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Recently I’ve learned that there are times in life for music writing and times in life for other things. Unfortunately, both Cassie and I are deeply embroiled in other things right now, which leaves no time for music writings. We’ll still be out buying our favorite albums and seeing the fantastic local bands Denver has to offer, but for now and maybe forever we won’t be writing about them, not on Wayward Panties anyhow. So, thanks to everyone that took the time to read our posts and thanks to all the great bands that sent us their music to listen to. I’ll leave you with this last tip: check out Young Coyotes, you won’t regret it.

I’ve been a fan of The Octopus Project for a while now so I was glad to hear that they released an 7-inch on UK label Too Pure (the label that first brought us Stereolab) earlier this year. The 7-inch features two new songs, “Wet Gold” and “Moon Boil,” recorded by the band and mastered at Abbey Road in London. Sounds pretty cool. But, you can decide for yourself. Have a listen.

MP3- Wet Gold

The group has also kicked off a summer tour that will last for the next month, ending at ACL. Beyond that they released this pretty cool video created by Phillip Niemeyer of the Brooklyn design studio Double Triple and San Francisco-based filmmaker Ryan Junell.

Niemeyer describes the project as a sort of D.I.Y. cell animation. The two designers employed a variety of animation techniques: photocopying images onto office quality transparencies, layering them with a light table and a set of overhead projectors, silk-screening color fields, and adding ink with each print to create motion-gradations. They animated the light fluctuations of the double fluorescent tubes that hang above their main work table and, with the assistance of Double Triple partner Dana McClure, animated blown ink and paint seen through a macro lens. “We used over 5,000 still pictures, often layered over each other at variable rates of speed,” said Niemeyer. “Our frame rates are so quick I’m not sure it still counts as stop motion.”

Busy, busy bees making music that makes my ears happy.

Day: Wednesday (August 6)
Who: Hello Kavita
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: They’ve been named the number one band in Denver by 5280. We also put them in the year’s top 10 favorites.What else do you need to know?
Cost: $6
Listen: Hello Kavita

Day: Friday (August 8 )
Who: Brightblack Morning Light
Where: Larimer Lounge
Why: Their music is a rather unique brand of ethereal hippie trance with some weird elements of earthy soul and folksy funk.
Cost: $10 adv/ $12 day of
Listen: Brightblack Morning Light

Day: Saturday (August 9)
Who: Blue Million Miles (CD release)
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: The Denver Post says they play “uniquely Western, windblown indie rock.” Sounds interesting. Plus, Wayward Panties is listening to the album and will give a review shortly.
Cost: $6
Listen: Blue Million Miles

So, normally we do this on Mondays, but we saved ourselves because the one thing truly worth seeing this week is the DPUMS! Straight from the mouth of babes, or um, Ric Baca here is why you should find yourself on S. Broadway this weekend:

Friends. If you love music, you love local music. And so here’s the deal. The UMS is this weekend, Friday and Saturday! The UMS - short for the Underground Music Showcase - is the coolest music festival in Colorado, for multiple reasons. Here are just a few.

