Yo La Tengo
6.18.2011
Main Stage, Westword Music Showcase, Denver, CO

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

Setlist:
1. Big Day Coming
2. Evanescent Psychic Pez Drop
3. Today Is The Day
4. If It’s True
5. Mr. Tough
6. You Can Have It All
7. Deeper Into Movies
8. Nothing To Hide
9. Tom Courtenay
10. Sugarcube
11. Little Honda
12. Satellite

FLAC files can be found via BitTorrent at Dime.

Only two months after the release of Indiscretions, Achille Lauro were once again immersed in songwriting.  This Westword Showcase set has a 50-percent new material content.

Achille Lauro
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. Hard Pressed
3. Unrivaled in Class
4. banter
5. Technicolor (first verse) *
6. “Holding a Gun in the Air”
7. Lightning
8. No Brakes
9. Friends War
10. Unicorns and Consent

Notes:
* = unfinished, played for the first time

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

Here’s one final post from 2010’s Westword Music Showcase, Hello Kavita’s performance at the Curious Theatre.

Hello Kavita
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. Sunday (It’s A Chrome Tide)
2. Silent Bed
3. OK
4. To A Loved One
5. unknown
6. This May Be Over Someday
7. The Last Time
8. Colorado

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

John Common and Blinding Flashes of Light
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. Wide Open World
2. Same Scar
3. Clap Hands
4. Can You Hear Me?
5. Triste Y Hermoso
6. In A Bookstore
7. Do You Know My Name

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

Ian Cooke busted out several new songs for his performance at the Westword Music Showcase last year.  Hopefully these will surface on a new album sometime in 2011.

Ian Cooke
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. Kingdom
3. unknown
4. The Rot -> Gimme Gimme Gimmie -> Monkey and Bear -> The Rot
5. Flood
6. Trade Places
7. Darkening
8. Va-Soon
9. Havoc
10. The Towering Prince

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

Headlining a sold-out 2010 Westword Showcase, Ghostland Observatory lived up to the hype!

Ghostland Observatory
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

Setlist:
1. intro
2. Piano Man
3. Ghetto Magnet
4. Stranger Lover
5. Vibrate
6. Sad Sad City
7. Midnight Voyage
8. Move With Your Lover
9. Opening Credits > Heavy Heart
10. The Band Marches On
11. Darling Nikki
12. Silver City
13. Rich Man

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

(Photo by Julio Enriquez of Cause=Time.)

Yet another welcome surprise for me at this year’s Westword Music Showcase was Neon Indian.  Like the Dirty Projectors set,  I was afraid this one would lose some of it’s steam in a mid-afternoon outdoor setting.  While there’s no question their music would go over better indoors, the band’s prismatic layering of sound drew a large and responsive crowd.  The trick was getting up close and submerging yourself in the sound.

Neon Indian
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. Local Joke
3. Terminally Chill
4. Mind, Drips
5. Psychic Chasms
6. Should’ve Taken Acid With You
7. Sleep Paralysist
8. 6669
9. Deadbeat Summer
10. Ephemeral Artery

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

Even though they took the stage at just past noon, an eager, early crowd gathered at the main stage to see Oh My Stars kick off the Westword Showcase.  In this short set, they managed to squeeze in plenty of new material, fan favorites, and even a few covers.

Oh My Stars
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 > LAME > mp3
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. Miss Morose
2. Your Own Way
3. unknown
4. Bad Romance [Lady Gaga] >
5. Empire State Of Mind [Jay-Z] *
6. Any Easier
7. unknown
8. Bloody November

Notes:
* = w/ Handlebars teases

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

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!

(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.