Blogs

Since issuing No Line On the Horizon, its latest and most relevant piece work in sometime, U2 has been working closely with architect Mark Fisher designing and constructing an elaborate staging set up for its upcoming tour. The ground-breaking design emphasizes unobstructed sight lines ensuring that every seat in the house has a great view. From the digital model on the act's website, the 360 degree design is pretty impressive. Unfortunately, though, for Denverites, unless you make your way to Norman, Oklahoma, Phoenix, Arizona, or Las Vegas in mid-October, the digital simulation is as close as you'll get. According to a Live Nation source, the 360° tour, which kicked off this past Tuesday in Barcelona, will not be making its way to Denver this year. No word yet on whether another leg will be announced next year. See full list of tour dates after the jump.

Mutemath kicks off its North American tour this fall in support of the release of its forthcoming album, Armistice, which hits the stores August 18. Along the way, the New Orleans-based rockers will stop at the Ogden Theatre Wednesday, October 14. Tickets go on sale Friday, July 3 at 10 am. Brooklyn-based indie rock duo Matt & Kim visit the Bluebird with Amanda Palmer Tuesday, September 8 and forward thinking jazz trio the Bad Plus will be at the Boulder Theater Wednesday, September 9. For a complete rundown of the shows going on sale this weekend and others that have been announced recently, follow the jump. (For ticket information, click on the venue links.)

The cheery gentlemen of Meese will play some music at 6 p.m. this evening at Twist and Shout (2508 E. Colfax, 303-722-1943‎), in celebration of the release of their first album, Broadcast. The store gave out wristbands to everyone who pre-ordered the album, and as usual, the Wristbanded People will be guaranteed entry while the plastic-less will have to wait. But I just talked to store owner Paul Epstein, and was told there will be a separate line for the cheap bastards who didn't buy the album. So if you feel like hearing a little live Meese before the set off across the country to spread their Denver seed, head over to the store before six and see what happens.

Shane MacGowan and his new set of choppers.

Last month, The Sun reported that Shane MacGowan got himself a new pair of dentures to stop his face from "falling apart" after 35 years on the thrash. Sure, the dude's been known as a drunkard of the highest order, he's missed a few planes to gigs over the years and eventually got kicked out of the band. Just the same, some of us are probably just as surprised to see MacGowan on tour again with the original line-up (Jem Finer, Spider Stacy, James Fearnley, Darryl Hunt, Andrew Ranken, Philip Chevron and Terry Wood) as we are to see the guy with a new set of choppers. It should be a hell of a show when MacGowan and crew come visit the Ogden Friday, October 23. Tickets, which are $49.50, go on sale Friday, June 26 at 10 a.m. The following week, Dinosaur Jr. (with Lou Barlow & the Missingmen opening) hits the Boulder Theater Thursday, October 29, and the Aggie Theater Friday, October 30. Creed will visit Fiddler's Green on Saturday, October 3 with all four of the original members. Finally, as reported earlier, the newly reunited Sunny Day Real Estate hit the Ogden Monday, September 21. For a complete rundown of the shows going on sale this weekend and others that have been announced recently, follow the jump. (For ticket information, click on the venue links.)

The Flaming Lips know all about putting on a hell of a show, and the Monolith Festival gig at Red Rocks in 2007 was one most phenomenal things to happen to that venue in the last few years. Lets hope for a repeat performance when the Lips return to Red Rocks Sunday, August 23 with Explosions in the Sky and Star Death & the White Dwarfs, which features Wayne Coyne's nephew Dennis. Tickets, which run from $36.75 to $46.50, go on sale Saturday, June 20 at 10 a.m. And as an added bonus, all tickets sold online will include a digital download of three brand new unreleased songs from the upcoming album, three B-sides hand picked by Wayne Coyne and a live audio recording of the Red Rocks show. In other concert news, Modest Mouse will visit the Fillmore Auditorium Wednesday, September 2 and Frank Black plays the intimate Walnut Room Wednesday, July 29.

After a killer two-night stint at the Ogden Theatre last year, the hip-hop duo Atmosphere returns to these parts Friday, August 15, when the pair headlines Red Rocks. The British act Bat for Lashes, who mesmerized folks at the Larimer Lounge in 2007, will play the Bluebird this time around Saturday, August 22. Country star Brad Paisley will be at Fiddler's Green Friday, September 18. For a complete rundown of the shows going on sale this weekend and others that have been announced recently, follow the jump. (For ticket information, click on the venue links.)

Hot on the heels of yesterday's announcement of Denver's finest hip-hop acts paying tribute to the finest in that genre's storied history, The Denver Art Rock Collective is paying tribute to the musical mastery of the one and only Britney Spears.

Come again, now? Yes, that is right. Saturday, June 20 at the Toad Tavern, the likes of the Inactivists, the Skivies, the Mourning Sickness, the Trembling Earballs and Action Friend are tackling the highlights of Spears's oeuvre -- the musical oeuvre, that is, not the crotch-flashing, head-shaving, K-Fed-marrying part of her career. Sounds like a pretty crazy proposition to us, too, but if anyone can pull it off, it's that group of musical wingnuts (I mean that in the best possible way). Hell, if nothing else, the press release itself is a minor masterwork of satire (erm, I think that's satire). See for yourself after the break.

In support of Yes, their tenth full-length album(!), synth-pop kings Pet Shop Boys have just announced an eighteen-date North American tour, to begin at the end of August. The show promises to be filled with plenty of costumes, capers and theatricality. Unfortunately, the tour schedule is focused on the coasts, only coming inland for a single night in Chicago. If you're a big enough fan that you'll travel for this one, you can sign up for June 8 presale tickets here. The rest of us will have to wait for some dates within reasonable driving distance to be added. There's still time. After the break, see how the schedule stacks up, as of today:

Update (Thursday): Just received word from AEG Live that some great seats to the show tonight, which was rescheduled from Tuesday due to inclement weather, have just been released. Tickets are available at all TicketMaster outlets.

(Posted Tuesday): Due to the inclement weather we're experiencing right now in the Mile High City, tonight's scheduled Leonard Cohen show at Red Rocks has been postponed until Thursday, June 4. Tickets for tonight's show will be honored and refunds -- which must be completed prior to Thursday evening's show -- are also available at point of purchase.