The experimental jazz musings of Aenka were the perfect refuge against Sunday’s afternoon drizzle, and the weariness that we all succumb to on the final day of a festival…

Aenka
7.26.2009
Denver Post Underground Music Showcase
TS Board Shop Stage, Denver, CO

Source:  Oktava MK-012’s (card capsules) > Lunatec V3 (opti-mod) > Nomad JB3 > Firewire > Adobe Audition > CDWave > LAME > mp3
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.

I took a breather from taping at the UMS on Friday night, but thankfully John and Rose from KGNU held down the fort by running mics at the Hi-Dive.  Airshow Mastering was also on-site and kind enough to pass on a board feed.  Combing the two sources led to some quite listenable results…thanks to all involved that weekend!

Houses
7.24.2009
Hi-Dive, Denver Post Underground Music Showcase, Denver, CO

Source:  Mix [Oktava MK-012’s > Edirol R-09HR] + [SBD > ? > WAV] > Mixdown in Adobe Audition 3.0 > CDWave > LAME > mp3

Audience Taped by:  John Schaefer and Rose Brunning
Board Feed Taped by:   Airshow Mastering
Mixed by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. intro
2. Circles and Squares
3. Rainy Day Parade
4. untitled (Hangman’s Noose)
5. Be The Woman
6. Fairweather
7. We’ll See The Sun
8. We’re Alright *

Notes:
* = cuts to SBD-only one minute into the track

FLAC files are available at COTapers.org.
A zipfile of mp3s is available here.

Our neighbors to the south, A Hawk and a Hacksaw, concluded their fall tour in Denver before heading home to Albuquerque.  Despite some pressure from other shows, AHAAH played to a full house, no doubt partially driven by folks who also turned out for openers Damon and Naomi.

A Hawk and a Hacksaw
10.16.2009
Hi-Dive, Denver, CO

Source:  Microtech Gefell M300’s > Lunatec V3 > digi-coax > Oade Mod Edirol R-44 @ 24/48 > Adobe Audition 3.0 > Resample to 16/44.1 > CDWave > LAME > mp3
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. Romanian Hora
2. Fernando’s Giampari
3. I Am Not a Gambling Man > Raggle Taggle
4. The Man Who Sold His Beard
5. Serbian Cocek
6. Kolo
7. unknown
8. unknown
9. Macedon
10. Turkiye
11. Lassu
(Encore)
12. Eskudar
13. Zibiciu
14. Foni tu Argile

Notes:
Encore was performed off-stage, moving throughout the bar.

A zipfile of mp3s is available here.
FLAC files are available on dime.

(Photo by Vicki Robison.)

Here’s the second night of Cracker’s run through Colorado last month!

Cracker
9.02.2009
Bluebird Theater, Denver, CO

Source:  Microtech Gefell M300’s > Lunatec V3 > digi-coax > Oade Mod Edirol R-44 @ 24/48 > Adobe Audition 3.0 > Resample to 16/44.1 > CDWave
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. Hey Bret (You Know What Time It Is)
2. Sunrise In the Land Of Milk and Honey
3. Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out With Me
4. Movie Star
5. Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now)
6. The World Is Mine
7. Hand Me My Inhaler
8. Friends
9. Yalla Yalla (Let’s Go)
10. Show Me How This Thing Works
11. Been Around the World
12. Gimme One More Chance
13. Eurotrash Girl
14. Waiting For You, Girl
15. Time Machine
16. Lonesome Johnny Blues
17. I Could Be Wrong, I Could Be Right
18. Darling One
19. Sweet Thistle Pie
20. Get Off This
21. Low
(Encore)
22. I Want Everything

16-bit FLAC files and other formats are available at the LMA.

(Photo by Vicki Robison.)

Ft. Collins rockers The Piggies played the opening slot for Cracker’s show at the Aggie last month, showcasing material from their 2009 release, Rusted Bullets.  As a bonus, they managed to drag Johnny Hickman on stage for a performance of Harvest Queen (which can be found on his solo album, Palmhendge).

The Piggies
9.01.2009
Aggie Theatre, Ft. Collins, CO

Source:  Mix [Microtech Gefell M300’s > Lunatec V3 > digi-coax] + [SBD > 1/4″] > Oade Mod Edirol R-44 @ 24/48 >
Adobe Audition 3.0 (Mixdown) > Resample to 16/44.1 > CDWave > LAME > mp3
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. unknown
2. Rope
3. unknown
4. Complicated
5. I Do What I Want
6. Bang Up Job
7. Do Me Good
8. unknown
9. Who You Are
10. Rotten Apple
11. Silky Smooth
12. banter/tuning
13. Harvest Queen (w/ Johnny Hickman of Cracker)
14. Rusted Bullets

FLAC files are available at COTapers.org.
A zipfile of mp3s is available here.

Upon the heels of my previous post is Concern’s opening set for Casiotone for the Painfully Alone at the Hi-Dive this summer.  Gordon Ashworth will be heading Down Under with his brother next month for a joint Concern/CFTPA tour through New Zealand and Australia.

