Cold War Kids, Plum, Instant Empire and more make our picks of the best Denver shows this week. See you there, and if you don’t make it out, follow our music musings and our
Instant Empire — Jan. 17, Larimer Lounge
With a full-length album on the horizon, Denver’s Instant Empire is using its Jan. 17 show at the Larimer Lounge to give local fans a sneak peak at some new material. The new album was recorded this fall at John Vanderslice’s (Spoon, Death Cab for, Mountain Goats) Tiny Telephone studio in San Francisco. That’s a pretty strong indie-rock pedigree for one local band, so you can expect some good things from this new material. The best thing you can do? Head to the Larimer on Saturday to be the first to hear it.
Plum — Jan. 16, Hi-Dive
After earlier this week, Plum is celebrating its new recording with a show at the Hi-Dive on Jan. 16. The band has seen some early success in the Denver area since its first show in December. In fact, based off the strength of that show, the band joined Holy Underground management, which also works with Brothertiger and Rose Quartz. Here’s what about Plum’s first release “Hello Miss Yellow”:
Plum has no shame in going squarely after the far-out sound of the late ‘6os/early ’70s. “Hello Miss Yellow” is about a girl whose “eyes are turquoise and spiraling blue,” a girl that mothers warn about. The reference to Donovan’s “Mellow Yellow” is barely below the surface, and the guitar fuzz is reminiscent of Iron Butterfly.
Mark Mothersbaugh — Jan. 22, MCA Denver
Since Oct. 30, the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver has been home to the first retrospective of the work of Devo founding member Mark Mothersbaugh. On Jan. 22, Mothersbaugh returns to Denver for a performance thatap unique in a way that only the Devo man can. He’ll perform a series of compositions for a six-sided keyboard, assisted by musicians from the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver. What else would you expect from the guy who made groundbreaking music with Devo and then a solo career composing music for everything from “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse” to “The Royal Tenenbaums” and “The Lego Movie”? ($15-$20, mcadenver.org)
Cold War Kids — Jan. 21, Ogden Theatre
Like the Cold War itself, Cold War Kids (the band) feels like itap been around forever without actually going anywhere. Let me explain that: In the same way that the Cold War never broke out into World War III or some atomic war, Cold War Kids never became the arena rock band that they wanted to be following their initial indie success in the early 2000s. They still know their way around a hook and they still sell bigger venues well, but there’s this awkward tension of what could come and what have could have been. The band plays Denver’s Ogden Theatre on Jan. 21. ($25-$27, ogdentheatre.com)
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