105.5 The Colorado Sound presents Cheekface w/ Sad Park + Mr. Atomic
105.5 The Colorado Sound Presents Cheekface with Sad Park and Mr. Atomic on Saturday, April 8 –When we last left the arguably interesting adventures of Cheekface, they’d released the minor phenomenon “Emphatically No.” The band’s sophomore album bowed at #1 on Bandcamp’s alternative and vinyl sales charts, became a college radio staple, and propelled the L.A. talk-singing trio into packed houses of Cheek Freaks across the US. So I guess now is a good time for Cheekface to return with their third LP, “Too Much to Ask.”You might say “Too Much to Ask” builds on the strengths of the first two Cheekface albums, but also refines and evolves their sound a little, and why would I argue with you? The band’s songwriting battery of guitarist/singer Greg Katz and bassist Amanda Tannen show their lyrical trademark, a strangely inviting sad and sideways wit, right from the jump — “life hands you problems, make problem-ade,” they announce in the almost-unglued 1-minute-25-second album opener “When Life Hands You Problems” — and then across the record’s 11 tracks, the band proceeds to make hay out of many of life’s mysteries.There’s the problematic popularity of quinoa (the what-if-Stephen-Malkmus-fronted-Television headnodder “Pledge Drive”), the boundless desires of American imperialists and the political complacency that enables them (the relentlessly hooky and bleak “You Always Want to Bomb the Middle East”), the physical toll of daily routine (“I would get so much done if I didn’t have to sleep anymore, but then I would be tired,” they observe on The Cars-via-Rosenstock “I Feel So Weird”), the questionable marketing of a certain quacky soap bottle doctor (beach-blanket strummer “Election Day,” which features a guest verse from kindred spirit Sidney Gish), and the seemingly sabotaged pointlessness of it all — pick any track really, but I like “coffee from the bank / Fritos isn’t free / I only want to be with other people like me” from “We Need a Bigger Dumpster,” a singalong single that exposes Cheekface’s most fundamental components as clear as a deep-sea fish: a simple drum beat, a nasty bassline, a neatly catchy guitar riff, a suprisingly memorable chorus, and a funny fatalistic wisdom that unites it all.Cheekface — comprising Katz, Tannen, and drummer Mark “Echo” Edwards — often stick close to the blend of post-punk and power pop they first explored on 2019 debut “Therapy Island” and honed across 2021’s “Emphatically No.” But new to this album, the chatty indie rock outfit lets the music do the talking at times, like in the winding dance break of LCDesque “Featured Singer,” the explosion of guitarmonies on “You Always Want to Bomb the Middle East,” and the majestic Moog melody of album closer “Vegan Water.” These excursions give more space to the band’s best punchlines and lighten the weight of their darker thoughts. Meanwhile, pianos and Casio keyboards and cowbells poke their heads in here and there; there are some cut and paste samples sprinkled around; some flotsam and jetsam are used as percussion, like a staple gun, a stainless steel ashtray, an old vinyl suitcase and a clanky folding chair. They also fit their first ballad on this record, “Election Day,” next to a screaming 57-second mantra about instant noodles.But even as Cheekface evolves a little, the album stays focused on Katz and Tannen’s lyrics about the confounding feeling of the unmoored present. “I think the last year or two has drawn a big circle around a lot of things we all already knew, but maybe didn’t know we knew,” Katz says. “The shock of isolation and the shock of togetherness, the call to activism and the pull of resignation, wanting the best for your friends but expecting the worst of yourself. The sneaking feeling that your life is mostly funny but a little sad a lot of the time — except for the times when it’s mostly sad but still kinda funny.”
