Back in the day, Denver was lucky enough to have the opportunity to see Liz Clark on a monthly basis.  She’s come a long way since, but this show celebrated the release of her second album, Who’s Your Angel, limited to 200 copies in hand-made cases.

Liz moved to NYC five or so years ago, and has been taking music worldwide ever since.    Luckily, she still manages to hang out in Colorado from time to time, and you can catch her at Denver’s Lilith Fair stop in July.

Liz Clark
4.16.2003
Bluebird Theater, Denver, CO

Source:  Microtech Gefell M300’s > Lunatec V2 > Sony D8 > DAT Master > D8 >
Edirol R-44 > Adobe Audition 3.0 > CDWave > LAME > mp3
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. intro
2. Love and War
3. Not the Point
4. Gemini Girl
5. Who’s Your Angel
6. Something I Can Live Without
7. Spiral
8. Junk Yard Dog
9. (thanks)
10. Justify
11. At the Door
12. Gospel Song
13. Carry Me Away [Concrete Blonde]
14. Safe in My Car
15. Encore
16. Paint It Black [Stones]

A zipfile of the mp3s is available here.
FLAC files can be downloaded as a zipfile here.

Possibly the last show Rainville played before disbanding, this Swallow Hill performance was atypical of most, foregoing raucous alt-country for an acoustic presentation of their material.  Several of these songs were penned just prior to this show, so this recording captures their only performance (though a few may have squeezed into the catalog of John Common’s next project, Goodnight Tulsa).

Rainville
5.16.2003
Tuft Theatre at Swallow Hill, Denver, CO

Source:  Microtech Gefell M300’s > Lunatec V2 > Sony D8 > DAT Master > D8 > S/PDIF > Oade Mod Edirol R44 @ 16/44.1 >SDHC > Adobe Audition 3.0 > CDWave
Taped by: Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. intro
2. How ‘Bout You?
3. Trains
4. Lonely Everywhere
5. What Keeps You Up At Night?
6. Real Man
7. Emma
8. Don’t Cry So Hard
9. (Pensacola story)
10. Run Away
11. Can’t Hide
12. Forty Days of Rain
13. (toy piano intro)
14. Evil Moon
15. Yeah I Like It
16. Now I’m Gone
17. Five-Dollar Shower
18. Poor White Trash
19. Christmas in Hollywood
20. Right Now
21. Such a Long Road
(Encore)
22. All You’ve Got is Tonight

FLAC files and other formats are available at the LMA.

Here are Grace Potter and the Nocturnals opening for Brett Dennen at the Ogden last December.  New band members Catherine Poppper and Benny Yurco fit perfectly, and Catherine lays claim to the best sounding bass tones I have ever heard in a live setting.

Grace Potter & the Nocturnals
12.03.2009
The Ogden Theatre, Denver, CO

Source:  Microtech Gefell M300’s > Lunatec V3 > digi-coax > Oade Mod Edirol R44 @ 24/48 > SDHC > Adobe Audition 3.0 > Resample to 16/44.1 > CDWave
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. intro
2. Medicine
3. Joey
4. Oasis
5. Apologies
6. Goodbye Kiss
7. Stop the Bus
8. Low Road
9. Ah Mary
10. Colors
11. Paris (Ooh La La)
12. Watching You >
13. Nothing But The Water >
14. Sweet Hands
Encore:
15. Big White Gate
16. White Rabbit

FLAC files and other formats are available at the LMA.

Easily the most anticipated local act at the Westword Music Showcase, Snake Rattle Rattle Snake played to an enthusiastic, standing-room only crowd at the Curious Theatre.

Snake Rattle Rattle Snake
6.19.2010
curious Theatre, Westword Music Showcase, Denver, CO

Source:  Oktava MK-012 cardiods (12 foot split) > Lunatec V3 > digi-coax > Oade Mod Edirol R44 @ 24/48 > SDHC > Adobe Audition 3.0 > Resample to 16/44.1 > CDWave
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. intro
2. Hastily
3. Dirt Cloud >
4. Sin Eater
5. Dead Mens’ Words
6. Warning
7. Ornament
8. Break
9. Kafka and the Milk

A zipfile of the mp3s is available here.
FLAC files can be found via BitTorrent at Dime.

