Nick Callaio

Greensky Bluegrass last night at the Bluebird Theater.

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GREENSKY BLUEGRASS @ BLUEBIRD THEATER | 2/8/12

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Greensky Bluegrass played two sets of organic, roots-oriented bluegrass for a packed Bluebird crowd. With more than a decade under its belt and about seven years of consistently touring, the Michigan-based bluegrass quintet has developed a solid fan base. And last night the guys made it clear that they came to play for those eager fans, who knew the words to each of the songs and often responded favorably to a tune they recognized within the first couple notes.

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Tom Murphy

Tantric Picasso at The Bluebird Theater

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TANTRIC PICASSO @ BLUEBIRD THEATER | 2/2/12

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Sometimes when bands come out on stage and look like they dressed for the show it can seem like a put-on. But when Tantric Picasso came on they looked like a band that had stepped out of a door to the early 1970s before the whole hippie thing had been discredited and rock bands could still express ideals and spirituality without seeming insincere.

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Britt Chester

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LOTUS @ FILLMORE AUDITORIUM | 2/4/11

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Freezing temperatures aside, the Fillmore was turned into a dancing sauna, brimming with melodic improvisations and thousands of moving bodies. If Lotus derived their band name from Greek origin, then we all got a taste of the sweet fruit that leaves you in a state of contented forgetfulness. Granted, no one will forget Lotus' first sold out show at the Fillmore last night, but everyone can agree that at least for a brief moment in time, euphoric harmonies played a part in that dream world.

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Noah Van Sciver

Ryan Adams last night at the Buell: Who needs pictures when you've got Noah Van Sciver?

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RYAN ADAMS @ TEMPLE BUELL THEATRE | 2/4/12

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It's probably safe to assume that the inquiring mind -- the one who just asked Ryan Adams if the red, white and blue guitars he's been playing all night bear any reference to Buck Owens (they do) -- will not be one of the four people in the crowd who get the Lemmy joke Adams later inserts into an anecdote about projectile vomiting in London. If the witticism is lost on the dude, though, you can hardly blame him. More than likely, he falls on the y'allternative side of the Adams continuum. Just the same, even Iann Robinson would need a syllabus to keep up with the singer's myriad metal allusions.

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A.H. Goldstein

FaceMan at the Bluebird Theater last night.

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FACEMAN'S WALTZ @ BLUEBIRD THEATER | 2/3/12

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The sound became expansive and the stage felt crowded fairly early in FaceMan's set at the Bluebird Theater on a snowy Friday night. After a brief introduction from the Flobots' Stephen "Brer Rabbit" Brackett and Wheelchair Sports Camp's Kalyn Heffernan, FaceMan's eponymous frontman (known by some as Steve) took the stage. After a couple of tunes with the band's core members -- guitarist David Thomas Bailey and drummer Dean Hirschfield -- the chaos begin.

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Nick Callaio

El Ten Eleven last night at the Fox Theatre.

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El TEN ELEVEN @ FOX THEATRE | 2/1/12

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El Ten Eleven lit up the Fox Theatre last night on its second stop in Colorado. Frontman Kristian Dunn had a Wal fretless bass and 1977 Carvin double neck guitar/bass to choose from with an array of guitar pedals at his disposal, while drummer Tim Fogarty employed a traditional set with an electric drum/synthesizer add-on with his own controller for loops. The pair are well known for their "build from the bottom" style of playing, in which they loop multiple riffs and drum patterns together to essentially build a song. When all the loops are precisely put into place, it sounds like a four-piece band is playing. The process itself did not look easy. Never mind trying to stay in sync with each other.

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LOS CAMPESINOS! @ BLUEBIRD THEATER | 1/31/12

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Los Campesinos! is a band weathered by fine lines. By attending one of the Welsh septet's shows, you are, whether you know it or not, crossing one of your own in the sand. You are saying that you prefer precociousness to pretense, that you listen to blunt honesty and bold drama, that you're cool with your rock bands sounding and looking more than a little bit cute. And if you and your bespectacled face made it to the Bluebird last night for an earnest, strangely Buzzcocks-esque take on all of these qualities, you will notice that you are still a fan.

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On Saturday night, the Meadowlark was once again invaded by Neon Knights, the monthly dance romper put together by DJ Shannon Kelly. The crowd in the basement venue morphed throughout the night from a snug-fitting sweat-fest of tightly packed, jittering bodies to a reasonably thinned-out space, giving room for those with the energy to really let loose.

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The Lady Wu-Tang on Saturday night at City Hall. More photos from the Lady Wu-Tang show at City Hall.

The Lady Wu-Tang, a group of Denver-area female MCs who formed to put on tribute shows to the Wu-Tang Clan, played its one-year anniversary show on Saturday night at City Hall. Photos from the show are below.

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Jon Solomon

Milo Aukerman of the Descendents last night at the Fillmore.

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DESCENDENTS @ FILLMORE AUDITORIUM | 1/28/12

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Jon Solomon

Magic Cyclops introduces the Descendents.

​The Descendents were built with the inability to disappoint -- the seminal proprietors of pop punk brought a tried-and-true energy to the Fillmore Auditorium last night, for a appropriately short, two-encore set. Even if the massive venue was far from capacity, the multi-generational blanket of fans was there to sing with Milo, and sing with him they did.

The four-piece was pushed together toward the middle of the stage, surrounded by only equipment and, just a few feet from the spotlights, a gathering of family. Free from distracting stage props and annoying multi-color lights, Descendents were introduced just after 10 p.m. by local (and recent American Idol fame-elevated) performer Magic Cyclops.

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