radio stations that typically played classic rock mixed with some modern hits. Her first big hits came with “Come to My Window” and “I’m The Only One” from the 1993 album Yes I Am. In 2019 Etheridge released her latest record The Medicine Show—a strong showing of songwriting prowess and performance for an artist this far into a prolific career. It’s almost a hard rock record with Etheridge sounding more confident than ever and heartfelt odes to life and loss.

Monday | July 8

Melissa Etheridge, photo courtesy the artist

What: Melissa Etheridge
When: Monday, 07.08, 6:30 p.m.
Where: Chautauqua Auditorium
Why: See above for Melissa Etheridge. This show is in the uniquely arranged Chautauqua Auditorium which is a bit like seeing a show in a very large barn with good acoustics.

Tuesday | July 9

Bad Religion, photo by Alice Baxley

What: Bad Religion w/Dave Hause & The Mermaid
When: Tuesday, 07.09, 7 p.m.
Where: Ogden Theatre
Why: Bad Religion has long been reliable for having something to say in its music across its nearly forty year career and its latest album, 2019’s Age of Unreason, is no different. It’s fifteen tracks of anthemic, melodic punk against Trump and the authoritarian program worldwide in general. If any of it is heavy handed the times call for leaving no ambiguity in resisting the rise of fascism. Musically, one either likes the chances Bad Religion has taken or not but at least with its words the band has used its platform to challenging regressive political and cultural forces and to comment on the same with irreverent wit and intelligence.

Best Shows in Denver 03/7/19 – 3/13/19

Low performs at Globe Hall on March 8. Photo by Shelly Mosman

Thursday | March 7

RUMTUM circa 2016, photo by Tom Murphy

Who: RUMTUM mural unveiling w/Nasty Nachos and DJ YOLOLO
When: Thursday, 03.07, 6:30 p.m.
Where: The Oriental Theater
Why: John Hastings who performs ambient/IDM/instrumental pop music as RUMTUM recently received a commission from Meow Wolf to do a mural at The Oriental Theater. Tonight is the unveiling and the evening will incorporate interactive visual installations by WMD and FOREST and performances/DJ sets from Nasty Nachos and DJ YOLOLO.

Who: Rhadoo w/Peter Blick (Below Radar) and Liminal
When: Thursday, 03.07, 9 p.m.
Where: The Black Box
Why: Rhadoo is known to connoisseurs of electronic music internationally but in his home country of Romania, he’s a star, a legend of his scene, who is all but mainstream. He brings his chill and hypnotic mixture of house and techno to Black Box for a night of music including a set from Peter Blick of Below Radar (a Denver and San Francisco curator of choice underground electronic music events) and the Liminal collective.

Who: Satin Spar, Ruehlen/Seward and TARP
When: Thursday, 03.07, 7 p.m.
Where: Madelife
Why: Experimental music label Shadowtrash Tape Group and the Madelife gallery present this evening of synth and percussion duos.

Friday | May 8

And the Kids, photo by Guzman

Who: Low w/Rivulets
When: Friday, 03.08, 8:30 p.m.
Where: Globe Hall
Why: For going on three decades Low has written some of the most affecting, emotionally raw, tender and thoughtful music in America. Its influential early albums are classics of slowcore which is to say it was music in direct contrast to the louder and more bombastic trend of popular music of the day. It required and deserved your attention and reflection on the songs. Toward the turn of the century the band’s palette of sounds expanded and it embraced dynamics of volume and its ability to make the ambiance and the mood of a song more nuanced yet immediate. For 2018’s Double Negative, the trio basically reinvented its use of sound. Rather than the pastoral grandeur of years past and the emotionally rich and vibrant offerings of its more rock period, Low seems to have inverted those elements to make something that would be more expected in the realm of abstract industrial music, textured ambient and the avant-garde generally. Except all the songs have a pop quality. Maybe it’s the structures, or the way the band is able to make the dark, fractured music accessible. It is arguably the band’s most interesting album in years from a career that isn’t short on arresting and noteworthy material. What might be even more interesting is how this band will pull off such unusual and challenging material live.