After all the great club shows I’d seen them play, I was a bit skeptical about seeing Dirty Projectors outdoors in the afternoon.  My worries were unfounded, as their songs were effortlessly translated to a festival setting.  Their ability to present such complex compositions (“brain music”) and entertain a general audience, many of whom had probably never heard the band, is another testament to the genius and talent of Longstreth and Co.

Dirty Projectors
6.19.2010
Main Stage, Westword Music Showcase, Denver, CO

Source:  Microtech Gefell M300’s > Lunatec V3 > digi-coax > Oade Mod Edirol R44 @ 24/48 > SDHC > Adobe Audition 3.0 > Resample to 16/44.1 > CDWave
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. intro
2. Robert Adams/New Topographics dedication
3. I Will Truck
4. No Intention
5. Knotty Pine
6. Fucked For Life
7. Temecula Sunrise
8. Cannibal Resource
9. Remade Horizon
10. Imagine It
11. Stillness Is The Move
12. Useful Chamber

A zipfile of the mp3s is available here.
FLAC files can be found on Dime.

Flashbulb Fires‘ performance at the Curious Theatre was a perfect start to this year’s Westword Music Showcase.  The dreamy orchestrations of each song eased us into the early afternoon, before building up to full energy levels.  The theater hadn’t yet filled by 12:15 when the band took the stage, but the concertgoers I talked to who wandered in late were captivated by the songs they did manage to hear.

You can still vote for Flashbulb Fires on the showcase ballot under the Indie Pop category…but hurry, the voting deadline is tomorrow!

Flashbulb Fires
6.19.2010
curious Theatre, Westword Music Showcase, Denver, CO

Source:  Oktava MK-012 cardiods (12 foot split) > Lunatec V3 > digi-coax > Oade Mod Edirol R44 @ 24/48 > SDHC > Adobe Audition 3.0 > Resample to 16/44.1 > CDWave
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. intro
2. Rope And River
3. Revenge Song
4. Sleep Money Dawn
5. Ambulance
6. Pyramid Scheme
7. Et Lux Perpetua
8. Blind Leading The Blind
9. Twenty Something

A zipfile of the mp3s is available here.
FLAC files can be downloaded as a zipfile here.

Denver got a dose of Superchunk tonight…and what a treat it was!  I was so excited about sharing this set that I tracked it out immediately after getting home from the show.

Superchunk
6.19.2010
Main Stage, Westword Music Showcase, Denver, CO

Source:  Microtech Gefell M300’s > Lunatec V3 > digi-coax > Oade Mod Edirol R44 @ 24/48 > SDHC > Adobe Audition 3.0 > Resample to 16/44.1 > CDWave
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. intro
2. Cool
3. Detroit Has a Skyline
4. Digging for Something
5. Seed Toss
6. Hello Hawk
7. Punch Me Harder
8. Art Class (Song for Yayoi Kusama)
9. Like a Fool
10. Iron On
11. Nu Bruises
12. Learned to Surf
13. Driveway to Driveway
14. The First Part
15. Slack Motherfucker
16. Precision Auto

A zipfile of the mp3s is available here.
FLAC files can be found on Dime!

Six months after the Denver show, John Common brought his grandiose Beautiful Empty CD release show to the Fox in Boulder.  Once again, the evening was packed full of artistic energy, from sculptures and photography exhibits in the lobby, to short films and documentaries which premiered during set changes.   All told, there were six videos showcased, many of which can be found on John’s YouTube channel.  This lineup of Blinding Flashes of Light was slightly different than previous incarnations I’ve seen, and filled to the brim with guests (see below).  A very special night, this show gave you the sense that JC&BFL are on the verge of achieving something prodigious…  Oh, and they even threw in a treat for anyone bummed about the U2 tour cancellation.

Catch them tomorrow at the Westword Music Showcase.

