Club Notes: Revving up with Reverend Horton Heat (VIDEO)

It's the first weekend of the semester. Where are you going to be partying this weekend?

Reverend Horton Heat

The Boulder Theater's starting the semester off with a rocking show by the Reverend Horton Heat.

Friday, the good "reverend" and his band of rockabilly/psychobilly players are set to hit the theater. If you like your music edgy and raw, you'll want to check out the Reverend Horton Heat, aka Jim Heath.

The band hadn't released a studio record for five years, but it's making up for lost time. Heath was influenced by country music from the '50s and '60s for the new project, and those sounds are reflected on the band's latest CD, 2009's Laughin' and Cryin.'

"It's been awhile since we played Colorado, but it's one of our better markets," Heath said. "We're touring with the new record. I had the idea to do something with a classic country vibe, and it morphed into a rockabilly record."

Heath wanted to feature more of the band's tongue-in-cheek attitude on this CD, so he came up with some very interesting song topics. Yeah, these tunes are guaranteed to get the party going.

"These new songs have a big entertainment

factor," Heath said. "It's about not taking yourself so seriously. We've got a rockabilly song called 'Death Metal Guys,' a fun one called 'Please Don't Take the Baby to the Liquor Store" and 'Oh God! Doesn't Work in Vegas.'

"Most of the new songs are zany, funny or goofy, so that's shifted things a little on the new CD. And, there's lots of songs about drinking and smoking cigarettes."

Those sound like perfect tunes for starting CU's spring semester.

Anti-Flag

Keeping in the party mode, Justin Sane (aka Justin Geever) is bringing his punk rock band Anti-Flag to Denver's Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom on Saturday. Yes, the club's starting to bring a lot more rocking shows to its stage.

Anti-Flag is known for raucous concerts, but this group of Pittsburgh punksters also likes to give back to local communities.

"Our band has always been driven to play music," Geever said. "Our songs are all about social and political justice. I grew up in a family of activists, so that's the kinds of things I write about.

"Our music is based on the punk rock of the '70s -- and our shows are very equal opportunity, That means everybody should have a good time. Punk rock shows are great, because they let everybody blow of steam and forget about their problems."

Anti-Flag believes in giving back, so the band will make a donation to a youth shelter as part of its Denver visit.

"Our band is all about building community," Geever said. "We always like to feel that we left something behind after the rock show."

Nina Storey

Colorado singer-songwriter Nina Storey has been living in Los Angeles, but she's coming home to play two local shows.

Friday, Storey co-headlines Swallow Hill with Wendy Woo, and she plays Nissi's on Sunday.

L.A. has been very good to Storey, and she just scored a residency at the famed Hotel Café. Yeah, that's the place where people like Robert Pattinson just "happen" to drop by.

"The Hotel Café's a great venue and it's known for discovering talent," Storey said. "John Mayer and Imogen Heap played there when they were starting out. "You never know who will be in the audience. The last time I played, one of the guys from 'Heroes' was there. It's been pretty exciting."

Storey's been known for her blues and rock sounds, but the performer says her new music sounds more cinematic and reminiscent of Regina Spektor.

"I'm working on a new CD and I've written a comic book," Storey said. "It's a six-book graphic novel and it will have its own music.

"It's about a farmer who lived during the Great Depression, and how he starts to have this magical ability to paint things -- and they come to life. There's a lot of long-term plans for this project."