A few months ago, my esteemed editor made me promise not to discuss the digital copyrights fight in these margins. Actually, I believe the promise was not to launch another rant about the Recording Industry Association of America. So, other than that mention, I will stay away from the RIAA. (more…)
May 2008
Victor Wooten
From Ray Brown and Ron Carter to Les Claypool and Bootsy Collins, the bass is the least appreciated and most important instrument in music. Drums keep rhythm, guitar and keys provide harmony, singers and horns provide melody. The bass provides groove. A band is made great simply by the virtue of its bassist, and anyone who tells you differently probably plays guitar and has more mirrors in his house than pictures of his family. Victor Wooten is among the legendary, in terms of the doghouse. Wooten made his name as Bela Flecks’ sideman, but he’s carved his own place in the annals of rock. Double-thumping, tapping, hammer-plucking, Wooten’s a master of it all, and his approach to music remains pure. 8 p.m., May 8, Oriental Theater, Denver, 303.455.2124. $25-$30
Duran Duran
Aside from being relentlessly adored by heterosexual females more than just about any other group in history, Duran Duran also happened to be responsible for almost single-handedly launching the New Wave movement into the mainstream in the ’80s. Duran Duran helped bring the synthesizer notoriety and popularized the post-punk movement. Today, the group not only continues almost unfettered in the same direction they started in, but manages to sprinkle enough contemporary references in that they still sound fresh. 7:30 p.m., May 12, Wells Fargo Theatre, Denver, 303.228.8000. $44+
Return to Forever
Next to Weather Report, Return to Forever is one of the most important post-bop jazz groups that didn’t contain Miles Davis. Though the lineup evolved around two constants—Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke—the mid-70s offering was by far the best. Corea and Clarke were joined by Al Di Meola and Lenny White. They cut a new swath through jazz-rock fusion, cementing Di Meola as a star in his own right. It’s this lineup that returns to the stage this summer. It’s one of those jazz super groups you’ll tell your grandkids about seeing. 8 p.m., June 3, Paramount Theatre, Denver, $303.623.0106. 46.50+
May 2008
Suspenders
Dubbed one of the Top 10 Plays to look out for in 2008 by a certain Boulder daily newspaper, Suspenders is an entirely local effort; a musical written by Nina Davis and composed by Debi Stevenson. The show explores the lives of senior citizens living in a modern retirement community (think Cocoon without Steve Guttenberg and the aliens, or not. We haven’t seen it yet, we’re just guessing here). The preview is free May 20-21, and includes a talk-back session with the artists. Support local talent and enjoy the follies of old people, all at the same time! 7:30 p.m., May 23-June 1, Longmont Theater, 303.772.5200. $10
The Memorandum
Constant surveillance, enormous bureaucracy, laughable government—sound familiar? Can you believe the President was able to write an unbelievably poignant and clever satire about these topics? No, not Bush (as if!). We’re talking about The Memorandum, one of the most-oft performed pieces in former Czechoslovakian President Vaclav Havel’s repertoire. Granted, when he wrote the piece, it was a stinging attack on the politics of the Soviet Union and communism in general, but its application today is certainly ironically timely, wouldn’t you say? Madge Montgomery directs this international classic (new translation by Paul Wilson) for the Theater Company of Lafayette. Billed as a “Comedy about communication or the lack thereof,” we’re betting the Dilbert generation will heavily identify. 7:30 p.m., Friday-Saturday, May 9-31, Mary Miller Theater, Lafayette, 720.209.2154. $10+
Sight Unseen
The concept of selling-out is an old one in the arts, and is something that gets revisited by 17-year-old coffeehouse miscreants and burned-out hippies every time their favorite band you’ve never heard of gets signed. Donald Margulies speaks about it with sublime grace in his 1992 play Sight Unseen, balancing it carefully against themes such as love and jealousy—the result was a Pulitzer nomination. It may be more than 17 years since the play’s premiere, but, as with all great works, the themes are as timeless as the backdrop is dated. Mare Trevathan directs this production at the Paragon Theater. 7:30 p.m., Thursday- Saturday, May 3-31, Paragon Theater, Denver, 303.300.2210. $17+
May 2008
The Canadian-born comic had what was probably the funniest show in Denver radio last year on 103.5 The Fox. But you probably know him better for a slew of character roles in comedies ranging from There’s Something About Mary to the timeless classic, Freddy Got Fingered—and let’s not forget his side-splitting appearance as the urine-drinking motorcycle cop in Dumb and Dumber. (more…)
May 2008
Maybe They’ll Start Pushing Coors
Probably the second-most recognized type of horse in the Americas (hey, if they’d wanted to be the first, they’d be hawking Budweiser instead of those low-brow Clydesdales), the Lipizzaner Stallions are the best dancing horses on the planet. With moves like the Mezair and the Capriole, the Spanish-bred horses have adapted what was originally military-based training into a stunning display of grace. May 17-18, Broomfield Events Center, $22.50+, 303.410.8497
Way Off Broadway
For more than 14 years, Rent has been educating audiences about the post-Eastern-European-immigrant days of the East Village and AIDS in wondrous format of song and dance. It’s the heart of the shabby-chic Manhattan arts scene of the ’90s, and is slated to end its Broadway run in September. Not gonna be able to make it to the Big Apple? Catch it nearby. 7:30 p.m., May 8, Budweiser Events Center, Loveland, $29+, 970.619.4122
Artists For Animals
Granted, Fido may not be able to tell a Botticelli from a bone, but that doesn’t mean art and animals aren’t good bedfellows. Especially when one is used as a means to help the other. Join the Longmont Humane Society for its annual Art for the Animals Spring Boutique. Featuring the work of local artists, proceeds will go to benefit the Longmont Humane Society. May 10-11, Humane Society Carriage House, Longmont, 303.682.8957
You Really Want This Kitchen
A former dairy processing facility, the Watts Hardy building in Boulder was refitted as the Dairy Center for the Arts in 1991. More than a dozen different arts organizations now call it home. Kitchens on Fire is an annual benefit for the Dairy. It’s a two-day self-guided tour of kitchens in Boulder, which should appeal to the Chef Ramsey in all of us. Twelve kitchens will be featured, providing plenty of culinary wizardry. 10 a.m.-4 p.m., May 16-17, $20, 303.444.7328
May 2008
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