Magic Beans, M&M’sand Marky-Mark’s Top 10

by Chris Aaland

Steampunk Snowdown officially gets under way on Wednesday, with many favorites starting that day. If you’re a newbie or a tourist, Snowdown is a drunken, irreverent version of the Olympics, Beer Fest and Mardi Gras, all rolled into one. Most events are adult-oriented, but there’s fun for the whole family. Visit www.snowdown.org for a complete schedule. More than a dozen events begin that day. Among the early highlights are:

- Bartender’s Contest, 4 p.m., Moe’s. Durango’s best bartenders and amateur mixologists compete for the coveted title of “Official Snowdown Cocktail.”

- Butt Darts, 6 p.m., BREW. From what I’m told, it’s akin to playing quarters but using your derrière instead. I once knew a fellow who could shove M&M’s up his cornhole, then fire them across the room. 

Talk about junk in the trunk. The guy had a howitzer for a heine, and quite accurate as well. One would assume peanut M&M’s packed a bigger punch. He was a Fort Lewis College soccer goalie and a Mormon, to boot. Back in the day, Harvard on the Hill had a knack for attracting such talent. We’re Facebook friends, so this proud Skyhawk shall remain nameless. Yet I digress. The champion wins the coveted Golden Ass award.

- Magical Musical Mystery Tour, 6 p.m., the Lost Dog bar and grill. Teams of four answer music trivia. Categories range from Broadway show tunes to heavy metal to hip-hop and more. My team, which consists of KDUR and KSUT personalities, has done OK the past few years. Do well on Wednesday and you’ll advance to Thursday’s finals to compete for a fat wad of cash.

- Lady F’s Lunacy, 7:30 p.m., Lady Falconburgh’s Barley Exchange. Now in its 20th year, Lunacy is the ultimate Jeopardy. Not that good at trivia? Don’t worry. The ability to chug insane amounts of beer quickly helps you win, too. Lunacy continues next Thursday and Saturday.

- Polar Beer Plunge, 8 p.m., Carver Brewing Co. It’s icy cold, you’re outside, nearly naked and dive into a pool of beer and bob for prizes.

- Jokedown, 8:30 p.m., Derailed Pour House. Think you’re a funny guy? Prove it!

Nederland’s Magic Beans bring their gyrating-hypno-jam-erana to the Aztec Theatre on Friday night.

These are just my raunchy favorites for Wednesday. Family friendly fare includes Spellebration and a doughnut-eating contest. There’s also wine tasting, single mixers (who couldn’t use a Snowdown hookup?) and more. If you’re shy, scared, snobby or too stupid to understand the irreverence, just dress in Steampunk gear (metal corsets and fishnet stockings are always a tasteful choice, particularly for pretty girls and hefty boys) and drink heavily. I haven’t checked the fashion do’s and don’ts, but I believe a dinosaur head on top of a sculpture is acceptable. Or a gold lamé astronaut suit. Or pasties and a g-string. Then you’ll get it.

You can start your binge with some relatively new suds. The official Snowdown beer for the 20th year in a row was brewed by Ska. This year’s release is Aviatrix OPA. Buy some bombers at local liquor stores or pull a draw at bars during Snowdown week. BREW has recently tapped Neville, an extremely drinkable English Ale. Their annual barleywine, Gwendolyn, is on sale in 750 ML bottles for a limited time. And Fort Collins? New Belgium has recently released a couple of newbies, Portage Porter and Slow Ride Session IPA.

Two of Durango’s finest bands – SkyPilot and the Durango Funk All-Stars – play a Whitewater Benefit and silent auction at the Animas City Theatre Friday. Doors open at 5 and the music starts at 8.

Down at Crash Music at the historic Aztec Theatre, the Magic Beans play Friday night. This genre-bending Nederland band morphs Americana, funk, rock and electronica into a unique sound guaranteed to get the dirty hippies gyrating.

This week’s Top 10 list is provided by Mark Duggan, the new programming director at KSUT. Duggan started his new role at the NPR affiliate Dec. 1, bringing with him a wealth of radio experience that includes stints at KBCO in Boulder, KUAZ in Tucson and KSJD in Cortez. Mark hosts Morning Blend shifts from 9 ‘til noon each Monday and Thursday. Here are Mark’s all-time favorite albums:

1. Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros, “Rock Art and the X-Ray Style,” 1999. Yeah, there should probably be a Clash album on this list. But this was, for me, one of Strummer’s finest moments. I recommend frequent gulps from this deep well of fantastic songs.

2. The Church, “Priest=Aura,” 1992. I’m one of the world’s biggest Church fans, following them since 1986. They’ve put out more than a few classics over their 34-year history, but this druggy, abstract epic is one of their finest moments.

3. Tom Russell, “Borderland,” 2001. He’s become my favorite songwriter, with his sharp lyrical eye on history, the West and the fading notion of the “old weird America.”

4. XTC, “Skylarking,” 1986. I remember buying this album partly on the controversy of lead single “Dear God.” I discovered a set of near-perfect pop songs that still sound fresh today.

5. Yo La Tengo, “Painful!” 1993. Arguably their best long player. Note perfect from beginning to end. The band’s mid-90s shows at Boulder’s Fox Theater were among most transcendent I’ve seen.

6. “Hal Willner Presents Weird Nightmare: Meditations on Mingus,” 1992. Willner cast a roomful of jazz cats with the likes of Keith Richards, Leonard Cohen and Chuck D. for a stylistic stew of Charles Mingus reinterpretations. Weird and wonderful.

7. Whiskeytown, “Faithless Street,” 1995. I grew up hating country music, but have come to love it in my old age. The gateway was this classic slab of alt-country poetry that I’ve played on every road trip since 1997.

8. Frank Black, “Teenager of the Year,” 1994. A 22-song cycle of sci-fi, cartoon and mythological madness that made perfect sense to a 23-year-old me working in a warehouse. It still holds up today, years after I put down the tape gun.

9. Television, “Marquee Moon,” 1977. Angular twin-lead guitars, tricky arrangements and the Tom Verlaine sneer. Still massive.

10. Bob Mould, “Workbook,” 1989. The melancholic “Sunspots,” the howling wall of “Wishing Well”, the mercurial “Heartbreak a Stranger...” and so on. Each song cemented Mould’s reputation as one of the godfathers of artful noise.

Cover it in chocolate and a miracle or two? Email me at chrisa@gobrainstorm.net.