:: Meese ::

:: Westword Showcase ::

:: featuring 50 acts on 10 stages::

:: June 13 ::

By Dan Rutherford

On a warm Tuesday night in early March, nearly 200 of the Denver scene’s most recognizable faces packed Denver’s Larimer Lounge — not for a bloggerati praised “savior of rock” or even the U.K.’s hottest import — but for a poorly veiled “secret” show for hometown heroes, Meese.

For the first time, the band was able to share a year’s worth of studio sessions, countless knob tweaks with acclaimed producer Sean Beavan (Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson), and more importantly, the announcement that Broadcast, their first full-length on Atlantic Records, will be in stores June 30.

Months of speculation and unfounded claims of the label’s lack of interest by envious messageboard trolls quickly halted that evening. Since their signing in October, 2007, the ominous shadow cast over the band who have been touted as “Colorado’s Next Big Thing” quickly started to dissipate and for the first time, their opportunity to shine in the national spotlight was visible on the not-so-distant horizon. Continue — Read more »

:: Soul of John Black ::

:: Dulcinea’s 100th Monkey ::

:: June 19 and 20 ::

By Timothy Dwenger

With the din of the indie rock scene perpetually hounding music fans these days, it is refreshing when an artist steps out of the shadows with an album that recalls the days when music was about getting people moving with rhythms, melodies and hooks that were sure to fill dance floors. L.A. musician John Bingham has done just that with his latest release as The Soul of John Black, Black John. A classic stew of R&B, soul and funk, the album sounds as if it could have been released 35 years ago.

The record is full of life, with funky beats, chunky riffs and smart lyrics that pour out of Bingham in a manner that is reminiscent of everyone from Al Green to Keb Mo. The Marquee caught up with Bingham as he got ready to head out on the road in support of the new release. “The record is built around playing in blues clubs,” he said. “People really like to dance in blues clubs so this record is made for dancing. It is dance music in the blues tradition, the live band club tradition.”
Continue — Read more »

:: B Real ::
:: Unite the Mic Tour ::
:: Fox Theatre :: June 14 ::
:: Gothic Theatre :: June 15 ::

By Neil McIntyre

Between the two, B Real and Bizzy Bone have sold over 40 million records worldwide — a level of status that few artists are lucky enough to reach these days. But neither Bizzy nor B Real are content to kick back and chill just yet. In fact, the Unite the Mic Tour, which kicks off this month, will feature the two emcees making the leap from top-selling groups to solo careers.

When B Real, who originally rose to fame as a founder of Cypress Hill, recently sat down for an interview with The Marquee, it became apparent early on that this man takes nothing for granted, and despite a two-decade long run in the biz, he’s not content unless he’s pushing himself and his career. “You know Bizzy, who is from Bone a legendary hip hop group [Bone Thugs-N-Harmony], me being from Cypress Hill, we’re stepping out of our comfort zones, out of our groups and trying to do this, rep these shows together because he has a solo album coming out as well. You know, we’re stepping out together and knocking it down,” B Real said.
Continue — Read more »

:: Shpongle & Ott ::

:: re:creation ::

:: Mishawaka Amphitheatre ::

:: June 5 and 6 ::

By Lisa Oshlo

Simon Posford is one of the most recognized and respected contributors to the psytrance genre, and lately, as part of his project Shpongle, he’s been playing a slew of full band and DJ set shows around Colorado.

The English-born electronic musician has a whole host of projects, including being the co-founder of Twisted Records, but Shpongle is a collaborative effort with Raja Ram, flute player extraordinaire. “There are no rules [with Shpongle],” said Posford. “We simply make the kind of music we want to hear. It doesn’t have to be dance floor-oriented and it’s not song-based.  We absorb all sorts of influences from all over the world, and will use anything from a rubber band to a shenai flute. Real instruments and vocals get heavily processed electronically, into a soundscape of psychedelic strangeness. The only way we know a track is done is if the deadline has passed, because I could spend eternity on it and still not be 100% happy,” Posford said in a recent interview with The Marquee, before heading out for another round of dates.
Continue — Read more »

:: Kort McCumber ::

:: Oskar Blues :: CD Release show ::

:: June 11 ::

:: Gold Hill Inn :: CD Release show ::

:: June 12 ::

:: Lefthand Brewery ::

:: June 14 ::

:: Louisville Summer Concert Series ::

:: June 25 ::

:: Draft House (Boulder) ::

:: June 28 ::

By Joe Kovack

Kort McCumber has been musically reborn. Again.

