Our girl is back! We've finally got new music from Denver's R&B goddess YaSi! You can catch her at Fort Greene bar in Globeville on February 24th from 4pm-7pm where she'll be hosting an art installation and an exclusive premiere of the video for her new single! You can also cop some brand new exclusive YaSi merch! Event is RSVP only. You can do so by clicking here!
Check out 'Lie' on your preferred listening platform or stream below!
MØ photographed by Meesh Deyden
Cashmere Cat opened for Danish singer/songwriter Mᴓ on Tuesday, February 6th at The Ogden Theater and it was surprisingly lit for being the beginning of the week. Cashmere Cat, if you’re unfamiliar, is a DJ, record producer, musician and turntablist on Interscope Records that work with a lot of big names and has a pretty signature sound and sound bits that go along with his whole getup. In front of a setup of 8x3 lights, Magnus August Hᴓiberg of Norway, got the crowd moving with favorites like remixes of Purpz & Miguel song, “Do You Like Drugs?” and “Quit (ft. Ariana Grande)” off his new album 9 which came out in April of 2017. Parts of his set were quit dancey and even on the verge of dubstep, whereas others were very dark, housey, experimental, and reminded me of deep house master Nicolas Jarr. Cashmere Cat’s set was definitely different than the ones I’ve seen previous to this, but it was really awesome, and he set the mood for Mᴓ quite well.
Mᴓ is Karen Marie Aagaard ᴓrsted Anderson is a tiny frame, cool blonde mullet, and an undeniable rock n’ roll energy on Sony Music Entertainment. She is a singer, songwriter, and electro pop producer who is kind of taking the pop world by storm. She was vibrant, grateful to be in Denver, and a true pleasure to watch perform. The light setup that was present for Cashmere Cat split for her and her band, and if you’ve ever seen the babe perform, you know she loves to move around, and so she had to have space to do so. An electro pop sound, lyrics that seem to relate to most people, and a powerful voice have the crowd swooning, then you add her energy, and you get a pretty magical experience. She played fan favorite “Nights With You” much earlier in the set than expected, but it was fucking awesome, and had the whole crowd singing along. It’s nice to a see a pop anthem live, because the energy in the room is undeniable. New song “Bb” off her new EP is a hit , and really struck a chord with the crowd it seemed. The whole set was upbeat, well thought out, and really well executed.
Overall, this show was balanced by the acts that performed, and that reflected in the crowd. Cashmere Cat drew a younger crowd, and Mᴓ a slightly older, more versatile crowd. The energy was right, the performers were on point, interactive, obviously giving it their all and enjoying themselves, and it was a happy Tuesday indeed!
Cashmere Cat photographed by Meesh Deyden
Nothing Matters is a monthly dance party at Fort Greene in Globeville. We talked to Clay Cornelius a little about the upcoming festivities and he's got us pumped for the first installment of this party tomorrow, February 9th at 9pm.
I started the party because I wanted to create a dance party that feels approachable and doesn’t take itself too seriously. My inspiration to get the ball rolling on a monthly came from attending a prom-themed event in LA on New Years Eve that was super fun and well thought-out. I loved the silliness of it all, and it definitely inspired me to take the idea of putting on events a little more seriously once I came back to Denver.
Eventually the party will showcase some special one-off performances from local musicians, DJ sets from whoever I feel like having that month, themed parties and some fun interactive stuff that is still in the works.
This month will feature DJ sets from myself (Clay Cornelius), Nasty Nachos, Retrofette and Jordan Lempe (formerly of Sunboy). People can except to hear a bit of funk, a bit of house music and a bit of disco. We’ll have live visuals by Andy Ai and a Nintendo 64 that will be hooked up to a projector so you can ruin all of your friendships!
Of Mice and Men (Photo Credit: Austin Voldseth)
It’s like any typical Tuesday night right? Wrong, not when you got Of Mice & Men included in your schedule.
It started off with the first opener Moscow, who came out with energy and a trap beat instrumental. Then as the lead singer took to the stage with the brightest, whitest, and fuzziest jacket I’ve seen she began screaming into the mic while the rest of the band trailed behind with energy. The lead guitarist dressing like he was taking the stage with Motley Crue or something shredded solos while the drummer kept flipping us all off in-between spin tricks with his sticks.
