Good Riddance. Marquis Theatre. 01.25.18 May 5th, 1994. I am 17 years old and sitting in my ’84 Honda Accord in a dirt parking lot at the World Beat Center in San Diego. It’s 6pm and there are no other cars in the lot. I am early. Ridiculously early. A month has passed since leaving my hometown in Northern California.… Read more →
Heart. Joan Jett. Cheap Trick. Red Rocks. 08.30.16 Filthy water rushed down the stairs as the masses fought their way to shelter. The bruised sky was crying something fierce as it bled icy pellets of hail onto the crowd. Lightning was striking a little too close for comfort, as deafening thunder filled in for the postponed music. The experienced Red… Read more →
LCD Soundsystem. Red Rocks. 08.02.16 / 08.03.16 When Chuck Klosterman interviewed James Murphy prior to LCD Soundsystem’s farewell performance, he presented the idea that while bands (and people) are mostly remembered for their collection of successes, they are defined by their singular failure. When Murphy was posed with the question of his own defining failure, the film cuts to footage… Read more →
Into It. Over It. / TWIABP / Pinegrove. Marquis Theatre. 03.25.16 Waiting for an Uber to pick me up at 6:30pm on a Friday night just seemed odd. Was I really going to a show before the sun started to set? Would Pinegrove be worth showing up hours before the headliner was scheduled to perform? Could I even last through… Read more →
Patti Smith. Fillmore. 12.29.15 “horses groping for a sign for a breath … charms. sweet angels – you have made me no longer afraid of death.” Patti Smith, the poet, read prose from the back cover of a forty-year-old album, before Patti Smith, the punk rocker, threw her fists in the air and denied complicity in the sins that led… Read more →
Riot Fest Denver 2015 My Festival Experience: 3 Days / 2 Nights 16 Hours 26 Bands Top 10 Moments: Iggy Pop – agelessly following “The Passenger” with “Lust for Life”. Ice Cube – performing N.W.A material with MC Ren and DJ Yella. System of a Down – dropping “Aerials” and “B.Y.O.B.” on a massive crowd. The Dead Milkmen – performing “Punk Rock… Read more →
Fat Wrecked for 25 Years. Fillmore. 08.20.15 “Fat Wreck Chords? You don’t know shit about Fat Wreck Chords!” Those words stabbed me in the back as I made my way across Colfax last night. I was wearing a Good Riddance shirt that displayed the fat vinyl logo on the back. Evidently some gutter punk thought I bought the shirt because… Read more →
Death Grips. Ogden Theatre. 06.24.15 “I’ve got the powers that B, running through me!” A shirtless MC Ride was marking his territory on the large, spacious stage in front of a violently enthusiastic audience. Zach Hill, also shirtless, was doing his best Animal impression behind the drum kit. Andy Morin (aka Flatlander) was stoically standing behind his station, while his… Read more →
Sleater-Kinney / Lizzo. Ogden Theatre. 02.12.15 Seeing the name Sleater Kinney on the marquee at the Ogden Theatre last night was quite a sight, but it didn’t stir nostalgic emotions for everyone on Colfax. As the line stretched out in front of the theater, past Angelo’s Records to the other side of Ogden St., many of Colfax’s finest took the… Read more →
Lucero / Drag The River. The Gothic Theatre. Englewood, Colorado. 12.29.14 Making small talk about the weather is something people do in uncomfortable situations where no other common ground can be found, but when you’re standing outside in subzero temperatures it’s the elephant that refuses to be ignored. As Gary Lee (of Gary Lee’s Motor Club and Grub) was educating… Read more →
2014 was a very good year in music. I wouldn’t say it was great, but it was very good. There were only a few perfect albums, but there were countless attempts that came close to hitting the mark. It was the year of introspection. It was the year of the singer-songwriter. It was the year of stories (as is evident from my… Read more →
