UNDERGROUND MUSIC SHOWCASE: AN INTRODUCTION

Ten years ago I was booking a 550 seat venue in Denver, CO called the Bluebird Theater. I got a call from a writer at the Denver Post (John Moore) who wanted to do a local music scene event. He said the paper was behind it and would give him a significant amount of space to write about different bands. He wanted to showcase several of the bands featured and do a show and wanted to know if I would like to do it at the Bluebird. Of course I gave him the theater. It was on a Sunday and all I needed to do was make $500 at the bar to take care of my costs and it was a slam-dunk.  

"Ok Moore, four bands, $5, I'm down. Let's make this awesome. I'll call in a few favors and let's put a national on it to headline."  

"No way" said Moore. "This is a local thing."  

John had booked Devotchka to headline. At that time they were a little local band, but obviously did something right that night because the following year I booked them to headline a 21 city burlesque tour I produced. They also went on to be nominated for a Grammy for their work on the "Little Miss Sunshine" soundtrack, and have ultimately become a renowned national act.

That little show that John did in 2002 did about 3 times the number of people that I thought it would (which shows how much I know) and has since evolved into a 4 day, 19 venue extravaganza with over 350 bands, dj's, panels, and comedians. It's called the Underground Music Showcase (UMS), but it is so much more.

Thursday July 19 - Sunday July 22, join me (and my friends) as I write live reviews in real-time from all the different venues. So far the list of acts I want to see are: Wire Faces, Bad Weather California, The Centennial, Snake Rattle Rattle Snake, Il Cativo, Zebroids, Glass Hits, and I hear The Knew will be playing together with Tin Horn. And just an fyi: over the years, I have witnessed the craziest shit happen -- bands not only swinging from the chandeliers, but taking out the venue's entire overhead lighting system; nakedness, sex, drugs and rock n' roll. And maybe even this year I will kick that monitor off the stage!

For more information on UMS, visit: http://www.theums.com/

- Jerri Theil, Alternative Revolt Magazine