Ten Best Concerts This Week: Sept. 24-28

Aaron Thackeray

Rise Against kicks off a two-night stand tonight at the Fillmore with Gaslight Anthem and Hot Water Music.

It's officially fall now, according to the calendar -- and, well, the thermometer -- but that doesn't mean things have cooled down here in the Mile High City. While most of the shows have moved indoors, there's still plenty to choose from, including Rise Against at the Fillmore tonight and tomorrow night and SWANS at the Gothic to AWOLNATION at the Summit and Red Hot Chili Peppers at the Pepsi Center later this week. Keep reading for a full rundown of the ten best concerts this week.

10. FIREWATER @ LARIMER LOUNGE | MON, 9/24/12
Disgusted with the re-election of George W. Bush in 2005, Firewater ringleader Tod A left New York -- where he'd lived for the previous two decades and where he'd fronted Cop Shoot Cop -- and headed out of the country on a three-year journey that took him to the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Along the way, he wrote songs for Firewater's sixth album, 2008's The Golden Hour, and two years ago, he moved to Istanbul. He recorded Firewater's new album, International Orange, there during the Arab Spring, while bombs were going off around the city, as well in Tel Aviv, where the record was mixed. Tod A says that some of that energy of change seeped into the record; he also harnesses a bit of fiery punk vigor and injects the songs with worldly flavors, from bhangra to Turkish rhythms to ska, dub and mambo.