Still Snowing

5/12 Show
I'm continuing to highlight upcoming concerts during my radio shows, so this week that meant playing Tapes 'n Tapes, White Denim, Nik Freitas, Margot & the Nuclear So & So's, Cloud Cult, M.I.A., and Stereolab (who just announced a show on 10/14 at the Bluebird). I got a couple calls last night, which is a couple more than normal, so that was nice. Enjoy the mp3s.

If you were curious, huge snowflakes are still falling from the sky here in Crested Butte.

Artist / Song

Santogold / L.E.S. Artistes
Ratatat / Shiller
My Morning Jacket / Touch Me I'm Going to Scream, Pt 2
Stereolab / Three Women
Ting Tings / Great DJ
Holy F*ck / Jungle
Tapes 'n Tapes / Just Drums
White Denim / Shake Shake Shake
Lykke Li / Dance Dance Dance
Shivers / Beauty
Nik Freitas / Sun Down
Margot & the Nuclear So & Sos / Whiskey Jingle
Hayes Carli / She Left Me For Jesus
Gentlemen Caller / The Radio On
Vetiver / Thing of the Past
Calico Horse / Idioteque
Department of Eagles / No One Does it Like You
Jonquil / So Far So Good
She & Him / Should Have Known Better
Cloud Cult / Living on the Outside of Your Skin
Nortec Collective / Tijuana Sound Machine
M.I.A. / Paper Planes
Lykke Li / Everybody But Me (Diskjokke remix)
Hood Internet / Beauty Flies (Lykke Li vs. Gui Boratto)
Daedelus / Make It So (XXXxhange remix)
MANDY ft. Booka Shade / Body Language (Physical Music remix)

Early Monolith Preview

5/5 Show
A theme was fairly easy to come by this week, with the recent announcement of the Monolith Festival's 2008 lineup (see below). I featured songs from many of these artists, along with some newer stuff in the KBUT studio or that I have downloaded. It was the first time in many months that I have had friends in the studio during my show, so it was equally fun and distracting. Things got a bit soulful in the last half hour, and ended with a shout out to all those Neil Diamond fans out there (we just got his new single at KBUT).

Artist / Song
** = Playing at the Monolith Festival

Black Lips / Not a Problem (live in Tijuana)
Vampire Weekend / Oxford Comma **
Pas Chic Chic / En Chaine et En Vogue
TV on the Radio / Wolf Like Me **
Santogold / L.E.S. Artistes
Holy F*ck / Lovely Allen **
CSS / Rat is Dead (Rage) **
DeVotchKa / Transliterator **
Ra Ra Riot / Ghost Under Rocks
Akron/Family / Ed is a Portal **
Cut Copy / So Haunted **
LCD Soundsystem / Big Ideas
MGMT / Time to Pretend
M83 / Kim & Jessie
Justice / Phantom, Pt 2 **
Ting Tings / Great DJ **
French Kicks / Abandon
Kooks / Mr. Maker
Colin Meloy / Engine Driver (live)
Port O'Brien / I Woke Up Today
Jamie Lidell / Wait for Me
Jamie Lidell / Another Day
Modern Lovers / Womanhood
Gabo Brown & Orchestre Poly-Rhythmo / It's a Vanity
Five Stairsteps / Ooh Child
Friends of Distinction / Grazin' in the Grass
Arnie Love & the Lovettes / We've Had Enough
{{{ Sunset }}} / Man's Heart Complaint
Neil Diamond / Pretty Amazing Grace

Monolith Lineup Announced

This week saw the lineup announcement of Colorado's best music festival: the Monolith Festival at Red Rocks. I must say that at first glance it looks very promising. I'm most looking forward to: Devotchka, Cut Copy, Neko Case, Vampire Weeked, Holy F*ck, White Denim, the Hood Internet, Justice, TV on the Radio, Band of Horses, Sharon Jones, CSS, Akron/Family, and Grampall Jookabox, among others. Last year's festival was a great event, but I'm sure they learned some things that will make this year's run even smoother. Hopefully turn out grows so this thing can continue to bring joy to all us indie kids in Colorado.

