Mountain Goats

The Beets

Monday June 14
Iron Maiden @ Comfort Dental Amphitheatre
Chick Corea Freedom Band @ Denver Botanic Gardens
Pawn Ticket Trio @ 3 Kings Tavern
Haley E & the Rydells @ Cervantes’ Other Side

Tuesday June 15
Steve Martin w/ Steep Canyon Rangers @ Denver Botanic Gardens
The Mountain Goats w/ the Beets @ Gothic Theatre
Andrew Jackson w/ Jihad @ Rhinoceropolis
On the Spot Trio @ Cervantes’ Other Side
The Sadies @ Larimer Lounge

Wednesday June 16
Erykah Badu w/ Janelle Monáe @ Fillmore Auditorium
Psychedelic Furs w/ She Wants Revenge @ Gothic Theatre
Gillian Welch @ Chautauqua Auditorium
Delta Spirit @ Bluebird Theater
Colfax Speed Queen @ Larimer Lounge
Brokencyde @ Marquis Theater
Denver Joe & the Saddle Tramps @ Bender’s Tavern
Coupstick @ Cervantes’
Thesaurus Rex @ Rhinoceropolis
Burn the Port @ Cervantes’ Other Side
Rodeo Ruby Love @ Lion’s Lair

Thursday June 17
Denison Witmer w/ Porlolo @ Hi-Dive
Portamento @ 3 Kings Tavern
Trees @ Bluebird Theater
Boombox @ Larimer Lounge
The A-OK’s @ Moe’s
Springdale Quartet @ Fox Theatre
Kutandara Marimba Experience @ Boulder Theater
Aim2Miss @ Marquis Theater
Angie Stevens @ Walnut Room
Coupstick @ Cervantes’
Ryan Shupe and the Ruberband @ Soiled Dove
Wayne “the Train Hancock @ Cervantes’ Other Side
Mouse Fire @ Lion’s Lair

Friday June 18
Method Man w/ MTHDS @ Cervantes’
The Radiators @ Gothic Theatre
Terror @ Marquis Theater

The Giraffes w/ Snake Rattle Rattle Snake @ Bluebird Theater
Lou Barlow and Sarah Jaffe / Giraffes late night DJ set @ Larimer Lounge
Titwrench: BBQ Benefit for Diane Cluck @ Smegahouse
Antioquia @ Hi-Dive
Melissa Ferrick @ Fox Theatre
Angelique Kidjo @ Boulder Theater
Sterile Garden @ Rhinoceropolis
With Arms Raised (CD Release) @ 3 Kings Tavern
Charlie and the Valentine Killers @ Bender’s Tavern
Fingers of the Sun @ Moe’s
Karma Vision @ Lion’s Lair

Saturday June 19
Westword Music Showcase: Ghostland Observatory, Superchunk, Boombox, Dirty Projectors, Neon Indian, more @ Golden Triangle Venues
Prizzy Prizzy Please @ Hi-Dive
It’s True @ Larimer Lounge
Girl Pride 2010 @ Cervantes’
Rahzel @ Cervantes’ Other Side
The Echo Chamber @ Marquis Theater
The Aggrolites @ Bluebird Theater
Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen @ Soiled Dove
The Radiators @ Gothic Theatre
Boylesque @ 3 Kings Tavern
Dawes @ Fox Theatre
The Flight of Sleipnir @ Bender’s Tavern
Savage Henry @ Walnut Room
Lyin’ Bitch @ Lion’s Lair

Sunday June 20
Polar Bear Club @ Marquis Theater
Powerman 5000 @ Bluebird Theater
Solvent @ Hi-Dive
Lucky Luciano @ Cervantes’ Other Side
French Quarter @ Rhinoceropolis
The Aggrolites @ Fox Theatre
90% Chimp @ Lion’s Lair

As tends to be the case in trivial brackets such as this one, the first number one seed saw its exit in the round of 16. Fair thee well, James Murphy. In fact, a second top seed nearly was eliminated, save for the grace of a timely vote by Mrs. Swankster. And so we’re down to the final eight, all excellent and worthy albums, but none that can claim to be immortal.

In order to win a trip to the final four, your team needs more than just star players – it needs depth. Sometimes it’s that unheralded bench player who has a nose for grabbing rebounds in traffic; perhaps it’s a mono-faceted scorer who catches fire. In any case, you need more than one or two stars to carry you through to the next round.

Click on the track name to listen to a song that flies a bit under the radar, but is nonetheless integral to the success of the whole. (And do it quickly, before Apple takes the right away from you.) From there, feel free to listen to some more tracks on the album, if that will help make your decision easier. And then click on the “Vote Here” to vote in that match-up.

