Controversy, Leftover Salmon and Telluride Comedy Fest

by Chris Aaland

Leftover Salomon plays two sold-out shows at the ACT this weekend.

Mainstream media caught a nasty case of the sports bug this past week, and I’m not talking about Bob Costas’ pinkeye, although apparently the pee-colored, chemically treated tap water in Sochi doesn’t do good things to you.

I’m talking about America’s collective fascination with athletic controversy – namely, the shoving incident involving Oklahoma State basketball player Marcus Smart and Texas Tech superfan Jeff Orr. 

Social media caught fire with fans defending their “right” to act like idiots.

You’re probably seen highlights of the Smart/Orr incident, but if not, here’s what I saw. Smart tried to block a dunk with 6.2 seconds remaining in a tie game at Texas Tech, only to go crashing into the stands. When he tried to get up, Orr – one of the Red Raiders’ biggest financial boosters – opened his big mouth. Smart shoved him, claiming Orr uttered racial slurs. Orr denied it, regretfully apologizing for calling Smart a “piece of crap.” Smart retracted his race card.

The accusation bothered me, but not nearly as much as this fan’s feeling of entitlement to act hostile toward a visiting player. In my 22 years in higher education and athletic administration, I saw this firsthand far too often. Fort Lewis College usually ranks dead last in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in the end-of-year sportsmanship poll of student-athletes from across the conference. The student body, mainly comprised of our own student-athletes, would verbally assault visiting teams with racial slurs and sexual innuendo. 

After the fact, the Athletic Department was forced to apologize to the visitors. As bad as it was at FLC, the Skyhawks faced similar hostility traveling to places like Colorado Mesa, Adams State, Western State and, the worst of the lot, New Mexico Highlands. My wife was frequently taunted by rival fans because of her shape and called a lesbian. Many times, both at home and on the road, athletic administrators turned the other cheek rather than face this lack of sportsmanship. Home field advantage, right?

Why do fans need babysitters? I always lived by a simple creed:  players play, coaches coach, officials officiate, administrators administrate and fans cheer – or boo – but in a civil manner. Children and little old ladies in attendance don’t need to be subjected to drunken teenagers threatening their rivals.

The athletic administration shouldn’t get off scot-free, either. At the two Denver Broncos games that I attended this fall, the game programs, stadium address announcer and HD scoreboard all alerted fans of a simple text number that could be used to alert game officials of drunken or harassing fans. In both games, the fans wearing the visiting teams’ jerseys were enabled to watch the game in peace with limited fear of retribution. This would work in college athletics, too.

Don’t be Jeff Orr. Don’t make Marcus Smart do something dumb. But I digress.

Tim O’Brien & Darrell Scott play the Durango Arts Center at 6:30 p.m. Sunday (doors at 6). There’s no opening act – just intimate music on the last Colorado stop for Tim and Darrell’s current tour. As of Tuesday morning, just 30 tickets remained. This duo of accomplished and critically acclaimed songwriters/multi-instrumentalists released “Real Time” back in 2000 – then took about a decade off from working together. They put out a two-CD live set in 2012, “We’re Usually Better Than This,” which opened the doors for a second studio record, 2013’s “Memories and Moments.” That one made my end-of-year Top 10 list. Each songwriter contributed five songs, they collaborated on “Turn Your Dirty Lights On,” and recorded a couple of chestnuts (“Paradise” and “Alone and Forsaken” from the John Prine and Hank Williams catalogs, respectively). Special thanks to Beth Warren for sticking her neck out to bring this one to town.

The Leftover Salmon Powder Daze Winter Tour arrives at the Animas City Theatre on Friday and Saturday. If you didn’t get tickets yet, don’t even try. It’s sold out. They do play Sunday night, though, at the Telluride Conference Center. The latest incarnation of LoS features original members Drew Emmitt and Vince Herman, along with longtime bassist Greg Garrison, Broke Mountain Bluegrass Band alumnus Andy Thorn on banjo and newcomer Alwyn Robinson on drums.

Tickets also remain for the hip-hop pairing of Zion I and Sol at 9 p.m. Monday at the ACT. With seven LPs under their belt including their latest, “Shadowboxing,” Zion I is a beat-heavy group that’s grown decidedly grittier through the years. Sol is a Seattle-based emcee.

Some of the biggest names in comedy land in the San Juan Mountains this weekend as the Sheridan Opera House hosts the 15th annual Telluride Comedy Fest from Thursday through Sunday (Feb. 13-16). Each night features a unique show blending stand-up, sketch and improv. 

Attendees include Paul Scheer (“30 Rock”), Rob Corddry (“Hot Tub Time Machine”), Brian Huskey (“Veep”), Rob Huebel (“I Love You, Man”) and Jason Mantzoukas (“The League”), among others. This year’s event also celebrates the Sheridan Opera House’s 100th and Telluride Ski Area’s 40th anniversaries.

Closer to home, Durango DOT Comedy performs the live improv “Um, yeah. About last night …” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Durango Arts Center. 

As always, Ska beers cost just $1 at DOT Com affairs.

The San Juan Symphony features Israeli flute soloist Yossi Arnheim performing Mozart’s Flute Concerto No. 2 and the world premiere performance of a new piece, “Camping,” by 11th grade Durango composer Liam Ramsey-White at 3 p.m. Sunday in the Community Concert Hall. 

Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 will also be performed.

Local guitar slingers workin’ the bars for your pleasure include Jack Ellis at 7 p.m. tonight at the Office Spiritorium; Pete Giuliani at 5 p.m. Saturday at Mountain Madness; and the Miserabillies at 5:30 p.m.  Saturday at the Diamond Belle Saloon.

This week’s Top Shelf list is provided by Tim O’Brien, who started his Durango résumé decades ago when Hot Rize played the old Farquahrts (now the Derailed). He’s since visited with big sister Mollie and the O’Boys, the new acoustic supergroup NewGrange and assorted trios, quartets and combos. These are a few of Tim’s favorite things whenever he visits our humble burg:

• The vintage movie posters at the Rochester Hotel
• KSUT on the rent-a-car radio
• Steaming pavement in the sun the morning after snowfall
• Seeing old friends

With a solid kick and a red hot lick and some Tennessee style? Email me at chrisa@gobrainstorm.net.