We’re a long way from “Regulate,” but Warren G proved he still knows how to work a crowd at the Fox on Wednesday. Photo by Joshua Elioseff.

West Coast rapper Warren G’s show at the Fox Theatre on Wednesday was a study in steadiness. Opener U-N-I got the young crowd fired up, while Chicago’s Kidz in the Hall continued to build the atmosphere by pushing the Buffs/Rams rivalry (this was Boulder, after all) while local DJ Vajra brought the beats. By the time G brought his low-slung, old school-flavored flows on stage, the crowd was on fire.

Check out a full photo gallery of this concert here.

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Joshua Elioseff is a Boulder-based freelance photographer and new contributor to Reverb. Check out his website.

Devo are, in fact, men!

Last week, my girlfriend and I made a pilgrimage to Chicago to see my childhood heroes, Devo, play two of their classic albums – “Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo” and “Freedom of Choice” – in their entireties. We also explored the city and spent some time with friends, including Colorado’s own Magic Cyclops, the comic musician who was on a pilgrimage of his own.

As we arrived at Midway Airport and made our way to the train, I was absolutely stunned to notice Lee Dorsey’s “Working in the Coal Mine” — a song re-popularized in the ’80s by Devo — playing over the airport sound system. What do you do with that kind of cosmic coincidence? I wasn’t sure. On the one hand, the reference point seemed encouraging and positive. On the other hand, the fact that this was the original version and not the Devo interpretation made me uncertain. Perhaps there was a message in this about history and the revision thereof and — frankly, I have no idea what was going through my head. I was too busy laughing and dancing.

Before Thursday night’s show, we met up for drinks with Magic Cyclops, a Fort Collins/Denver-based musician who combines elements of electro, ’80s kitsch, karaoke, stand-up comedy and absurdist theater in an act that is often as confounding as it is hilarious. For approximately a decade, Magic Cyclops has enraged and entertained audiences in Denver and around the country with his bizarre act. And now, he’s thinking about taking that act to Chicago.

“I just feel like audiences in Chicago get my act more,” he told me. “Chicago’s more of a comedy town.”

Now, I don’t know the first thing about comedy, but I always question generalizations like these. “Seattle can’t get enough Gothic industrial.” “Greeley loves its reggaeton.” “Miami goes crazy for a penguin.” These statements all have the easy ring of a stereotype to them. And they’re almost never true.

One thing that is true, however, is that it’s easier to be a big fish in a small pond than to be a big fish in a city like Chicago. When you think of the music capitals of the U.S., you probably also imagine some of the country’s largest cities: Los Angeles (the town to which Devo emigrated when Akron, Ohio started to seem too small to sustain their weird, robotic, de-evolutionary ways), New York and Chicago. If you’re musically minded, you might also think of towns like Nashville and Seattle.

Denver probably doesn’t even enter your mind, even if you live here. And yet, it’s much easier for a musician to find her footing here than in any of the big ponds. Magic Cyclops has achieved a modest level of success over the past decade, largely thanks to the support and friendship of Colorado musical compatriots (the late Monofog, Slim Cessna’s Auto Club, Mr. Pacman, to name a few) and talent buyers at Colorado venues (hi-dive and the Larimer Lounge, to name just two) who get the act.

Shh! Cyclops at work!

Later that night, as I watched Devo tear through “Jocko Homo,” I thought about that band’s narrative arc, from Kent State art-punks in Akron (a city less than half the size of Denver) to international New Wave pop superstars to hugely popular nostalgia act. I remembered seeing video of Devo’s tour for the album “New Traditionalists,” in which the band performed while walking on treadmills, symbolizing the fact that, though they’d gained a modest level of success with “Whip It,” they really weren’t going anywhere. Nearly 30 years later, playing very old songs to a nearly sold-out Vic Theatre in Chicago, I wondered if they still felt the same way. Judging by their onstage ebullience and energetic interactions with the crowd, that was not the case.