Jordan From Earth w/ Sarah Adams, Hunter Lepi + Josh Deal
Globe Hall Presents Jordan From Earth with Sarah Adams, Hunter Lepi and Josh Deal on Sunday, January 15th. – 16+, under 16 admitted with a ticketed parent or guardian
A String Cheese After Party w/ Global Mountain Shindig, DJ Rush, EMS + Robot Tennis Club
Globe Hall Presents the unofficial String Cheese After Party with Global Mountain Shindig, DJ Rush, EMS and Robot Tennis Club on Friday, December 30th. 21+
STEPHEN SANCHEZ w/ Cece Coakley (Night 2)
STEPHEN SANCHEZ with Cece Coakley (Night 2) on Friday, March 3 — With a dusty baritone as bright as an eternally lit jukebox and tattooed fingers around the fretboard of a rare guitar, Stephen Sanchez tunes into longing and love with the acuity of a triedand- tested troubadour—yet he’s only 19-years-old. Transcending eras, he writes the kind of songs that can play just as well from your parent’s vintage record player as they could from the main stages of festivals a la Bonnaroo. If somebody told you he just pulled up from the fifties in a gorgeous Caddy, you’d have a hard time disputing it. As the story goes, he initially stirred up early buzz with his very first upload “Lady By The Sea,” going viral on social media and establishing rapport with audiences. Not long after, his original breakout “Until I Found You” properly introduced a spirited signature style. Anchored by a dreamy croon and breezy guitar wrapped in silky harmonies, it tallied nearly 640 million global streams between the original, piano version, and duet with gold-certified pop singer and songwriter Em Beihold. Meanwhile, it recently was Certified Gold and cracked the Billboard Hot 100 chart as his monthly listenership on Spotify exploded to the tune of 16 million. He also delivered jaw-dropping renditions of “Until I Found You” on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Late Night with Seth Meyers. Finding his way into the hearts of countless fans worldwide, he continues to captivate on his 2022 EP, Easy On My Eyes [Mercury Records/Republic Records] and more to come. – 16+, under 16 admitted with a ticketed parent or guardian
Cista Vinum w/ Fun Machine, Tonguebyte + Slyjax
Globe Hall Presents Cista Vinum with Fun Machine, Tonguebyte and Slyjax on Thursday, January 19th. – 16+, under 16 admitted with a ticketed parent or guardian
(CANCELED) C.F.P. w/ Hoverfly + Lost Cause
(CANCELED) Globe Hall Presents C.F.P. with Hoverfly and Lost Cause on Thursday, December 22nd. – 16+, under 16 admitted with a ticketed parent or guardian
Jack Cloonan Band w/ Southbound String Band + Deer Creek Sharpshooters
Globe Hall Presents Jack Cloonan Band w/ Southbound String Band + Deer Creek Sharpshooters on Saturday, December 31st. – 16+, under 16 admitted with a ticketed parent or guardian
Kenny Feidler w/ The Barlow + Kellen Smith Solo
Globe Hall Presents Kenny Feidler with The Barlow and Kellen Smith Solo on Thursday, January 12th. Kenny Feidler and The Cowboy Killers mix Feidler’s dark cowboy songs with a rock n roll band, throwing down grungy western vibes across the country. As an independent artist, Feidler has built their following through a grass roots movement. In the early days it was playing music behind the bucking chutes, selling cds from the trunk of an old Cadillac.Now Kenny Feidler and The Cowboy Killers tour nationally and have accumulated over 95 million streams, all while staying true to their roots and the western world. The band is made up of Kenny Feidler, lead guitarist Anthony Michalek, drummer Scott Sweet, bassist Jacob Johnson, and Zach Holiday on pedal steel.- 16+, under 16 admitted with a ticketed parent or guardian
Titus Andronicus w/ Country Westerns
Globe Hall Presents Titus Andronicus with Country Westerns on Thursday, March 23 — With their seventh studio album, revered rock institution Titus Andronicus invite you on a journey from fear to faith, from anger to acceptance, from grief to gratitude, chasing the mythical ideal of Ultimate Rock, all in hopes that you will find The Will to Live. The Will to Live was produced by Titus Andronicus singer-songwriter Patrick Stickles and Canadian icon Howard Bilerman (Arcade Fire, Leonard Cohen, The Whole Nine Yards) at the latter’s Hotel 2 Tango recording studio in Montreal. Drawing on maximalist rock epics from Who’s Next to Hysteria, Bilerman and Stickles have crafted the richest, densest, and hardest-hitting sound for Titus Andronicus yet. All at once, the record matches the sprawl and scope of the band’s most celebrated work, while also honing their ambitious attack to greater effect than ever before. “It may strike some as ironic we had to go to Canada to record our equivalent to Born in the USA,” quips Stickles, “but the pursuit of Ultimate Rock knows no borders.” To reach this level of focus and clarity, Stickles had to stand on the nexus of triumph and tragedy.For his recent stretch of personal stability, he credits a newfound domestic bliss and steadfast mental health regimen (“Lamictal is a hell of a drug”) as well as the endurance of what has become the longest-running consistent lineup of Titus Andronicus—as with 2018’s A Productive Cough and 2019’s An Obelisk, The Will to Live proudly features Liam Betson on guitar, R.J. Gordon on bass, and Chris Wilson on drums. On the crueler side of the coin, however, The Will to Live was created in large part as an attempt to process the untimely 2021 death of Matt “Money” Miller, the founding keyboardist of the band and Stickles’ closest cousin. Stickles explains: “Certain recent challenges, some unique to myself and some we have all shared, but particularly the passing of my dearest friend, have forced me to recognize not only the precious and fragile nature of life, but also the interconnectivity of all life. Loved ones we have lost are really not lost at all, as they, and we still living, are all component pieces of a far larger continuous organism, which both precedes and succeeds our illusory individual selves, united through time by (you guessed it) the will to live. Recognition of this self-evident truth demands that we extend the same empathy and compassion we would wish for ourselves outward to every living creature, even to those we would label our enemies, for we are all cells in the same body, sprung from a common womb, devoted to the common cause of survival.” – 16+, under 16 admitted with a ticketed parent or guardian
Shawn Hess w/ Alex Teller + Jesh Yancey
Globe Hall Presents Shawn Hess with Alex Teller and Jesh Yancey on Sunday, February 5th. – 16+, under 16 admitted with a ticketed parent or guardian