Wild Blooms and the four-year free ride

by Lindsay Nelson

As the weekend approaches, so, too, does that annual rite of spring, a ritual of new adulthood that is both welcomed and feared by many. It is the Commencement Speech. Across the country, hundreds of thousands of 22-year-old Americans will don funny black robes and caps of cardboard, and line up to receive a roll of paper from a college president they’ve probably never met – all the while pretending nonchalance, as if this weren’t just about the scariest moment of their sheltered lives thus far. Our beloved Fort Lewis College students will take the walk this Saturday, while large clutches of totted-up family members from Maine and Michigan and Monterey clamor for seats in the cavernous Whalen gym. If you’re lucky, there won’t be a commencement speaker; if you’re less lucky, he or she will manage to be mildly entertaining without upsetting your grandmother. If you’re really unlucky, I wrote you a commencement speech and you have to listen to it:

“You’ve done it, kids. You made it to the Big Day. And look at you – we can hardly even tell you passed out on Benny’s lawn at 4 this morning, and even as we speak you’re trying to remember what happened to your underpants! Seriously, you look great. Ha ha. Ha. Well, ahem. You did it. It seemed impossible at one time that someone like you could pretend to read so very many books and find this many passable term papers online for less than $50, and even make it to enough class days to pull a C in English Comp. And here you are. That’s why I love to see you guys in your caps ’n’ gowns – so eager, so willing, so innocent. The world needs people like you – strong young Americans ready and able to make our Subway sandwiches just the way we like them; beautiful young women who’ve read Erica Jong and know how to pour a great martini; and for those of you going on for more advanced education, I know you’ll make it through hairdressing school with ‘flying colors!’ But seriously, when they say a liberal arts education prepares you with the breadth of knowledge and the critical thinking and communication skills that every employer is looking for, they’re not kidding. They just want a business or accounting degree to go along with all that underwater basket-weaving or whatever you kids spent your dad’s money mucking around with. But there’s really only one piece of wisdom I can impart to you this morning: On the road of life, there are drivers and there are passengers. Ride your bike.”

No need to applaud; you can thank me later. Anyway, when the pressures of family togetherness becomes too much for our graduates this weekend, or if you just found out you didn’t graduate after all, it’s a good time to hit the town and drown the voices in your head.

The semi-local band Wild Blooms has been in a sort of hiding for several years, working on its just-released album “Dear Delirium” and perhaps attempting to recover from the ’90s. Carol Turner and Kevin Johnson were members of a popular indie pop band called Panic Choir. They toured hard and opened for major national acts of the day – remember Hootie, Jeff Buckley, Dave Matthews Band, and Big Head Todd and the Monsters? Yeah. So they got burned out and the band disbanded forever. But Kevin and Carol didn’t stop creating new music. In 2003, after arriving in the Four Corners from Austin, Texas, they released their eponymous debut acoustic disc, “Wild Blooms.” In between now and then, their style has morphed into a sort of pop-electronica but held onto the songwriting ethic of their acoustic roots. The duo celebrates their CD release Friday night at the Abbey Theatre. Join them.

Sunday night it’s a big old dance show with Sweet Sunny South, an old-time string/swing band from Paonia. In 1940s attire, gathered around a single microphone of the big old metal variety, these guys and gal really know how to get your feet moving. Whether you understand the mechanics of rock-steps and dishrag twirls or not, you can have a great time listening and toe-tapping to this band. Their last two records make for great campfire music or soundtracks to your own little Saturday night barndance; their latest release is a live one, called “SSS: Live from the Radio Room.” These folks from the high country take bits of bluegrass, parts of old-time, and a lot of good-feeling messing around to create a unique sound. If you’ve ever heard Hank Williams’ sets on the “Health and Happiness” radio show, back before the big fall, you’ll recognize that same humility, humor and self-deprecation in Sweet Sunny South. Wear comfortable shoes and head down to the Diamond Circle Theatre on Sunday night – you’ll be glad you did.

If you really want to be cool, get some fresh tunes to welcome the coming of summer. New this week on the racks is John Prine and Mac Wiseman’s collaborative project, “Standard Songs for Average People,” full of classic and quirky covers, from Patti Page’s 1957 hit “Old Cape Cod” to Tom T. Hall’s “Old Dogs, Children and Watermelon Wine” and Lefty Frizzel’s lovely old “Saginaw Michigan.” Great singalong music for your country day-trips and back-porch drinking nights.

Popular stuff last week included, obviously, the NIN concept album, blues great John Mayall’s new one, blues maven Koko Taylor, the all-grown-up Avril Lavigne and of course, Alison Krauss. I know it sounds scary, but “Grinderman” isn’t death metal at all – just indie rock legend Nick Cave getting gruff and a little Tom Wait-sy in his latest work, as and about the aforementioned Grinderman. Ever seen a green baboon? Scary. lindsay_damico@Yahoo.com •

The Wild Blooms