The members of Denver’s Future Jazz Project want to take a new approach to live music. At Saturday night’s “live mix tape” show at the Oriental Theatre, Future Jazz Project and Yo, Flaco! will take the stage for 30- to 40-minute intervals throughout the night, culminating with a mash-up of different players from both bands joining together for an improv jam session. We’ll see how the jazzy hip-hop and R&B of FJP mixes with Yo, Flaco!’s funked-up version of hip-hop and rock.
“We’re going to push the limit,” said FJP band manager Sean Jones. “We want to make this a series with some of the more popular bands in town, and also reach to different DJs and MCs.” Jones hopes that each band’s fans will stick around for the entire night because of the unusual schedule, creating an expanded fan base for each band and a new live music experience for the crowd.
“You’ll get to see different music that’s representative of Denver,” he said. “And the bands feed off of each other and the energy, and the crowd gets even more of a show with the back and forth, then it’s a big jam session by the end of the night.”
DJ K-Nee from KUVO’s “So What?” radio show will open the event with his signature blend of hip-hop, jazz, funk, and Afro-pop, and a fashion show featuring street wear by Boulder-based Develop Clothing will break things up before the final set. Check it out Saturday night at the Oriental Theatre; 7:30 p.m. doors, 9 p.m. show, $8, 4335 W. 44th Ave., 303-455-2124.
Seven Deadly Sins
Slim 7 opened last week, and though the space is apparently too cool to bother with a sign over the entrance, the downtown crowd had no trouble finding the way through the back alley entrance. (It’s just off 15th St. in the alley between 14th and 15th and Larimer and Market St.)
It has already become the late-night destination du jour; at 9 p.m. last Saturday the lounge was just filling in, but every table in the long, narrow, white-lit basement space was reserved after 10 p.m. and the bar area was hopping by 11 p.m. The seven house specialty drinks are named after the Seven Deadly Sins; “Lust” is a citrusy champagne cocktail that is worth a visit, but the seven menu items – mostly seafood items plus a filet mignon – seemed sadly neglected.
Roll ’em!
The days of roller disco are over, thanks to the punk rock attitudes – and outfits – of the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls, Denver’s rink-slamming, hard-hitting roller derby team. But though you’ve probably heard of them by now, you may miss your next chance to see them in action if you don’t act fast. The season opener (which they won against the Sin City Roller Derby on April 1) sold out in advance, and the craze is still growing. Tickets for the next inter-league bout – against the Arizona Roller Derby – went on sale last Wednesday for the June 3 event at the Bladium Sports Club (2400 Central Park Blvd., 303-320-3033), and the cool kids in town are already snapping them up. If you want in on the action, swing by Twist & Shout (333 E. Alameda Ave., 303-722-1943 or The Bladium to score a seat.
Sounds of Brazil
Get your samba on this Saturday at the Burlesque Carnaval at Trilogy Wine Bar (2017 13th St.) in Boulder. The Brazilian-themed bash includes live samba music with costumed revelers by SambaSol and Sambadende, a special aerial dance performance by the Oracle Dance troupe, and DJ Emmett Barr providing an appropriate soundtrack in between sets. The event is a benefit for Estrojam, a Chicago-based nonprofit group that helps promote women in the arts. $15, 9 p.m., 303-473-9463.
Kat Valentine writes about nightlife Fridays in 7Days. Reach her at kat@kingproduction.com or call 303-820-1568.
