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by Ted Holteen
This is the last week, I promise, that I will
try to force feed you people a diet of classical music.
I hope that you have taken the time and money to catch at least one performance
of Music in the Mountains in the past two weeks, but if not, get on it
'cause it's over after this weekend. The orchestra members go back to
pumping gas or slicing pastrami or whatever it is that classical musicians
do when they're not performing. But they will not go quietly. (They're
musicians, after all.) If cacophony is not your thing, then tonight (Thursday)
is for you. It's the last chamber performance, with only a couple of
musicians on stage, the "Keep it Simple, Stupid" method of classical
music. The final two nights are in stark contrast to one another, but
each will feature a full compliment of orchestral members. Saturday's
program is entitled "Velvet Strings," with
works by Schumann and Mendelssohn, a bit sleepy for my tastes, but some people
will like it. I will attend Sunday's finale, featuring angry Russian piano
work by Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky, with plenty of noise and cymbals and the
aforementioned cacophony. Then Maestro Semanitzky will take his much-deserved
final bow, and the classicists will retreat back to their Ethan Allen accessorized
lairs, only to appear briefly in November to cast their votes, before hibernating
until next spring's Music in the Mountains pre-festival fund-raisers. Go with
God.
The Abbey Theatre continues to bring a mix of film
and local and national music acts, with two notables
in the coming week. On Friday, the Tony Trischka Band
takes the stage. He (Tony) has been called "one of
the most inventive banjoists alive," not by me, mind
you (I wouldn't know an inventive banjoist from a duck
hunter), but by industry professionals. So he's got
that going for him, which is nice. (Apologies to Paramount
Pictures and Bill Murray.)
 On Tuesday, Aug. 10, it's one of those "must see" shows
that I rarely ever see, as Solas returns to Durango.
Folks at my day job are quite agog about this one,
not that that alone would move me to actually go, but
they've got a hook that I can't resist. Band leader
Seamus Egan, in addition to playing the flute, banjo,
mandolin, guitar, tin whistle, low whistle (?) and
bodhran (!?!), is from my hometown of Hatboro, Penn.
Clearly, he is a man of great character and worthy
of your cover charge. Cocktails at 6:30 p.m., showtime
at 7:30 p.m.
If it's summer and you're in Telluride, then a festival
is only days away. This week, it's the Telluride Jazz
Celebration , the 28th such, according to my calculations.
I don't know why it's left to me to calculate that,
but we'll take that up with marketing. The talent includes
Leon Russell, Medeski, Martin & Wood, and even
some jazz artists. I have it on good authority that
while it's not the best lineup in the festival's 20-something
year history, there are some good acts. Having attended
a couple of these things with absolute ignorance as
to any of the performers, I can attest that the atmosphere
is conducive to finding and appreciating heretofore
unheard of artists. The whole is truly stronger than
the sum of its parts this weekend. If it'll help, the
full schedule is available at www.telluridejazz.com
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No event in the coming week is as important as what
will happen on Tuesday the 10th. While Solas is a nice
diversion, keep your focus until you've cast your ballot
in the Primary Election . This has to be one of the
most hyped primaries in years, but in this case, do
believe the hype. I'm not going to tell you who to
vote for, but some of these races are just too important
to ignore. On second thought, this is an opinion column,
so I will tell you who to vote for. Colorado is on
the national stage as a swing state, with longtime
strongholds Nighthorse Campbell and Scott McInnis retiring
and leaving a Senate and Congressional seat in the
balance.  Democratic Senate Primary: Mike Miles vs.
Ken Salazar. One of these two will take on either Republicans
Bob Schaffer or Pete Jesus Tap Dancin' Christ Coors.
My pick - Miles. Republican 3rd Congressional District
Primary: Five goose-stepping, budget slashing pro life
oil-drilling fascists will compete to take on Democrat
John Salazar for McInnis' seat. Take your pick and
hope for the best. And, be careful. Don't confuse the
two Salazar brothers. Ken is a former Attorney General,
John is a farmer. Nothing against Ken, but here's to
hoping only one gets in. There are also decisions to
be made closer to home, as a La Plata County commissioner
seat comes open. I will refrain from making a pick
here as I will have to deal with the winners and losers
face to face, and I'm a coward. Remember, you must
be registered with a party to vote in the primary for
that party. As a former registered Independent, I applaud
such individuality, but it will prevent you from being
heard until November, when it might be too late.
Feed my head. ted@ksut.org . Seriously, go vote.
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