Denver Music Blog

We would hate for you to miss out on all the awesome that happens every weekend in our fair city, so we've decided to run down three of the best shows in one easy-to-swallow post. Tell us -- and the rest of the world -- what we missed in the comments.

1. The Last Waltz revisited

The Boulder Theater
Friday, November 20 • Doors open at 8:30 p.m., $18
Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom
Wednesday, November 25, 2009 • Doors: 8 p.m., $18-$20

Why you should go: While our town is blessed with an unbelievable amount of original music, the show we're most looking forward to this weekend features more than two dozen musicians playing somebody else's music. This annual show has become a Thanksgiving week tradition and without fail it usually turns out to be among the most memorable of the year. Each year since 2005, the chameleon-like Polytoxic, led by Tori Pater, gathers all of its friends and deftly recreates The Last Waltz, the Band's 1976 swan song, which took place on Thanksgiving day that same year at the Winterland Ballroom and was immortalized by Martin Scorsese, in its entirety. The three-hour show is magical whether your a fan of the Band or just want to see some local minstrels losing themselves and having the time of their lives.

Listen:
Polytoxic

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Some quick news bites from the local scene...

Oh my!: Recognize these striking dames? Yeah, us neither. That boa helmet and weird, red, veil, feathery thing kind of obscures any chance we have any sort of face recognition. This pic was snapped a few nights ago at mtvU's Woodie Awards, which we somehow managed to miss. Luckily, the fine folks over at network went ahead and solved the mystery for us. Evidently dudes looking like ladies here are none other than the insatiable hooligans from the People's Republic, Sean Foreman and Nat Motte from 3OH!3, all dolled up to resemble Lady Gaga. Bet the ladies went gaga over that one. Yerp. Uh, sorry. Think we just threw up a little in our mouth.

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This fine evening, Blue Million Miles is sharing a bill at 3 Kings Tavern with Lion Sized -- whose members will be taking some time off to hangout with kinfolk and write and record a new record, which means this will effectively be its last show of the year -- and Accordion Crimes. In advance of the show, the Blue Millonaires hooked us up with a new track, "Pterodactyl," previously only available on Radio 1190's latest Local Shakedown disc, which, incidently, is quite good and also features new, unreleased and exclusive songs from d.biddle, Bad Luck City, the Swayback, otem rellik, Munly and the Luprecalians, among others.

The band recorded "Pterodactyl" itself at guitarist Jeff Shapiro's home studio, with Shapiro and Ethan Ward (also of Gangcharger) behind the sliders. "We wanted to capture a live vibe for the song," Shapiro explains. "So we set up in our rehearsal space and just went for it. We tried not to get too lost in refining the production aspects, just wanted to get a good feel for a band playing a brand new song." Although "Pterodactyl" was merely a one-off recording while the band was writing new songs, the band plans to begin recording new tunes later this year and into next year, and if there's continuity between this version of the song and the new tracks, Sharpiro says, it may be included on the forthcoming record.

"I think the most exciting part for me," he concludes, "was that we have decided to engineer and produce our own stuff for the time being. Its a glorious headache being technician and musician, but I think it takes away the hourly studio rate gun away from our temple, allowing us to experiment with sounds and technique without blowing the proverbial budget -- meaning:none."

MP3: "Pterodactyl," Blue Million Miles

​There's nothing wrong with white people doing hip-hop -- if it was ever in question, I think Eminem proved that. And there's certainly nothing wrong with rappers loving Jesus. I mean, how many hip-hop albums don't thank the Christ, his dad, or both in the liner notes? So it logically follows that this video doesn't have to be the worst thing ever invented ... yet it is. This is "Christian Side Hug" and it is horrific. It's four and a half minutes of the "Imperial March" theme played on a Casio keyboard while gunshot sounds and sirens ring out and the worst rappers you have ever had the misfortune to hear spew rap cliches and lecture on the danger of full-frontal hugging.

Let that soak in, because I am not even kidding.

