Ani DiFranco is a badass. Since early in her life she has chosen to be a leader against the conventional. At fifteen she legally chose to live on her own. At nineteen she began her own record label—Righteous Babe Records—in order to avoid the grasp of mainstream companies. And throughout her career, she has been at the forefront of multiple rallies fighting for women’s rights, encouraging people to vote, and just expressing what she truly believes. In short, DiFranco is not someone who can easily be ignored.

For Les Claypool, image has never been an important part of being a god amongst bass players. He is the antithesis of image-orientation in rock music. The Claypool persona is obscurity. For years his live performances muffled any sense of ordinary human interaction. Pig and Ape masks would obscure his face. If not a mask then a large pair of specs and handlebar mustache added to his image vagary. He sings into two different microphones, both add a level of vocal distortion depending on how he controls his midi.

This past week seemed to go on forever. In between school and work shifts, all people could talk about was Saturday night and how wild it was going to be. Since their last appearance at the Lazy Dog in Boulder, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong (PPPP) has been racking up new friends and fans out west with serious momentum.

The Ballroom Thieves. Maybe you haven’t heard of this band – I hadn’t until I received the album. But that’s okay…this band is going to be around for a while so you’ll get your chance. If you go to your local record store, chances are you might find an album, but it’s unlikely. The band has only put out two EPs since they formed in 2011. Their first EP, The Devil & The Deep released in 2012. The band’s latest, and second, EP released October 4, 2013.

Each year, since 2008 (according to my research), MartyParty (who did this fun remix) and Ooah (of The Glitch Mob) have toured in the spring/summer doing a special show, PANTyRAiD. For me, their smooth, sexy music brings new life to electronic music. However, this is an electronic show – so don’t come expecting your run-of-the-mill nursing home acoustic group. (Do those exist?

A light blanket of snow settled on the still-green trees around the amphitheater, thin layers of ice coated wooden planks and steps, and expertly positioned heaters scattered the stage. It was October 4th at Red Rocks, and it was cold. But timing wasn’t much of a choice for Lotus and their supporting bands BoomBox and Break Science.

You’re listening to Threace, and you’re smoking a hand-rolled tobacco joint and drinking mescal from a vintage mason jar and proclaiming it the True Agave Spirit of the South; your record player was bought used and old, you tell anyone who’ll listen; you’re bemoaning the death of the open road in modern times while you sit in circles amongst the likeminded in your New Amsterdam meatpacking district loft.

What was once an anomaly is now a standard. Many lovers of classic Bay Area rock, blues, bluegrass, and beyond are investing in live archival releases above studio albums. Thanks to accessibility through vault discoveries and painstaking restoration, live recordings that are forty-plus years old are being heard by the band and fans alike for the first time. Artists such as Neil Young, Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Hot Tuna are releasing performances that haven’t been heard by audiences since the date of original performance.

The Onion’s AV Club has a long-running series named “Undercover,” where a visiting artist covers a song from a list of 25 staff-selected favorites. These songs range wildly from Kanye West to Tom Waits, so bands often have to stretch far out of their comfort zone to make the cover work.

After covering some amazing STS9 shows over the years, I cannot say that I am surprised to report that this show was a dance party filled with beautiful scenery (in more ways than one), an upbeat git down fest, and a very unique combination of musical genres that can only define one band. The reason why I like them so much is because of their diversity and constant dance beats. They combine tribal, electronic, jazz, disco, and funk, which leaves their fans reeling and grinning.