Music
Keep it simple
Bands are chemistry experiments, and the introduction of a couple new elements can change the mix in not readily apparent ways. Dr. Dog has been together for more than a dozen years and released six albums of widescreen psych-pop, redolent of hooks and rather ...
Salvador Santana’s ‘Keyboard City’ has bright spots, but mostly annoying
The best thing about Keyboard...
Going on, and on, and on, and on
It’s a magical moment when life syncs up with the radio. The right song comes on unexpectedly, and the world gets quiet. I had such an experience around this time last year on a road trip back from Toronto with friends. We’d driven all night, clinging to the last ...
Fostering affliction
The next time Mark Foster has a chance to skip out of his work writing songs to go to the beach, don’t be surprised if he decides to stay inside and write...
Large happenings for Big Gigantic
What sort of huge, raucous event could warrant switching the moniker of one the most iconic stages on the planet? Something Big Gigantic...
Spawning time
Succumbing to a sudden fit of retro-surfing nostalgia, we recently spun Leftover Salmon’s seminal Ask The Fish for a fresh listen. A riot of colliding strings and goofball interludes and marksman-like musicianship, the band’s first live CD, recorded at the Fox in ...
YMSB — One Bite at a Time
Someone once said that managing your brand isn’t always easy, but it’s always easier than managing your customer...
Voices of a generation
Denver singer Marnie Ward’s grandfather fought in World War II. Her father fought in Vietnam. She wasn’t a military kid per se, but that family history did instill in Ward an appreciation for the sacrifices service members make...
Performance plus music
People who see He’s My Brother She’s My Sister can expect the band to be able to faithfully reproduce the songs from their recently released full-length debut CD, Nobody Dances In This Town, in a live setting...
THE FEW, THE PROUD, THE MEMORABLE ALBUMS OF 2014
TAYLOR SWIFT, who says she looks at albums as “sort of statements,” has sold an awful lot of albums this year. The unabashedly pop (as opposed to country-pop, her previous focus) 1989 sold more than a million albums in its first week and has spent a total of 29 weeks...
Coming home again
When the disastrous flood of 2013 ripped through Lyons, local musician Danny Shafer and his family had to immediately evacuate their home, escaping in just enough time to grab pets and Shafer’s guitar...
Going old-school DJ
With jangly earrings and an innocent smile, you would never guess Ana Sia was taking the stage to rip your mind apart...
