Jason Isbell, El Ten Eleven and emo night Taking Back Tuesday are our picks for the best shows in Denver this week. See you there, and if you don’t make it out, follow our music musings on and our selfies on . Oh, we have a Snapchat, too. Our name is HeyReverb. Hit us up.
Jason Isbell — Dec. 10-11, The Ogden Theatre
Southern rock outfit Drive By Truckers dropped Jason Isbell from the band in 2007 when his vices got in the way of his music. As he proved soon after, the Drive By Truckers lost a guitarist, but the world gained a harrowing country songwriter. In 2013, Isbell released “Southeastern,” an album that legendary folk singer John Prine recognized as a 30-year stand-out. “Something More Than Free,” Isbell’s latest, is no less profound, as he lays flat the propound drama that can hole up in even the most middle-American of marriages. Catch him when he swings by Denver’s Ogden Theatre for a sold-out two-night run. Tickets: sold out.
El Ten Eleven — Dec. 4, The Bluebird Theater
With the help of a looper and a double-necked guitar/bass, instrumental duo El Ten Eleven sound twice their size. The band refuses to kowtow to a genre, but they can be found noodling somewhere between spaced-out rock and heavy ambiance, crafting songs that’d sound right at home in some artsy, non-verbal documentary about clouds. (That’s not completely off base: they contributed to the soundtrack to a .) Their latest effort, “Fast Forward,” heaves some sharper electronic rhythms into the mix, providing ballast enough to keep those who catch them at The Bluebird Theater on Friday from floating too far off the ground. Tickets: $15 via .
Taking Back Tuesday — Dec. 8, Marquis Theater
A play on Taking Back Sunday, one of a few emo-rock titans of the mid-aughts, Los Angeles-born emo night Taking Back Tuesday revives the bedroom anthems of 20-somethings’ angsty middle-school days. From Brand New to Chris Carrabba’s scream-o acoustic project Dashboard Confessional, the show promises a heavy hit of nostalgia as all those hastily burned mix CDs of your teenage years come to life in one rose-tinted set at the Marquis Theatre. Fans can even request songs ahead of time by writing their favorites on the eventap Facebook page. Just don’t use it as an excuse to restart your LiveJournal. Tickets: $5 via .