Who: The Playground Ensemble perform 8 Songs For a Mad King
When: Friday, 03.08, 6:30 and 8:30 p.m.
Where: The Mercury Café
Why: Denver’s Playground Ensemble will put on a production of Peter Maxwell Davies’ ambitious, 1969 masterpiece Eight Songs for a Mad King. The work includes unusual vocals, shifting musical styles, pointed depictions of Mad King George III and a theatrical presentation with elaborate stage props. There will be two performances on this night, as indicated above, and it’s guaranteed there won’t be much like this in Denver in 2019.

Who: Judah Friedlander
When: Friday, 03.08, 7 p.m.
Where: Globe Hall
Why: Judah Friedlander is most known for his unusual and brilliant stand-up comedy and for appearing in and writing for some of the most interesting television series of the last twenty years including Wonder Showzen, Spin City, Flight of the Conchords and LateLine. But he is also one of the country’s most sharp and insightful cultural critics and commentators. For this performance there will be plenty of both. Few comedians worth their salt are essentially content free and Friedlander most certainly is not.

Who: Heathen Burial, Masons and Clutch Plague
When: Friday, 03.08, 8 p.m.
Where: Thought//Form
Why: A show that bridges the gap between abstract metal and noise.

Who: And The Kids w/Toth and Corsicana
When: Friday, 03.08, 8 p.m.
Where: Larimer Lounge
Why: And The Kids’ When This Life is Over has one of the most fetching album covers of 2019. Fortunately it represents well the reticence and exuberance and sensitivity informing the music within. Musically it’s fuzzy, upbeat rock in the modern indie vein but And The Kids are willing to veer off the mid-tempo, safe path and indulge passages that sound like they could go off the song’s rails. Also, in “Champagne Ladies” we get lyrics like “Life is a bastard, life wants to kill you/Don’t get old/Life is a bastard, it wants to kill you/Don’t let go.” Which about sums up too much of life for people grinding away and struggling to not just survive but create for oneself a life worth living even with seemingly insurmountable challenges in place. Also on the bill is Toth, the side project of Rubblebucket’s Alex Toth whose eclectic instrumentation and gift for utilizing space in his songwriting shines with this project as well. The deeply imaginative and soothing debut full-length from Toth, Practice Magic and Seek Professional Help When Necessary comes out on May 10.

Saturday | March 9

Cloud Catcher circa 2016, photo by Tom Murphy

Who: Chimney Choir w/Ramakhandra
When: Saturday, 03.09, 8 p.m.
Where: Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox
Why: Superficially one might describe Chimney Choir as an experimental folk band. But the thought and creativity that goes into the songwriting and especially the always captivating live shows, most of them interactive and often involving elaborate sets and costumes, sets the band apart from most its peers but not competitively, not by setting the bar higher for others to reach but as an example of what’s possible if you’re willing to challenge yourself and put in the time as a creative person to achieve something for yourself that hopefully resonates with others.

Who: Cloud Catcher EP release w/Bleakheart, Cadaver Dog
When: Saturday, 03.09, 9 p.m.
Where: Tooey’s Off Colfax
Why: Cloud Catcher is supposedly breaking up later this year so this is one of your last chances to catch the great Denver sludge metal act with bands that may not be in its usual wheelhouse like the hardcore outfit Cadaver Dog. Cloud Catcher is also gifting us with one final EP available at the show. Perhaps we’ll also hear what Rory Rummings and company are up to next soon.

Who: Graves w/Hex Cougar and Gangus
When: Saturday, 03.09, 8:30 p.m.
Where: Larimer Lounge
Why: Not the post-Misfits band, Graves is DJ and producer Christian Mochizuki, He did production work with Kanye West, Kid Cudi and Big Sean, for example, and his hybrid hip-hop and progressive trance style of bass music has earned him an audience of his own. He’ll probably be doing sets at bigger venues before too long so if this is your thing, catch it at a small club like Larimer Lounge.

Who: Ned Garthe Explosion, The Savage Blush and Palo Santo
When: Saturday, 03.09, 8 p.m.
Where: Lost Lake
Why: After many of the lesser psychedelic garage rock bands have passed into irrelevance, three of the standouts from Denver are playing on a bill together tonight. Ned Garthe Explosion is clearly the craziest, weirdest and funniest of the bunch. But The Savage Blush makes the most of its minimalist instrumentation and Palo Santo always sounds like it’s from a few decades ago but yet not a throwback.

