Brewfest, Hard Working Americans and Dirty Kitchen
by Chris Aaland
We were hesitant to let Otto play football. After working in collegiate athletics for more than 20 years, I’d seen the good, bad and ugly of the sport, from players who ran afoul of the law to hard-working, disciplined kids who used football to springboard into successful careers as educators, bankers and doctors. The desire for little boys to strap on a helmet and pads is a powerful force, so we relented.
Otto’s first game at middle linebacker against Farmington two weeks ago saw him get in on a handful of tackles. Last week against Bayfield, he notched his first sack and ran down a player on the 10-yard line, preserving a shutout. You know what? This football dad thing is almost as good as the days when I suited up for the red team in the Rifle Pee Wee Football League. My little guy wears No. 66, which I chose because Otto’s favorite babysitter, Kynan Kelly, wore it back in the ‘90s for the high school Demons. Saturday saw me drop by Kynan’s house to pick up his old, worn-out Durango Football #66 t-shirt. I shimmied my 3XL frame into the ancient rag to cheer on my own #66.
Football gets in the way of one of my favorite local beerfests this weekend, as we pack into the Tundra for a road trip to Aztec. If all goes well, I might get to play Power Hour from 4-5 in Buckley Park.
 Colorado Americana supergroup Hard Working Americans plays the Concert Hall on Sunday night. |
A record 53 breweries and distilleries pour at this year’s San Juan Brewfest, which runs from 1-5 p.m. Saturday at Buckley Park. All six Durango brewers and vodka distillers Durango Craft Spirits will be on hand, as will dozens of other regional breweries. Dreamers, Farmington Hill and Papa Otis & the Hillbilly Foxtrot all perform, too.
The Community Concert Hall season continues with Hard Working Americans at 7:30 p.m. Sunday. The sextet has Colorado roots, forming in 2013 to play a benefit in Boulder for Colorado Flood Relief. With one foot in the Americana world thanks to frontman Todd Snider and another in the jam band universe courtesy of bassist David Schools, best known for his nearly three decades of work in Widespread Panic, HWA followed its Boulder show with a tour and release of its self-titled debut record. They cover the likes of BR5-49, Drivin’ ‘N Cryin’, Gillian Welch, Randy Newman, the Bottle Rockets and Hayes Carll and mix in a smattering of Snider’s originals. Neal Casal (guitarist from the Chris Robinson Brotherhood), Chad Staehly (keyboard player from Great American Taxi), drummer Duane Trucks (younger brother of Derek Trucks) and guitarist/lap steel player Jesse Aycock round out the group.
The individual members of HWA have a long history with Durango audiences. Schools did a couple of legendary dates with Widespread Panic here in the early 1990s at the old FLC Fine Arts Auditorium and the Iron Horse Inn Ballroom. (Strangely, both venues later collapsed under the weight of heavy snows.) Staehly’s Great American Taxi has been to town a few times. Snider visits local stages every few years. Some of his shows are epic, like his 2002 DAM gig at the Durango Arts Center. That solo performance shined the spotlight on his legendary storytelling, which ran the gamut of emotions. More recently, an argument with a heckler shortened his 2013 Henry Strater Theatre gig to a single set when he walked offstage. Still, the genius behind “Talkin’ Seattle Grunge Blues” and “Vinyl Records” continues to churn out some of the best contemporary American folk anthems around. His words demand your attention.
Durango Acoustic Music presents the Grammy-nominated bluegrass band Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen at 8 p.m. Friday at the Animas City Theatre. Solivan, a former gourmet chef by trade, moved from Alaska to Washington, D.C., to pursue a music career. He’s since built a reputation as a top-flight mandolinist and formed Dirty Kitchen. Banjoist Mike Munford is a past IBMA Banjo Player of the Year, while guitarist Chris Luquette and bassist Dan Booth helped the group bring home the 2014 IBMA Instrumental Band of the Year honors. Their most recent album, “Cold Spell,” was nominated for a Grammy this past winter. Local music fans have seen Dirty Kitchen at such regional events as the Four Corners Folk Festival, Pagosa Folk’n Bluegrass, RockyGrass and Pickin’ in the Pines.
KSUT’s fall membership drive is under way … at least the soft, “Warp Drive” phase. Following the lead of other NPR stations across the country, Warp Drives cut back on the on-air pitching to allow for fewer program interruptions … namely, during popular drive-time programs like “All Things Considered” and “Morning Edition.” Today (Thurs., Sept. 27), KSUT jocks will make shortened pitches as the station draws for its first earlybird prize: a VIP package to Four Corners Folk Festival, complete with lodging at Incredible Pagosa Vacation Rentals, soaks at Overlook Hot Springs, and VIP meals and food in the reserved seating area to the left of the stage. The grand prize, drawn in mid-September, is a trip on January’s Jam Cruise 14, where artists like Dr. John, the Infamous Stringdusters and Trombone Shorty will entertain on the high seas from Miami to Belize and Cozumel. Pledge at ksut.org or call 970-563-0255 to be entered into all of the drawings.
Don’t like what’s on the radio? Want to be a DJ? Got a crush on Liggett or Lynch? To paraphrase the German Eurodance project, Snap!, “You’ve got the power.” KDUR holds its DJ application meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday in 125 Noble Hall.
SkyPilot lands at Moe’s for Funked Up Fridays at 7 p.m., followed by DJ Kaztro at 10. Saturday’s back-to-school party features dancing to DJ Noonz at 9.
Elsewhere: Lawn Chair Kings wind down their summer season at the Balcony at 5 p.m. Friday; the Kirk James Blues Band plays Vallecito’s Hideaway Grill at 6 p.m. Friday and the Kennebec Café in Hesperus at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday; the Black Velvet Trio works the Balcony at 5 p.m. Saturday; Kirk James goes solo at 6512 Restaurant & Lounge at 7 p.m. Saturday; and the Lisa Blue Trio plays Wednesday’s concert in the Rochester Hotel’s Secret Garden from 4:30-7 p.m. Proceeds benefit Merely Players.
Got one from this hippie who smelled kind of funny? Email me at chrisa@gobrainstorm.net