Denver Music Blog

Ever wonder what life's like on the road for your favorite Denver band? Well, if we're to believe the new video posted by Aloft In the Sundry, it's probably a lot like you imagine: Lots and lots and lots of tedious driving, with flashes of a bunch of smelly dudes hanging out and vibing with each other, broken up by intermittent gigs at various venues in various states of chemically induced alternated consciousness. Okay, there's no visual evidence here to support that last part -- the guys actually look as sober as preachers in the clip -- but c'mon, it's hard to imagine that any amount of touring involves the practice of teetotaling. Anyhow, take a several minute ride in the passenger seat of Aloft in the Sundry's short bus and then catch the band for free tonight at 10 p.m. at Andrew's On Lincoln.

​

Looks like the Rouge's red letter day is continuing. From kicking off the summer performing at Red Rocks to making its way up to headlining status, the band is now enjoying a healthy buzz generated by the inherent sex appeal of its shirtless, leather vested frontman its passionate live shows and Heat and Light, the outfit's excellent new record, issued this past spring on Morning After Records. And the buzz, it seems, is beginning to pay off: Tonight the act is playing a show at the Marquis (with the Still City, Snake Rattle Rattle Snake and Churchill) for some unnamed label honchos, who are reportedly parachuting in just give the outfit another looksee. And if that weren't enough, the Rouge holds the distinction of being one of the acts chosen to create a song for Timbaland's Beaterator, a new PSP game created by Rockstar Games that allows players to craft their own music from a bank of loops and pre-recorded music. The band submitted a remixed version of its song "Six Shooter." Check it out after the jump, along with a trailer for the game.

​

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, with video and audio. Tell us -- and the rest of the world -- what we missed in the comments.

​Supposedly, this tender love ballad from Luke Sywalker to Leia, is a rejected song from the Empire Strikes Back soundtrack. Sure, it is. And if you believe that, I have some prime real estate on Dagoba to sell you. In any case, authentic or not, the dude managed to nail the early-'80s, cheese-ballad vibe that pervaded that era, and give me a good laugh at the Star Wars jokes and sex euphemisms throughout. This little slice of nerd heaven popped up on Topless Robot a few days ago and I've been watching it at least twice a day since, so I decided the only thing to do was share it with you. Which I have done, after the jump. Enjoy.

Eric Gruneisen

​

It seemed like there was a special significance to Ween's show at Red Rocks in September. In addition to the fact that the show marked one of the final spots on the band's fall tour, we noticed a number of cameras during the performance and mused that the show could wind up being released as a DVD or a supplement to an upcoming album. Turns out we weren't far off. The Ween crew have announced on their website that the Red Rocks show is available for download on iClips for about seven bucks. A couple of songs have been omitted due to "technical reasons," but getting more than two hours of live footage for seven dollars ain't bad. Judging from the free sample clips of "Now I'm Freaking Out" and "Did You See Me?," the combined efforts of the Red Rocks camera crew and the iClips folks paid off. The sound and the visual quality are top-notch, and the clips are a gem for any Ween fan who was or wasn't at the show. Indeed, the footage rivals the band's previous DVD release from 2004, Live From Chicago. Don't dawdle too long - the download expires in May.

​

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's subject: DJ Vajra, a DJ who's widely revered among his fellow DJs, locally and nationally, for his vast turntable skills. We caught up with Vajra in advance of his Conversations with a Crate Digger date this Monday at Lola with DJ Check One. Read the full interview after the jump.

Black Mountain Studios

​

Hearts of Palm started out in the winter of 2006 as a pop song writing collaboration between former Roper and Black Black Ocean guitarist Stephen Till and longtime friend Nathan McGarvey. Within the following year, the project expanded to eight plus members and the band's sound went from a spare and earnest beauty to an exuberant and impassioned exorcism of melancholy moods. During the course of the band's existence, it won accolades from critics and fans alike and released two EPs before deciding to fold the band in 2009, with two final shows slated for this weekend at the hi-dive marking the occasion including a 16+ show tonight on Friday, November 6, and a 21+ show on Saturday, November 7. We had a chance to speak with lead singer Nathan McGarvey at length about the history of Hearts of Palm, its experiences and what we can expect from its members after the break-up.

​

They Might Be Giants, Guggenheim Grotto
Thursday, November 5
Gothic Theater
Better than: Seeing an expertly executed live show that didn't include sock puppets.

They Might Be Giants couldn't stick to one sound during their appearance at the Gothic on Thursday night. The band's show, which nearly spanned two hours, included a comprehensive range of tunes, a selection that pulled from their latest release, Here Comes Science, as well as seminal albums from the 1990s like Flood and Apollo 18.

​Jay-Z, whose Blueprint 3 has been a strong seller since hitting the streets two months ago, just confirmed his 2010 North American tour, which includes a stop at the Pepsi Center Monday, March 22. Grammy-nominated rapper Young Jeezy will open the show and tickets go on sale Friday, November 13 at LiveNation.com. Live Nation also just announced that film director/actor Kevin Smith had to cancel his show at the Fillmore Auditorium on Saturday, November 21 due to scheduling conflicts with his film production schedule.

​

Been on Google lately? Notice something different? We noticed it the other day, but didn't think much of it until we came across this item on Billboard.com. Evidently, the search engine provider has broadened its search capabilities to now provide links to songs that are capable of being streamed instantaneously upon demand. According to the Billboard report, the streaming is being handled by MySpace and Lala. Pretty slick if you ask us. For shit's and grins, we just googled Planes Mistaken for Stars, and sure enough, it pulled up four songs and offered up direct links to Rhapsody, Pandora, Imeem and Lala. This technological age we're living in is a trip isn't it? You can hold your phone up to a speaker and it automatically figures out what you're listening to. And now this? Pretty soon, all you're going to have to do is think about a song, and ta-dow! It will instantly appear before you as a hollagram.