These are "rough riders full up with Christ love" -- a direct quote! They want you to "Gimme that Christian side hug," because to hug someone from the front is a danger to your purity. This is insanity, pure and simple. So naturally, I love it. Although I am pretty certain it is the best argument ever made for either atheism, or for the fact that god is actually a hilarious practical joker -- no sincere, loving god could allow this to exist or want his followers to act this way. See for yourself after the jump.

​The last time we heard from the Vices I Admire guys, they had just ended their seemingly never ending quest for a new bassist with the addition of former Fray five-stringer Dan Battenhouse. And aside from sporadic gigs here and there, the outfit has been relatively quiet -- for good reason. The band just wrapped up work on a brand new record, The Politics of Apathy, which it recorded at Colorado Sound with JP Manza and Ian Pinder. Although the album isn't slated for release for another month and and some change, we got our hands on the first single "Sweetest Girl," which we've subsequently posted here for your downloading pleasure. Catch Vices I Admire at its CD release party on Friday, January 1 at the Bluebird Theater.

MP3: "Sweetest Girl," Vices I Admire

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Every Friday we spotlight the hottest cats behind the decks in the MHC, grilling them to gain some insight on what it takes, exactly, to get the party rocking, to find out about their most treasured crate digging experiences and what they really think when we stumble up to them half cocked and ask them to play that new song by such and such -- you know, the one that goes... This week: DJ Low Key, the host of the Solution Friday nights at the Funky Buddha, So Damn Down at Shag on Saturdays and Hapa Life on Sundays at Hapi Sushi in Cherry Creek. Read the full interview after the jump.

Adam Elmakias

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Sleeping with band dudes doesn't make you famous." The words scrawl across a closed door after the stock "band slut" walks in behind the drummer in All Time Low's new video for "Weightless." Just a few years back, the four Baltimore-based post-punkers wouldn't have known anything about that sort of thing. But they're now headlining their own tour, which has already seen sold-out crowds in various parts of the country. Lead heartthrob Alex Gaskarth took some time out to tell us about the experience of touring, necessary items on said tour and if he ever feared backlash for the scene-bashing they deliver in their new video.

Matt Fecher (left) and Josh Baker with Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips, whose band headlined the inaugural editon of Monolith

​Yesterday's news that the Monolith Festival is in financial straits and in need of a rather large infusion of cash just to continue wasn't completely shocking, especially given the modest turnouts and the fact that AEG Live opted out of helping produce and promote this year's fest, which seemed to underscore the notion that the fest -- in its current form, at least -- just isn't viable from a financial standpoint. Just the same, the news was disheartening for the more ardent music fans who appreciated the adventurous programming and ultimately planned their fall itinerary around the festival. We caught up with Festival Director and co-curator Josh Baker this afternoon and asked him for more details on the current situation and what some of the obstacles he and co-curator Matt Fecher have faced in producing the event.

​Billy Joel and Elton John's Face 2 Face show originally scheduled for Sunday, November 22 at the Pepsi Center has been pushed back to February 22. Any tickets purchased for this Sunday's show will be valid for the rescheduled date, and refunds are available at point of purchase. The two have have had to postpone recent gigs due to concerns over John's health -- who was suffering from an e-coli infection and influenza -- and, more recently, Joel's health.

​Just in time for the release of the second installment of the execrable Twilight series (New Moon opens tomorrow, in case you somehow managed to block that horrible truth from your consciousness) we're proud to bring you a vampire-related offering that doesn't suck. It's PJ Stroller's minimal tech remix of the Orange Peel Moses/Friends in Stereo track "Nocturnal Creatures." Stroller's take on the vampiric club anthem features some lovely, swirly metallic pads, a lonely, reverb-soaked melody that feels trance-inspired yet restrained, and a vocal that's pitchshifted down into something truly scary. It's a slick mix that manages to evoke the darkness and move your feet. Plus, no Robert Pattinson and absolutely NO sparkling. Download it below or hit the jump to preview it in an embedded player first.

MP3: "Nocturnal Creatures" - Orange Peel Moses (PJ Stroller Sunrise mix)