1. One wristband gives you access to more than 100 local bands over two days, Friday Aug. 1 and Saturday Aug. 2.
2. That’s right, ALL of our bands are LOCAL. And they’re all great, too.
3. We have 20 official venues, from rock clubs to theaters, rug shops to church sanctuaries, parking lots to skate ramps, clothing stores to print shops.
4. The UMS is totally DIY - as in do-it-yourself. It’s run completely by volunteers.
5. The bands, however, get paid! 100 percent of the ticket sales go to the artists!
6. Did I mention we’ll have Tetris and Rock Band tournaments? Seriously, Saturday night at 8 p.m. in the Pair-O-Dice Poolroom, upstairs at the Skylark Lounge. (Old-school video games, too, so practice up on your Super Mario Bros!)
7. We’re totally walkable! Most of our venues are on a five-block stretch of Broadway - so you can catch some of this band, some of that band, and then go see another one in the same hour. (The one non-walkable venue is Herman’s Hideaway, and we’ll have a free shuttle heading there from UMS HQ.) It’s like SXSW, sans the Austin humidity.
8. Wristbands are only $20. That’s 100-plus bands, lots of DJs and comedians (and crafting demos and art exhibitions and film screenings) for only $20. Two days worth of entertainment for a Jackson - what a steal!
9. We did say comedians! The Comedy Works Stage at Sobo 151 will be raging on Saturday night with comics from the Comedy Works and Wrist Deep Productions.
10. Film, too. The good folks at the Denver Film Society are screening a beautiful copy of the Talking Heads’ “Stop Making Sense” at an undisclosed outdoor festival location. It’s going to be epic.
11. All the non-music stuff is going to own. Even the crafting workshop is punk rock - “Punk Rock Patch Embroidery,” brought to you by Nichole and April of Denver’s very own Sew Mates. (2 p.m. Saturday at Fancy Tiger Craft.) You’ll also wanna keep an eye out for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Photo Booth outside the Skylark Lounge, brought to you by UMS presenting sponsor Gigbot. Snap your own pic, and then grab it off the web later on - your own piece of the UMS.
12. Denver sorely lacks a solid gospel brunch, and the good men at 3 Kings Tavern are out to remedy that - for UMS weekend only! Your UMS wristband gets you into see the Velvet Elvis Gospel Brunch on Sunday for free, with $1 pancakes cooked by a king and $5 bottomless mimosas (and cheap bloody marys) slung by their courtships!

For schedules, news, line-ups, maps, tickets and more: WWW.DPUMS.COM Go there now and buy your tickets. Really, go!

Initially, I was skeptical about this King Khan guy. I mean, I don’t want to sound crass here, but an Indian guy trying to deliver funk sounded like the next bad Mike Myers movie.

Well, King Khan and The Shrines put on a show Friday night that was more than enough to exorcise any anti-Funkindian sentiments I had. I actually don’t even know if Khan is Indian or Pakistani or what. I do know he’s Canadian, and that he wouldn’t be upset if he read this racist-sounding review, because Khan’s above all that. The makeup of his band proves it: Ron Streeter, Curtis Mayfield’s live percussionist? There’s the Official Stamp of Funk Approval, and actually the selling point for me.

Khan came out like James Brown Himself, shiny silver cape flapping in the fans of the Larimer’s dance flo’. And then they just rocked the s*** out of the Larimer. All the heel-tapping hipsters barely knew what to do with themselves when Khan spat his bootylicious pushaman soundscape all over their faces. They figured it out eventually, with the help of Khan’s Fly Girl, who looked like she had come straight from a rollerderby match, but had more moves than a chessmatch. Khan is an act that defies description so, you just have to listen to them. Need recommendations? Sweet Tooth and Took My Lady Out To Dinner (with a chorus: She’s fat! She’s ugly! I really, really love her! x4) were my favorites of the evening. But it was all good.

Day: Monday (July 21)
Who: The Watson Twins
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: These girls sing raw, melancholy, intimate songs. With a new release sans Jenny Lewis it’ll be interesting to hear how they’ve changed.
Cost: $12
Listen: The Watson Twins

OR

Day: Monday (July 21)
Who: Hello Kavita and Dan Craig
Where: Larimer Lounge
Why: Hello Kavita was just named best Denver band by 5280. For the reals, both of these performers are amongst my favorite in Denver. It’ll be a night of very pretty, very melancholy music.
Cost: $10
Listen: Hello Kavita
Dan Craig

Day: Tuesday (July 22)
Who: Dizzee Rascal
Where: Cervantes
Why: This British hip-hop artist performs raw, guttural, urgent rhyming using a plethora of influences.
Cost: $22
Listen: Dizzee

Day: Wednesday (July 23)
Who: Soulico
Where: The Walnut Roon
Why: This Tel-Aviv based DJ crew is known for fusing Israeli music with contemporary American hip-hop. Sounds exciting.
Cost: $8
Listen: Soulico

Day: Thursday (July 24)
Who: Matson Jones
Where: Bluebird Theater
Why: Two cellists, an upright bass and a drummer make up one of my favorite bands ever. Who even knows the last time they played or when they’ll do it again in Denver?
Cost: $10
Listen: Matson Jones