The Colorado-by-way-of-Florida based singer/songwriter has, for years, been turning out bluegrass tinged Americana, but with his latest album, Aint the Same as Before, McCumber takes a hard left from the style of his last few albums toward a more rock and blues-fueled one. But that’s just McCumber, throwing away his preconceptions of what his music should sound like, and letting his songwriting dictate its fate.

“This is my seventh record, sixth solo record and I put out a DVD in 2007,” McCumber said in a recent interview with The Marquee. “So I’ve done a lot since my start in 2000 and each one was cut a little different. The early ones, I cut everything separately, but the last three records I cut my guitars and vocals together for a more live feel. This time I wanted the rhythm section and my stuff cut live, and it was super rewarding to pull that off. Being able to work with seasoned musicians who after about two or three takes and it was done was really impressive, to be able to create that in a studio setting was really rewarding.” Continue — Read more »

:: Phoenix ::

:: Bluebird Theater :: June 25 ::

By Garin Pirnia

Some bands settle on a definitive genre early in their career; others refuse to be classified.

Throughout four albums, Parisian quartet Phoenix has dabbled in pop, R&B, funk, soul, and electronica, which has led to a complex and distinctive sound. 2000’s debut United flickers with moments of jazz, psyche and country, while the follow-up Alphabetical heightens the senses with dancey hits “Everything is Everything” and “Victim of a Crime.” 2006’s It’s Never Been Like That augmented their fan base, but their latest record, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix portends to be their best and most accessible to date. The Marquee phoned up bassist Deck D’Arcy at Phoenix headquarters in Paris to discuss what makes this band so flat-out awesome.

The guys have been friends since childhood, which has been a key ingredient in propelling the band forward. “It’s a very collective work,” said D’Arcy. “All the songs are written by everyone. We pretty much hang out together and wait for the magic to happen. This can take a lot of time. We are convinced that good ideas cannot come from our brain; they have come from accidents. This is the way we work.”

While waiting for the abracadabra, the band spends holidays together and lead singer Thomas Mars raises a daughter with Sophia Coppola. The band contributed a mixtape to Kitsune Tabloid that demonstrates their wide array of tastes, ranging from Tangerine Dream to Dusty Springfield. Continue — Read more »

As I was in the home stretch of laying out this very issue, I heard that Jay Bennet, 45, formerly of Wilco, had passed away.

The official cause of death still (as of press time) hadn’t been released, but that hasn’t stopped the blog world from taking guesses and surprisingly, but sadly still, for once, people are not blaming drugs — at least not the blogs that I read. No, even more sad than a tale ending from drugs, is one ending from not having drugs. Continue — Read more »

The Dave Brubeck Quartet

Time Out: Legacy Edition

Columbia/Legacy

5 out of 5 stars

Miles Davis

Sketches of Spain: Legacy Edition

Columbia/Legacy

4 out of 5 stars

Charles Mingus

Mingus Ah Um: Legacy Edition

Columbia/Legacy

4.5 out of 5 stars

Many jazz enthusiasts consider 1959 to be jazz’s landmark year.  Even though 1959 saw the deaths of jazz icons Lester Young, Billie Holiday and Sidney Bechet, the new sages of popular jazz were creating some of the most seminal work in the genre’s history.  Albums recorded that year included: Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue, John Coltrane’s Giant Steps, the Oscar Peterson Songbook series and Ornette Coleman’s The Shape of Jazz To Come. These were the glory years for the genre; a time when jazz was king and its popularity was shown not only in the mainstream press coverage but also in album sales.