Concern
7.28.2009
Hi-Dive, Denver, CO

Source:  Mix [Microtech Gefell M300’s > Lunatec V3 > digi-coax] + [SBD > RCA > 1/4″] > Oade Mod Edirol R-44 @ 24/48 > Adobe Audition 3.0 > Resample to 16/44.1 > CDWave > LAME > mp3
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. Entire Set (20 minutes)

(Or grab the track in FLAC format.)

This show happened back in July, but the mood of Owen’s lyrics is much more appropriate for cold, snowy days like today…

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
7.28.2009
Hi-Dive, Denver, CO

Source:  Mix [Microtech Gefell M300’s > Lunatec V3 > digi-coax] + [SBD > RCA > 1/4″] > Oade Mod Edirol R-44 @ 24/48 > Adobe Audition 3.0 > Resample to 16/44.1 > CDWave > LAME > mp3
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. intro
2. Optimist Vs. The Silent Alarm (When The Saints Go Marching In)
3. Man o’ War
4. Natural Light
5. Traveling Salesman’s Young Wife Home Alone On Christmas In Montpelier, VT
6. I Love Creedence
7. White Corolla
8. White on White
9. New Year’s Kiss
10. Toby, Take a Bow
11. Jeane, If You’re Ever In Portland
12. Hey Eleanor
13. Old Panda Days
14. Bobby Malone Moves Home
15. Bobby Hobby
16. Ice Cream Truck
17. Nashville Parthenon
18. Scattered Pearls
19. Young Shields
20. Tonight Was a Disaster
21. Harsh The Herald Angels Sing
22. White Jetta
23. Graceland

A zipfile of mp3s is available here.
FLAC files are available on dime.

I’ve been going through the archives backing up a bunch of DATs and audio files, so expect some older gems to surface on here over the next few weeks.  Here’s a great set by afro-beat world travelers Aphrodesia, from their 2004 “Just Vote” tour.  If memory serves, they opened for the Boulder jam super-group Meeting of the Minds on this particular night.

Aphrodesia
9.10.2004
Boulder Theater, Boulder, CO

Source:  Microtech Geffel M300’s > Lunatec V2 > Apogee MiniMe > ODL-276 > Nomad JB3 > Adaptec FireConnect 4300 > CoolEdit Pro
Taped/Transferred by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. unknown
2. Olondo
3. The Rebel Emotion
4. unknown
5. unknown
6. Mr. President
7. Kari Burro
8. No Agreement *

Notes:
* = w/ new lyrics referencing the Iraq war, etc.

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

(Photo by Vicki Robison.)

Cracker returned to Colorado this week for a pair of excellent performances.  While the Ft. Collins show had a lesser turnout than Denver, Tuesday’s setlist, banter, and crowd interaction yielded the best of the two shows.

Cracker
9.01.2009
Aggie Theatre, Ft. Collins, CO

Source:  Mix [Microtech Gefell M300’s > Lunatec V3 > digi-coax] + [SBD > 1/4″] > Oade Mod Edirol R-44 @ 24/48 > Adobe Audition 3.0 (Mixdown at 50%aud/50%sbd) > Resample to 16/44.1 > CDWave > Flac16
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. intro
2. Yalla Yalla (Let’s Go)
3. Show Me How This Thing Works
4. Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out With Me
5. Teen Angst
6. The World is Mine
7. Hand Me My Inhaler
8. Waiting for You Girl
9. Been Around the World
10. Gimme One More Chance
11. Riverside
12. Friends
13. Hey Bret (You Know What Time It Is)
14. Sunrise In The Land Of Milk And Honey
15. Eurotrash Girl
16. Happy Birthday
17. Lonesome Johnny Blues
18. Mr. Wrong
19. Pictures of Matchstick Men
20. Shake Some Action
21. Duty Free
22. Get Off This
(Encore)
23. Wild One
24. Low

16-bit FLAC files are available at COTapers.org.
24-bit FLAC files and other formats are available at the LMA.

After missing both of Joseph Pope III‘s appearances at the UMS, I finally had a chance to see him opening at the Houses CD Release last weekend.  Great stuff!

Joseph Pope III
8.07.2009
Meadowlark, Denver, CO

Source:  Mix [Microtech Gefell M300’s > Lunatec V3 > digi-coax] + [SBD > 1/4″] > Oade Mod Edirol R-44 @ 24/48 > Adobe Audition 3.0 > Resample to 16/44.1 > CDWave > LAME > mp3
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. Track #1 (w/ Nathaniel Rateliff)
2. Track #2 (w/ Nathaniel Rateliff)
3. Track #3
4. Track #4
5. Track #5 (Dust on the Breakers cover)
6. Track #6
7. Track #7
8. Track #8 (w/ Julie Davis)

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

Ron Cole kicked off last Thursday’s Meadowlark lineup with his Hollagramz project.   After overcoming problems in setting up visuals (by abandoning the visual effects altogether), Hollagramz laid down a string of beats that had people engrossed half-way through the first song.  Ron is a relative newcomer to Denver’s thriving electronic/trance/experimental scene, a scene which seems to be churning out interesting new artists on a monthly basis.  Catch him at this year’s Burning Man, or at Rhinoceropolis on September 18th.