John Common and Blinding Flashes of Light
6.12.2010
The Fox Theatre, Boulder, CO

Source:  Microtech Gefell M300’s > Lunatec V3 > digi-coax > Oade Mod Edirol R44 @ 24/48 > SDHC > Adobe Audition 3.0 > Resample to 16/44.1 > CDWave > LAME > mp3
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. intro
2. Can You Hear Me?
3. Wide Open World
4. L.G.M.
5. The Dreamers
6. Clap Hands (Tom Waits)
7. The Man Who Could
8. Don’t Follow Virginia
9. Go To Hell With Me
10. Love is a Shark
11. Turnaround
12. Same Scar
13. Triste y Hermoso
14. In a Bookstore
15. In My Neighborhood
16. Do You Know My Name?
(Encore)
17. With or Without You (U2)
18. Goodnight Tulsa

Lineup:
Aubrea Alford (violin)
John Common (vocals, guitar)
Jessica DeNicola (vocals)
Seth Donovan (cello)
Scott Mccormik (accordion)
Liz McKellar (vocals)
Octavia McNeill (vocals)
Wes Michaels (cello, sax)
Adam Revell (keyboards)
Ian Short (violin)
Casey Sidwell (bass)
David Sirota (cowbell)
Carl Sorensen (drums)
Joshua Trinidad (trumpet)

16-bit FLAC files are available at the LMA.
A zipfile of the mp3s is available here.

Over the weekend, Kilgore Books celebrated it’s second birthday (and the release of Blammo #6) complete with live music, cake, and champagne.  Bongo Fury kicked off the afternoon fun with a short, intimate set.

Bongo Fury
6.12.2010
Kilgore Books/Wax Trax, Denver, CO

Source: Microtech Gefell M300’s > Lunatec V3 > digi-coax > Oade Mod Edirol R44 @ 24/48 > SDHC > Adobe Audition 3.0 > Resample to 16/44.1 > CDWave
Taped by: Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. Track #1
2. Track #2
3. Track #3
4. Track #4

A zipfile of the mp3s is available here.
FLAC files can be downloaded as a zipfile here.

(Photo via Westword’s blog.)

Yet another one from the Curious Theatre!

Astrophagus
6.13.2009
Westword Music Showcase
Curious Theatre, Denver, CO

Source:  Microtech Gefell M300’s > Lunatec V3 (opti-mod) > Toslink > Nomad JB3 > Firewire > Adobe Audition 3.0 > CDWave > LAME > mp3
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. unknown
2. Feast Day
3. Buena Vista Park
4. Pauper’s Ring
5. unknown
6. unknown
7. Squander It

A zipfile of the mp3s is available here.
FLAC files can be downloaded as a zipfile here.

The 2010 Westword Music Showcase is almost upon us, and in anticipation I’ve decided to sit down this rainy weekend and post a few sets from last years event.  Yesterday included a repost of The Fluid’s set, and this morning I just finished tracking out the Experimental Showcase.  Held at the Curious Theatre, some of Denver’s finest experimental musicians took the stage together in a performance closely fashioned after the “singer-songwriters in the round” format.  BDRMPPL, Married in Berdichev, Iuengliss, CacheFlowe, Pictureplane and Slight Harp all took the stage, trading the lead for each tune.

Experimental Showcase
6.13.2009
Westword Music Showcase
Curious Theatre, Denver, CO

Source:  Microtech Gefell M300’s > Lunatec V3 (opti-mod) > Toslink > Nomad JB3 > Firewire > Adobe Audition 3.0 > CDWave > LAME > mp3
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. Track #01
2. Track #02
3. Track #03
4. Track #04
5. Track #05
6. Track #06
7. Track #07
8. Track #08
9. Track #09
10. Track #10
11. Track #11

A zipfile of the mp3s is available here.
FLAC files can be downloaded as a zipfile here.

The Fluid
6.13.2009
Main Stage, Westword Music Showcase, Denver, CO

Source:  Mix [Microtech Gefell M300’s > Lunatec V3 > digi-coax] + [SBD > XLR] > Oade Mod Edirol R44 @ 24/48 > WAV > Adobe Audition 3.0 > Multiband Compressor > Resample to 16/44.1 > CDWave > LAME > mp3
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. intro/soundcheck
2. Is It Day?
3. Black Glove
4. unknown
5. Saccharine Rejection
6. Cold Outside
7. weather break
8. Big Brother
9. unknown
10. Fool’s Rule
11. unknown
12. Hooked
13. Human Mill
14. Our Love Will Still Be There
15. Candy
16. Goin’ Away

Notes:
Rain and hail persisted throughout the performance (which you can hear hitting the umbrella).
The show was stopped for a few minutes due to band members getting shocked.
Other miscellaneous sound problems during the first song.

A zipfile of the mp3s is available here.
FLAC files can be downloaded as a zipfile here.