The Denver Pop Festival You probably know all about the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival which took place in upstate New York over the weekend of August 15-18, 1969. In addition to the enormity of the event–just shy of half a million people–the big budget movie and multiple soundtrack LPs ensured that the event and… Continue reading Paul Epstein’s “Let Me Take You Down (to the basement)” #7
Author: Paul Epstein
Paul Epstein’s “Let Me Take You Down (to the basement)” #6
Meep Records and a Changing Denver. Look at that image. Do you recognize it? From 1917 until 2014, Gates Industrial Corporation hulked over several blocks of South Broadway and defined the look and feel of that stretch of Denver. It wasn’t the prettiest, especially once they started closing buildings and the natural urban decay started… Continue reading Paul Epstein’s “Let Me Take You Down (to the basement)” #6
Paul Epstein’s “Let Me Take You Down (to the basement)” #5
Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Review, May 23rd 1976 Dylan’s 1975-‘76 tour, dubbed Rolling Thunder Review was an incredible thing to behold. Somewhere between 15-20 musicians participated in varying combinations in an ever-evolving show that veered from straight folk-Dylan and Joan Baez sharing a microphone alone on Blowin’ In The Wind, to the ‘proto punk skronk’… Continue reading Paul Epstein’s “Let Me Take You Down (to the basement)” #5
Paul Epstein’s “Let Me Take You Down (to the basement)” #4
Jimi Hendrix at Regis Field House February 14, 1968. This is one of the Holy Grails of Colorado music history. What a legendary night it must have been! When I first moved to Denver in 1968, I remember hearing about this show, how wild Hendrix was, how weird opening act Soft Machine were, and how… Continue reading Paul Epstein’s “Let Me Take You Down (to the basement)” #4
Paul Epstein’s “Let Me Take You Down (to the basement)” #3
Bob Marley And The Wailers On May 11, 1981 Robert Nesta Marley passed from this existence to the next. It’s safe to say that none of the Coloradans who experienced his concert at the D.U. (University of Denver) Arena on December 5, 1979 had any inkling that this tragic event was on the horizon. In… Continue reading Paul Epstein’s “Let Me Take You Down (to the basement)” #3
Paul Epstein’s “Let Me Take You Down (to the basement)” #2
The poster above hung in my house and then at Twist & Shout for years. When I first moved to Denver in 1968, it was not at the forefront of hip and trendy the way it is now. At that time, it was on the back end of being a Cowtown, and while there was… Continue reading Paul Epstein’s “Let Me Take You Down (to the basement)” #2
Paul Epstein’s “Let Me Take You Down (to the basement)” #1
Paul Epstein, Hall of Fame board co-chair and founder/former owner of Twist & Shout, is an avid music historian and archivist. We are delighted that he has agreed to share some of his collection and Colorado music memories with us every other Tuesday. “I moved to Colorado in 1968 and started going to concerts almost… Continue reading Paul Epstein’s “Let Me Take You Down (to the basement)” #1
Dick Weissman: An interview with Paul Epstein
Dick Weissman is an entirely unique mix of historian, musician, teacher, and mensch. He has his curmudgeonly side, but his genuine love of music and understanding of the times in which he lives permeate everything he says. His self-effacing manner belies a sharp and incisive wit, whether he’s dispensing wisdom to a class full of… Continue reading Dick Weissman: An interview with Paul Epstein