Cougar loin, Outlaw Country and Manchester

by Chris Aaland

So that's what it's coming to for guys our age?" my friend Milt quizzed me of my hour-long wait in Santa Rita Park last Saturday night to make a pheasant-for-mountain lion exchange under the cover of darkness.

It wasn't quite like turning into an alley off East Colfax and flashing your headlights twice. Then again, when a Durango Police cruiser pulled a construction zone speeder into the parking lot and issued him a citation, I couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. Fortunately, Johnny Law disappeared back into the night without hassling me.

A few minutes later, my buddy and fellow outdoorsman David Tranum pulled up, handed me a 2-pound cougar loin and accepted a couple of frozen pheasants in barter. My watch showed 9:03 p.m. when I pulled out of the parking lot to head home to get ready for my Wild Game Super Bowl the following day. David went downtown for the late Follies.

Milt's question was actually a revelation. While younger folks were out in the bars getting crazy at Snowdown events, guys my age were arranging clandestine meetings at the park in hopes of trading meat for a Sunday BBQ. With no small amount of shame, I felt like a creepy, hillbilly version of Mr. Furley from "Three's Company" or, even worse, one of those old guys with receding hairlines wearing short-sleeved, plaid work shirts and hanging out at strip clubs.

All that changed, though, when I started prep cooking at 7:30 a.m. on Super Bowl Sunday. There were potatoes to peel, veggies to dice, pheasants to fillet, marinades and sauces to make, and living rooms and sports dens to vacuum, scrub and make ready for the onslaught. Working at such a frantic pace, I didn't even stop to pop my first top until just before noon. Guests started arriving at 1 p.m., awkwardly just minutes after we put Otto down for his afternoon nap. Methinks the keg was tapped at 2.

Maybe being a fortyish, white trash grill geek has its perks, especially when my little brother's pals - all college-age kids - sampled their first cougar and scotch tapas at halftime, just about the same time The Boss launched into "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out." Surprisingly, nearly everyone in attendance sampled the lion loin. And nearly everyone enjoyed the fancy feline.

As Milt, Miller and I did our best to finish the keg long after the rest of the guests left, we found the answer to Milt's question. Indeed, it's OK if this is what it's come to for guys our age. If only for a few fleeting hours each Super Bowl Sunday, we can be cooler than the twentysomethings.

I'm not sure my inner redneck will get much rest this week. David Allan Coe, one of the founding fathers of the Outlaw Country movement of the '70s, gets lowdown at the Abbey at 10 p.m. tonight (Thursday). The guy's done it all, from serving hard time in an Ohio prison to penning top hits for Tanya Tucker and Johnny Paycheck to forming a country/metal band with Vinnie Paul and the late Dimebag

Darrell of Pantera. Coe has played nearly everywhere in the Four Corners, from the Community Concert Hall to the Bondad Hill Saloon. The Abbey somehow manages to balance theatre-style class with dive-bar atmosphere. Let's face it: to properly enjoy honky tonk concerts like David Allan Coe, you need a beer in your hand. Durango's own Midnight Backhand opens the craziness.

Shannon Whitworth plays an 8 p.m. show Friday at the Hank. Shannon is best known as one of the founders of the Biscuit Burners, a neo old-time group that played the Four Corners Folk Festival numerous times. She returned to the area last summer at the inaugural Pagosa Folk'n Bluegrass Festival in support of her excellent solo record, "No Expectations." Unlike the Biscuit Burners' bluegrass leanings, Shannon's new material is in the alt-country, singer-songwriter vein of Gillian Welch or Lucinda Williams. Longtime Durango music fans will recognize her lead guitarist, former Broke Mountain Bluegrass Band member Jon Stickley.

In the musical equivalent to the chick flick, Melissa Manchester performs at the Community Concert Hall at 7 p.m. Sunday. The soft rock songstress is often mentioned in the same breath as Bette Midler, Barry Manilow and Kenny Loggins. She also recorded the Grammy-nominated movie themes to "Ice Castles" and "The Promise" in 1980. I can't say I've asked my wife to order those titles from Netflix any time in recent memory. Then again, most cougar eaters aren't into chick flicks.

Dollar pints and live music is a great mix. Basshound, which plays at Steamworks tonight, has evolved into a mainstay live act in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., groove scene over the past five years. Their tunes feature strong jazz, funk and electronic influences. Bring your Steamworks mug and get pints for a buck.

Frogs Gone Fishin', a Denver band that blends rock, funk, soul, blues and reggae, takes the stage at the Summit tonight. Durango singer-songwriter Gigi Love opens.

The jam/rock band Pigment brings its guitar-driven, improvisational sound to the Summit on Saturday. Their original material has been described as aggressive, soothing, thought-provoking, sensitive and exhilarating.

This week's Top Shelf list is the menu from my Wild Game Super Bowl, circa 2009:

• Grilled mountain lion loin, marinated in balsamic vinegar, olive oil, Southern Comfort, habañero hot sauce, black pepper, Kosher salt, diced onion, celery and garlic

• Grilled pheasant breast fillets, tenders and legs, marinated exactly the same as kitty

• Pheasant a la king, served over garlic mashed potatoes that were boiled in pheasant stock

• Silver salmon, poached in white wine, lemons and onions, courtesy Elwin Johnston

• Aaron Hyder's grilled elk steaks, seasoned and cooked to perfection

• Brian Stahlin's elk chili with corn, tomatoes and pinto, black and green beans

• Brian's elk summer sausage, paired with cheddar

• Kelley Queisser's potato salad with (Yes!) bacon

• Cowboy Bruce's famous guacamole

• My wife's apple crisp, made with apples and quinces picked in Patty & Larry Hall's orchards last fall

• A pony keg of Colorado Kolsch that Steve Miller won at a Steamworks happy hour •

In the jungle, the mighty jungle? E-mail me at chrisa@gobrainstorm.net.