Nothing quite says summer like traveling to your local pavilion, shed or whatever you want to call it, and parking yourself on a piece of green lawn to experience the sounds (and smells) of a concert. And if you're looking for a full concert experience with a healthy dose of nature thrown in, then look no further than the Red Rocks Amphitheatre just outside of Denver.
Situated between Ship Rock and Creation Rock, Red Rocks is arguably one of the world's most unique and stunning musical venues. These natural walls,
each of which is taller than Niagara Falls, provide excellent acoustics as well as a natural beauty that is distracting no matter how talented the act. Playing on nature's stage this summer are acts ranging from The Police to Willie Nelson. (Speaking of concert smells...)
If you have grown tired of the more mainstream musical acts, the Monolith Festival may be more your style. Celebrating its second year at Red Rocks, the festival features two days of indie rock groups with headliners DeVotchKa and Silversun Pickups on day one, followed by Justice and TV on the Radio closing out the weekend. Tickets for both days start at $110, and the festival runs from September 13-14 this year, just in time to get in and out of Colorado without needing your skis.
Friedrich Nietzsche famously proclaimed "God is dead," and nowhere does his statement feel truer than along the abandoned-factory-lined waterfront of Buffalo. But the city embraces its darkness in black humor films like "The Savages" and "Buffalo 66," where neurotic, blue-collar intellectuals suffer the existential crises that Nietzsche invented.
So it makes sense that the epicenter of this angst-ridden city's counterculture culminates at Nietzsche's, a music venue for people who like their musicians local, talented and gimmick-free.
Located along narrow Allen Street, lined with bookstores and bars where owners still stand behind the counters, Nietzsche's authenticity is the antidote to faux-dive music venues where the mirrors are intentionally hung askew. Its trademark cobweb-covered candelabras have lit the venue for decades, with the exposed wiring to prove it. Get there soon--before the fire department shuts the place down.
Built in 1907 in San Francisco's Upper Market district, Cafe Du Nord once served as a notorious Prohibition-era watering hole. Now, it looks the same inside with its decorated paneling, wainscoting and 40-foot mahogany bar, but you can swill cocktails without a reservation and catch live music seven nights a week.
The lounge attracts local and lesser-known indie bands, as well as bluegrass, jazz and singer-songwriter acts. Upstairs from Cafe Du Nord you can find Swedish American Hall, where the Cafe holds bigger concerts--this Saturday, Nada Surf will play an acoustic set.
Paul Schreiber's shows sound like the fantasy of high school kids yearning for a bit of rock. He invites musicians to play in his living room, brings over some friends and lets everyone party. That's how his House Concerts work--though they're a little different than your typical 11th grade rager. First, Schreiber is well out of high school (he's a software engineer at Apple), it's legal for him to serve wine at the shows and performers are more mellow acoustic than hardcore rock.
Capacity is about 30 people, so you'll need to RSVP on his website before dropping by. All shows begin promptly at 8 pm and end around 10. From there, guests are invited to stay and hang out. Sound strange? Not so much: At least 10 other towns around San Fran host house concerts.
The city's alternative paper, SF Weekly even gave Schreiber's makeshift venue the award of "Best House Concerts" in its 2007 "Best of San Francisco" awards issue. Probably because, as Schreiber says:
It's a wonderful way to experience music. You hear an acoustic sound in an intimate setting. There's no smoke, no drunks and no obnoxious suits.
San Francisco's bar and music venue Hemlock Tavern had to take a risk when it opened for business in 2004. At the time, the Tavern's location in the city's Polk Gulch neighborhood was barely on the hipsters' radars. But, after years of hosting bands five to six nights a week, the Tavern's gamble has paid off, and it's quickly become one of the city's most successful start-ups.
Though it hosts bigger acts, the Hemlock's main draw is its roster of up-and-coming local bands, and regular DJ nights hosted by locals. If live music isn't your thing, and you don't mind harassing your ear drums for a few hours, we recommend heading to Hemlock every Monday for the Punk Rock Slideshow from 10 pm-2 am.
Playing punk from the 20th and 21st centuries, the DJs on the decks won the San Francisco Bay Guardian's "Best of the Bay" award in 2004 and often host free shows that start at 9 pm.
Though entrance to the bar is free--and they serve hot peanuts on the house--there's usually a small cover to see the bands. Great news for smokers: the Hemlock has an adjacent, heated outdoor smoking lounge for its tobacco-loving clientele.
A reincarnation of the early-'90s Seattle music venue Moe's Mo' Rockin' Cafe, Neumo's returned to the city in fall 2003, picking up where it had left off the previous decade. Original Moe's founder Jerry Everard teamed up with another local venue owner to take back Moe's original space, which had been used as a disco, several clubs, and even a video arcade, since it closed its doors in 1997.
Today, Neumo's hosts bands like uber-hipsters The Teenagers and punk legends Neurosis and Converge. Despite a few unlikely appearances (Bone Thugs-N-Harmony) on its calendar, Neumo's has stayed true to its underground rock roots: Moe's did, after all, play host to the Flaming Lips and Radiohead in its early days.
The venue, located in Seattle's Capitol Hill area, has gotten nothing but glowing reviews from Seattle's local press. In addition to praise for its layout (one writer claims you can get an unobstructed view of the stage no matter where you stand), the venue also scored props for its gig selection.
Its bookings are among Seattle's most righteous and run the gamut from old-school punk to new-school power-pop with stops nearly everywhere in-between.
The Great American Music Hall in San Francisco once again topped all the "Best Live Music Venues" listings in 2007. Despite stiff competition from legendary theaters like The Fillmore, it's dominated the scene since opening exactly 100 years ago. Ornate balconies, soaring marble columns and elaborate ceiling frescoes surround a giant dance floor and two bars.
Last week, Elvis Costello performed there and a show from Loudon Wainwright (papa to Martha and Rufus) takes place Sunday. More destructive acts, like The Hold Steady have plenty of turrets and protruding ornamentations to scale before diving into the crowd. Come to think of it, the venue's decor makes perfect sense: rock climbing for rock stars.
At Mezzanine in San Francisco, hip-hop acts like Mos Def and Snoop Dogg rest comfortably beside rock bands like Whitey, whose groupies dress up in raccoon and rabbit costumes. (What will those crazy indie kids think of next?) The downtown venue brags about the diversity of its stage--with just cause.
Every month, a variety of rock, dance, hip hop, soul, jazz, salsa and world beat artists take the stage, with interspersed multimedia art events, fashion shows and video and film installations. The club says it caters to performances of all types, from hot shows with the newest buzz bands to intimate engagements with well-known artists.
Why pay $0 (or $100) for the latest Radiohead album when you can pay $15 to see Digitalism, an up-and-coming experimental Electronica duo from Germany perform live this Friday? Wait, don't answer that--just get to Mezzanine.
0 Comments - Add Yours
by kjb
