Ice Cube
The medley is a cheap form of exposition. It’s how Prince can dispose of the late ’80s in less than 15 minutes, and while efficient, it’s incredibly frustrating for hard-core fans.
It’s also a device you would never associate with gangsta rap. That is, until Ice Cube comes to town.
Cube’s gig at the Fillmore on May 25 was a nostalgic hoot, an epic ride down an avenue of hits and memories. He encouraged his fans to forget the “Fridays” and “Barbershops” for a night, and it was easy to do – until he threw down an N.W.A. medley.
A more questionable call than agreeing to co-star in “Anaconda,” Ice Cube’s repackaging of his former group’s lethal gangsta rap was a terrible idea. It failed to honor Cube, Dre and Eazy’s legacy. It would have been more powerful to lay down “Straight Outta Compton” in its entirity and leave the rest out.|Ricardo Baca
I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness
Smaller venues rarely host three killer acts in a row, so Tuesday night’s bill at the Hi-Dive felt like a random but wholly welcome event. Oakley Hall, featuring Pat Sullivan of Oneida, kicked it off with a countrified set of classic-rock-leaning ballads. The ghosts of the Allman Brothers and Gram Parsons hung heavy over the controlled chaos of the band as they tore through songs from their new disc, “Gypsum Strings.”
Garage trio the Rogers Sisters followed with bite-sized chunks of noise-flecked retro rock. Headliners I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness, a dark new-wave act from Austin, Texas, closed it out with a wall of sound so high and thick it would make Phil Spector blush. Imagine a self-mutilating Duran Duran sharing members with Joy Division and you’d have tunes like “According to Plan,” gloriously ’80s- influenced synth pop hits with more eyeliner than a Colfax streetwalker. |John Wenzel
Charlatans UK
Monday didn’t provide the warmest welcome for the Charlatans UK. The seminal Brit pop band’s first show in Denver played to a small house at the Gothic, but frontman Tim Burgess pressed on with the calculated breeziness of a pro.
The show overwhelmingly affirmed one school of thought. The Charlatans are at their best in full-on Manchester mode: “Jesus Hairdo,” “The Only One I Know,” “Sproston Green,” “You’re So Pretty – We’re So Pretty,” all of which popped. The band’s halfhearted excursions into pseudo-ska and sub-reggae, however, were ill-fated and fell flat live too. |Ricardo Baca
TV on the Radio
It’s alarming, the soul inside this band’s unique rock blend. It has a groove that’s undeniable and a history that sets it apart from its indie rock brethren. Opening for labelmates Nine Inch Nails at Red Rocks on Tuesday (TVOTR recently signed to Interscope), it owned the stage in a confident show of tuneful, soulful rock.
The new material is from one of the more hotly anticipated releases of the year, and those tracks worked capably alongside previous bomb tracks such as “Staring at the Sun” and “Dreams.” |Ricardo Baca
