Art, post-punk live and more at madelife

There’s a little bit of everything art at Boulder’s madelife — a gallery, black-box theater, sound studio and collaborative workspace — and this Saturday, they want to show some of it off.

The venue will be exhibiting the work of Michael Gallegos. The Denver-based artist recently created a mural for SnowBall, which will be on display Saturday evening, along with his surreal, graffiti-influenced paintings.

Providing some of the music for the evening is a truly rare breed: A Boulder post-punk band.

The band, Male Blonding, plays with the name a little. Their bio reads, in part, “At first it seemed strange, they were never blond before and never expected to blond, but as the seasons changed the band began to embrace the blonding.” But it doesn’t really mean anything.

“What it means when a band goes blond? Well, I don’t think we really adopted a certain ethos about the blonding,” guitarist Bryce Levin said. “Our bassist is the only blond member of the band. We haven’t really conceptualized a story for what it means to go blond.”

The band functions just the way you expect and hope a punk or even post-punk band to go about things. They play house shows and dive bars. They used to practice in drummer Andrew Bair’s bedroom, then moved to bassist Mike Perkins’ basement. Perkins is an audio engineer, too, and the band just recorded a yet-to-be-released EP there.

Of course, it’s not easy to be that kind of band in Boulder, where bars can barely survive noise and alcohol regulations, let alone DIY spaces where bands like Male Blonding thrive. They recently played Denver’s Rhinoceroplis, and the city is where they land gigs. In August, they’ll probably relocate there.

“It’s a bummer that we all came together in Boulder and just had an impossible time booking shows,” Levin said. “When it comes to rock music and punk music, we’re all pretty nerdy. At the time, we felt like there was no one else. We tried to play shows around here. There are a couple houses we played, but at the end of the day, bars and clubs around here don’t want that aesthetic, that dark post-punk that I feel like we have to make.”

Catch Male Blonding in Boulder while you can. They’re playing Gallegos’ “Your Ghost” show at madelife at 9 p.m. Saturday. Get there early, too, to see producer Yemma and hear his “drug-doing music.”

Contact Ashley Dean at 303-473-1109. On Twitter: @AshaleyJill.