The next night, however, Devo seemed much more subdued. As the quintet tackled slightly more sophisticated and far more electronic songs, like “Snowball” and “Don’t You Know,” they seemed disengaged. Crowd interactions were minimal. Movements were constrained – even more than one might expect. And lyrics were frequently botched. The sense of fun and occasion was sustained by nostalgia, but the performance wasn’t up to the expectations set by the previous night. I thought about those treadmills again.

And I thought about Magic Cyclops, feeling like he’s going nowhere in Denver, and that maybe Chicago will be the boost he needs. During his weeklong stay in the Windy City, Magic booked two gigs – one as a performer, and the other as a DJ for “the official Devo after party.” This seems to bode well for the Hulk Hogan-loving, British accent-mutilating, ’80s worshipping fake Iowa native. Maybe Chicago really does get his act more.

However, you can’t forget the old adage, “Wherever you go, there you are,” which implies that a change of location rarely fixes one’s problems. I’d rather see Magic Cyclops refine his act and cultivate his audience here at home than succumb to the easy lure of a larger city. I think a music scene like the one we have here is exactly the right place for him to experiment, grow and build a successful career. If nothing else, I’ll be there, laughing and dancing.

Q: Is Denver too small to support and sustain all the musical acts and venues that have cropped up over the past 10 years?

Eryc Eyl is a veteran music journalist, critic and Colorado native who has been neck-deep in local music for many years. Check out Steal This Track every Tuesday for local music you can HEAR, and the Mile High Makeout every Friday.

Emmylou Harris likes to play connect the dots — both as an artist and a listener.

Call it “The Six Degrees of Nashville.”

Emmylou Harris’ web of musical connections is so vast and intricate it shames even Kevin Bacon, whose eponymous “Six Degrees” game unites seemingly disparate Hollywood actors in six short steps. A family tree of Harris’ collaborators would fill the ceiling of the Grand Ole Opry House, branching from her obscure 1970 debut, “Gliding Bird,” into her famous work with Gram Parsons, Bob Dylan, Dolly Parton, Neil Young, Linda Ronstadt and dozens of others.

Like most Nashville legends, the 62-year-old’s solo work has kept her among country music’s most singular, respected voices. Unlike most of them, however, she’s found success in other genres, unafraid to alienate her base by wandering off into the worlds of rock, pop and folk.

And that’s why you can’t stump her.

When asked about any strange, surprising artists on her iPod, she responds matter-of-factly: “I don’t know if anything on there would surprise anybody. Mostly I know everybody on there.”

It’s no idle boast. Harris, who plays CU-Boulder’s Macky Auditorium on Friday, is a songwriter’s songwriter and a collaborator’s dream. And she’s as active as ever, working in recent years with artists who blur the line between peers (Mark Knopfler, Steve Earle) and people she has influenced throughout her storied career (Bruce Springsteen, Patty Griffin, Conor Oberst).

The iPod, it seems, is an appropriate metaphor for Harris.

“I just put the new Booker T. album on there and, obviously, I’ve got Elvis Costello and Buddy Miller and Shawn Colvin and my buddy Patty Griffin,” she said. “But I’ve also got some Bach on there and some Maria Callas. She’s just the ultimate chick singer.”

The iPod’s shuffle feature, which has a way of psychologically connecting disparate songs, has also taken the place of the classic radio station for Harris, who dearly misses that format’s wild variety.

“I almost don’t remember what I was like before my iPod, but there used to be these great radio stations back when I first started that were almost (as strange) as an iPod shuffle,” she said. “You could hear Willie Nelson and then Willie Dixon with no segue and it all made sense. It’s just like on the iPod, where you’ll listen to George Jones and then all of a sudden Laurie Anderson comes on talking about a trip down the Amazon with Brian Eno doing something in the background.”

Harris’ penchant for shuffling her playlists may surprise some, since she’s known for obsessively sequencing her own albums. But that unexpected variety reflects both the breadth of artists she’s worked with and her own musical experimentation over the years.

