Once again, there is no shortage of live music events happening around Denver tonight, but once again, I find myself on the wrong end of the work schedule. It's especially disappointing for me, because of all the shows tonight, there is one show that I had been looking forward to checking out since it was announced in spring of this year. Thievery Corporation is one of my all time favorite bands and they always bring a great show, so I'll be sorry to miss it.

I did get the chance to see them live last year - at Red Rocks too - but they weren't the headliners then. It was still a great performance. Thievery Corporation is known for downtempo and trip-hop music you can really groove to. They started as a DJ collective in the mid-nineties, and they were always interested in digging up music from all over the world which lead them to start making music in the studio influenced by their discoveries. Since then they have released six studio albums. Listening to a Thievery Corporation set is like taking a journey around the world. You'll hear dub, samba, bossa nova, calypso, reggae, jazz, Middle Eastern music and much more. Thievery Corporation songs are also full of political activism, so their lyrical content usually has that message. They are also known for having several collaborators and guest vocalists on both their recordings and live shows.


They will be touring for their newly released album Culture of Fear, and I'm sure like the last time I saw Thievery, there will be a crowd of guest musicians backstage rotating to the spotlight from song to song. On Culture of Fear alone, Thievery Corporation features Tamara Wellons, Mr. Lif, Lou Lou, Sleepy Wonder, Shana Halligan, Ras Puma and Sylvia Bernice Eberhardt. I'm especially bummed I'll be missing Mr. Lif, one of my favorite rappers. I know he made the trip out to Red Rocks for the show and he's awesome on the title track "Culture of Fear". The whole album is great, but also check out "Stargazer" and "Free" to get an idea of the range of styles they use.


Ghostland Observatory will get the show started for Thievery Corporation. I haven't seen them live and I'm not too familiar with their work, but from what I've heard, it sounds like they will be the perfect prelude. Their music sounds like a blend of electronic funk and dance rock, a little more fast paced than Thievery Corporation, but it should transition to trip-hop well. Check out "Midnight Voyage", "Give Me The Beat" and "Sad Sad City"

If I didn't have to work and had extra cash I would make the trek to Red Rocks tonight and witness what is sure to be an awesome show, both aurally and visually. I'll be playing Culture of Fear all night long, reminiscing on what I'd seen last year and imagining I was there again tonight. The show starts at 7:30 and tickets are $42.50. Avoid extra fees by picking up tickets at the box office, which opens up at 4:30PM today.

Thievery Corporation - Culture of Fear by Serge Perez
Thievery Corporation-Stargazer by alfred.soulbangbang
Thievery corporation - 13 - free by Stefan Mihailov

Midnight Voyage - Ghostland Observatory by MonFineis
Ghostland Observatory - Give Me the Beat by Posh Magazine
Sad Sad City by Ghostland Observatory by olyspirit