Drag the River – trust me on this one

by Ted Holteen

I don’t intend to begin every column by dispelling or confirming a rumor, but for the second straight week I find myself needing to do so. This one, thankfully, does not concern me, but rather the rapidly approaching ski season. Wolf Creek, despite giddy whispering to the contrary, will not open on Sunday. They’re shooting for Nov. 4, but will open earlier if there is enough snow. It should be noted that there is not enough snow, so don’t hold your breath. And while it’s true that Silverton Mountain recently got approval for unguided skiing, the free range skiers will have to wait until April to display their mettle and confidence in the skills of search and rescue personnel. The upcoming season will again be limited to guided-only access, with the new permit getting phased in next spring. So, for a few more weeks anyway, keep riding your bikes or running or whatever the hell it is that you active people do instead of watching football and the World Series, and just be patient. And vote “Yes” on C & D. Thank you.

Or, catch some live music and sleep all day. As luck would have it, the very best band that you’ll see this year (until next month) plays the Summit on Saturday night. Drag the River is a dysfunctional collective of musical genius from Fort Collins comprised of the remnants of current and defunct punk bands who do music right. For what it’s worth, this is my five-star, two-thumbs-up, can’t-miss lock of the week. They drink too much, write sappy love songs, fight a lot, play kick-ass rock ’n’ roll, and I guarantee you’ll love ’em. If you don’t, that’s cool, too. We’ve gone this long without being friends, and no one’s any worse for it. But should you decide to show your good taste, don’t be late. Durango punk legends The Thirteens have been resurrected, sort of, in the form of The Cuffs. Remember when Ronny James Dio left Rainbow and started Dio? Well, this is much better than that, and we’re all happy the band’s not named Bubba. The Cuffs start things early, around 9:30 p.m., if they’re awake, followed by Drag the River, if they make it to town. It’ll be fun.

Backing up a night, there’s a show on Friday that I was just going to mention in passing but Liggett seemed all excited about it so I’ve moved it up a paragraph or two. I don’t know Mark O’Connor, but upon closer inspection it seems like his show at the Concert Hall should be a good time. Thanks, Liggett. O’Connor, I hear, is some kind of fiddling/violin guru who’s won Grammies and has an outfit with him called Hot Swing, and they do a tribute to Stephane Grappelli, which sounds very cool. All of this leads me to say, “You should go see Mark O’Connor on Friday night at the Concert Hall.” Show time is 7 p.m.

Sandwiching the O’Connor show at the FLC Concert Hall on Thursday and Saturday are two concerts that prove not all musicians are self-serving, untalented, flag-waving corporate toadies like Toby Keith. (I’m sorry – I just watched a Ford commercial and Toby Keith disgusts me. I shouldn’t watch TV while I work. Now I’m angry.) Anyway, they’re calling it Four Corners Sound Relief, which is clever, I guess, and as you may have guessed, the relief is for the hurricane victims down yonder,

thousands of whom remain homeless. Without too much preaching, I’ve seen the shelters and while they provide vital services and a dry place to sleep after you’ve lost your home, it’s no place to be living a month and a half later. A lot of people still and will need a lot of help, and this is the kind of event that keeps that need in the public eye months later. Thanks to the Badly Bent and Tim Sullivan & Narrow Gauge for Thursday’s show, and to Formula 151, The Kirk James Blues Band and Woodwork, who will play Saturday night.

thousands of whom remain homeless. Without too much preaching, I’ve seen the shelters and while they provide vital services and a dry place to sleep after you’ve lost your home, it’s no place to be living a month and a half later. A lot of people still and will need a lot of help, and this is the kind of event that keeps that need in the public eye months later. Thanks to the Badly Bent and Tim Sullivan & Narrow Gauge for Thursday’s show, and to Formula 151, The Kirk James Blues Band and Woodwork, who will play Saturday night.

I’ve frequently documented my fear that, despite the old adage, some of the publicity I provide is not, in fact, good publicity. I hope is not the reason that the Society Page liaison at the 3rd Avenue Dance Co. neglected to inform me of the troupe’s latest production, “Love Letters.” I have further documented my ignorance in matters pertaining to the finer arts, specifically music, dance, theater, poetry, drawing stuff and other unfathomable facets of the art world for which I am charged with providing a coherent critique in this space each week. I do like the 3rd Avenue productions, though. However, without adequate marketing material, I’m left to speculate that “Love Letters” will be a sensual interpretation of love through dance by the hot chicks and the guy whom everyone makes fun of but has more masculinity in his pinky than you do in your whole body and can kick your ass too, and damn if he ain’t a fine dancer to boot. See what happens when I don’t get any guidance on these things? “Love Letters” will be performed on Friday and Saturday night at the Smiley Auditorium, if it’s not sold out, which it probably is. But try anyway. Maybe you’ll get on a mailing list or something.

Not that I’ve got a review for it either, but I do intend to check out this week’s movie at the Abbey, “Darwin’s Nightmare.” It looks entertaining, if not uplifting. OK, actually it looks really depressing, but in a good way. The kind of movie where you leave yelling, “F*##@ the Russians! And the Tanzanians! And the Nile Perch!” Curious? You should be. It promises to be one of the finest fish-for-guns documentaries ever made, and it’s showing nightly at 3:30, 6 and 8:30 p.m.

And while I try to avoid helping children whenever possible, I’ll print anything for cash. Big Brothers/Big Sisters has spent a LOT of money to ask me to tell you that tutors are needed for the Study Connection program. OK, they didn’t pay me, and children aren’t that bad, but I myself did this last year, and it’s really good for folks like me that think they’re going to hell and need to do something good before they die. More importantly, it’s really good for the kids in our schools who get some extra help in the classroom without being in the classroom. It’s only one hour a week, you go to a school and help a kid, and I can write this off as community service. We all win. Call Audra at Study Connections at 247-3720.

Send me your love letters. egholteen@hotmail.com. Photos are good, too, but good photos are better.