Weekend Agenda, Feb. 6-8: Lots of art, lots of rock, plus a little art-rock.
Ships by Jeane Warner
The best of this weekend:
Friday: Okay, sure—First Friday can be pretty cool. But it seems there’s an inordinate number of great art shows around town this Friday. Among the best: At Andenken Gallery, Denver artist Evan Hecox shows a new selection of his crisp, vivid prints and woodblocks, while over at 238’s Gallery, a group show of lowbrow, Valentine’s-themed pieces titled Bloody Hearts & Busted Knuckles will be up for the viewing (and gifting). And at Hinterland Gallery, local drummer Andrew Warner—of Bad Luck City, Red Cloud West, and the Monofog side project Sweet Tooth Meat Tooth—will display some of his nightmarish paintings alongside the brighter (but quietly eerie) work of his sister, Jeane Warner. Live music will be supplied by Sweet Tooth Meat Tooth and local composer-instrumentalist Michael Andrew Doherty, who will be performing traditional Japanese flute and folk chants. In other words: It’ll be true family affair.
Saturday: Two of Colorado’s most fun or most annoying new acts—depending on your point of view and the number of years you’ve been out of high school—are headlining big shows Saturday. Denver’s 3AM—which bear more than just a numerical resemblance to Boulder’s newest superstars, 3OH!3—will release a new crunk-and-punk-fueled CD at the Marquis. Meanwhile, Fort Collins indie-hop act Pretty Lights will get the masses writhing in a wholly white-bread way at Cervantes’. Still, it’s good to see some local kids making good—and speaking of which, Colorado’s irrepressibly madcap Ukulele Loki and will perform his plucky little Hawaiian guitar, believe it or not, at Swallow Hill’s UkeFest 2009.
Sunday: The end of the weekend’s concert schedule, as it is wont to do, will slow down a bit—but that’s in the volume of bands, not the volume of bands. By that we mean: Red Fang, Sunday’s bill-topper at 3 Kings, is fucking loud. The punishing Portland metal quartet is on its way to the East Coast to meet up with Clutch for a tour, but they’ll be stopping in Denver to unload another dumpster full of corroded riffs and growls. Across the street at the Hi-Dive that night, the quizzically arty but also heavy Gil Mantera’s Party Dream will bring a hint of theatrics to the stage. And if you prefer your music slight stupid—literally—Sublime understudy Slightly Stoopid headlines the Fox Theatre in Boulder.
Red Fang, "Prehistoric Dog"