Fire From the Gods (Photo Credit; Austin Voldseth)
After them was a new up and coming band called Fire From The Gods. Running about the stage, jumping with scissor kicks, and getting the crowd hyped with all the break downs. After the first three the singer got down on a knee to get to crowd level to talk personal business about life and struggles to encourage everyone to be themselves and not overthink all the bad decisions in life. A couple songs later and one more talk about how good you should feel about life they closed with their famous song “Excuse Me” that got everyone jumping and surfing to the front to high five the band.
Bless The Fall (Photo Credit: Austin Voldseth)
Last of the openers was Bless The Fall, they’ve been around for awhile (almost 10 years now) performing shows along side a lot of other pop punk legends of the 2010 breakdown core music. Personally this was the hardest set to shoot. Why might you ask that? Well, strobes are a tricky one to shoot stills of. Yes, looks great when enjoying, I can say I did on that note. However with all the constant firing of photos and craziness of running around everywhere to follow the bands excitement I got a few keepers. The thing that stood out a lot with Bless The Fall was how involved with the crowd they got. Squirting/spitting water, group hugging and singing along on the front gate, and getting the circle pit spinning was the perfect way to make sure everyone was ready for Of Mice & Men.
Finally the moment we all we’re waiting for. The boys took the stage and performed ‘Defy’ from their new album as the opening track. There was an intense amount of strobes this set as in it put Bless The Fall’s to shame with how much there were. Luckily, there was more constant fill lights so it wasn’t too hard to make a great photo with it. I truly enjoyed the lighting set up they had with their set (kudos lighting tech) because it just matched how everything worked on when drum patters would happen with certain lights and rhythms. So after three songs and one kick to the head from a crowd surfer I enjoyed the rest of the show. I was surprised at how many people knew the entire new album word for word already and how much they wanted to mosh. With me personally I’m more of a fan of their older stuff and would have loved to hear more from ‘The Flood’ album, granted they did play “The Depths” as the last song of the encore even though that song is on the special edition released after the original album.
Of Mice and Men (Photo Credit: Austin Voldseth)
Words and Images: Austin Voldseth
Photo by Rob Loud
The Killers sound exceptional live; the instruments are intricate and clear and front man Brandon Flowers' voice sounds just as smooth and passionate in person as it does on their professional recordings. That (in addition to the spectacle of their show, which I will get to) is why after sixteen years, The Killers are still so popular and continually sell out tours worldwide. If you like their music, even just some of it, you will enjoy their show. This was so evident last night in Denver, where the First Bank Center was packed completely full of the widest range of people - guys, gals, old, young, and a full array of fashion. Literally there were grey haired old men, girl groups, guy groups, couples, and three little kids in the row right behind us. The coolest part was that so many of these different people knew the words and stayed until the end of the show, encore and all, on a Monday night no less.
Photo by Tiffany Candelaria
The show itself was a grand spectacle of components (which they're known for) that reached the boundaries of what the First Bank Center is capable of, complete with lasers, interesting backdrop screens, flashing lights all around the stage, blasted confetti, streamers, even pyrotechnics! I'm telling you, their shows are always a grandiose explosion of light, sound, emotion, energy and joy. See for yourself on our Instagram.
Photo by Rob Loud
They played for about 2.5 hours and went till midnight on a Monday. The merchandise tables had a line every time we walked by, from 2 hours before the show, to after The Killers had ended. As usual, they played songs from all of their albums, but they didn't play any cover songs this time, maybe because they have another whole album to play songs from now. For this new album released last year, Wonderful, Wonderful, the band strove to make a more mature record and focused on emotional authenticity. While there are more personally emotional, lyrical songs on the album, The Killers also include their signature keyboard laden, big chorus, dance songs we know them for.
Photo by Tiffany Candelaria
The show was a blast, the band members delivered, and everyone got to leave with confetti and red, white and blue streamers. The Killers will continue their tour across Europe, Mexico, and many festivals throughout the year!