“We’ve got a station here at (Nashville’s) Vanderbilt University that’ll do a show with jazz, Gregorian chants, old blues and old country. You’ll just be able to hear one song follow another like that,” she said. “And Sirius had a station called Sirius Disorder, which is what I always listened to in the car before they got rid of it. You’d hear Spike Jones going right into Beethoven and things like that. It was crazy but I loved the disorder of it.”

Harris continues to thrive in part because she has embraced a measure of chaos in her life. She enjoys a steady touring career thanks to her 25 albums — and the dozen Grammys they’ve earned her. But she’s also seen her favor rise and fall precipitously on commercial radio stations as tastes have changed.

Like many, she sees the foundations of Old Nashville crumbling before her, for better or worse.

“I don’t know how people make it these days,” she said. “I’ve established myself, but with the record labels and the trouble that they’re in, it’s hard for (new artists). It’s wonderful in the sense that everybody can make a record in their closet and put it out on the Internet. But how does that work?”

For Harris, who grew up idolizing the performance ethic of folk legends such as Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, the relationship between musicians and audiences is simple: You work for it.

“I still think there’s no substitute for going out and playing in front of people, even if it’s in a tiny club,” she said. “Once you see someone and are seriously affected that way, well, you’re a fan. Or you can do it the bluegrass way: Sell ’em out of the back of your station wagon.”

But how can someone with so many connections and so much history just chuck it all when listening to other artists’ work? Shouldn’t she sit down and absorb albums from start to finish, they way they were intended to be heard?

“People say, ‘I can’t believe you put it on shuffle!’ And I say, ‘Well, it’s just my guilty pleasure.’ ”

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John Wenzel is the co-editor of Reverb, editor of the Get Real Denver blog and an A&E reporter for The Denver Post. His book “Mock Stars: Indie Comedy and the Dangerously Funny” was recently published by Speck Press. He also maintains a Twitter feed of random song titles.

Hop aboard: Railroad Earth is playing three nights at Boulder’s Fox Theatre, starting tonight.

New Jersey six-piece Railroad Earth is one of those groups that proudly, and deftly, straddle the line between folk outfit and jam band. The group’s bluegrass roots are evident in its skillfully picked songs, its collaborative creative process and its diverse instrumentation.

But Railroad Earth’s songs take on a unique personality in the live arena, something Colorado audiences will see and hear when the group plays a three-night stand at Boulder’s Fox Theatre tonight through Saturday.

We caught up with Railroad Earth violinist Tim Carbone to talk about his band’s unique relationship with Colorado and the tricky nature of assembling the set lists for a multi-night stand.

Q: On your website, you talk about how it’s difficult to find words to describe the feeling of playing at Red Rocks under a “darkened sky.” Can you try real hard for us?

A: It was a great feeling, a feeling that you were part of musical history, that you were somehow granted admission to a fraternity of artists that had gone before you.

I also see that the String Cheese Incident’s Keith Moseley will be joining you temporarily for some JamCruise dates in January. How and when did you meet?

Keith is a very good friend indeed and one of the nicest humans you’d ever want to meet. We first played with String Cheese at the Jerry Garcia Birthday Bash in Terra Alta, W.Va., in August of 2004, and (we’ve played with them) many times since.

Tell me about the song “Colorado.” What inspired it?

“Colorado” was inspired by… Colorado. When we found out we were playing the Telluride Bluegrass Festival for the first time, our lead singer came up with this number. It’s a tribute to the state and it’s beautiful people.

In Boulder, you are playing a three-night stand at the Fox. Tell me your band’s approach to shows like these, which will obviously draw certain fans going to all three gigs and others choosing a single show.

It’s a little tricky because you don’t want to repeat songs, if you can help it. The tricky part can be making sure all three shows still have great energy and flow. Many times, one night will be a little darker or lighter. One night may feature a more bluegrass vibe, and another may rock out more. The little variations from show to show are part of what makes people want to see all three nights.

What do you like most about playing live? Does Railroad Earth’s time in the studio compare?

