by Bryan Ostrow
It’s 2023, and A lot has happened since I last wrote words in this paper. The Indy has turned into Sixty35 (still delivering all the great content you love), holidays happened, New Year’s happened, the city froze, and a show of legendary proportions happened at The Broadmoor World Arena.
It was Dec. 22, during the deep freeze, when some of the heaviest hitters in hip-hop took over the town. The Holidaze of Blaze tour opened up with newcomer Justin Champagne bringing his blend of country and hip-hop, then Ying Yang Twins hyped the place up with their party bangers “Salt Shaker,” “Ms. New Booty” and “Badd.” After they got everyone shaking, legendary West Coast rapper Warren G came out and chilled everybody down. It was my favorite part of the night, his act executed with smooth precision. When he performed his 1994 anthem “Regulators,” the crowd erupted in smoke and applause. With the smell of fresh herbs in the air and the beats flowing, everyone in the building felt like the coolest person alive. After some chill time, T-Pain came out and brought the party! You may know T-Pain for introducing autotune to the mainstream in the mid-2000s, and he really made his sound known thanks to a set list of club bangers he had something to do with, including “Black and Yellow,” “Buy You a Drank” and many, many, many more. It was a very fun set filled with energy from the first song to the last.
Now it was time for the legend himself, Snoop D-O-double G, SNOOP DOGG! He came out in full force, clad in a full blue bandana jumpsuit and a “jazz cigarette” gently placed between his lips. He played classics spanning his 30-year career including “Murder Was the Case,” “Gin & Juice,” “What’s My Name,” “Drop It Like It’s Hot” and many more. His hour-plus-long set kept everyone engaged the whole time and even featured special tributes to rappers taken too soon — Nate Dogg, Notorious B.I.G. and 2Pac. It was a packed, sold-out show that heated up the frozen night.
It was a packed, sold-out show that heated up the frozen night.
All right, now a new year is about the future, and not the past, so let’s get into some new things going on in these parts. There’s a new band in town and they go by the name SKULL. Playing fast, furious hardcore punk, they’re ready to light the scene on fire (in a good way of course!). They just released their debut single, “Ecstacencia,” at skullinyourhead.bandcamp.com and will be playing their first show Thursday, Jan. 12, at Denver’s Seventh Circle with BIB, Sanitizers and Asbestos, and it’s sure to be a wild, wild time. The music continues on the 12th at Vultures with blues rock from Tenth Mountain Division and Moon Veil. The following evening, Friday the 13th, you can catch more blues rock from The Short T.E.R.M. at Fritzy’s along with Noise Resort and Lazarus Horse. Vultures will be hosting country from Kenny Feidler and The Cowboy Killers along with Kellen Smith. If you feel like something a little heavier, head next door to The Black Sheep for a ripping metallic hardcore show with Vamachara, Momentum, Mindz Eye and Back Lip.
Saturday is now upon us and Triple Nickel will be hosting a fun punk rock show with Flight Kamikaze, The Sleights and Total Cult. Black Sheep will be hosting a night of metal with Sending Skyward, Cell 23, Ovira and Witness Marks. Or catch some delightful indie rock at Lulu’s with Heavy Diamond Ring and Shovelin Stone.
The weekend must now come to an end, but it finishes with a bang at Vultures on Sunday with post-hardcore from New Mexico’s Self Neglect, Stars Don’t Mean Anything and goth punk from Pueblo’s Mineral Palace.