Club Notes: Polytoxic brings 'Last Waltz' to Boulder Theater (VIDEO)

Polytoxic is trying something new for its annual pre-Thanksgiving performance of "The Last Waltz."

Friday, the music event will make its debut at the Boulder Theater. The show will feature Polytoxic and more than 30 local musicians performing songs from the famed concert film.

The 1978 movie depicted The Band's farewell concert, and featured performances by Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Eric Clapton and more. The original soundtrack was packed with music and took up two vinyl records.

"This is a timeless movie," Polytoxic keyboardist CR Gruver said. "All the biggest musicians of the day got together. This movie defined the era musically and it's always had a cult following."

In 2005, Polytoxic started an "Album of the Month Club" and tried out different classic CDs in a live format. The band decided to experiment with "The Last Waltz" and invited 15 local musicians to perform songs from the movie.

The show was a success and it grew into an annual Thanksgiving event for Denver audiences. Cervantes will host the local music gathering on Wednesday and it will benefit the Denver Rescue Mission.

"This is the first year we'll perform in Boulder, and

we're excited to bring Boulder and Denver musicians to the shows," Gruver said. "For me, this event showcases the amazing talent we have in Colorado.

"This event has helped forge a strong sense of community in the music scene."

The local bands represented at "The Last Waltz" concerts include: The Motet, Polytoxic, Leftover Salmon, Cabaret Diosa, Oakhurst, Ethereal Plane, Elephant Revival, Phix and a score of others.

Vandaveer

George's is located adjacent to the Boulder Theater, and the pub's starting to bring in very cool local and national acts.

Saturday, the venue hosts a show by Vandaveer. The alt-folk act plays both the U.S. and Europe, and features Mark Charles Heidinger and Rose Guerin.

"I've performed with These United States -- we're all part one big musical family," Heidinger said. "I started Vandaveer to play alt-folk music, but that's just the core of it. We tweak it as we go along, as the songs are snapshots of where we are at the time.

"Vandaveer's songs are about love, death, good vs. evil, hardship and triumph. They're all about the human conditions -- and we're just great observers."

Vandaveer is touring behind its latest CD, Divide & Conquer, so check out the new music at George's.

KBCO's Studio C

KBCO will release its new Studio C: Vol. 21 CD on Dec. 5, but the station's getting ready to name the artists participating in this year's project.

Here's the official scoop: local bands The Fray and Gregory Alan Isakov are on the new volume, and national bands Widespread Panic, Michael Franti & Spearhead and Brandi Carlile will be on the new CD, too.

The station will announce the full details Friday.

The Crystal Method

Colorado loves it's electro dance music, so the Crystal Method will be playing a special Saturday show at Denver's Beta club. The group's on a DJ tour to show off its new single, "Come Back Clean."

"This is the first time we played Denver since the Electric Daisy Carnival," DJ Scott Kirkland said. "We've done lots of touring since then. We've been in Eastern Europe, Mexico and England to play all these festival dates.

"We're also out promoting 'Come Back Clean.' It's one of the strongest tracks on our album. The video's real different, too. We have all these weird scenes taking place in these taxis -- and it's all over YouTube."

DJs Kirkland and Ken Jordan are planning to host a serious dance party at Beta.

"We're going to be playing a lot of new music and remixes," Kirkland said. "There's going to be a lot of cool, new stuff. Then, we're going back to the studio to start the next album."