Playing live is a completely different experience than recording in a studio. There’s an immediate feedback from a live audience, and that’s what I love about it. When you’re in the studio, it’s more like you’re under a microscope. The difficult part is somehow capturing some of that live energy while you’re recording. I love recording and could see myself doing just that if, for some reason, I could no longer play live.

It’s been more than a year since we’ve seen a record from you. Can you update us on that front?

We’re hoping to make a new studio recording early next year.

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Ricardo Baca is the founder and co-editor of Reverb and an award-winning critic and journalist at The Denver Post. He is also the executive director of the Underground Music Showcase, Colorado’s premier indie music festival. Follow his whimsies at Twitter, his live music habit at Gigbot and his iTunes addictions at Last.fm.

Two nights at the intimidatingly huge, darkened Ellie? No sweat when you’re Ray LaMontagne. Photo by Todd Radunsky.

Folk rocker Ray LaMontagne played to a sold out, often vocal crowd on Wednesday night at Ellie Caulkins Opera House, part of a two-night stint at the cavernous venue. His soulful, inspiring voice captivated the audience and had many singing his poetic lyrics along with him. Check out photographer Todd Radunsky’s short photo essay of the evening below.

View a full photo gallery of this concert here.

Read John Moore’s review of LaMontagne’s first night at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House.

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Todd Radunsky is a Boulder-based photographer and a regular contributor to Reverb.

Keb’ Mo’ got the crowd up and moving in the normally staid Paramount Theatre on Tuesday. Photo by John Leyba.

On a Tuesday night, Grammy Award-winning contemporary bluesman Keb’ Mo’ had fans dancing in the aisles at the Paramount Theatre — much to the consternation of some stern ushers at this venerable old Denver venue.

But you can’t keep a good fan down.

And the crowd gets worked up at the Paramount, with just under 1,900 seats creating an environment intimate enough that the audience conversed with Mo’. In addition to being a soulful singer and a great guitarist, Mo’ has done some acting. But the performer’s affable stage presence seems authentic, no act.

View a full photo gallery of this concert here.

When a fan informed him that Hazel Miller — one of Denver’s favorite musical daughters — was in the audience, Mo’ gave her a shout out: “You can’t just name anybody Hazel!”

And Miller called back, “Thanks for saying my name!”

When another front-row fan introduced Elaine, celebrating her 83rd birthday, Mo’ sent out a song to her and sat down on the edge of the stage to embrace the octogenarian.

Touring to tout his new album “Keb’ Mo’ Live & Mo’,” the entertainer proved again that he’s almost impossible to pigeonhole. Many of Mo’s storytelling songs carry tremendous emotional weight, yet his music often amounts to a case of the upbeat feel-good blues. He sings with a bit of a smirk. Mo’s typically uptempo tone owes to his unflappable sense of humor, obvious both in his ad-libbed comments on stage and in his lyrics. He just might have one of man’s best come-on lines ever: “Go ahead and be wild and free. You don’t have to shave your legs for me.”

Wandering stage left and stage right with his guitar, Mo’ and his three-man band mesmerized an almost-full house. A guitar virtuoso perfectly capable of performing solo, Mo’ is more with drums, bass, keyboards and occasional mandolin or harmonica. The band’s set ranged from Mo’s trademark contemporary blues to R&B numbers to classic blues to a couple of down-home tunes with C&W undertones.

By the time the musicians returned to the stage for a prolonged encore, almost everybody in the house had risen to their feet, giving reign to their dancing shoes.

Mo has made his mark in music, as well as television, movies, and in the public square where he’s politically active. Born Kevin Moore in Los Angeles to parents from the deep South, Mo’s far-reaching artistic influence extends to obvious and unlikely places; for example, he wrote the theme song for “Martha Stewart Living.” Now that’s a good thing.

And speaking of good, the evening’s opener, Gregory Alan Isakov, aptly warmed up the stage from his stool with his guitar, harmonica and a short set of mellow heart-and-gut songs.

