Eric Gruneisen

Creed last night at the Paramount Theatre. Slide show: Creed in Denver.

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CREED at PARAMOUNT THEATRE | 5/19/12

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There are two kinds of people in this world: those who can be open-minded about Creed and those who cannot. It's fair to say that the majority of the mainstream media falls into the first category, and perhaps for good reason: The '90s all-stars have had almost two decades to prove their point. But to write off its blowhardery would be to ignore the people in the velvety, semi-packed seats of the Paramount Theatre last night.

And if you are attending a Creed concert in 2012, more than a decade after the Christian rockers transformed from pop culture saviors to dudes with god complexes, you are getting exactly what you're paying for. And you're paying for rock.

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Eric Gruneisen

Patrick Carney of the Black Keys last night at 1STBANK Center. More photos: Black Keys in Denver.

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THE BLACK KEYS @ 1STBANK CENTER

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See Also:
• Slide show: Black Keys at the 1STBANK Center
• Slide show: Black Keys at Fillmore, 6/3/10
• Q&A with Nick O'Malley of Arctic Monkeys
• The Black Keys at Fox Theatre, 7/20/09

A clear sign that shit is about to get real: Patrick Carney takes off his glasses and gets straight to it. The lanky drummer towered over both his kit and his audience last night as he calmly skirted the stage, sat down, removed his Buddy Holly frames and got right the hell to it. He did not stop until it was over. Accompanied by fiery, fervid crooner Dan Auerbach, the guys are a no-frills, no-fuss, no-nonsense and no-breaks mirage straight out of the desert of daytime radio rock -- as if a hole in space and time had opened up only to dump two rowdy retro-rockers into the year 2012. Another good sign: When Carney pounds his kit so hard, it starts to emit smoke.

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Jim Narcy

Michael Gira on Saturday night at the Oriental Theater

Michael Gira's show on Saturday night at the Oriental Theater with Wovenhand included a few chatterboxes with whom the 58-year-old Swans mastermind just couldn't abide. Page down to hear Gira tell the more vocal members of the crowd to "Go read Pitchfork," after demanding that they kindly "Shut the motherfucking fuck up!" Yesterday a commenter asserted that Denver has some of the worst concert etiquette of anywhere he'd been. What do you think? Do you agree?

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Britt Chester

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SNOWBALL MUSIC FESTIVAL @ VAIL VALLEY | 3/2/12 (DAY 1)

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It took about four bone-chilling minutes, starting at the opening of gates, to remind me of the frigid misery I signed up for again this year. Did I learn my lesson from last year in regard to snow boots, multiple layers, cash, and festival planning? No. I showed up again in skate shoes, but with really expensive socks, and traipsed around the festival from tent to tent, steadily soaking up the first days diverse music. And Snowball started off great.

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Bree Davies

T-Pain last night at the Ogden Theatre.

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T-PAIN @ OGDEN THEATRE | 2.26.12

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In a display of what can only be described as obnoxious, drunken, ego-driven mania, T-Pain performed for nearly three hours last night to a two-thirds-full Ogden Theatre that, by the end of his reign of terror, was more than half empty. The king of mediocrity in an era of ring-tone attention spans, T-Pain proved he could sort of dance, kind of sing, not really rap and be more than terrible behind the turntables.

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LeslieHall.com

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LESLIE & THE LYS @ HI-DIVE | 2.19.12

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"Reba McEntire." With the mere mention of that name, queen crafting bee and cuddly rapping princess Leslie Hall incited riotous applause from her audience last night at the hi-dive. But the shout out to the renowned country singer that came at the end of "Gold Pants," Hall's first jam of the night (and the first jam that ever made her Internet-famous) was merely part of her aesthetic; Iowa's #1 Sweetheart was a walking homage to all things middle American.More >>

via Facebook

Wale got back on the bus after the last show of his tour in Denver last night.

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WALE @ SUMMIT MUSIC HALL | 2.17.11

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With the Summit Music Hall packed to the gills, Black Cobain was standing on stage in a blaze orange knit cap and a white t-shirt telling the crowd "everybody put your middle fingers up." To the casual passerby, it might have looked like things weren't going well, like they'd taken a turn for the worst, but just the opposite was true. Careful planning, practice and sharp execution were just as much a part of the evening as Ambition.

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Eric Gruneisen

Phil Lesh and friends last night at 1STBANK Center.

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PHIL LESH AND FRIENDS @ 1STBANK CENTER | 2/16/12 - NIGHT ONE

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Phil Lesh played the first of a three night stand last night at the 1STBANK Center, bringing with him some extremely talented friends and an energy and enthusiasm in his playing that brought fresh breath to the timeless Grateful Dead catalog. Back in October, when Lesh and Grateful Dead bandmate Bob Weird came through on tour as Furthur, the band lacked energy, and the pace of most songs seemed to drag. As someone mentioned last night: those Red Rocks shows could put you to sleep.

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Aaron Thackeray

The Darkness last night at the Summit Music Hall. Slide show: The Darkness in Denver.

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THE DARKNESS @ SUMMIT MUSIC HALL | 2/15/12

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If you are one of the four original members of The Darkness, a band that hit its peak in 2003 but never seemed to care, where in the set do you strategically place "I Believe In a Thing Called Love"? Saving your monster hit for last makes you a tease, but playing it too early encourages warm-weather fans to skedaddle. The ballsiest move for the early 2000s cock rockers would be to play it dead first, to make a statement of their relevance or lack thereof or even just lack of giving a shit thereof -- but they didn't.

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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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