The glory days for jazz have long since passed, but Columbia/Legacy has put forth an honest effort to keep that tradition fresh by remastering and reissuing three additional albums recorded in 1959: The Dave Brubeck Quartet’s Time Out, Miles Davis’ Sketches of Spain and Charles Mingus’ Mingus Ah Um.
Continue — Read more »

Green Day

21st Century Breakdown

Reprise Records

4 out of 5 stars

The new Green Day album, 21st Century Breakdown, is, without a doubt, an extremely impressive feat, and could well wind up as the best album of the year. The cover invokes thoughts of Grease, but that’s where the similarity ends.

21st Century Breakdown is impressive in the same way that a porn star who can sustain an erection for scene after scene is impressive. I say that because not only is the album amazing, but in many ways it’s a continuation of their last album, American Idiot. In fact, the only thing that could have made the album more amazing is if it were released before American Idiot.

There is some redundancy between this and American Idiot, but it’s due more to the album’s structure than any rehashing of ideas. The album’s themes, at least after a few listens, seem to deal with being your own worst enemy (“Know Your Enemy” and “Restless Heart Syndrome”), as well as the purging of negative effects left after taking God out of society, and the hypocrisy of organized religion (“East Jesus Nowhere” and “Christian’s Inferno”).

On top of all the dense but entertaining subject matter, the album also finds time to just flat out rock (“Horseshoes and Handgrenades”). If you like well thought-out, vigorous music, I highly suggest you give this a spin.

— DJ Hippie

Apathetic Drive

A Little Lost All The Time

Independent

3 out of 5 stars

Apathetic Drive just finished a recording project which shares stats usually reserved for mega-stars. The band, which formed in 2004, began recording in October 2007. Now, 20 months and three studios later, the Longmont-based quartet has released A Little Lost All The Time.

Each song on the album was written collectively by the band, and the result is a recording that captures the band members’ characters, which they claim is a general disinterest in life, combined with an instinctive need to express something meaningful. Despite their apathy, however, the album comes across as solid, brooding indie that is both serene and angst ridden.

—  Brian F. Johnson

:: Apathetic Drive ::
:: CD Release party ::
:: Meadowlark :: June 19 ::

Glyphic

Everything Eventual

Independent

3.5 out of 5 stars

Denver’s Glyphic should take a really good look at the parking lot of Mile High Stadium the next time they drive past it on I-25.That lot might seem foreign to them now, but soon enough they might end up there, playing for something like the Van’s Warped Tour.

As their debut album, Everything Evenutal —  which dropped last month at a Gothic Theatre release party — showcases, the band is Warped Tour-ready, blending hard rock, pop punk and skater thrash that has become the staple of Warped and like crack to the ears of young, but loyal, followers.

The album definitely gives nods to bands that they toured with and obviously have been inspired by — most notably Trapt and Egypt Central — but while many bands in the genre fall into a formulaic and painfully ordinary sound, Glyphic has honed their craft enough that they can stand out among the hordes of others who are similar.

—  Brian F. Johnson

Eminem

Relapse

Aftermath/Interscope

4.5 out of 5 stars

After a four-year break, Eminem returns to the microphone with his first “sober” album. In the past, listening to Eminem has been a lot like listening to a musical psychology lesson and that was largely the appeal, for this critics at least.

On Relapse that hasn’t changed, but what has changed is that Eminem is viewing the world as a person in recovery and the result is, sorry to say,  mixed. The first half of the album is a bit boring compared to Eminem’s other albums. A lot of the time it sounds like he is trying to parody himself and his often vulgar alter ego, “Slim Shady.” Even the standout track “Insane,” a shocking up front attack on childhood sexual abuse, sounds more like it belongs to Insane Clown Posse than to Eminem. There are some other moments of lyrical genius but the songs just don’t have the same punch as “Lose Yourself” or “The Way I Am.”

The second half of the disc is a lot better. While the whole album touches on Eminem’s pill addiction, the songs “Medicine Ball,” “Déjà vu” and “Beautiful” confront it with intensity that possibly no other mainstream artist has ever dared. The self-reflection is beyond stunning and if Mr. Mathers’ is practicing what he preaches he may just stay sober.

The last track “Underground” ends the album with the kind of sarcastic anger that made Eminem famous in the first place and one can only hope that the next album, that is already finished, is more in that vein.

In any event, Relapse will top the charts and it is refreshing that the only rapper “with the balls to say it” is back where he belongs.

—  DJ Hippie