Mo’s appearance was part of KBCO’s holiday concert series; and as an early Thanksgiving gift to fans, Mo’ is offering a free download. Log on to kebmo.com and follow the links to a free exclusive song from Mo’s label, Yolabelle International.

View a full photo gallery of this concert here.

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Colleen Smith is a longtime, regular contributor to The Denver Post. She blogs at colleenwordsmith.blogspot.com, serves as Denver Flower and Gardening Examiner at Examiner.com, and is author of a soon-to-be-published novel.

John Leyba is a Denver Post photojournalist and regular contributor to Reverb.

Wolfmother’s impressive grasp on well-worn metal moves translated nicely at the Ogden on Monday. Photo by Tina Hagerling.

Neo-metal’s Wolfmother isn’t trying to re-invent the wheel. Proudly and loudly, the Aussie four-top showcase their blatantly borrowed chops with a sound that is part Iron Maiden, part Black Sabbath, part Led Zeppelin and, duh, wholly metal. Really, who cares if they imitate? Sometimes it’s not about innovation and creativity. Sometimes it’s about homage and Wolfmother is the modern-day face of metal’s giants reincarnated for our pleasure. And pleasure was abundant Monday in the Ogden Theatre as Wolfmother displayed the fading art of head-banging rock.

View a full photo gallery of this concert here.

The sold-out theater literally shook from the Wolfmother blasts, from the heavily Black Sabbath-ed opener “Dimension” to the new-schooled psychedelic “Colossal” to the almost thrash “Back Round.” It was a furious display with just about every note tickling some distant recollection of crackling vinyl and scary album covers. The former-trio that stormed the international metal scene about five years ago is now a foursome, with only frontman Andrew Stockdale remaining from the original line-up. But Wolfmother is Stockdale, whose slippery-shod, emphatic prancing summoned images of Molly Shannon’s armpit-sniffing Mary Katherine Gallagher superstar pose.

Stockdale has the most golden-throated voice in metal today. His high notes exorcise Ozzy or Sebastian Bach in their prime. His work on the Gibson SG is adept, with occasionally clumsy moments unfolding in his most adventurous, indulgent jams.

His band is tight, as evidenced in admirable tempo changes in the shape-shifting “California Queen,” which saw the amply-afro’d Stockdale sustaining high-pitched screams bubbling straight from his diaphragm. He’s got the Rob Halford howl, the Ian Gillian bellow nailed. It’s rare to hear such vocal strength these days, especially from a metal band, which tends to feature crackling geezers in swollen spandex grasping for days long gone.

The Aussies — rhythm guitarist Aiden Nemeth (who Stockdale specifically introduced as a “rhythm guitarist” even though he sounded capable of outplaying the bossman,) Ian Peres on bass and keys and drummer Dave Atkins — are touring in support of their latest album “Cosmic Egg.” Their two-hour set exuded the energy of a band relishing their time in the spotlight.

“From the ass end of nowhere to here,” Stockdale said. “Just proves you don’t have to be from anywhere special to make something special.”

Son of a Beatle George, Dhani Harrison opened the show with his band thenewno2. Harrison seemed determined to dash his pedigree with an ear-shattering din more deafening than deft.

Dayton, Ohio-bred Heartless Bastards, now based in Austin, Texas, took the second opener spot, fronted by Erika Wennerstrom, whose husky timbre mirrors Chrissie Hynde or maybe Patti Smith. Her band’s boppy-edged blues sound churns with Bill Elm’s haunting lap steel, but it’s Wennerstrom’s warbling, wah-wah voice that resonated most deeply. Eclipsed by her Les Paul — which she plays with surprising dexterity — the volume of moody tenor rumbling from her tiny frame is impressive. Watch for more from the Heartless Bastards.

View a full photo gallery of this concert here.

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Jason Blevins is a strange dancer, but that has never stopped him.

Tina Hagerling is a Denver photographer and regular contributor to Reverb. Check out more of her concert photography.

