Resolutions, J-san and Animals

by Lindsay Nelson

You know the death knell of summer has sounded when you see the dreaded words “Back to School” plastered on every commercial outlet from Grandview to Hermosa. The mud has barely dried on your favorite hiking trail and you haven’t even gotten your inner tube out of the shed when suddenly it’s raining every afternoon and summer is pretty much over. That horrid sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach is the cold reality of a wasted summer finally hitting your deluded mind.

We made so many promises this year – we are going camping every weekend, and we’ll paint the house, get a new dog, tune up our bikes and ride every day, tube the river a dozen times, get a really great tan, go to music festivals, never take off our sandals, maybe buy a kayak, take an outdoor yoga class, go on vacation to the ocean or maybe just Utah, lose 10 pounds, save $1,000 and read 25 volumes of literary fiction and a few light histories, get back into new music, pick up the guitar again, trim our toenails finally and maybe, just maybe, shave our legs and get a haircut.

But did you do any of those things you so grandly planned in May, when you were itching for those hot days and long summer nights? Of course not. And you might still feel that you have a month or two to complete some of these dreamed-of tasks and adventures, were it not for those damned school-supply pushers and their 10 cent pencils. Even if you’re not going back to school, and you don’t have any children who are, it’s been ingrained so deeply into your subconscious that you cannot escape the devastating reality that summer is past and your sweet life of fun is over before it even started.

So here we are, the start of August, and we’ll spend the next three weeks moping around about how fast the summer flew by and all the things we didn’t get to do. As the summer winds down, it gets quiet in a weird way – the tourists still clog the roads until about Aug. 21, but the entertainment scene is sort of a wasteland until the Fort Lewis kids are back, and the nightlife picks up again as local purveyors of liquor and song work to extract every last student loan dollar from the junior Exercise Science and Environmental Ethics majors.

J-san and the Analogue Sons

But life goes on, and there are still plenty of people looking to part with some cash after 10 p.m. What’s a bored night owl on the prowl to do? Start with a free (early) show at the Concert Hall tonight, Aug. 2, with a now-rare local performance by well-respected bluegrass band The Badly Bent. The free summer concert series is coming to a close (further evidence of the heartbreaking demise of the season) and now would be an excellent time to take advantage of a high-quality, free show.

Before the angry letters start pouring in from the cultural elite of Durango, let me say this: Yes, I know that Music in the Mountains is happening right now and there are lots of live musical performances associated with this event. However, as I am a free-wheeling columnist and not a salaried A&E writer, I am not required to feign excitement about an event that is, quite simply, not my cup of tea. Not that everything I tout in this space is exactly to my taste either, because that would make for extremely boring reading. Basically, in the immortal words of Cartman, “Whatever, I do what I want!”

Now, Saturday night brings an interesting show to the Summit, with a visit from Ithaca, N.Y.-based dub rock band J-san and the Analogue Sons. They display their rebellious charm by spelling a common name in a trippy, whacked-out way and evoking the reggae ethos with their reference to Sons and low-fi audio technology. Billed as a blend of styles that might be produced by a melding of Bob Marley, Ben Harper and Ozomatli, this band is sure to be a big hit with the late-night dance crowd.

Here’s a chance to dance, drink and do your part to help a down-and-out duo of Durangoans: Buy a ticket to “Animals” (not the 1960s British supergroup that’s responsible for popularizing “House of the Rising Son” and the eternal staying power of “We’ve Gotta Get Outta This Place” in karaoke bars everywhere) for Friday night at the Abbey. Three DJs – Niko, Brian Ess and Mr. Anderson – spin all night long while guests cavort in costume – dressing as your favorite animal is encouraged but not strictly required. No word on whether there will be a “Furries” after-party in the basement. Tickets are available now at local outlets, with all proceeds going to the recovery fund of Kat and Ry, the two unfortunate souls who were victims of the Newlyweds-with-Restraining-Orders drunken driving travesty of July 12. Come on and help a brother and sister out.

Better brush up on your Broadway stylings, kids, because the new “Hairspray” craze is here. I’ll never be able to watch “Saturday Night Fever” again. • Lindsay_damico@yahoo.com.