Sad rock extraordinaire Ryan Adamsand delirious garage rockers the Black Lipsare our picks for the best shows around Denver this week. See you there, and if you don’t make it out, follow our music musings on and our selfies on . If you do, mind where .
Ryan Adams
His cover of Taylor Swift’s “1989” notwithstanding, singer-songwriter Ryan Adams is on fire. His latest album “Prisoner,”written in the wake of a divorcefrom pop singer Mandy Moore, sounds like a variation on a greatest hits compilation, stringing together acoustic heartbreakers (“Tightrope”) and Springsteen-ian rock ballads (“Do You Still Love Me?”). Adams will play Red Rocks on June 20, where he’ll be joined by the Infamous Stringdusters and Nicki Bluhm — familiar company for those who saw him play a twangy set with those acts at last year’s Telluride Bluegrass Festival. Tickets: $46.50-$55 via . Adams will also play an intimate show at Boulder’s Fox Theatre on June 19. Tickets are $65 go on sale
The Black Lips
Between the bruising sets and hard partying, garage bands are rarely built to last. With a reputation for puking and peeing on stage, that should be true of Atlanta’s the Black Lips, a band that rages on its instruments just as mercilessly as it does in the green room. But with true grit, a wicked knack for songwriting and what you’d imagine are teflon livers in its corner, the band has persisted for nearly two decades. Its latest “Satan’s Graffiti or God’s Art,” sounds like somebody spiked the punch with psychedelics at 1950s country western ball. That’s a good thing. Catch the band while it lasts at the Gothic Theatre on June 16, along with Timmy’s Organism and the Dirty Few. Tickets are $20-$25 and available via .