Art Alexakis may be the only remaining original member of Everclear, but the band sounded better than ever at the Bluebird on Monday. Photo by Jennifer Cohen.

Armed with a brand-spanking new line-up, save for ever-present front man Art Alexakis, Everclear rolled into the Bluebird Theater Monday night for an impressive return to the stage and a big helping of affection for their fans. Touring their newly released, “In a Different Light,” an album of slightly toned-down versions of previously recorded material, Alexakis and company showed they can be grown-up and youthfully-grungy all at the same time.

View a full photo gallery of this concert here.

The band came out swinging with the familiar, head-banging tempo of “So Much for the Afterglow,” the audience not only loving it but clamoring for more. While the next song, “Father of Mine,” was slightly slower and a tad gloomier, the audience maintained the intensity by belting out this favorite almost as loudly as the band itself. “I’ve played bigger shows in Denver, but not better. You guys are awesome,” Alexakis called out. Ratcheting up the energy even more, the band flew into “Amphetamine,” the song, like its name, a blistering, jaw-clenching speed-fest, until Alexakis crooned the final few lines, “Everything will be okay. Everything will be okay,” like coming down from a three-day tweak.

It might seem odd that a guy in his mid-40s would carry-on about such things as daddy issues or the sorrows and joys of substance abuse, but somehow Alexakis pulled it off with a contented charm, singing more, perhaps, from a place of reflection rather than inside the turmoil of his past. He even spun the two woefully sullen songs “Wonderful” and “Santa Monica” into more optimistic sing-a-longs than angst-ridden, 12-step prologues and had a particularly endearing moment during his solo, acoustic performance of “Strawberry.”

No doubt adding to his more positive outlook was Everclear Version 2.0 backing him up. Bassist and omni-moving Freddie Herrera brought fresh enthusiasm to the music and the stage. The rapport between him, Alexakis and guitarist Johnny Hawthorne was obvious and enjoyable. Herrera, Hawthorne, keyboardist Sasha Smith and drummer Jordan Ploskey paired nicely with Alexakis, playing the old favorites and “At the End of the Day,” a new song that fit nicely in the Everclear catalog.

Adding an interesting depth to the evening were the two opening bands. Locals Popwreck opened the show by winning an Everclear-sponsored contest that allowed fans to vote in their hometown favorite. The Popwreck trio pounded out original songs in the tradition of the grunge-punkers of the early ’90s, creating calculated energy in their own right.

Touring with Everclear was Florida’s Clayton Senne. The trio, consisting of keyboards, bass and drums, played mostly originals and did a killer version of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstitious.” They were a bit of a surprise with a ‘70s-ish, poppy groove, but they segued nicely from Popwreck’s rawness to Everclear’s pop-grunge.

Alexakis looked giddy at being back to his devoted fans, who might have breathed a collective sigh of relief at having him back as well. “I know there’s some serious fucking shows going on tonight. I appreciate you guys coming out,” he told the crowd. It’s like that particular crowd did not want to be anywhere else.

View a full photo gallery of this concert here.

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Jackie Lomibao is a Lakewood-based writer and new contributor to Reverb.

Jennifer Cohen is a Lakewood-based freelance photographer and contributor to Reverb. Check out her website.

If the Rolling Stones can hack it, why can’t these two? Photo from the Associated Press.

Piano-pop titans Elton John and Billy Joel have postponed their “Face 2 Face” concert at the Pepsi Center on Sunday until Feb. 22, promoter AEG Live announced today. All previously-purchased tickets will be valid for the rescheduled show and refunds are available at point of purchase, likely tickethorse.com or the Pepsi Center box office.

The postponement should come as no surprise to fans who have watched the tour’s troubled-plagued progress the last few months. Multiple dates have been canceled or postponed due to illness on the part of both performers, including tomorrow night’s Salt Lake City show. But as recently as yesterday, an official at AEG confirmed that the Denver show was still on, indicating that the promoters were taken by surprise too.