Day: Saturday (July 26)
Who: The Knew CD release
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: It’s sure to be a rollicking good time with the bluesy rock these fellows play. Plus the new CD is fantastic. Just ask Megan.
Cost: $6
Listen: The Knew

Well, it should be anyway. This year is the 8th annual Denver Post Underground Music Showcase. Remember how awesome it was last year? It’s going to be ever better this time around. Why’s that, you ask? Because it’s expanded to 2 days with more than 100 of you favorite local acts.

Check out the schedule here, the artists here and the venues here. Then go buy your pass here. It’ll be the best 20 bucks you’ve spent in a long time - not counting a recent foray to Mexico.

In the coming weeks Wayward Panties will follow their tradition of highlighting some acts to see and venues to while away your days. We love you DPUMS!

I have just four words for you. Play. This. Record. Loud.

I have been a huge fan of The Knew since first seeing them at a Larimer Lounge BBQ about a year ago and I am quite relieved to say that the latest release from the Denver-based group is fantastic.

These four fellas have an innate knack for blues based rock. It is classic without being tired. Energetic without being overdone. The addition of some more ambient sounds (fancy pants guitar stuff, harmonica, synth, and some sax I think too.) broadens their scope without detracting from their seemingly trademarked sound.

From the first song, By Yourself, the syncopation will start your feet tapping. And when the guitars kick in your non-dancing days just may be over. Coldblack, a track halfway through the EP, has even more haunting vocals and doesn’t slow down a bit. This album invokes dancing. It’s a whole record of wild, sweaty, exhausted and ridiculously satisfying music from beginning to end. Well done boys, well done.

MP3 - By Yourself

*All songs posted on Wayward Panties are for promotional use ONLY. If you like the music let the band know by purchasing their music (and shirts and tickets). If you are the owner of this MP3 and would like it taken down please contact us at waywardpanties@gmail.com and we’ll remove it immediately.

Day: Tuesday (July 15)
Who: Feist with The Golden Dogs
Where: The Fillmore
Why: You all know all about Feist, but The Golden Dogs are worth seeing on their own with their high-energy pop sensibilities.
Cost: $30
Listen: The Golden Dogs

Day: Wednesday (July 16)
Who: Film on the Rocks features Ukulele Loki and the Gadabout Orchestra this week (movie is Labyrinth)
Where: Red Rocks
Why: Besides an awesome display of Bowie’s package, the band is a local favorite with shows made of vaudeville, burlesque, tubas, glockenspiels, puppets, belly dancers, aerial dancers and depression-era sounding music.
Cost: $12
Listen: Ukulele

Day: Thursday (July 17)
Who: King Khan
Where: Larimer Lounge
Why: tongue-in-cheek lyrics, unpredictable live shows, genuine psych and soul music - what more do you need?
Cost: $10 adv/ $12 day of
Listen: King Khan

Day: Friday (July 18)
Who: Porlolo CD release
Where: Hi-Dive
Why: To see a lovely guitarist and trumpet player whose songs “effortlessly meander from romanticism to heartbreak.”
Cost: $6
Listen: Porlolo

Dan Craig’s voice somehow manages to be both heartwrenching and uplifting in the songs on his latest release Skin Grows Thin and that’s probably my favorite thing about the album. It reminds me that even though bad things happen in life so do spectacular things.

The album as a whole is mellow, acoustic songs that you can listen to over and over again. Full of strings, horns, sweet harmonies and contributions by Erin Donovan and member of the Flobots, Hearts of Palm and Bela Karoli, the album is one that doesn’t really have a bad song in the bunch. If you like Ryan Adams or Damien Rice you’ll likely enjoy this album.

MP3 - See You Around

*All songs posted on Wayward Panties are for promotional use ONLY. If you like the music let the band know by purchasing their music (and shirts and tickets). If you are the owner of this MP3 and would like it taken down please contact us at waywardpanties@gmail.com and we’ll remove it immediately.