Thanksgiving is in our rear-view. We have a few days left of Hanukkah. Christmas decorations rule the malls, dispensaries and public buildings alike.
The holidays are already pretty full-on.
Since Denver/Boulder is one of the busiest live-music markets in the U.S., itap hardly too early to be thinking about your plans for New Year’s Eve. So here are five options, depending on your genre of choice:
1. Rock: Only a band like the could line up such an odd docket for its annual New Year’s run.
Yes, the Oklahoma freak-rock act will headline two big (and pricey) nights at the tiny Aspen rock club the Belly Up on Dec. 30-31. But they’ll acclimatize for those shows via their opening duties for local string luminaries the String Cheese Incident on Dec. 29.
Is that a weird pairing? Absolutely. But is weird the first adjective that comes to mind when describing anything the Flaming Lips are involved with? Oh yeah. Dec. 29, $56.50, tickethorse.com; Dec. 30-31, $165-$675, bellyupaspen.com
2. EDM: In its short but loud life, has already become one of Colorado’s biggest year-end bashes. And this year’s lineup will help you understand why the annual EDM gathering has made so much noise.
On Dec. 30: Bassnectar, Tiësto, Beats Antique, Dada Life and others. On Dec. 31: Pretty Lights, Datsik, Above & Beyond, 12th Planet and more.
The ever-trendy bass music is well repped, sure, but having a house giant like Tiësto gives the lineup a completely different level of credibility. $75 for one day, $140 for two days, decadencenye.com
3. Hip-hop: If the folks at Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom are calling Dec. 31 “Wu-Year’s Eve,” you know exactly whatap going on at the Five Points club. And somehow counting down to the new year with the sounds like the perfect place to be.
Wu-Tang fans know that the group’s ever-evolving, ever-absent lineup is hard to pin down, but for now promoters are saying that Ghostface Killah, Method Man and Raekwon will be in attendance.
Will they take advantage of Colorado’s weed-friendly laws, which become even kinder at midnight as the calendar turns to Jan. 1, 2014? Will they shout out to fallen member Ol’ Dirty Bastard? Will they drop “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing Ta F’ Wit”? We’re thinking all answers are yes. $45-$800, cervantesmasterpiece.com
4. Jam: When headlines four nights in Denver on Dec. 28-31, the Chicago band will flex its muscle as one of the most likable and dynamic outfits in the jam band community.
Three of those nights, Dec. 28-29 and 31, will take on Colfax Avenue favorite the Fillmore Auditorium, a sizable room for most jam favorites. The fourth night, Dec. 30, is a sold-out, $200-per-ticket affair at an unannounced, intimate club (rumored to be at the 2Up barcade next to the Fillmore). Regardless, the band will surely bring its fan-favorite mash-ups. Plucking from its recent Halloween show, imagine this Umphrey’s mash-up: the Temptations’ “Papa Was a Rolling Stone,” Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines,” Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up” and LCD Soundsystem’s “I Can Change.” $35-$65 per day, $135 for three days, livenation.com
5. Metal: If you’re still a fan of “Seek & Destroy”-era Metallica, back when James and Lars (and Dave!) slipped subtle pop sensibilities into their razor-sharp guitar rock, you’ll find a lot to like in .
The Austin metal band that headlines the Bluebird Theater on Dec. 30-31 isn’t as hard as that early-Metallica sludge, but there are plenty of other similarities between the two groups. (Itap no surprise Metallica has asked the Sword to open a number of its arena shows.)
The key to the Sword’s appeal is its guitars. Listen to the last half of “Freya” or the entirety of “Acheron/Unearthing the Orb” and you’ll hear real-deal guitarists who have studied the masters. Dudes know how to shred, yes, and their pummelling sounds don’t stop there — nor are they contained by the band’s prog rock tendencies or its fantasy-inspired album covers. $22.50-$45, bluebirdtheater.net
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Ricardo Baca is the founder and executive editor of , the co-founder of and an award-winning critic and editor at The Denver Post.
