Aural Pleasure: Broken Bells
Broken Bells, a collaboration between Shins' singer James Mercer and aural harlot Danger Mouse, breaks its Mile High cherry tonight at The Gothic Theatre. Best known as one half of Gnarls Barkley, DM—born Brian Burton--is easily one of the most sought-after producers in the game. The left field is his field of expertise, though, as evidenced by his track record: Beck, The Black Keys, Gorillaz, Sparklehorse and Beatles/Jay-Z mash-up masterpiece The Grey Album.
May 29, 2010
Triple Threat: Lea Luna
Playing with words is in Lea Luna's blood. Little is known about the Denver DJ/songwriter's biological father—she was conceived in a Manhattan sperm bank—except that he was a graduate student in the writing department at Yale. And apparently hard up for cash. Although her mother just recently revealed this, Luna's been putting pen to paper for as long as she can remember.
May 28, 2010
Aural Pleasure: The Glitch Mob
The Glitch Mob ain't no one-trick pony. “Glitch hopâ€, a genre they're often credited with inventing (or at least popularizing), may have put them on the map, but they refuse to churn out cookie cutter, assembly line club bangers. Drink the Sea, their first fully original full-length, is bound to confound expectations. On the one hand, there are certainly distinctive characteristics that make the record recognizably Glitch Mob. On the other, Sea sees them abandoning many of their signature bells and whistles—most notably the stutter edits suggested by their moniker.
May 24, 2010
Body Language: Festival de Vida @ Guerilla Garden
Each month, we here at 303 accost two strangers on the street for our “303 Style†back pages. You might have noticed April Charmaine on page 72 of May's Music Issue. In her interview, Charmaine mentions she's a choreographer and dance teacher at Sol Vida. Festival de Vida, a student dance recital Sol Vida is curating at Guerilla Garden (3821 Steele), just happens to be happening today.
May 23, 2010
Karaoke Showdown: Denver’s Next Nightclub Star @ Lannie’s
Upon recently noticing that a Hawaiian getaway was up for grabs at a Lannie's-hosted karaoke competition, I began plotting my song choices. I've never been to Hawaii, but I loved Forgetting Sarah Marshall to death (and, as we all know, Hollywood's interpretation of a geographic locale is always spot on).
May 21, 2010
Body Language: pH7 Pilates
Joseph Pilates never had a sex change. While it remains a popular misconception that Pilates is primarily for women, its inventor was, in fact, a man. Not any mere man either, Pilates was a boxer, a circus performer and a self-defense trainer. He could’ve probably kicked most of our @$$-es if he’d wanted to. Thankfully, his boxing opponents’ @$$-es were the only ones he wanted to kick in the literal sense. His Pilates students? Their @$$-es only got kicked in the anaerobic sense. And so can yours (in a good way). Not by its inventor, mind you (Pilates passed away in 1967), but by any number of his living disciples. Denver’s own Cher Aslor, of Capital Hill’s pH7 Pilates, is among them.
May 20, 2010
Fork It: TAG
Troy Guard is a cuisine genius. The gastronomical mind behind some of the Mile High's most cutting-edge eateries (Zengo, now-defunct Nine 75), he's been my taste buds' best buddy since first bite. If I were Troy, I'd hire armed guards to stand watch over my recipe box 24/7. TAG, his current “Continental Social Food†experiment in LoDo's Larimer Square, celebrates its first anniversary today. Word is there's Pop Rocks in one of the entrées. Trust Troy and try it.
May 18, 2010
Talking Points: Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins has got more stories than Grandpa Simpson. Not only that, whereas Simpson seems permanently cursed with verbal diarrhea, people all over the planet eagerly part with greenbacks to hear the ex-Black Flag frontman yak. Rollins' Frequent Flyer Tour rolls into The Boulder Theater this Tuesday.
May 17, 2010
303’s Master Mix: DJ Mu$a
Mu$a is a master of aural kung fu. Two full decades behind the decks tend to facilitate that kind of skill level. Fittingly, Bruce Lee is one of his biggest influences. Lee once advised “Be like water making its way through cracksâ€; Mu$a follows Lee's counsel to a tee, perpetually filling the specific needs of each dance-floor he encounters. Versatility enables him to play everything from hip hop to dubstep, but also makes him difficult to pigeonhole.
May 10, 2010
Boob Tubin’: Daily Show Gets “Mile High”
Adam Arete had a dream. The Denver music producer's fantasy might not have been on par with Martin Luther King's, but it was certainly within reach. Arete was prescribed sunglasses in eighth grade to curb chronic migraines, but “sticky icky†does the trick these days. When he stumbled into Suite 420 of a converted warehouse—the site of a medical marijuana dispensary called The Apothecary—recently, wearing a Velcro City Records hoodie and his now trademark dark shades (not exactly an old lady with glaucoma), he immediately recognized Daily Show correspondent Jason Jones.
May 5, 2010
Aural Pleasure: Tipper
Dave Tipper is a mad scientist of the aural persuasion. Certain tracks of his actually sound like the audio equivalent of chemistry experiments, with bass that bubbles up and gurgles inside the container that is your ear canal. Tipper is a laptop chap for sure and not necessarily the most animated performer in the world to witness live, but standing idly by while watching a DJ mix really isn’t the point. Tripping out to his digital trickery is. If your eyes are jonesing for a spectacle, check out a DMC event or even DJ Swamp's pyromaniac @$$. If your body desires instead to get lost on the dance floor for an hour or four, then find yourself at Evolution of Sound 3 featuring Tipper and a small grip of supporting acts.
May 2, 2010
Aural Pleasure: Lukos (& Yoga) @ DAM
Tonight, April 30, Gabe Ratliff AKA Lukos will soundtrack a yoga class at The Denver Art Museum. Satori-C will be on hand to tag team. Given that “satori†is a Japanese Buddhist term for “enlightenmentâ€, it seems fitting. And marrying an ancient discipline like yoga with a modern musical genre like electronica seems appropriate for such a cutting-edge art museum.
April 30, 2010