Surely this sparkly ball has something to do with New Year’s Eve.

You’ve been nice all year. Now it’s time to revel in some decadent naughtiness leading up to New Year’s Eve. Saturday night, head to the Hothouse (2936 Larimer St.) for Super Bad, billed as “a James Brown Funk Party in Your Pants.” (Catchy, no?)

Continue reading “Do you want to revel into the morning?”

Harmonica player Jason Ricci enjoys confounding expectations.

– Blues harmonica virtuoso/singer Jason Ricci and his band New Blood play a lot of shows annually, and by a lot we mean a lot. Last year they played nearly 320, and this year they’re on track to hit 250. Ricci is also an uncommon performer in other ways: His band’s genre-blending approach tackles jazz, Eastern music and jam band territory as much as traditional blues, and Ricci is one of the only (if not The Only) openly-gay frontman in blues.

– We talked to 33-year-old Ricci yesterday as he hurtled through Utah on his way to a string of Front Range shows (tonight at the Boulder Outlook Hotel and tomorrow night at Oskar Blues in Lyons) about his pilgrimage to meet and play with blues greats, the discrimination he’s experienced on the road and the importance of Blues Hammer…

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– Alvin LaCabe and Francois Baptiste of 3Deep Productions are planning to celebrate Christmas in clubland. Drop by 3Deep Productions’ weekly Status event tonight at DC10 for a hip-hoppin’ holiday party. Just make sure you dress the part. Tonight’s dress code calls for strict color coordination. Women are expected to dress “sexy in red” and the gents can wear all black or a combination of red and black…

Read “3Deep Productions gets in yule spirit with holiday parties”

The Swayback are one of dozens of Denver bands playing in the next week. Photo by Sarah Cass.

– Denver’s investment in its thriving music scene paid off more visibly this year than any in recent memory, thanks to a combination of talent, drive, national attention and — what else? — community. In that spirit, dozens of Front Range bands will celebrate 2007’s successes with a series of shows, from annual extravaganzas by semi-locals Slim Cessna’s Auto Club to group-hugs from indie torchbearers Born in the Flood or local reggae acts at Herman’s Hideaway…

Read “Local bands feeling the love of the music community”

– When the hubby and I moved to Denver from Chicago, we immediately missed our favorite neighborhood restaurants — the honest-to-goodness joints within walking distance of our home where people knew our names and always understood what we meant by “the usual.” To be honest, we didn’t have very high expectations for Casey’s Bistro & Pub, a short stroll from our home in Denver’s Stapleton neighborhood…

Read “Cheap Eats: Casey’s”