Health kick, the traveler and The Gore Gore Girls
by Lindsay Nelson Unless you’ve been living in a cave (or maybe a trailer in Grandview), you must have noticed the trend toward health-scare tactics. Nothing to do with health care really, it’s more about daily diet and lifestyle choices that may or may not have an impact on the number and quality of years you will live. Maybe it’s just the boomers who are to blame, and certainly the money-hungry health & beauty industry feeds into the neuroses with its constant harping about cancer risk, wrinkles, impotence and heart disease. Let’s get a few things straight here: cancer, heart disease, obesity and diabetes are all very serious diseases and should be feared, fought and beaten whenever possible. However, is it really helpful to spend the majority of your life calculating your potential risk for a myriad of potential diseases? Gobbling down the food du jour that has just been found to fight colon cancer or reduce the risk of macular degeneration (in some vague, not fully explained fashion, like, it has a vitamin that supports vision health but you have to eat 25 servings a day to get enough of it to make a difference) or swearing off the latest demon food or drink in hopes of extending your life – is this any way to live? Already, women are throwing out their wineglasses as the scare-o-meter has been dialed to “high” for the link between breast cancer and alcohol consumption. And when the researchers of the latest study say “heavy drinking,” they don’t mean downing a sixer in one sitting. Any more than two drinks and you might as well join the pink ribbon club now, they say. Stop the madness! Just eat your vegetables. And no, it doesn’t matter that much if they’re not organic. And call me crazy, but I like a good cocktail now and again, and again. Word to the ladies of the Southwest: sun exposure + dry air = leathery flesh. Invest in sunscreen, large hats and some good moisturizer. Follow these simple steps (and send $19.99 to me c/o the Telegraph), and you’ll live a long, healthy, pretty life – Guaranteed! Dancing, singing and laughing also are good for your health and are clinically proven to offset the effects of alcohol on your liver. So … be sure to hit some of the live entertainment options on the town this week. In the realm of classic country and Americana, Sunday’s afternoon performance by the legendary Ray Price is the best is you’ll see. Revered as one of country’s great innovators, Price changed the sound of country music from the late 1950s forward by developing a rhythmic brand of honky-tonk that has been dramatically influential ever since. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1996. His latest CD, “Last of the Breed,” with fellow country music legends Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard, was released in March 2007 and features 20 country classics as well as new compositions. Don’t miss this chance to see him live, 4 p.m. Sunday at the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College. Local singer-songwriter Lisa Blue, with Zachary Hunter, will open the show. On Wednesday night, keep the roots music flowing with a performance by Martha Scanlan, former singer and writer of songs for the now-defunct old-time band The Reeltime Travelers. Scanlan’s beautiful voice and talented pen were what made the Reeltime Travelers great; seeing her solo, performing her own songs, will be a real sweet treat. She plays Wednesday night at 7: 30 p.m. at the Diamond Circle Theatre.
A little less country but a lot of fun nonetheless are the Lawn Chair Kings, playing a solo gig at 9 p.m. on Saturday at the Hollywood Bar in Dolores. With their blend of gritty and goofy country-punk, the Lawn Chair Kings have been drawing crowds since 2000. Sometimes called suburban rock, sometimes called Western garage, it’s impossible not to at least nod your head to their sunny mix of original songs and obscure covers that bring to mind both Hank Williams Sr. and the Ramones. For just $5 and a trip west, you’re set for retro hipster cool. In other realms of aural innovation, we’ve got a hot chick rock band called The Gore Gore Girls happening Wednesday night at the Summit. This Detroit, Mich., garage band formed in 1997 and features four stiletto-heeled babes with smoking rock ‘n’ roll chops. Their first single “Mama in the Movies” gained favorable airplay on college radio stations in Michigan before they recorded their first full-length album “Strange Girls.” Their latest, the 2007 release “Get in the Gore,” is out on Bloodshot Records. Their music is a blend of ’60s-era surf; modern, stripped-down garage rock; and punk styling. It’s not your average Durango bar show and worth venturing out on a school night. We’ll save the full Halloween rundown for next week, but you get an early haunted holiday treat (also on Wednesday) with Boulder funk-jam band The Motet and its annual Halloween homage to a freaky artist of its choice. This year it’s Jamiroquai (remember them? Oh come now, I know you tripped out to the “Virtual Insanity” video on MTV more than a few times).This funked-out action occurs at the Abbey Theatre at 10 p.m. on Wednesday. Shuttle between there and the Summit just across the street, and you’ve got yourself one heckuva night. Tune in next week for all the Halloween crap you need, plus fun venomous excoriations of today’s sacred cows! Tell me The Boss never ever sucks. Not even a little bit. • Lindsay_damico@ yahoo.com.
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