Best Elvis Impersonator 2005 | Chris Barber | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
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Best Elvis Impersonator

Chris Barber

Although calling Chris Barber a renaissance man may not be fair to Leonardo da Vinci, there's no question that he's got plenty on his plate. He leads Spiv, an enjoyable power-pop band, oversees Pop Sweatshop, a label whose catalogue brims with interesting acts, and, in his free time, channels Elvis Presley. Inspired by a pilgrimage to Graceland last fall, Barber has the hair and the chops, if not the waistline, to bring the King back to life -- figuratively speaking, that is.

Best Ambidextrous Scene Kid

Sara T

Sara T -- aka Sara Thurston -- is 100 percent freaky fly. The notorious "No Bullshit" DJ and glamour gal of groove -- host of the monthly booty-shaker Danceotron, co-owner of the south Broadway boutique Chielle, and timekeeper for bands Hot House and Clotheshorse -- is thumpin' her rump all over this town while collecting a loving congregation of peeps (and awards) along the way. You know Kevin Bacon's separation? In Denver, it's all about the multi-talented Thurston and her dynamic degrees of scenester-ation.

Best Underground Parties

White Girl Lust

Bringing the hipster indie-rock set and the dance-music contingent together may seem like an impossible feat, but the DJ duo of Eric Kozak and Clay Meador, otherwise known as White Girl Lust, have done just that. WGL has almost single-handedly fused DJ culture with the rock scene, cleverly reworking songs by acts like the Pixies and Bloc Party so they flow together seamlessly, house style. White Girl Lust parties at the High Street Speakeasy have comprised a wildly eclectic mix of people and tunes. There's even some straight-up dance music.

Best Club DJ

Nutmeg

A Sunday-night institution in Denver since the late '90s, DJ Nutmeg pumps house music in clubs like the Snake Pit, Lime, Rise and ROX with a verve that comes from years of experience and dedication. Turning each club he plays into an essential spot to hit up, Nutmeg has made himself one of the most in-demand DJs in the scene. He plays house the way it should be played: groovy and sexy. Having recently added Shift Fridays at Lotus to his resumé and now producing his own tunes, Nutmeg's piece of Denver nightlife just keeps growing.

Best House DJ

DJ Foxx

DJ Foxx is one of the key DJs who've put Denver house music on the map. From holding down residencies at some of the city's top clubs to playing throughout the United States to producing tracks and releasing records under the alias "Rhythmcentric," Foxx lives and breathes the style. During his regular nights at Mynt and Lotus, he never sticks to just one sound: Foxx blurs the lines between house, tech-house, progressive house and straightforward techno by combining long, subtle mixes and layering effects. Foxx's energy is unmistakably his own.

Best Progressive/ Trance DJ

DJ Dragon

DJ Dragon and his crew, the Triad Dragons, are key forces keeping the rave scene alive in Colorado. The Triad's Global Dance Festival at Red Rocks and the Caffeine Festival are the two biggest electronic-music events to go down each year. Dragon has also become the face of Denver trance and progressive house, playing events around the country, including this year's Ultra Dance Festival at the Winter Music Conference in Miami. Dragon could emerge as Denver's first bona fide superstar DJ.

Best Down-Tempo DJ

DJ Idiom

DJ Idiom could easily be considered the most creative and eclectic DJ In Denver. Typically sticking to mellower, groovier down-tempo and hip-hop beats, Idiom moves around to incorporate tunes by Bjrk, Sigur Ros, and even Guns N' Roses in a way that actually makes sense. A regular feature at the Sherbert and White Girl Lust parties, Idiom's ability to rock a variety of crowds is as solid as his mixing skills. His first professional mix CD, Nursery Rhymes, features a clever blend of children's music and down-tempo beats.

Best MC

The Black Pegasus

The best MC in Denver isn't really even from here. In fact, if you ask the Black Pegasus, aka Robert Houston II, he'll tell you he's straight outta Colorado Springs. No matter, though. Black P is up here so often warming up stages for everyone from Atmosphere to Tech N9NE, we'll just go ahead and claim him as our own. With a crisp cadence and a laid-back delivery, Black P is the most polished and commercially viable MC in the state. And from the sounds of his latest effort, Knuckle Up, he's poised to break through on a national level.

Best Online Equivalent of Peyton Place

www.denvermessageboard.com

Ever wonder what your favorite local musicians are doing during the week? Presumably, the majority of them are working at jobs, like normal people. At least that's what you'd think until you stopped by the Denver Message Board and sorted through the myriad posts. Musicians and scenesters go to the DMB (whose unofficial motto is "You can't spell dumb without D-M-B and U") to vilify one another for sport -- anonymously, of course -- and respond to such cerebral threads as this one posted by a user named Eww: "Local singer who likes to secretly fart into the mike at shows." Obviously, there's not a lot of actual work getting done.

Best Place to See Live Music From Home

www.rockdenver.com

Too late for the mountains? Too early for the bars? Too drunk to drive? Kick back at home and log on to rockdenver.com, where, for the price of a dumb look, you can enjoy live monthly webcasts from Herman's Hideaway. The shows feature many of Denver's emerging acts: the Fray, the Railbenders, Yo, Flaco!, Aggressive Persuasion, Battery Park, Chronophonic, Ion, King Rat, Rexway, Carolyn's Mother, Drug Under, Orion's Room and the Fong Jones Band, just to name a few. The site also archives more than 300 local music videos. Finally, agoraphobia makes sense.

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