Thursday, July 30, 2009

Venue for Angie Stevens -- NOT!

UPDATE: We are going to have Angie Stevens & The Beautiful Wreck play in the library proper. Trust me there is something vaguely naughty about music in a library after hours! BE THERE: PARKER LIBRARY!!

These are pics and brief video of the gazebo at O'Brien Park in Parker.

That's where, if God and the weather will allow, we WILL NOT be playing host to Angie Stevens & The Beautiful Wreck at our kickoff to the 2009-2010 run of our Live Local Music Series.

Angie Stevens is TO DIE FOR.
(She still is. I'm just updating the venue part of this posting!!)

I have had the privilege of seeing her perform live once at the Soiled Dove when she did her CD release show there. She was AMAZING.

Here's the biography section from Angie's website:

For a singer / songwriter to stand out from the pack, they have to possess the kind of magical voice that makes a listener stop in their tracks and pay attention.

Denver's Angie Stevens has that kind of voice, and it's drenched in Americana akin to
Patty Griffin or EmmyLou Harris.

Stevens also has the songwriting chops to match, as
Westword recently named her Denver's Best Singer / Songwriter.

Now Stevens is back with her third and most powerful album to date,
Queen of This Mess, [released] May 19 on Boss Koala Records and produced by Malcolm Burn.

"This album is different from previous albums I have put out in just about every aspect," says Stevens. "The musical arrangements were extremely important on this album and Malcolm kept it unique, simple and raw. We were going for a family style, Midwest-sitting on your porch-album with use of accordions, church style organ, violin, viola, low moaning guitar and delicate yet powerful vocals."

Burn, who has worked with Harris and Griffin as well as
Midnight Oil and Patti Smith, wanted to keep things organic with his recording approach, something that intrigued Stevens.

"He didn't use auto tune, kept takes to a minimum and mentored us on how
Simon and Garfunkel, Bob Dylan and John Cougar Mellancamp used to do it. It left a lot of room for creativity and cut out the need for perfection," Stevens added.

Stevens, whose music combines elements of alt-country, indie rock, contemporary folk and pop, has gained national attention over the last few years following the releases of her first two albums,
I'm Okay (2005) and Stand Up Girl (2006).

She's gained attention with a captivating live show that matches or exceeds the intensity on both albums. Her song, "
Sleepwalking," was featured on HBO's "Big Love" and her video for "Stand Up Girl" was a pick of the week on CMT's "Top 20 Video Countdown."

Stevens has toured as well, playing venues from
Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles to Coors Field in Denver and other venues in 21 states; and has showcased at SXSW, Sundance Film Festival and at the inaugural Monolith Festival at Red Rocks in 2007. Stevens is sponsored by Coors Beer and Cowgirlpunk Clothing.

Originally from the Northern Plains, Stevens pulls her music from her own life experience: The 1991 suicide of her older brother, Steven, the root of Angie's music and from where she gets her stage name, observing the struggle of her mother's alcoholism and trying to find her own way through the day-to-day havoc she has physically, mentally and emotionally endured.


"Go on: Just try to find a single soul who's seen Angie Stevens live and not been completely entranced. Backed by a stellar cast of musicians, Stevens engages audiences in a way that makes every performance feel intimate, like she's playing her songs just for you ... Stevens makes the icicles form on your spine the minute she takes the stage." -- Westword

Instrumentation

Angie Stevens -- lead vocals, guitar
Susan Phelan -- upright bass
Carlos Newman -- drums, percussion
Jon Wirtz -- keyboards/piano

Discography

Queen of This Mess (5/19/2009)
Seven Voices DVD/CD (2008)
Solo Session EP (2008)
Stand Up Girl (2006)
I'm Okay (2005)

Links

http://www.myspace.com/angiestevens
http://www.angiestevens.com

Join us at 6 p.m. on Aug. 29 at PARKER LIBRARY PROPER!

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