Official Website
My thoughts from Monolith 2007 Day One
My thoughts from Monolith 2007 Day Two

Maybe I'll actually write a full report of the festival this year...

Things are Looking Up

4/28 Show
I was starting to worry about what could possibly make my mid-year best of list, as there have only been a limited number of albums that I really enjoy so far this year. Luckily, things seem to be taking a turn for the better. New tracks from Wolf Parade and CSS show promise, and new albums from French Kicks, Santogold, Jamie Lidell, and the Breeders are growing on me. Add to that a new release from perennial favorites the Old 97's, and I'm feeling optimistic again. As for the playlist, the frontloading of live Wilco tracks was intending to get people excited for their visits to Colorado next week.

Artist / Song

Wilco / I Am Trying to Break Your Heart (5/4-7/05)
Wilco / Hell is Chrome 9 9/15/04)
Wilco / Jesus, etc. (9/24/04)
Andrew Bird / A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left
White Rabbits / While We Go Dancing
Wolf Parade / Call it a Ritual
French Kicks / Said So What
Of Montreal / Feminine Effects
CSS / Rat is Dead (Rage)
M83 / Graveyard Girl
LCD Soundsystem / Big Ideas
Jamie Lidell / Wait for Me
Santogold / L.E.S. Artistes
Lykke Li / Dance Dance Dance
Old 97s / Early Morning
Breeders / Walk it Off
Port O'Brien / I Woke Up Today
Kooks / Mr. Maker
Nat Baldwin / Dome Branches
Colin Meloy / We Both Go Down Together (live)
No Age / Eraser
Man Man / Poor Jackie
Santogold / Lights Out
Strange Boys / Nothing
Titus Andronicus / Landscape with Icarus (MySpace)
Titus Andronicus / Titus Andronicus (MySpace)
Titus Andronicus / Josef of Nazareth Blues (MySpace)
Quiet Village / Circus of Horror

Dear Yeasayer,

Notes from Man Man / Yeasayer @ Bluebird, Denver 4/20/08

Dear Yeasayer,

I was quite excited to see you on the bill with Man Man, and you didn't let me down. You didn't blow me away either, but you did put forth an entertaining and engaging set. Your "hits" 2080 and Sunrise came across sounding clean and exciting live, although I was hoping to see a kids' choir appear during the chanting climax of 2080. Alas, you were an opening band and such lavish stage theatrics just don't come with the territory. I also have fond memories of your live performance of Germs, whose Eastern-inspired licks and band-encompassing, chanting melody got the crowd's attention. No Need to Worry and Wintertime were memorable as well. Actually, now that I think about it, I didn't dislike any of your set.

While providing unremarkable vocals and capably pressing buttons, lead singer Chris Keating seems to enjoy flailing around, approximating what I imagine Thom Yorke would look like in concert. Drummer Luke Fasano does a great job recreating your beats in a live setting. I was initially disappointed to see him using so many electronic apparatuses, but as the set went on a nice balance was struck between the traditional drum kit and its digital brothers. (At one point during a staccato, electronically-driven beat accompanied by Keating's bob-happy keyboard playing, I was oddly reminded of Devo and how great it would have been to see them live. Sarah Jessica Parker was a lucky girl).

On a non-performance related note, it was nice to see several of you taking in Man Man's set from the wings. I don't recommend that you strictly follow their live energy (as it wouldn't wholly mesh with your sound), but I'm sure you could learn a thing or two.

Sincerely,
Grant

P.S. Your bassist Ira Wolf Tuton is a creep.

Pitchfork review of All Hour Cymbals
Yeasayer photos from Brooklyn 2/14/08
Man Man / Yeasayer photos from Minneapolis 4/18/08

Concert Hangover

4/21 Show
I think I was still on a musical high from the Man Man / Yeasayer show the previous night, but I did manage to resist playing 2 straight hours of Man Man tunes. The drive to and from Denver gave me plenty of time to preview new music and revisit some old favorites, so that's what you heard Monday night. A concert review should be up soon!

