5 re-united bands we want to see come through Denver

1. Blur

Since they reunited with guitarist Graham Coxon to play London’s Hyde Park in 2009, we have been eagerly awaiting the announcement of a US Tour…. which still has yet to come. The release of  a new song. “Fool’s Day” for Record Store Day in 2010, hinted that Blur may be taking the idea of functioning like a band (studio albums, tours, etc.) seriously again.

Blur’s lead man, Damon Albarn, swung through Denver last year as part of the Gorillaz tour, which included Mick Jones (see Big Audio Dynamite below) and Paul Simonon of The Clash on guitar and bass, respectively. The show managed to put a lot of meat in the seats, showing that Albarn, at least in Gorillaz form, still has selling power in the Mile High.

Blur has always sold well in Denver’s medium venues, like The Ogden. It may be tough if they’re looking to fill a larger auditorium like The Filmore, where several legacy acts have failed to sell out – with some even moving to smaller venues (most notably, Jesus and Mary Chain‘s move from The Filmore (capacity 4,500) to The Gothic (capacity 999) .)

Likelihood they’ll come through Denver: Solid -  If Blur tours America again, I would be extremely surprised if they skipped Denver.

2. Pulp

Pulp announced last year that they would be playing a couple of festivals, it was awesome news, especially if you happen to live in England, for the Wireless Festival (again, in Hyde Park) and the Isle of Wight Festival, or Spain for the Primavera Sound Festival. They have expanded the notice to include a total of 17 (I think) dates throughout Great Britain and Europe. That’s all well and good unless you happen to live in the world’s largest consumer market – that’s right, the USA, a small country nestled between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, for which no dates have been announced.

While Pulp has never played Denver, they previously had scheduled a performance here on May 24, 1996 at The Bluebird. The show was canceled due to Jarvis Cocker being ill. It was the only show of the tour to be canceled. As the press release notes, it was only one of 2 shows to be canceled in a 3 year period. There’s a feather in our cap.

Likelihood they’ll come through Denver: Iffy – While the band sort of owes one to their Denver fans from 15 years ago, who knows if that’s enough to make the math work. One would assume that the show in 2006 would’ve been rescheduled if ticket sales had been strong enough. The fact that it was never rescheduled isn’t a positive sign – especially for a band that was arguably at the height of their career. 15 years on… It would be a (greatly welcomed) shock to see Denver on the list of stops on a US tour.

3. Suede

September 19, 1993. This was the date that Suede was due to roll through Denver’s Ogden Theater. This was the date that never happened.  Long time listeners of Danger Radio Podcast know the story already; The Cranberries were slated to open for Suede on their US tour but just before the tour began… The Cranberries shot to the top of the American charts and into our collective hearts… unless you’re me, of course, in which case you had at that point developed a fine impression of Dolores O’Riordan’s ridiculous bark-singing from their song ‘Zombie.’ (Eyyah! Eyyah! Eyyah!)

Rumor has it, crowds would pack the theater for The Cranberries and then leave once the Cranberries were finished, leaving a handful of Suede fans in the audience by the time the headliners took stage. There’s also a rumor that the death of guitarist Bernard Butler’s father  caused cancellation of the US tour. I suspect all of the reasons as being contributing factors. The end result was… No Suede.

Likelihood they’ll come through Denver: Very Weak - Suede is huge in their native England while being off the radar to most here in the flyover states. I suspect the moment a Denver show is announced, you’d sell 300 tickets within the first couple of hours to the devoted and nothing more until the day of show. Panicky promoters would giveaway tickets in the weeks leading up to the shows, in hopes of recouping some of their money at the bar. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again – if Suede books a Las Vegas date, I’m there. I suspect that’s the closest they’ll come to Denver.

4. Big Audio Dynamite

Big Audio Dynamite last graced our presence on May 4, 1992. An unknown band named Blind Melon opened the show at the CU Field House, followed by (ugh – fuckin’) Live. B.A.D. took stage to a cheering crowd, thanks in part to the success of their single “Rush”, and proceeded to put on an incredible set.

B.A.D.’s frontman and former guitarist/singer for The Clash, Mick Jones, came through in 2010 as a touring member of Gorillaz (as mentioned above), and showed up in 2008 with his band, Carbon/Silicon, for a horribly under promoted and poorly attended show at the Bluebird. I can only assume that was par for the course where Carbon/Silicon is concerned (also, I apologize now for using a golfing metaphor. No, I’m not a golfer.)

All things Clash only seem to grow in popularity and what’s more Clash than the guy who sang “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” Not to mention that B.A.D. has their own fan base and known hits. Sounds like the money is there – they just need to show up and collect it.

Likelihood they’ll come through Denver: Solid – With a single exception, Colorado seems to have a tradition of welcoming Mick with an eager audience.

5. P.I.L.

Speaking of May 4, 1992, after Big Audio Dyanmite left stage, Johnny Rotten Lydon took over with his hair spiked up, wearing shorts and a T-shirt, looking like some overgrown personification of Bart Simpson. In support of their last album to date, That What Is Not, PIL (with Mike Joyce of The Smiths on drums) made their last appearance in Colorado. Yes, it feels weird to write that the Sex Pistols have now played here (multiple times) more recently than Lydon’s post-Pistols project, Public Image Limited.

On April 24 2010, PIL was headed our way to play a show at the Ogden but a last minute snowstorm provided a great excuse to call the whole thing off. Free tickets to the show were abundant and a snow storm stopping Mr. Lydon at the border seemed to be just what the Dr. ordered. Remember this, Denver: Dave Matthews can sell out the 1st Bank Center, while they’re giving away tickets to see Johnny Rotten. Yay Team!

Likelihood they’ll come through Denver: Weak – If the show wasn’t selling in 2010, there’s not much hope for 2011 – 2012.

Who do you want to see play in Denver?

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