Club Notes: Poppy rockers fun. hit CU's Club 156 (VIDEO)

It's the middle of the semester and it's time for a little fun.

That's why the University of Colorado Program Council's bringing the band fun. to campus. Tuesday, the New York indie-pop outfit will show off its theatrical influences and catchy hooks at Club 156.

Nate Ruess used to perform with The Format, but he started fun. to pay homage to classic pop bands such as Queen, ELO and Jellyfish. The group's grassroots fanbase is steadily growing and it now has more than a million MySpace fans.

"We have this wonderful classic element in fun.," Ruess said. "It's great pop music with really great vocals. This kind of stuff doesn't come around that often.

"We do listen to some modern music -- we're not that retrofied. Our band's also on the theatrical side, because we arrange the songs like Broadway musicals with all the interesting tempo and melody changes."

Fun. must be doing something right. The band's latest CD, Aim And Ignite, debuted at No. 71 on Billboard's Top 200 chart. Plus, college crowds are showing up at concerts singing the lyrics.

"We just did a headlining tour and now we're opening up for Taking Back Sunday," Ruess said. "We really want

The name of this band is fun.

Julian Marley

The name Marley guarantees a sold-out show in Boulder.

Are we surprised? No.

It's been awhile since Julian Marley's played town, but he's gearing up for tonight's show at the Fox Theatre. The concert also will feature his well-known brother Stephen Marley.

You guessed it. Both performers are sons of reggae legend Bob Marley, and they're keeping the family tradition alive with their positive-vibe music.

"Growing up in a musical family, I was always around great musicians" Julian Marley said. "I was always watching them and it was a great learning experience. I always loved music -- this wasn't something I had to think about doing.

"I grew up in England and Jamaica, so I learned about diverse and different musical styles. For me, there are no boundaries to music. I love R&B, hip-hop, blues and dance style music."

It's been six years since Marley released a solo CD, but he's making up for lost time with his 2009 release, Awake.

"It was like working in a lab, because I wanted to come up with a new sound," Marley said. "I never rush my projects and I took a little bit of time on this album. I wanted to wait until I was happy with it.

"Awake is all about uplifting oneself and being positive. In this time of depression, I wanted to have songs that would make you dance. The songs let you know that it will be all right at the end of the day."

Swollen Members

Electronic and hip-hop shows have been selling out at the Fox, so the venue's psyched to host a Tuesday concert with Swollen Members.

The Vancouver, B.C., rap act features MCs Mad Child and Prevail, plus producer Rob the Viking. The trio's touring behind its latest CD, Armed to the Teeth, and the act's ready to party down with Boulder.

"Both me and Mad Child are powerful lyricists," Prevail (Kiley Hendricks) said. "We have heavy lyrics and abstract poetry. Armed to the Teeth is our most momentum-filled album. We have all these street and classic elements, and we added some new tempos to the sound.

"This is our most, streamlined and concentrated effort to date. We talk about real life things on this album. It's about personal endeavor, battles with drugs and other street elements. We bring a lot of energy to this project and its connected us to a younger camp of fans."