(Note: To compensate for the visual equipment breakdown, Travis Egedy stood up front and painted patterns across the ironwork with a laser pointer.)

Hollagramz
8.06.2009
Meadowlark, Denver, CO

Source:  Microtech Gefell M300’s > Lunatec V3 > digi-coax > Oade Mod Edirol R-44 @ 24/48 > Adobe Audition 3.0 > Resample to 16/44.1 > CDWave > LAME > mp3
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
1. Calyptic Ruse
2. Obergon
3. Romprz
4. Track #04
5. Track #05

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

Hailing from the west coast, a trio of noise projects took over the Hi-Dive on Tuesday, opening for Concern and CFTPA.  I was immediately hooked by the slow-rolling song intros and large-hall sounds of Terrors.  Pussy Control and Human Hands only performed one track each, which made it very hard to form an opinion of either act.

Terrors/Human Hands/Pussy Control
7.28.2009
Hi-Dive, Denver, CO

Source:  Mix [Microtech Gefell M300’s > Lunatec V3 > digi-coax] + [SBD > RCA > 1/4″] > Oade Mod Edirol R-44 @ 24/48 > Adobe Audition 3.0 > CDWave > Flac24
Taped by:  Lance Stack

Setlist:
(Pussy Control)
1. unknown #1
(Terrors)
2. God Bless The Child
3. Long Beast Of Blues
4. Inequipoise/Smoke Anyway
(Human Hands)
5. unknown #4

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

David Dondero stopped in Denver this week, introducing the Meadowlark audience to a set comprised mostly of new material.  David is currently in Omaha recording his next album, so expect many of these songs to show up on a future release.   Having heard three of his albums, I find these new songs to be some of the strongest yet.  And the references are great–Whiplash the Cowboy Monkey, Darren Hanlon, wild javelina in the Gila, and the Salamanca frog all in one tune?!

David Dondero
7.13.2009
The Meadowlark, Denver, CO

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

Setlist:
1. “Love and Leave a Friend”
2. Not Everybody Loves Your Doggy Like You Do
3. We’re All Just Babies in our Mommas’ Eyes
4. It’s Peaceful Here
5. “Wherever You Go”
6. Freight Train
7. “Alaska”
8. California Blues
9. Number Zero with a Bullet
10. “Have You Been to Bakersfield”
11. The Lightning Struck the Fire from the Tree
12. “Kind Heart Blues”
13. “Jesus From 12 to 6”
14. Don’t Be Eyeballin’ My Po’ Boy, Boy

Notes:
Right PA speakers went out before David took the stage, so I heavily panned the left channel to the right.

A zipfile of mp3s is available here.
FLAC files are available on dime.

Purchase David’s Discography:
Simple Love (Team Love)
South of the South (Team Love)
Spider West Myshkin And A City Bus (Ghostmeat Records)
The Pity Party (Ghostmeat Records)
Live at the Hemlock (Future Farmer)
Shooting at the Sun with a Watergun (Future Farmer)
Transient (Future Farmer)

(Photo by Kenton Larson!)

Hot IQs closed the book on their career to a packed house at the Bluebird Theater this weekend with one of the best shows I’ve seen them play.  This is one band that will be greatly missed in the Denver Scene.  Tim has a great review of the show up at Something Like Sound, which includes a few more of Kenton’s photos.  If you still can’t get enough after listening to their farewell show, a solo Eli Mishkin set is still available here.

Hot IQs
6.19.2009
The Bluebird Theater, Denver, CO

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

Setlist:
1. (Sid Pink intro)
2. Web In Front
3. Hot IQs
4. Houndstooth (Release the Hounds)
5. Have Nots Have Knots
6. (Another Song About) Pretty Girls
7. Retromuff
8. Getting Old
9. Twos and Threes
10. unknown
11. The Mascot Is Winning
12. unknown
13. Elephant In White
14. unknown
15.  I Think I Need A New Heart
(Encore)
16. (banter)
17. Nightstand
18. Firecracker
19. (band thanks)
20. Duck And Cover

A zipfile of mp3s is available here.
FLAC files are available on dime.

Purchase the Hot IQs Discography:
2007 – Dangling Modifier (Band Website | iTunes)
2004 – The Argument Between the Brain and Feet (Band Website)

Here’s the first of many captures from yesterday’s Westword Music Showcase, a performance by Elin Palmer in the spectacular Curious Theatre.  Delays in stage setup resulted in a late start, but a nice sized crowd streamed into the theatre as soon as doors opened.  While short, the overall mood and attentive crowd made this my favorite Elin show to-date.

Elin Palmer
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. intro
2. unknown
3. Du
4. unknown
5. unknown
6. A Little House
7. Everyday

Band Members:
Elin Palmer – vocals, violin, nyckelharpa, accordion
Tiffany Meese – casio and vocals
Charlie Parker – bass
Patrick Meese – drums

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