Fatten up your Tuesday

Since Fat Tuesday is all about stocking up on the vices you plan to abstain from during Lent, why not get the beer portion out of the way at the Wynkoop Brewery? The bar and restaurant will be featuring live music, multiple parades, Creole cuisine, beads and lots of beer including the Big Easy Black Voodoo Lager.

Mardi Gras is all about the beads. How and why you distribute said beads is completely up to you, and we trust you will do so appropriately. For some free beads and a whole lot more head over to Sutra. DJs Jesse James, Twiggs and Curiosity provide the beats in the main room. At the bar you'll find $2 PBR Tall Boys, $3 Long Islands and, to get the New Orleans vibe, $2 hurricane shooters.

While the music might not be technically considered zydeco, the Larimer Lounge will be featuring a full bill of quality music. Bands include headliner Identity Pusher, Set Fire to Athens, The Nod and, the awesomely named Sweatpants in Public.

Jax Fish House is celebrating Mardi Gras the only way they know how: with lots of fresh seafood. The four course menu features fried oysters to start followed by Jax shrimp gumbo and then blackened catfish and, of course, King Cake Beignet to finish. Lionel Young will be playing live music and the bar will be serving up hurricanes, Fat Marys and New Orleans Pear-ish.

While martinis might not be the drink of choice for Fat Tuesday, Denver's Martini Ranch is rectifying this by offering $4 hurricanes and other Bacardi cocktails. DJ Sound Supreme will be spinning dance music while some of the city's hottest models will be cranking up the heat during the metalic masquerade.

If you're in Lakewood on Fat Tuesday, then do yourself a favor and head over to the Baker St. Pub & Grill for Pardi Gras. The evening will feature the obligatory bead toss and also a cart parade which is not to be missed. And no cover means you can spend even more money on hurricanes.

Bring your washboard, horns, sticks and squeeze box down to Ziggies for the Mike Maurer Zydeco Open Jam. The bar will be serving up authentic New Orleans cuisine along with drink specials all night long. So head down and earn your beads while listening to some traditional Mardi Gras music.

Denver electro funk jam band Moose Caboose prove that you don't have to be from New Orleans to kick out some tunes on Fat Tuesday. They bring their eclectic and extremely danceable style to Dulcinea's for some Mardi Gras mayhem with George W. Nixon, Mages and Derrick Hart.

Wish kicks off their Service Industry Night on Fat Tuesday promising "the only party in town where you can flash for beads." With $3 you call its and $100 bottles chances are people won't need much egging on. The Mardi Gras color themes are purple for justice, green for faith and gold for power. Dress accordingly.

Bring your drum down to the Open Tap & Grill for their open drum circle from 8 to 9:30 p.m. to make sure that everyone in the general vicinity knows that it's Fat Tuesday. The Healing Force will play at 10 p.m. and the grill features a $7.50 fried shrimp dinner while the bar is serving up $4 hurricanes and other drink specials.

While it might not seem like the smart choice at the time after a couple hurricanes you'll know it was the right choice. Get things started early at the Exchange Tavern as they open their doors at 7 a.m. for early morning revelers. The chef will be preparing some Mardi Gras inspired cuisine and there will obviously be lots of hurricanes.

Any place that calls themselves a Cajun grill better be sure to have some suitable entertainment during Mardi Gras. Well, not to worry; Oskar Blues will not disappoint and even if you're not having fun (rare), at least there will be plenty of beer to drown your sorrows in. Catch The Zydematics along with Dwight Carter for some authentic New Orleans sounds.

Irish singer/songwriter Lisa Hannigan first came into the public consciousness as a compliment to Damien Rice. Since breaking away she has embarked on a successful solo career catching fire in her native country and slowly turning heads across the pond in the states. She plays the Bluebird with Gavin Glass.

The Pretenders’ lineup might have changed a few times since their late ‘70s/early ‘80s “Kid” and “Back on the Chain Gang” heyday, but frontwoman Chrissie Hynde’s style hasn’t —at least outwardly. She’s still got the bangs and eyeliner, and don’t be surprised if the Ohio native and now-member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame dons a black leather jacket or two, but Hynde and her Pretenders have evolved their sound considerably in recent years. “Break up the Concrete,” their first album since 2002, finds the once-punk/New Wave rockers turning a bit to roots and rockabilly. It’s a fresh take that doesn’t stray far from the Pretenders’ rock solid core, lending the new songs a certain depth and old ones a welcome update.

Playing a high-energy mix of electro psych ghetto tech, Restiform Bodies are a trio of New Hampshire boys who moved to Oakland after the slight success of their bedroom recording "Oubliette" which was hand sold for $5. The music is glitchy, all over the place and supremely danceable, if you're a robot. Good times though.

While every other week of the year Tuesday is a relatively tame and uneventful day, during Mardi Gras Tuesday becomes Fat and is like Christmas for party animals and bead manufacturers. Head down to Rockbar on Fat Tuesday for the Mile High Soul Club featuring DJs Tyler "Danger" Jacobson and Dogboy spinning northern soul, Motown, funk and some rarities. Dance along while enjoying $2 highballs.

Not many musicians can claim the musical journey of Panjea's Chris Berry. The California native moved to Africa at age 18, became a spirit caller and went on to sell over one million records in Southern Africa, where he regularly sells out large stadiums. He is joined by the String Cheese Incident's Michael Kang for a special Fat Tuesday show at the Fox.

Skyy, Bacardi, and Go Go Dancers, this is a the way to kick off Mardi Gras

Celebrate Fat Tuesday as if it were Friday