John has recently battled influenza and an e-coli infection, and Joel took his turn by postponing and canceling shows due to an undisclosed illness (fatigue, according to one report).

Sunday’s concert was announced with much fanfare in October, including an early-morning press conference with Mayor John Hickenlooper and AEG honcho Chuck Morris. John and Joel last played the Pepsi Center together in April 2001.

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Yeah Yeah Yeahs singer Karen O performs at the 2009 Monolith Music Festival. Reverb file photo by John Leyba.

The Monolith Music Festival has sent out an appeal for financial help to keep itself afloat for a potential 2010 installment.

The indie- and dance-centric music festival, which has taken over Red Rocks Amphitheatre the last three years in mid-September, has certainly not been wanting for talent. From the Flaming Lips, Spoon and Band of Horses to TV on the Radio, Justice, DeVotchKa, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Phoenix, Monolith has presented an array of hot acts angled toward the discerning underground music fan.

But coming at the tail end of festival-heavy summer schedules, and suffering poor weather and general economic malaise, has translated to half-empty seats at the 9,500 capacity Red Rocks this year — a bad sign that’s given the festival a matter of weeks to scrounge up the necessary $250,000 to move forward.

Read our interview with Baker after the jump.

Reverb: It may come as no surprise to hear you guys are in rough shape, but I’m guessing most people weren’t expecting an appeal for help so soon.

Josh Baker: It’s been a tough three months for us.

What made you decide to send out this e-mail now, instead of last month, or next week?

I’ve been thinking about it, and we’ve been trying to do our own due diligence and do our own stuff behind the scenes save it so it’s not really a public thing. A lot of people invested time and emotions into it and we didn’t want to diminish the festival by something like this. We had three great years, but we came to this point where we’re like, “Man, we’re running out of time. We’re running up against meetings for next year, and our window of time is closing.” Matt (Fecher, Monolith’s co-creator) and I pretty much do this because we love it and think it’s great for the community and great for Colorado. We really enjoy doing it and we’ve put our lives into it for the past three years. It’s almost like our child.

Do you see this as a result of consistently low attendance?

No, we just came up a little bit short on tickets. We actually had our strongest year ever this year. It’s an expensive venue to do a show in, and the rain on the first day really hurt us. Sponsorship and tickets and all that were all up, but not quite in line with where we needed them to be to be successful. Our mantra’s always been to just break even. There were a lot of positive factors to take away from this year.

So what do you blame this on mostly?

The weather was definitely one of the biggest factors that happened — had it not been 50 degrees and raining on Saturday. Our walk up (sales) on Sunday were really strong, but not so strong on Saturday. That’s probably 75 percent of it.

How many sponsors did you already have lined up for 2010?

We’ve already talked to our sponsors and the people we need to talk to for next year. There’s just not any light for next year until we get to that point of recovering from last year. We’re not a huge corporation. It’s self-funded. We don’t have huge coffers to have fall back on.

Did not having AEG as a promoter for the first time this year make a big difference?

That’s not really an issue. They put two good years in for us. I think we did a good job of marketing and booking it this year on our own. I guess it would be good to have anybody who had the financial backing to support us, though. In our minds, when we did this, it was a five-year plan. We knew that by year three or four or five you’d see trending and history and all the things you’ve built start coming into fruition. I think we did a good job and attracted tons of national attention to the state and the festival and even the local bands that played the festival. Our whole hope for this is maybe somebody’ll see this and believe in the same idea.

What would it take, financially, for you to get back up there?

About $250,000. That’s kind of the magic number so that we’re OK for next year. We’ve got some things solidified for 2010 that are just there waiting on us, but those sponsors are not going to support until they see that we’re ready to go.

Kind of a Catch-22…

Exactly. Our sponsors are the reasons why it happens — they really are. They’re the ones that make the ticket prices cheap and do the things that help our fans have a good time. And our sponsors know our situation.

Have you considered a venue change from Red Rocks?

