Anyone up for dancing in the streets? It will happen every Thursday night in downtown Denver all summer long now that the Hot Sounds in the City concert series has started up again at the Denver Pavilions.
“We close the street off at Glenarm and set it up right there,” said Bethany Garner, marketing director for the Pavilions. The bands perform right smack in the middle of the road, beer booths line the sidewalk, and a summertime street festival is made during this annual weekly series. Did I mention the shows are free?
Opie Gone Bad and Rebecca Folsom grace the stage Thursday, with Savage Henry coming July 6, Railbenders on July 16, Chris Daniels & the Kings July 20, Dotsero July 27 and Strange Condition Aug. 3. Wendy Woo and Matthew Moon wrap things up Aug. 10.
Turning the tables
Michel Wahaltere is best known around town as the man in the toque, most recently as the chef/owner of Boulder hotspot 7 Eurobar (1035 Pearl St.). But Wahaltere has been moonlighting as a DJ as of late. Drop by after 10 p.m. on a Tuesday night and you may well see him behind the decks instead of manning the kitchen.
“It’s just fun for me,” he said. “I’ve been playing a lot of Latin music.” Professional DJs jump in most nights throughout the week – and on Tuesdays when DJ Michel needs to focus on his real job – turning the snazzy bistro into one of Boulder’s best late-night lounge scenes.
A different drummer
It’s not often that you see break dancers sharing floor space with scooter kids and belly dancers, but that’s exactly the scene at Bhakti Sunsets. Vinyl nightclub already draws a decent crowd every Tuesday night for the weekly ladies’ night, but when Bhakti Sunsets started up last week it brought in a whole new set of revelers.
Local “transcendental dance” duo Bhakti Rasa break out seriously percussive drum beats with electric sitar, guitar and bass, and break dance crews and belly dance troupes take turns creating impromptu performances on the rooftop patio.
Hippies and hipsters may sound like an odd mix, but the resulting artsy, Burning Man vibe is a welcome change of pace on an otherwise average weeknight.
Of course, if the drum circle isn’t your scene, the second level dance floor still caters to the hip-hop and Top 40 crowd, and ladies can always skip the cover and take advantage of dollar drinks from 9 p.m. to midnight.
The Jet set
Saturday nights at the Jet Hotel (formerly the Luna, at 1601 Wazee St.) are heating up. The party people at JFly Presents (Tabu, Hush) just launched “Fly By” Saturdays and plan to offer weekly theme parties at the newly updated boutique hotel. This week it’s “Paradise Hotel,” with Sofia Hellqvist and Camilla Sundman from the TV reality series on hand to play the role of Swedish starlets and hostesses. DJ Erin Paul rocks the turntables, and ladies drink free martinis from 9 p.m. to midnight.
Going underground
They hold weekly meetings in a basement, and only the cool kids are in the know. The Secret Society of Sounds takes over the newish Meadowlark bar (2701 Larimer St.) every Tuesday night, bringing electro, indie, glam, soul and disco to the subterranean hangout.
Roll down to hear the last musical obsessions from Michael Trundle (Lipgloss), Peter Black (Rockstars are Dead) and Clay Meador (White Girl Lust), and suck down a few $3 well drinks at the bar. The Meadowlark is a surprisingly stylish spot for the warehouse-heavy neighborhood, and if you head out the back door and up the stairs, the patio area offers a quiet refuge.
In the coming weeks the patio should be expanded to include an additional outdoor bar, DJ booth, and – hopefully – a privacy fence to replace the existing chain-link eyesore.
Kat Valentine writes about nightlife Fridays in 7Days. Reach her at kat@kingproduction.com or call 303-820-1568.
