Mothers, Seattle rap and save the date for Jimmy

by Chris Aaland

You can thank Anna Jarvis for all of the hullabaloo this Sunday. Back in 1908, Jarvis held a memorial service to honor her mother and all mothers at a church in Grafton, W.V., and worked tirelessly the next six years to secure national holiday status.

Fast forward nearly 100 years and I’m approaching Mother’s Day with no small amount of guilt. This will be my first motherless Mother’s Day. Mom, as you’ll recall, died this past March. Instantly. Like fall-down-go-boom kind of instantly. Nobody saw it coming, nobody had a chance to hold her hand and say goodbye. For nearly 46 years, she nurtured, advised and loved me. Sure, I told her I loved her thousands of times. But I thanked her far too little. Children are especially mean to their mothers. Moms are the first ones we rebel against, and we get damned good at it.

Mother’s Day has become Wife’s Day in my life. Shelly gets shafted on holidays. Her birthday falls five days after Christmas and the day before New Year’s Eve. Throughout her life, Christmas and birthday presents were often combined. Now, for the second time (it also happened in 2008), she’ll celebrate Mother’s Day and our anniversary on the same day. That doesn’t equate to two sushi or steak dinners, two presents or two batches of flowers. 

But this year is special. Fate took away our youngest son three years ago. This time around, Shelly is less than a month away from becoming a mom again. The midwives predict Baby Rosie’s arrival on June 8.

I’m pledging to be the perfect husband on Sunday, if only for a day. I’ll tackle all of the cooking, cleaning, yard work and cranky Otto duties. I’ll buy a fancy dinner, flowers, card and presents for just one woman because it’s too late to call Mom.

So call your mom on Sunday. Send her a card and stuff a letter into it telling her everything your grateful for. Write the thing by hand, like we used to back in the last century. Use the computer to order flowers.

Thank you, Mom. And thank you, Shelly. I love you both.

It’s a light week for entertainment this week in Durango, but there are still a few highlights to share.

Seattle rapper Grieves plays the Animas City Theatre at 9 p.m. Friday in support of his fourth album, “Winter & the Wolves.” The insatiable, devil-may-care MC is well known for his meticulous exploration of life, love and loss, through a unique medley of hip-hop and soulful music. Grieves emerged in 2007 with his debut, “Irreversible,” which served as a platform for several years of touring with some of indie-rap’s finest, including Atmosphere, Macklemore, P.O.S., Brother Ali, Cunninlynguists and others. His 2011 record, “Together/Apart,” hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart and cracked the Billboard Top 200. Special guests Son Real and Fearce Vill also appear on the bill for this 18-and-over show.

The curtain falls on another season of “The Met: Live in HD” at 10:55 a.m. Saturday with an HD broadcast of Gioachino Rossini’s Cinderella story, “La Cenerentola” in the Vallecito Room of FLC’s Student Union.

Papa Otis and the Flume Canyon Boys bring their mountain stomp to Elmore’s Corner and Upper East Side Liquors’ second annual customer appreciation day from 1-5 p.m. Saturday. Billed as a barn party, there’s live music, giveaways, prizes, dogs and brats on the grill and store specials throughout the day.

The Papa Otis/Flume Canyon entourage also plays the Lost Dog from 1-3 p.m. Sunday for a vintage clothing and Western shirt showing by the Sideshow Emporium of Dolores. Enjoy mimosas and boody Marys, pop art by Hardison Collins, live music and more. The sale runs through Monday.

It seems there’s a reggae legend coming to the region every month or two, but come July 30 a true icon will be near when Jimmy Cliff plays the Telluride Conference Center in Mountain Village. Cliff is on the short list of reggae royalty that includes guys like Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer. Tickets went on-sale yesterday at sheridanoperahouse.com.

Elsewhere: Jack Ellis works the Office Spiritorium at 7 p.m. tonight (Thurs., May 8) and the Seven Rivers Steakhouse at the Sky Ute Casino Resort at 5 p.m. Saturday; Kirk James does solo blues at 6 p.m. tonight at the Sporting News Grill in the Holiday Inn; Pete Giuliani does a solo, acoustic show at the Earthen Vessel Gallery during the Gallery Walk from 5-8 p.m. Friday; Powertribe and Splatapus play Moe’s at 7 p.m. Friday; the Miserabillies bring honky-tonk to the Diamond Belle Saloon at 5:30 p.m. Saturday; and DJs Nuffsaid, Technique and CK spin at Moe’s at 8 p.m. Saturday.

It’s still a week off (Thurs., May 15, to be exact), but KDUR’s annual Furniture as Art is looming near. Twenty-five dollar advance tickets get you admission, entertainment from piano man Jonas Grushkin, appetizers, three free drinks and the chance to bid on artwork by dozens of local artists. Tickets are available at Maria’s Bookshop and KDUR but hop to it. This thing usually sells out.

This week’s Top Shelf list is provided by local promoter Eugene Salaz, the mastermind behind Durango Massive Productions. You may know him by his DJ name, I-Gene. Here’s a glimpse into the music that shaped the man:

1. Thievery Corporation, “Radio Retaliation,” 2008. The milestone for becoming part of the Thievery family.
2. See-I, “See-I,” 2011. Solid from beginning to end and the first time my name is in the album credits.
3. Fort Knox Five, “Radio Free D.C.,” 2008. Ass-slapping beats.
4. Dr. Israel, “Inna City Pressure,” 2005. Reggae infused with drum and bass. Give me more please!
5. Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Uplift Mofo Party Plan,” 1987. My day-at-the-skate-park album.
6. Ween, “The Mollusk,” 1997. Sparked multiple human emotions with their diverse sound.
7. Johnny Cash, “At San Quentin,” 1969. My father and I would sing along to the entire album.
8. The Cure, “Disintegration,” 1989. The album that helped me get to second base for the first time.
9. Jane’s Addiction, “Nothing Shocking,” 1988. Great content for my feeble 12-year-old mind and my early teen years.
10. Michael Jackson, “Thriller,” 1982. My first vinyl record at age 5.

M is for the mud flaps she gave me for my pickup truck? Email me at chrisa@gobrainstorm.net.