Khruangbin Ends 2018 On A High Note In Denver

Khraungbin with an epic last night of their tour. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

We may as well call 2018 “The Year of Khruangbin”, it was a coming out party for the Texas trio (formed of Laura Lee on bass, Mark Speer on guitar, and Donald Ray "DJ" Johnson Jr. on drums) as they ended their US tour in our fair city this past Saturday night. The band has been around for a couple years but this year they managed to put the world on notice. The trio brought their unique musical blends of genres to a sold out house and managed to turn the venue into their own dance party. Relying heavily on their influences of soul, funk, rock, hip hop, psychedelia, disco, and Thai influences, the band took us on a two hour musical journey. With the opening chords of “Bin Bin” to the last rousing applause of “Maria Tambien” that evoked an emotional response from the band as they laid their instruments down one last time for a well needed break, toss in one of the best instrumental mash-ups we have ever heard and it made for a magical December night at The Ogden. Opening the night was one of our favorites from SXSW this year The Marias, the LA band was a last minute opener and meshed well with their soul influenced roots that won the crowd over.

Words and Images- Robert Castro

Laura Lee always looking fabulous. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

An epic setlist to close out their tour. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

Khalid The Future Of R&B

One of the hottest acts in music today spend back to back nights in our fair city with two sold out shows. The 19 year old phenom known simply as Khalid has been skyrocketing up the charts within the last year on the heels of his debut album American Teen. The 19 year old from El Paso, Texas has been busy with his current our as well as guest appearances on tracks with Calvin Harris, Marshmello, Goldlink and more. A fresh face on the R&B scene Khalid delivers with a unique voice and amazing energy on stage. It was only a few months ago he was playing to a packed Larimer Lounge to this weeks sold out shows at The Ogden and Fillmore. The kid is on his way.

Music | Shakey Graves at The Ogden Theatre | October 23/24, 2015

Austin native Shakey Graves (Alejandro Rose-Garcia) was in town this past weekend and his presence was heard loud and clear! We've been following this guy for a few years now and we are happy to see how far he's come. We caught him last year at the Telluride Blues and Brews Festival and even spotted him at the SXSW Festival back in march. This time he sold out the Ogden two nights in a row - it's clear we're not the only folks in Denver enjoying his music. We didn't make it to the Friday show because we were at Lost Lake to see The Velveteers and Dragondeer, but to our surprise, Rose-Garcia stopped by Lost Lake late night for an exclusive little DJ set, even sporting a Star Trek uniform. Priceless! 

photo credit: Andrew Rios/Ultra5280

Colfax was buzzing on Saturday night and we were excited to see what Rose-Garcia had in store for us. Normally a solo act with just a guitar and his iconic suitcase drum kit, this time around he had a full band joining him on stage. The show was amazing! Song after song, he had the whole crowd cheering and singing along. He played an interesting array of tracks going back and forth in tempo. We particularly enjoyed the songs "Chinatown", "Bully's Lament", "Friends and Genus", "Hard Wired", and his new hit single "Dearly Departed", which features Colorado native Esmé Patterson. His unmistakable raspy voice and street artist vibe makes him one of our favorite musicians to cover, and we were so thrilled to get to meet him. Word has it that he's going to hole himself up this winter in order to work on a new album for next year. We can't wait! 

-Andrew Rios

Music | The Neighbourhood | The Ogden Theatre | September 16th | Photo Essay

California alt-rockers The Neighborhood (The NBHD) graced us with their performance this past Wednesday night at The Ogden Theatre. The band has now grown up (after blowing up off their massive radio hit "Sweater Weather") and moved past just making catchy songs. With a much more mature sound and infectious rhythms, they have still maintained their catchy lyrics. Evident in songs such as "Afraid" and "RIP 2 My Youth". Be sure to catch them as their Flood Tour rolls through your town. 

Images: Liz Whitman

Music | The Kills | The Ogden Theatre | August 5th | Review and Photos

Jamie Hince and Alison Mosshart make up The Kills (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

Garage rock indie duo The Kills made their way to a hot sweaty Ogden Theatre on Wednesday night. An unusual tour considering most bands tour in support of an album, the duo is currently working on new material as we speak. That didn't stop us from checking out the lovely talented Jamie Hince on guitar and equally beautiful Alison Mosshart on vocals and guitar as well. Mosshart's vocals filled the theatre with the raspiness and raw sound we are used to hearing from 60 year old chain smoking grandmothers. Yet she pulls it off in such a sexy and seductive manner that we get lost in the gritty garage rock sound we have come to love. Playing out classic hits from their catalog the band opened with a heavy hitter with "URA Fever" automatically inducing the crowd to sing-a-long (one of many on the night). Feeding off each others energy the band kept the crowd sweating from beginning to end as they belted out sultry dance numbers. If you want to experience rock and roll and not oversaturated pop music make sure you go see this duo, they will blow you away. A slew of other dates and festivals are in the works, with a new record coming out soon. Hopefully they make it back so we can witness one of the best rock acts out today.

The lovely Alison Mosshart (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

Jamie Hince shredding away (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

The Kills played to a hot sweaty crowd on Wednesday (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)

Check out the Photo Slideshow of The Kills: Photo Credit: Robert Castro

Music | The Jesus and Mary Chain | The Ogden Theater | May 11, 2015 | Review

Do you ever get those nostalgic feelings at a concert? Maybe it's from a band you used to listen to, maybe it was a song that you played when you had your first kiss (or other)? Monday night brought back all kinds of feelings for me courtesy of The Jesus and Mary Chain. After destroying Austin this past weekend for the Levitation Festival (Austin Psych Fest) the band rolled into the Mile High City to play for a near sold out crowd at the Ogden Theatre. For this particular tour, the band is reaching deep into their catalog to play the well acclaimed Psychocandy in its entirety. Throw in a few extra hits and you have yourself all the pieces for a great concert. The band is currently on tour and will be wrapping up this weekend in San Francisco.

The band opened with with "April Skies" to the tone of dim blue lights and fog - creating the perfect ambiance for a band known for their dark melodic tones and ambient noise sets.  It was a different feel than most other shows, in part thanks to the older audience who came to help celebrate one of the most influential bands of the decade. The group's decision to play the entire Psychocandy album from front to back had many in the crowd feeling those same nostalgic vibes I had as well.

Setlist: April Skies | Head On | Some Candy Talking | Psych Candy | Up Too High | Reverence | Upside Down | Break | Just Like Honey | The Living End | Taste The Floor | The Hardest Walk | Cut Dead | In A Hole | Taste of Cindy | Never Understand | Inside Me | Sowing Seeds | My Little Underground | You Trip Me Up | Something's Wrong | It's So Hard