DJ Shadow Region Final:
(1) “Motion Picture Soundtrack” from Kid A by Radiohead

Vote Here
(3) “Olsen Olsen” from Agaetis byrjun by Sigur Ros

Nirvana Region Final:
(2) “Crown of Love” from Funeral by Arcade Fire

Vote Here
(4) “I’m the Man Who Love You” from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco

Neutral Milk Hotel Region Final:
(1) “Slum Beautiful” from Stankonia by Outkast

Vote Here
(10) “Shut Up I Am Dreaming of Places Where Lovers Have Wings” from Shut Up, I Am Dreaming by Sunset Rubdown

Pavement Region Final:
(1) “I’m Finding It Harder to Be a Gentleman” from White Blood Cells by the White Stripes

Vote Here
(3) “Paper Thin Walls” from The Moon and Antarctica by Modest Mouse

See you next round!

Not too many great surprises in the second round of voting. All of the top-seeds remain, and only three double-digit teams are still alive, including #15-seeded Chutes Too Narrow. But now it’s time to separate the pretenders from the contenders.

Much like the NCAA’s Sweet Sixteen, in order to win in the third round of our tournament, your team needs a star. So, for this round of voting, we’ve included a focus on one track from each album. It might not be the “best” or most popular song on the album, but it’s oftentimes the player the team will go in crunch time. Use that single track as your deciding factor, or, if you like, make your choice based on more judicious, holistic criteria.

Click on the song title to hear the track, then click on “vs.” to vote in each match-up.

DJ Shadow Region:
(1) “Idioteque” from Kid A by Radiohead
vs.
(4) “IZZO (H.O.V.A.)” from The Blueprint by Jay-Z

(3) “Viðrar vel til loftárása” from Agaetis byrjun by Sigur Ros
vs.
(15) “So Says I” from Chutes Too Narrow by The Shins

Nirvana Region:
(1) “Someone Great” from Sound of Silver by LCD Soundsystem
vs.
(4) “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco

(6) “Apollo Kids” from Supreme Clientele by Ghostface Killah
vs.
(2) “Wake Up” from Funeral by Arcade Fire

Neutral Milk Hotel Region:
(1) “BOB” from Stankonia by Outkast
vs.
(5) “Obstacle 1” from Turn on the Bright Lights by Interpol

(11) “Funny Little Frog” from The Life Pursuit by Belle & Sebastian
vs.
(10) “Us Ones In Between” from Shut Up, I am Dreaming by Sunset Rubdown

Pavement Region:
(1) “Fell in Love with a Girl” from White Blood Cells by the White Stripes
vs.
(5) “Almost Crimes” from You Forgot it in People by Broken Social Scene

(3) “3rd Planet” from Moon and Antarctica by Modest Mouse
vs.
(2) “Jesus Walks” from The College Dropout by Kanye West

Junior Boys – “Parallel Lines”

Evidence of Chris Stein and Debbie Harry is thin on the ground, so rails stretching into infinity seems the more likely inspiration. After their increased “In the Morning” profile, the obvious move for Junior Boys would have been beaucoup block rocking beats. Which is why the icy restraint of this first released track from Begone Dull Care is a pleasant surprise. Jeremy Greenspan even keeps his silken croon in reserve, softly breathing over the slow motion Moroder synth percolation. Despite the instrumental palette, it’s got a strange Sunday morning quality to it. The kind where you wake up to face the day, not one where you attempted to hold on to Saturday night and were shamed by an unwated sunrise.

- Junior Boys’ Begone Dull Care is out on Domino Records on April 7th in the U.S.

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone – “Old Panda Days”

The default remembrance towards college is one of uncritical nostalgia. Ah, those good old days, of wanton hedonism and nary a lasting consequence or responsibility. And while yeah, that’s most of it, it does edit out a good deal of low points in an emotionally fraught period of life. Owen Ashworth is decidedly not a rose-tinted recollection sort. This short cut from a compilation of scattered material released after his career highpoint (2006′s Etiquette) recasts collegial drug abuse and cheap sex as the problem rather than the ideal. Also, Tom Tom Club references. If you’re up for a mope, this is a nice one.

- Casiotone for the Painfully Alone’s Advance Base Battery Life (a collection of singles and rarities) is out March 10th on Tomlab Records.

My apartment, windows drawn wide so I don’t get stoned (alriiiight) and then die (oh, boooo) from the fumes of a painting project, is nearly no degrees right now. So, the name of this band, which my eyes have scanned over numerous times bandied about the internet and nestled into my “recent downloads,” called out to me know in it’s documentary description of my domicile.

Cold Cave – “The Trees Grew Emotions and Died”

A synth band called Cold Cave should sound a lot more seeeerious than this, but really, I like that it’s playful. It’s keyboard tone sounds a bit like Depeche Mode’s “I Just Can’t Get Enough” and also a bit like when a used car dealership cuts an ad for local cable, trying to tap into that “techno” craze all the kids are talking about. But once the vocals kick in, staggered, unintelligible, vaguely fluish, I find it hard to resist (despite my funny way of praising it). It sounds like the raddest high school goth kid of all time, jamming with his little sister, who makes him giggle enough times that he eventually forgets to glower entirely.