All photos by Laura Allen

Line down the block? Check. Impeccably dressed security guards? Check. Booming music from two floors? Double check. Last night at 24K for the unofficial kick off of YOLO season, damn near everyone you know in Denver, plus some cats you've probably forgotten about, were lined up to get into Gold Standard, the latest party from Lotus Concepts, Francoise Baptiste and Alvin LaCabe of 3 Deep and Kevin Kain Ent., also the site of Rockie's release party for his new joint, Gold Dreams.

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Signal Path

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SIGNAL PATH @ BLUEBIRD THEATER | 5/25/12

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If a change of pace, geographic location, home life and hiatus are all a band needs to find itself smack-dab in the middle of its prime, then let Signal Path be the bearer of the torch. Last night, the trio showed Denver what band chemistry looks like.

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Tom Murphy

ManCub at Larimer Lounge

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ManCub @ Larimer Lounge | 5/25/12

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With a perforated, paneled structure as its backdrop with lights shining through and strung along the top edge, ManCub started things off with a forceful flood of low end, and both Alex Anderson and Ethan Converse seemed to push themselves headlong into the music with absolute focus, intensity and fluidity at once. The opening had sampled vocals and didn't sound like something that band had on either of its EPs, but the guys followed that up with "8 Bit Crush" and its collision of screaming white noise and 8-bit sounds processed and warped beyond immediate recognition, subservient to the urgent flow of ManCub's rhythm.

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The long weekend is here, and there are more dance related activities and parties over the next few days than you can probably handle. From the Hive's grand opening tonight to the Solution Showcase#6 tomorrow night, along with the Riddle of the Sphinx party, some funk/soul sessions and dance music galore, you'll have a full dance card this weekend. Page down for the weekend's best nightlife bets.

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All photos by Chris Morgan for Westword

The scene at Ogden Street South.

While there are a countless number of places to do karaoke around town, we've picked the ten best spots to conjure your inner crooner. Some of these places cater to singers every night of the week, while others only do karaoke on specific nights. Page down to see which spots made the list. Did your favorite make the cut? Did we leave out your favorite haunt? Let us know.

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Signal Path celebrates its latest release tonight at the Bluebird Theater.

Ah, yes, welcome to the weekend! Been a long week, and now you're about to get to enjoy a long weekend. As always, a plethora of enticing options this weekend and it's another good mix: Tonight, a trio of local release parties featuring Signal Path, ManCub and Rockie kick things into gear, along with a fresh batch of compelling imports, including Lee "Scratch" Perry, Best Coast, Horse Feathers, Jolie Holland and Robby Krieger's Roadhouse Rebels. Page down for the full rundown on the weekend's best live music bets.

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As you might have heard, Van Halen played the Pepsi Center in Denver last night, dusting off a few hits from its mega-selling album, 1984. Roving photographer Brandon Marshall hit the Pepsi Center parking lot asking fans to share where they were in 1984. Here are some of the people he talked to, and you can see the rest of the highlights from the evening in the full Van Halen in Denver photos slide show.

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Eminence Ensemble (due at Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom tomorrow night) has been frequently making a name for itself among the Boulder-based acts that have been emerging onto the scene. In advance of tomorrow night's show, we spoke with percussionist Nick Baum recently to find out a little more about the band and see what the group has in store for its show since Snowball.

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Brandon Marshall

Van Halen last night at the Pepsi Center. Slide show: Van Halen in Denver

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VAN HALEN @ PEPSI CENTER | 5/24/12

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Evidently, 1982 was a very good year for David Lee Roth. "You're taking pictures here tonight, hot stuff?" the Van Halen frontman asked a woman in the front row in the middle of "Panama." "What? Oh, you want to make a sex tape. I'll tell you what, girlfriend, you can save that Kardashian shit. I made my first sex tape back in 1982. And except for the two hours I spent on stage with the brothers here, I was naked the whole motherfucking tour. Yeah, man! That was a good year. That was a very good year. I slept with every good-looking girl who had two legs in her pants. Even slept with an amputee. She was missing a forearm, but I think it still counts. What are you laughing at? I'm capable of a relationship. I'm not insensitive. Hey, I'm only missing a few parts. What, are you going to vote me off the motherfucking island? I don't think so."

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Karsten R. Schäfer

Reno Divorce at Rock N Ink, Chemnitz, Germany

Reno Divorce (due tomorrow night at the Marquis Theater) began in the middle '90s when frontman and guitarist Brent Loveday founded the outfit while still living in Orlando, Florida. Some early, glowing press came the way of the band's 7-inch. But it wasn't until Loveday relocated to Denver and discovered a place he felt like he could live that things began rolling. Since then, the guys have been on a handful of tours and shared the stage with many of their heroes. The band's surprisingly earnest, but never pretentious, combination of melodic punk and roots rock, peppered with something a little more aggressive, has resonated with fans across a relatively broad spectrum of musical taste.

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