Prohibition?s end, the Earle and sunday shopping


by Chris Aaland

hen Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter signed Senate Bill 82 on April 14, the Centennial State repealed its blue law, which prohibited the selling of beer, wine and spirits on Sundays. Prohibition officially ends July 6!

I made a pilgrimage to the San Juan River below Navajo Dam last Sunday to catch enough big trout on Blue-Winged Olives to make my arm sore, back ache and throat parched. A stop at my favorite fly shop/restaurant/motel/boat storage/guide service/liquor store for a 750 ml bottle of Beam and a six-pack of High Life fixed everything. This remedy set me back $30.73.

I don’t recommend paying peak-season, corporate fly shop rates for booze, but this was pure nostalgia. Back in college, we’d hit the Juan on Sundays so we could catch fish without the guilt of ditching class and buying booze on the Lord’s Day. Being cheap, this usually meant a six-pack of Schlitz, but you get the point. Colorful Colorado’s Last Dry Sunday needed to be marked with a purchase of intoxicants in the Land of Enchantment.

Come Sunday, what could be more patriotic than marching down to your favorite Durango hops hawker or spirit seller and forking over a crisp Jackson for a 12-pack of Natural Light and an ass pocket-sized bottle of Wild Turkey? I mean, goddamn. Make mine PBR and Old Crow and keep the change.

And who could be more patriotic than Steve Earle? KSUT presents the legendary Texas troubadour in concert Wednesday at the Community Concert Hall. Throughout his career, he’s exercised his First Amendment rights to question everything from the death penalty (“Billy Austin,” “Ellis Unit One,” “Over Yonder”) to the Iraq War (nearly every song on “The Revolution Starts Now”) to Reaganomics (“Good Ol’ Boy”) to border politics (“What’s a Simple Man to Do?”). Earle’s wife, Allison Moorer, opens at 7:30 p.m. Don’t show up late – I saw Moorer hold her own in support of the Drive-By Truckers at Washington, D.C.’s, 930 Club in 2004. Her tune, “All Aboard,” was my favorite protest song during the last presidential election season.

Why wait for next Wednesday for a musical legend? If you feel like making a drive tonight (Thursday), Leon Russell brings his white beard, cowboy hat and All-American brew of country, rock, blues and soul to the Rico Theatre for a 9:30 p.m. show. Russell is the missing link among Willie Nelson, Badfinger, the New Grass Revival and B.B. King, having recorded and performed with all of them. In fact, it’s tough to find a classic rocker from the ’70s who Russell didn’t jam with.

Head south on Saturday for the third annual Animas River Blues Festival, which serves up live blues, cold beer and hot barbecue from 12:30-9:30 p.m. at Riverside Park in Aztec. Grammy- and W.C. Handy-award nominated John Lee Hooker Jr. headlines the festival. His old man invented boogie, inspiring the likes of Bo Diddley and ZZ Top along the way. Also on the bill are the Kirk James Blues Band, upbeat, finger-poppin’ guitarist Bernie Pearl, power blues trio Sugarhouse and Loveland-based, old school blues quartet Mojambus.

You like fireworks, parades, veterans, pancake breakfasts, hot dogs, sparklers and free music in the park? Pick a town, grab a lawn chair and a 12-pack of Bud, as every nearly hamlet has a similar day planned. Here are some July 4th highlights, though, that you might want to consider:

Dance your ass off after the fireworks display at a three-band

rock ’n’ roll bill at the Summit with the Lawn Chair Kings, Soda Jerks and Pinhead. Durango’s fireworks start at 9:15. You do the math as to when the Summit show kicks off.

The Lawn Chair Kings are the busiest band in town this week, adding a four-hour big show at El Patio from 5:30-9:30 tonight (Thursday) and a Kiwanis-sponsored gig at Buckley Park at 2: 30 p.m. on the 4th. Three performances in 24 hours? Erik, Dan and Steve must be the Franklin, Adams and Jefferson of Durango indie rock, belting out apple pie slices of Americana like “Trailer Park” “Ice Cream Truck” and “Take Me Out in Yer Pick Up Truck.”

Steamworks celebrates the 232nd anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence with a band that blends liberal amounts of funk, rock, R&B, electronica, soul and nu-jazz, the Oregon-based trio Forever Growing. Music follows fireworks.

Mosey over to Bayfield for a variety of Independence Day events, including live music in Eagle Park by Wild Country, the Jelly Belly Boogie Band, Bay Area Bluegrass (featuring members of Rock & Rye and the Badly Bent) and Formula 151 from 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

Maybe the best 4th in the West is held in Silverton. There’s the International Rhubarb Festival, which usually sells out of pies and other tasty treats by early afternoon; a water fight between the Silverton San Juan Volunteer and Animas fire departments (Yes! Really expensive water guns that we call fire trucks); and fireworks booming off the San Juans. Trust me, it’s worth the drive and the hangover.

Maybe the best 4th in the West is held in Silverton. There’s the International Rhubarb Festival, which usually sells out of pies and other tasty treats by early afternoon; a water fight between the Silverton San Juan Volunteer and Animas fire departments (Yes! Really expensive water guns that we call fire trucks); and fireworks booming off the San Juans. Trust me, it’s worth the drive and the hangover.

The Summit has a busy slate of events this week beginning with a ’70s and ’80s dance party with DJs Mateo and Ryan (NoEgo) tonight (Thursday), the aforementioned 4th of July Blowout Bash on Friday, the Huckometers on Saturday, and ska by Warsaw with Crested Butte’s Local Red on Wednesday.

I need to clear up rumors about a concert that takes place next Thursday (July 10) at the Millwood Junction in Mancos. Bryn Davies & Hickster will perform bluegrass at a 7:30 p.m. show. Bryn is the bassist extraordinaire who is best known for her work with Peter Rowan, Tony Rice and Patty Griffin. Hickster includes guitarist/singers and original Wayword Sons Robin Davis and Benny “Burle” Galloway. The trio launches a weeklong tour in Mancos as they head toward Oregon for the Northwest String Summit, where they will be joined by mandolin player Sharon Gilchrist. Due to scheduling conflicts, Gilchrist will not appear with Bryn and co. until they reach Oregon.

This week’s list is a shopping list for Sunday:

• Durango Pale Ale

• Ska Mexican Logger

• Steamworks Colorado Kölsch

• Carvers’ Razzy Wheat (growlers available at the brewpub)

• Goat Vodka

• Jackalope Gin

• Fine wines from the Western Slope

• Stranahan’s small batch Colorado whiskey

• Limes (for the Loggers)

• Chaser hangover pills (for Monday morning)

Come home last night, full a filth of Old Crow? E-mail me at chrisa@gobrainstorm.net.

 

 

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