Sunday | March 10

Tuck Knee, photo by Tom Murphy

Who: Tuck Knee w/No Sign of Remorse, Secticide and didaktikos
When: Sunday, 03.10, 8 p.m.
Where: Thought//Forms Gallery
Why: Tuck Knee is releasing its debut album. Fans of Minor Threat may cry foul at the comparison but Tuck Knee has that kind of energy and conviction and instincts for fairly non-doctrinaire hardcore songwriting. Didaktikos? No slouches in that vein either.

Who: The Sound of Animals Fighting w/Planes Mistaken for Stars and Lorelei K
When: Sunday, 03.10, 7 p.m.
Where: The Ogden Theatre
Why: The Sound of Animals Fighting was a brilliant amalgamation of math-y post-hardcore and ambient. Comprised of prominent musicians in the post-hardcore world and lead by Rich Balling of Rx Bandits, the group operated between 2004 and 2009. Also on this tour is one of post-hardcore greatest bands, Planes Mistaken for Stars from Denver. That band’s emotionally searing songs were anthems for the pulsing and tortured collective heart of underground punk in the 2000s.

Monday | March 11

Animal / object circa December 2017, photo by Tom Murphy

What: Freq Boutique 024
When: Monday, 03.11, 8 p.m.
Where: Fort Greene
Why: This is the twenty-fourth edition of Freq Boutique, the WMD-sponsored showcase of synthesizer tech and gear as well as a sort of open mic for which one can sign up on the event page.

What: Solos/Duos – Denver Avant-Garde Music Society featuring Animal / object
When: Monday, 03.11, 7 p.m.
Where: Thought//Forms Gallery
Why: This is the monthly avant-garde open mic curated by Denver Avant-Garde Music Society. The evening opens with a performance from Animal / object, the spontaneous composition group whose evolving membership includes long-time Denver avant-garde musician Kurt Bauer at the core often with contributions from Paul Mimlitsch, Arnie Swenson, Reed Weimer and Gordon Gano.

Tuesday | March 12

Carlos Medina, photo courtesy Meow Wolf

Who: Carlos Medina w/Pink Hawks and The Savage Blush
When: Tuesday, 03.12, 7 p.m.
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: Carlos Medina, the “psychedelic Mariachi” has already built a sizeable underground following for his unique brand of music that is rooted in Mariachi but with pop flourishes and a fascinating takes on rhythm and use of tone to set the music outside the realm of pure tradition. His touring circuit has taken him to a wide variety of venues treating audiences (knowing or otherwise) to his corridos psicodélicos. As an artist-in-residence at George RR Martin’s Jean Cocteau Cinema in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Medina had a direct connection to the Meow Wolf collective who produced and released his debut full-length El Cantador. Perhaps his exquisitely crafted songs don’t scream out “psychedelic” to those that don’t speak Spanish. But check out the darkly beautiful video for “No Le Digan” and you get a taste of the creative context of the music and Medina’s rich vision that sees the imaginative possibilities inherent in his cultural background and his place as an artist within it. Medina gets compared to Tom Waits but probably because he too is an interpreter and re-interpreter of culture par excellence.

Who: A Night to Survive: Right to Survive Campaign Kickoff Concert
When: Tuesday, 03.12, 6:30 p.m.
Where: The Oriental Theater
Why: This is a “Yes on 300” fundraiser/kickoff featuring musical performances from some of Denver’s finest: Esmé Patterson, Laura Goldhamer, Wheelchair Sports Camp.

Wednesday | March 13

Who: Sandy Ewen (NYC) + Ryan Seward, Cash/Westerman, Channel Worker
When:Wednesday, 03.13, 8 p.m.
Where: Thought//Forms
Why: Sandy Ewen is, according to the bio on her website, a “sound artist, visual artist and architect who moved to New York City from Houston in 2018. Her sound art incorporates the use of prepared guitar, the use of textures and objects not conventionally associated with music (like railroad spikes, steel wool, bolts and so on) as well as an array of offbeat instruments used as vessels or raw sound to create an environment and experience. If you’re looking for conventional music, this show won’t be that. Rather, how sound can be an artform that doesn’t fit within the confines of song structure in any tradition.