Photo: Tom Murphy

The Pseudo Dates

The Pseudo Dates and teamAWESOME!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Lion’s Lair
Better Than: The average benefit show put together to raise awareness.

I didn’t get to the Lion’s Lair in time for the drag show, but, frankly, drag shows aren’t my thing, so it’s just as well that people who are really into it got to enjoy it without my presence. Nonetheless, it was a benefit show to raise awareness of the demonstrations going on during the Democratic National Convention and the activities that Students for a Democratic Society (they’re not just at Berkeley anymore) were up to related to that whole week or so of chaos that’s going to land in our laps before we know it.

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Photo: Tom Murphy

Primasonic

Boss 302 w/Primasonic and The Geds
Saturday, July 26, 2008
3 Kings Tavern
Better Than: Or rather, more fun than, a barrel full of monkeys.

Primasonic had played a few songs by the time I got to 3 Kings and they were very much a different band than the outfit I had seen last October when the band was making one of its initial forays as a live outfit. Sin has become a confident and energetic frontman and the rest of the band has developed into a solid punk rock unit. The songs I got to catch were “Sui-psycho,” “ Escape From the Suburbs,” “Not Another Protest Song” and the band's snotty, but fun, cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” Each piece was short, arch and to the point. The group's Dead Boys-esque sound was dripping for disdain for phony ideals and inauthentic living of all stripes.

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Photo: Tom Murphy

Action Packed Thrill Ride

Breezy Porticos w/Action Packed Thrill Ride
Friday, July 25, 2008
Old Curtis St. Bar
Better Than: Spending the rest of the night trying to wrap your mind around the Jandek show.

After leaving the Jandek gig, I headed back through downtown and remembered that the Breezy Porticos had a show going on at Old Curtis St. Bar. I had missed Six Months to Live but plan on reviewing one of their performances later on in this series. Instead, Action Packed Thrill Ride was nearly done setting up for their show as an eight-piece band instead the usual five.

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Photo: Tom Murphy

Jandek
Friday, July 25, 2008
The Bug Theater
Better Than: Having to see Jandek at some big theater.

I didn’t even recognize Andrew Lindstrom or Milton Melvin Croissant III when I ran into them outside the Bug before the show. Lindstrom looked like he’d gotten off bus from the James Gang tour circa 1974 with long, curly, straggly, but not messy, hair and prominent moustache. We both discussed a mutual disdain for The Eagles. Croissant didn’t even have the hat I always see him wearing and he looked like a cool stockbroker. This odd scene was nothing compared to the music that was about to take place and anyone who saw Mr. Lindstrom and didn’t know him would never have guessed he is one of the most talented drummers in Denver and not a candidate for the lead in a movie version of The Monkey Wrench Gang.

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Photo: Sean Sullivan

Boris, Torche, Lair of the Minotaur
Friday, July 25, 2008
Marquis Theater
Better Than: Any other communal sweating, fist-pumping, and shouting in Denver

Boris makes no sense. Literally, the band sings their lyrics in Japanese, but how four people can create so much noise and power simply defies explanation. The even crazier fact remains that all the noise they make has depth and perfect timing to it: nothing gets out of hand, every note resolves, even if that resolution comes after three minutes of feedback.

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The Fire Drills
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Old Curtis Street Bar
Better Than: A fire drill in grade school. A hell of a lot better.

This town is a bit incestuous when it comes to bands, but, as it turns out, that’s a damn good thing. There are a ton of musicians who play spread their talents around a few bands. What’s cool is that you can see these folks in various settings and hear how multi-faceted they are.

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Kenny Garrett Quartet
Sunday, July 27, 2008 (second set)
Dazzle
Better Than: Any show at Dazzle in the past few months.

While Kenny Garrett has explored various shades of jazz and other musical terrain on nearly every one of the fourteen albums he has released as a leader, most of the saxophonist’s Sunday night’s set focused on the funk.

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