Photo by Rob Loud
Review by Tiffany Candelaria
So you pride yourself on listening to the acts that eventually blow the fuck up, but you're also not a pretentious git who ditches the rush of the tunes soon as your makers make it big. I am talking to you, hip-hop/deejay head, with your eyes on producers who finally release their own ish! Cashmere Cat's been in the game for years, sonically sculpting hits for everyone from Ye to Grande, and now's your chance to catch him reppin entirely his own vibes. This co-headlining tour with Danish popstress, MØ (pronounced MUH), is sure to bring party from doors open til security sweeps you out the Ogden and onto cold ass Colfax.
TIX: $30ish // Pro-Tip: Don't be an asshat to the X-hands (aka Under 21) that'll surely be there not so sneakily smuggling shooters to each other. You were a teen once, too, old man.
The Velveteers photographed by Robert Castro
Rock and roll is not dead. In fact, some of it is alive and creepy af and from Boulder?! The Velveteers "Death Hex", as Dylan Owens of Denver Post's The Know writes, is a "cut-to-the-bone single" and we quite agree. They have limited songs accessible online, so head to show and grab their tunes an old fashioned way-- buy the album at the merch stand.
TIX: // Pro Tip: Keep your eyes peeled for Karl Christian Krumpholz's next comic for Westword featuring The Velveteers. PS we <3 this band, and you can check out our previous coverage here.
"Hard knuckles on the second hands of working class watches / Skyscrapers is colossus, the cost of living is preposterous." As Denver small talk now also includes anyone's best guess of the number of cranes along the Mile High skyline, it couldn't be a better time to hear two of raps most pioneering political figures, Mos Def (aka Yasiin Bey) and Talib Kweli, rage face. This last minute booking has hip hop fans ready and anticipating, but the $65 price tag may lure away the very people our conscious MCs are rhymin for.
TIX: $65 // Pro-Tip: Your friend bails and you have an extra ticket? Hand it to a fan outside the gates and make someone's night.
Yep, he was in Vampire Weekend. No, he's not Jack Antonoff. He's a dude who NPR writes as "helping to reshape pop music with West African guitar licks crossed with unusual polyrhythms and joyful melodies." Collaborating with acts like Ra Ra Riot, Haim, RAC, and Discovery, you can expect a lot of bubbly beats and billowy vox tracks during his set at Globeville's Globe Hall. Unfortunately, the show is sold out, but we're sure our readers now how to navigate that lil obstacle, legally, of course.
TIX: SOLD OUT-- buena suerte // Pro-Tip: Head to the gorgeous Fort Greene bar across the street for happy hour, then p/u some bbq from Globe Hall, and gorge on cheap beer til openers Joy Again take the stage.
GO IF: you love indie rock but kinda hate dancing, but you resolved to give less fucks in 2018, and just wanna move, man. Vinyl is a sweaty club off Broadway, and no one's gonna be worried about your two step. These LA DJs got you.
TIX: $16ish // Pro-Tip: Avoid wearing that Classixx tee you copped from H&M. It ain't them and they're suing. No, really.
Photo Cred: Nathan Legion
If Majid Jordan hasn't secured a spot on every playlist you've made for bae, you're doing it wrong. The Toronto duo first caught our attention when Drizzy featured them on "Hold On, We're Going Home" and later signing them to his OVO Sound. Now, fair warning-- this show's gonna be sexy af. Like, baby makin music. Like, people feelin themselves maybe not so metaphorically kind of vibes. Like, maybe you do want that shot of tequila.
TIX: $30ish // Pro-Tip: Parking can suck around the Gothic-- careful of side streets that only allow resident permit parking.
I mean, we don't wanna say he's a good place holder for your Frank Ocean fix, but he hits that nerve-- eclectic, tender & sincere, classic yet new. Faiyaz, one of the trio Sonder, and Maryland made former rapper, kicked off his solo tour in Chitown at the end of January. Seeing him at an intimate venue like Lost Lake is sure to be a moment fans will refer to years from now when he's playing global festivals and showing off his friendship with Solange-- oh wait, that's sorta already happened.
TIX: SOLD OUT // Pro Tip: Post up outside Lost Lake with your best puppy dog eyes and get yourself a damn ticket.