Artist / Song

French Kicks / Said So What
Breeders / Walk it Off
Man Man / Mr. Jung Stuffed
Port O'Brien / I Woke Up Today
Colin Meloy / Engine Driver (live)
Decemberists / O Valencia
Quiet Village / Circus of Horror
Billy Bragg / I Keep Faith
Fleet Foxes / White Winter Hymnal
Lykke Li / Dance Dance Dance
M83 / Kim and Jessie
REM / Houston
Jonathan Richman / Time Has Been Going By So Fast
Modern Lovers / Womanhood (live)
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin / Think I Wanna Die
National / Squalor Victoria
Nat Baldwin / Lake Erie
Port O'Brien / Stuck on a Boat
Jamie Lidell / Another Day
Cut Copy / Feel the Love
LCD Soundsystem / Us V Them
Hot Chip / One Pure Thought
Strange Boys / Nothing
She and Him / I Was Made For You
She and Him / I Should Have Known Better
Benoit Pioulard / Palimend
Kevin Drew / Safety Bricks
Datarock / Fa-Fa-Fa
Gang of Four / Damaged Goods
Oh No! Oh My! / Walk in the Park
Of Montreal / The Past is a Grotesque Animal

Summer Concert Season

4/14 Show
The coming months are chock full of splendid concerts down in Denver and the front range. To highlight all of these shows, I played music from artists who are coming to the area this summer. I think it was a successful show, and one that spawned the new feature in the left column. The "Upcoming 'Local' Concerts" will simply be a list of my approved upcoming concerts (basically shows I would attend if I always could). The venues should be self-explanatory, as most are found in and around Denver. If not in Denver, the city follows the venue. Hopefully this will be useful to some.

A full list of the concerts is below in the playlist.

Artist / Song

4/20 - Bluebird
Man Man / Mr. Jung Stuffed
Man Man / Van Helsing Boombox
Yeasayer / 2080

4/21 - Hi-Dive
Dodos / Horny Hippies

5/8 - Pikes Peak Center, CSprings
Wilco / I am Trying to Break Your Heart (live 9/14/04)

5/1 - Bluebird
Spring Creek / Fiddler's Banjo

4/21 - Boulder Theatre
Minus the Bear / Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey Warehouse

4/28 - Fillmore
Raconteurs / Consolers of the Lonely

5/9 -Black Sheep, CSprings
Ra Ra Riot / Each Year

5/15 - Ellie Caulkins Opera House
Flight of the Conchords / The Most Beautiful Girl (In the Room) (live)

5/17 - Bluebird
Tapes n Tapes / Hang Them All
White Denim / Shake Shake Shake

5/22 - Bluebird
Tokyo Police Club / Tessellate

5/22 - Ogden
Mason Jennings / California Pt II

5/27 - Ogden
Dresden Dolls / My Alcoholic Friends

5/28 - Red Rocks (opening for Death Cab)
8/17 - Red Rocks (opening for Jack Johnson)
Rogue Wave / Bird on a Wire

5/17 - FIllmore
M.I.A. / Paper Planes

5/28 - Ogden
Breeders / Bang On

5/31 - Bluebird
White Rabbits / While We Go Dancing

6/2 - Bluebird
Jamie Lidell / Little Bit More
Jamie LIdell / Little Bit of Feel Good

6/3 - Red Rocks
REM / Orange Crush (live)
REM / Supernatural Superserious
Modest Mouse / Convenient Parking
Modest Mouse / 3rd Planet

7/15 - Fillmore
Feist / I Feel It All

7/16 - Bluebird
Low / Breaker

7/26 - Fillmore
Rancid / Olympia, WA

French Kicks / Abandon
Colin Meloy / Dracula's Daughter