We’ve certainly thought about it. I think that’s one of the number one reasons why people like to attend our festival, though it did provide its limitations this year. It’s probably about 50-50 with fans — 50 percent wouldn’t care if we changed it, and 50 percent would. But those that would care might be pleased with the new amenities we might be able to offer an another venue. Although I don’t know what or where that would be now. We have no intention of moving it right now, but that’s the biggest expense of doing it, is at Red Rocks.

How does the late-season timing, after so many other music festivals have already taken place, come into play?

We’ve found that the late fall time slot has been advantageous to us from a sponsorship and travel perspective. There’s a lot of things happening in one chunk of time over the summer and we seem to be that one event that has it’s own little space. I mean, there’s Treasure Island, Bumbershoot and other festivals around that time, but they’re regionally-centric. Otherwise there’s not a lot going on then. But if we found the right weekend (early summer or mid-summer) we’d consider it. There are a lot of things to be cognizant of when making that decision. We’re talking to other partners and investors and there’s some interest.

So what’s the deadline to get the $250,000?

We’re looking at between two and four weeks. We don’t want to set a hard deadline on it, but that’s the time frame in which something needs to happen.

Do you look back on this year’s festival and see anything you could have done differently?

For a lot of it we got backed into a corner based on our cashflow in terms of when we could start booking bands. It would be fantastic if we could start booking bands and be part of spring and summer and fall routing plans, as opposed to flying bands in when we do. The longer we wait, the fewer options we have and that affects the price. Being able to start earlier, spend more time on marketing, getting on-sale dates earlier — those are things we always want to do. But it’s just me and Matt running the fest so there’s only so much we can do in in a day with the resources that we have.

Read the full text of today’s press release:

“MONOLITH Fans,

We are very saddened by the nature of this announcement but wanted to bring it to you first. We feel like we have always been very fan-centric, honest and open with you therefore it’s important to us to communicate the severity of our current situation. We have tirelessly promoted and produced the Monolith Festival for 3 years now. Over the course of those three years we have witnessed some amazing performances, met a bunch of great friends and produced a very special event that filled our voracious appetite to deliver the most amazing new artists in the world. Many of you who know us know that we do this out of sheer pleasure, undesirable love of music and a vehicle to tout our admiration for hardworking musicians.

With that said, the future of the festival is very grim. A tough economic year and an opening day of chilling rain combined to put a serious dent in our humble operation. We have continued to pursue any and all options that would allow us to recover from this year and head into 2010 with full steam. At this point in time, we have been unable to secure any options. We are communicating this message to you – the fans, the media and the artists who have supported time and time again for good reason. We hope that somewhere, in our vast network of music lovers, that there may be someone with the means to pull us up by our boot straps and give us chance to continue building this amazing event.

If you have any input or know of someone who may be interested in investing in/purchasing our small but mighty event, we would love to speak with them. We have a number of options available for interested parties/individuals. For more information please contact jb@monolithfestival.com. Again, this is our last resort and we have explored just about every option that is available to us. To the folks who we still hold financial obligations to, we whole-heartedly appreciate your patience and willingness to work through this tough time with us.

A very special thanks to the fans who have bought tickets, told your friends, blogged and shouted from the mountaintops about their admiration and love for Monolith. We encourage you to continue this as it can only help our cause. We would also like to thank our loyal, generous sponsors who have been there for us year after year. Specific thanks and credit goes to Esurance who saw our vision for this event and remains the sole reason why this event was even possible.

Best Regards,
MONOLITH Team

Contact us at jb@monolithfestival.com”

Update: Founder and director Josh Baker and co-founder Matt Fecher have set up an account at kickstarter.com for fans to donate money, with a goal of raising nearly $38,000 in the first two weeks.

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John Wenzel is the co-editor of Reverb, editor of the Get Real Denver blog and an arts and entertainment reporter for The Denver Post. He also maintains a Twitter feed of absurdist song titles. His book “Mock Stars: Indie Comedy and the Dangerously Funny” was recently published by Speck Press.