Sunday at the Golden Corral, Uncle Earl and transvestites
by Chris Aaland
My office window is about 20 yards from the front doors to Whalen Gymnasium, and in the past two weeks, it afforded me the opportunity to watch both the Michelle Obama and Paul Ryan rallies unfold. Crews set up the gym, Secret Service sniffed out potential risks, campaign workers rallied local volunteers and the crowds gathered.
The 3,700 people who greeted the First Lady were a diverse representation of Durango: white and black, Native American and Latino, straight and gay, young and old, Christian and atheist. They let their freak flags fly.
The 1,500 who showed up for the Ryan speech? An intern of mine — a military veteran and a diehard third-party supporter with no ties to Democrats or Republicans — called it “Sunday at the Golden Corral.” We scanned the crowd looking for diversity, but it took an hour and 22 minutes for us to spot a person of color entering the gym as I hummed Procol Harum’s “A Whiter Shade of Pale” to myself.
But that’s not the point here.
Rather, Obama’s people announced the First Lady’s appearance five days in advance of her arrival. Ryan’s folks made their final decision on Saturday, 36 hours before the event. One was packed, the other sparsely attended.
Ryan’s lineup included a solid mix of big-wigs and locals: Speaker of the House John Boehner, U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton, country singer Mark Wills and State Rep. J. Paul Brown – a group that, regardless of your personal politics, was impressive. The First Lady? Hers was a homegrown affair with City Councilor Christina Rinderle, student body president Byron Tsabetsaye and the Skyhawk Pep Band.
Nearly half of La Plata County votes red, and they’re probably red-faced over not getting advance notice. Even a bed-wetting liberal like me felt bad for them.
The art of promotion is something that a lot of us fail to understand. I find this out on a weekly basis when trying to put together a 1,000-word column on music and nightlife. A few promoters publicize well – namely the Community Concert Hall, Ska, Steamworks and Moe’s. Most, though, fail – and some fail badly. And promoters wonder why they can’t fill venues? Just ask the Romney/Ryan folks how they’d have done things differently.
Jo Dee Messina appears live at the Sky Ute Casino Resort in Ignacio on Saturday. During her career, she’s recorded nine No. 1 country singles, including “Bring on the Rain,” a duet with Tim McGraw in 2001. Messina has been busy in recent years pitching a line of WD-40 products (called “Unmistakably Clean”) and appearing on Bravo’s reality hit, “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.”
Clawhammer banjo plucker Abigail Washburn plays the Sheridan Opera House in Telluride at 8 p.m. tonight (Thurs., Oct. 25). The former leader of the all-girl old-time outfit Uncle Earl, Washburn has made a name for herself by pairing traditional folk elements with far-flung sounds like traditional Chinese music – an odd pairing except for people like Washburn who intended to study law in Beijing and is fluent in Mandarin. Multi-instrumentalist Kai Welch joins her in Telluride.
Beer-drinking ghouls are encouraged to shed blood for the annual Durango Bootlegger’s Society Pint for a Pint blood drive. It all goes down from 11 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. Friday at the American Legion Hall. Donate a pint of blood and you’ll receive a voucher for a free pint at Carver’s, Durango Brewing, Ska or Steamworks. All donors will receive a limited edition T-shirt. Last year’s event was the largest single-day blood drive in Durango history.
The Abbey’s busy week includes Eufórquestra performing the music of Beck with special guest D. Bess at 9 p.m. Friday; Fort Knox 5 vs. Thunderball in a four-turntable DJ set at 9 p.m. Saturday; and Robotic Pirate Monkey & Gaudi performing a Halloween masquerade at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Six Dollar String Band headlines Carver’s Halloween party at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. In addition to the bluegrass quartet, this all-ages affair includes a costume contest, spooky drink specials and no cover charge.
It wouldn’t be Halloween without the Rocky Horror Show, staged live at the Hank on Friday, Saturday and Wednesday – five shows over three days (7 & 10 p.m. the first two nights, 8 p.m. on Halloween). This one always sells out.
KDUR’s Transvestite Ball is another annual sellout. This year’s 21-and-over affair takes place at 9 p.m. Saturday at the Lost Dog and features DJs Mykal Dark, Mr. Anderson and Brian Ess spinning tunes for your enjoyment. Save five bucks and guarantee your spot by buying a ticket in advance at KDUR or the Lost Dog.
Opera buffs: “The Met: Live in HD” continues its screening of live performances in high definition at the Vallecito Room in the Fort Lewis College Student Union at 10:55 a.m. Saturday with Verdi’s “Otello.” Based on Shakespeare’s play, “Otello” is set in late 15th century Cypress and is performed in four acts. This series is presented locally by the Community Concert Hall.
‘Tis a busy week at the Summit, with tunes ranging from reggae to rock to bluegrass. Carlton Pride & Mighty Zion return at 10 p.m. tonight, while Telluride’s Joint Point gets down at 10 p.m. Friday. Waiting on Trial and Birch Street do a combo gig at 9:30 p.m. Saturday. Then on Wednesday, Aftergrass plays a Halloween party at 10 p.m. with a costume contest to follow at 1 a.m.
Moe’s madness is highlighted by a funky Halloween party with DJ Matt from 8 ‘til close Wednesday. There’s also a pre-Halloween party with Juicebox and friends at 8 p.m. Saturday.
Elsewhere: Mad Haggis brings traditional Celtic to tonight’s Ska Chili Night from 5-7 p.m.; and the Pete Giuliani Band does the 49 Club at the Sky Ute Casino Resort from 9 p.m. ‘til 1 a.m. Saturday.
In honor of my intern’s “Golden Corral” crack, this week’s Top Shelf list recounts my favorite Colorado buffets:
- Calvillo’s, Alamosa. Best Mexican buffet ever.
- Baldo’s, Monte Vista. Second best, but 30 minutes closer.
- Christina’s, Durango. An incredible Easter spread each year.
- Millwood Junction, Mancos. A Friday night seafood feast.
- Casa Bonita, Lakewood. The food sucks, but Black Bart’s Cave, skee-ball and frequent appearances in “South Park” make up for it. Just head down Colfax to The Dive Bar for the 7 a.m. happy hour of $2 PBR and Natty Light tall-boys and you’ll be ready to raise your flag for more crummy enchiladas.
Her face, at first just ghostly? Email me at chrisa@gobrainstorm.net.
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