Autumn’s arrival hardly slows down the action in rock ‘n’ roll-loving Colorado. As the list below suggests – previewing the 15 best large concerts of the fall – the music doesn’t stop. It simply moves indoors.
So here’s a little advice. Make that trip to Red Rocks just one more time while idyllic weather is still guaranteed. And then brace yourself for another Colorado fall – and the excellent music that comes along with it.
Fifteen big shows not to miss:
Bright Eyes Omaha produces thoughtful indie rock like no other smallish, corn-fed Midwestern city. Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst helped start the revolution, and he’s happy to push the agenda forward via his music and his multiple record-label ventures, Saddle Creek and Team Love.|Sept. 13, Ogden Theatre, $30
Monolith Festival The bands do all the talking for Monolith, Colorado’s first indie rock music festival. The Flaming Lips, The Decemberists, Spoon, Cake, Kings of Leon. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Art Brut, Ghostland Observatory, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Cloud Cult, Margot & the Nuclear So & Sos, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Earl Greyhound, Editors, Matt & Kim, Au Revoir Simone, White Rabbits. And many, many others – including a grip of great local bands. Colorado, Coachella just came to your backyard.|Sept. 14-15, Red Rocks, $42.50 per day; $79.50 2-day pass
The Arcade Fire One of the most important bands of this decade, the Arcade Fire also happens to be one of the greatest live bands playing music today. Hipster bonus points: Slap-happy dancesters LCD Soundsystem are opening.|Sept. 17, Red Rocks, $40.50
The National It’s safe to say that this band’s “Boxer” will top many critics’ and fans’ year-end lists. The buzz is severe, and the National’s literate rock is deserving of the praise.|Sept. 18, Ogden Theatre, $15-$17
Sinead O’Connor It’s still impossible to deny the epic nature of “I Do Not What I Haven’t Got.” It remains a landmark record, and as O’Connor proves with “Theology,” there’s still something there to say.|Sept. 21, Paramount, $32.50-$52.50
Smashing Pumpkins The new record from these reunited alt-rockers is a bit of a joke. But their back catalog is not half bad.|Sept. 30, Red Rocks, $49.50-$54.50
Brooks & Dunn Pop-country comes to Denver for a big arena date – and Alan Jackson is on the bill too.|Oct. 5, Pepsi Center, $36-$71
Genesis Reunited bands are hot right now. Phil Collins is in the house with this group, which was one of the biggest rock acts of the ’70s and ’80s. And while the Police will post bigger numbers, it will be interesting to debate who made the stronger comeback.|Oct. 6, Pepsi Center, $57-$202
Widespread Panic Even with String Cheese Incident’s indefinite hiatus, Colorado is still jam-band country. And Panic knows this. It’s one of the few bands that can book a couple nights at an outlying midsized arena in Loveland and sell it out, no problem. Oct. 12-13, Budweiser Events Center, sold out
Interpol Its new “Our Love to Admire” is a lush thank-you to fans who have stuck around and paid attention. The record, also its major label debut, is proof of the band’s integrity.|Oct. 14, Fillmore Auditorium, $27-$30
Hannah Montana Who had any idea that one of the fastest sellouts of the year would be a Disney Channel child star? Your friend’s 13-year-old daughter, that’s who.|Oct. 25, Pepsi Center, sold out
DeVotchKa This lovely gypsy-folk pop collective has been romancing rock clubs for years, sometimes playing larger rooms for special events such as Valentine’s Day. Fresh off a tour of European music festivals and its first Red Rocks appearance comes the band’s largest headlining effort to date, and it’s safe to say that DeVotchKa will make this Halloween a memorable one.|Oct. 27, Fillmore Auditorium, $23-$25
Maroon 5 The hits will be plentiful when these pop hitmakers come to town.|Oct. 29, Pepsi Center, $40-50-$50.50
Of Montreal: “Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer” is Kevin Barnes’ masterwork. The record is an electro hodgepodge of mental anguish and crippling self- awareness. It’s also bizarre amounts of fun.|Nov. 17, Ogden Theatre, $16
Tori Amos Even though the portraits in her new “American Doll Posse” kind of creep us out, the music inside is still good.|Nov. 28, Wells Fargo Theatre, $37.50-$65
Pop music critic Ricardo Baca can be reached at 303-954-1394 or rbaca@denverpost.com.
Club shows of note
If you prefer club shows to the larger venues, here are 20 acts you might want to catch:
The Killers Fox Theatre, $30, Monday
Okkervil River Marquis Theater, $12-$14, Sept. 13
Slim Cessna’s Auto Club Marquis, $10, Sept. 14
Black Moth Super Rainbow Black Sheep (Colorado Springs), $8, Sept. 14
Josh Rouse Bluebird Theatre, $18-$20, Sept. 18
Yo Majesty Marquis, $10, Sept. 18
Metric Bluebird, $17-$19, Sept. 28
Maria Taylor Bluebird, $12, Oct. 2
Klaxons Fox, $12-$14, Oct. 4
Bela Karoli Hi-Dive, $6, Oct. 6
Rogue Wave Bluebird, $13-$15, Oct. 19
The 1990s Larimer Lounge, $10-$12, Oct. 24
Menomena Fox, $12, Oct. 28
Gogol Bordello Boulder Theater, $20-$22, Oct. 29-30
The Raveonettes Bluebird, $15.50-$18, Oct. 31
Tegan & Sara Boulder Theater, $20, Nov. 3
The New Pornographers Boulder Theatre, $20, Sept. 24; Gothic Theatre, $20, Nov. 5
Stars Gothic, $28-$20, Nov. 6
Annuals Hi-Dive, $10, Nov. 19
Everything Absent or Distorted Bluebird, $10, Nov. 21
– Ricardo Baca
