Fantastic Negrito’s Xavier and Colfax have a lot in common. Both have a seedy past filled with drugs and crime. Both nearly died, and both the street and the artist just may just have been saved by music.
Last Thursday night Rayland Baxter sold-out The Bluebird Theater. While the crowd wasn’t exactly the most attentive, I’ll chalk it up to the kids getting amped for the weekend. The 20-something guys and their girlfriends downed the double Jack & Gingers and chatted loudly as their weeks slowly moved toward the rear-view mirror.
Last Saturday night, The Bluebird Theater served up an eclectic line-up of local bands that once again proved how deep the talent is in the Denver scene. With Atomga, The Pink Hawks, and Roka Hueka throwing down in one of the best venues in town, things got funky and the crowd ate it up!
Denver has quickly become a hot pocket for the live music scene and there’s one local band taking notice of the unparalleled talent popping up around town; that’s Fox Street. For their second year in a row, the Denver locals will take over the historic Bluebird Theater during New Year’s Eve weekend, this time curating three nights of unique musical performances, all by local musicians.
Friends and collaborators of 18 years, Jordan Linit (guitar) and Josh Fairman (bass) have studied the recordings that they respect and admire. Intensely focused on the composition and approaches of classic funk recordings, with Analog Son they have cultivated a new brand of funk that fuses together vintage tones with modern production.
Whether seen on HBO’s Treme or at their legendary Tuesday night gig at The Maple Leaf, Grammy-winning Rebirth Brass Band is a true New Orleans institution. Formed in 1983 by the Frazier brothers, the band has evolved from playing the streets of the French Quarter to playing festivals and stages all over the world. Join them this week for two nights of Big Easy fun!
Over the course of 15 years and seven full-length albums, Blitzen Trapper has crafted one of the more compelling and varied catalogs in contemporary rock and roll. While continuing to explore broad stylistic territory, Blitzen Trapper’s eighth studio album, a 10-song collection titled ‘All Across This Land,’ stands as an exceptionally focused and immediate effort.
It’s always a party when The Congress plays and last Friday night was no different. With old friends high-fiving and hugging out under the marquee and inside the great little theater on Colfax, there was a feeling of family hanging in the air. When the boys in The Congress lived in Denver they were frequently found at The Bluebird, both as fans and performers. Now they have graduated to the national touring scene and came back to their old stomping grounds to strut their stuff!
From their humble beginnings of being hailed “Denver’s newest party band” to the sophisticated praise of “specialists of authentic Nigerian Afrobeat,” Denver’s own world-funk outfit, ATOMGA is leading the charge in musical fusion with the release of their first full-length LP, Black Belt.
A healthy crowd filled the Bluebird Theater on Friday for Austin singer-songwriter Joe Pug’s show at the venerated venue. Thirty-somethings clad in flannel were spirited but respectful during a set that ventured back and forth from intimate to full-pelt. Between laughs, Pug fit in plenty of his older favorites like “I Do My Father’s Drugs,” “Nation of Heat,” and “Hymn #35” as well as some new songs from last month’s ‘Windfall.’