KRS-One, cowboys, Celts and kilts

by Chris Aaland

Durango reaps the harvest of another eclectic musical weekend, ranging from cowboy folk to hip-hop aristocracy to kilt-wearing jocks heaving Braemar stones to the standard for artistic vision. My challenge to you: be the first person to prove to me that he/she pulled off the KRS-One/Tom Russell/Wicked Tinkers/Beethoven’s Fifth grand slam with selfies taken at each event, and I’ll buy you a six-pack of your favorite Durango beer. I promise.

Hip-hop legend KRS-One returns to the Animas City Theatre at 9 p.m. Friday. Rolling Stone once called KRS-One the “conscience of hip-hop.” An acronym for “Knowledge Reigns Supreme,” KRS-One has a lengthy resume. As hip-hop grew more commercialized and corporate in the ‘90s, he openly rejected such cultural exploitation and grounded the genre in its original principles of peace, love, unity and fun. Teaching everything from self-creation to stopping violence; from vegetarianism to transcendental meditation, KRS-One led the establishment of Hip-Hop Appreciation Week (every third week in May) and established Hip-Hop as an international culture at the United Nations in 2001.

Hip hop legend KRS-One returns to the ACT Friday.

Another legend returns to town tonight (Thurs., Oct. 2). Singer-songwriter Tom Russell is the featured musical act at the Durango Cowboy Poetry Gathering, playing at 7 and 9 p.m. at the Henry Strater Theatre. Russell has appeared here several times, including thrice for Durango Acoustic Music. Few singer-songwriters are as versed in as many genres as Russell is. It’s easy to pigeonhole him as a folk artist, given the fact that his tunes have been covered by the likes of Johnny Cash, Ian Tyson, Nanci Griffith, Dave Alvin and others. But he’s equally comfortable in country, cowboy tunes, Celtic, Tex-Mex and good, old-fashioned rock & roll. His big break came in the late ’70s as a taxi driver in Queens when he sang “Gallo Del Cielo” to Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter. While Russell may be the musical highlight, the Cowboy Poetry Gathering brings a wealth of talent to town Thursday through Sunday. Find out more at durangocowboygathering.org.

The San Juan Symphony kicks off its 2014-15 season at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Community Concert. The entire season is billed as “A Joyous Farewell” to maestro Arthur Post’s 13th and final season. The opening concert, “The Virtuoso Violin and Beethoven’s Fifth,” features violin soloist Odin Rathnam playing two of Camille Saint-Saens’ enchanting romantic showpieces. The entire 65-member orchestra will perform the single piece that set the standard for artistic vision: Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.

The Wicked Tinkers headline the annual Aztec Highland Games and Celtic Festival this Saturday and Sunday at Riverside Park on the banks of the Animas River in Aztec. More than just a music fest, events include a series of physical competitions by professional and amateur athletes, including the caber toss, hammer throw and Braemar stone. Saturday’s competition is the Four Corners Highland Games Regional Championship featuring athletes from Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. A family friendly affair, there’s also Scottish dance exhibitions, bagpipes, clan tents, children’s activities and even haggis! It’s such a blast I shelled out hard-earned coin for a kilt last year … and I’m not even Scottish.

So I’m a big fan of Firkin Fridays and usually revel in the genius of Steamworks’ Ken Martin and Spencer Roper. This one brings back some bad memories of my youth, though. At 3 p.m. Friday, Steamworks taps Caribbean Coconut Stout. “I started out by toasting some shredded coconut then deglazing it in a pan with spiced rum, brown sugar and cocoa,” said Martin. “Then this mixture went into our Backside Stout and gave off aromas that reminded me of being on a beach in the Caribbean.” Uh-huh. Back in 1989, Fletch and I were cavorting around the beaches of Lake McConaughy in western Nebraska on the Fourth of July. 

It was a drunk-fest, especially in the years before they outlawed beer. I accidentally squirted some Coppertone into a mug filled with Old Milwaukee. Yuck. Fletch has since had a sex change and is playing semi-pro roller derby in Seattle, but I don’t blame my coconut concoction. It was fate. But I’m confident two of my favorite brewmasters have concocted something much tastier than my drunken faux pas.

KDUR is 40 years old and still in college … or at least that’s the theme to this year’s fall membership drive, which runs Friday through Friday, Oct. 3-10. This Friday marks Guest DJ Day with several voices from KDUR’s colorful past pitching on-air and spinning tunes for the cause, including Jack Llewellyn, Tom Bartels, Nancy Stoffer, Michele Malach and Sarah Baumgatner. Premiums include T-shirts and hoodies, so pledge your support by calling 247-7262 or online at kdur.org.

This week’s Top Shelf Top 10 list is provided by longtime KDUR DJ Stephanie Milner, host of “Lovely Day Radio,” which airs from 6-8 a.m. each Tuesday. Gotta love those working moms who get up at the butt-crack of dawn so that slobs like me can groove to R&B on our morning commute. Stephanie spun my request, though, and didn’t truly deliver her all-time Top 10 albums list. “I stuck with the ‘Lovely Day Radio’ theme,” she said. “I just wasn’t prepared to commit myself to an all-time ever list. Too intense and I kept changing my mind. I will say, however, that there’s a good chance that several of these albums would make my all-time list.” So here are the Top 10 “Lovely Day Radio” albums, in no particular order:

1. “Live at Harlem Square Club,” Sam Cooke, recorded in 1963 but not released until 1985.
2. “Pure Cane Sugar,” Sugarman 3 & Co., 2002.
3. “Faithful Man,” Lee Fields & the Expressions, 2012.
4. “Otis Blue,” Otis Redding, 1965. So hard to pick one album. This one is mostly covers, but it is oh so good.
5. “Eccentric Soul: The Deep City Label,” various artists, 2007. A compilation of lesser-known artists rockin’ it in Miami from 1963-71.
6. “Naturally,” Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, 2005.
7. “Greatest Hits,” Al Green, 1975. I tried not to do Greatest Hits albums, but this one kills it!
8. “Destination … Get Down!,” Diplomats of Solid Sound, 2005.
9. “Aretha Now,” Aretha Franklin, 1968.
10. “No Time for Dreaming,” Charles Bradley, 2011.

A warrior born in heaven? Email me at chrisa@gobrainstorm.net.