Top Shelf

Four Corners Folk and Apple Jacked
 

by Chris Aaland

Kudos are in store for community radio station KDUR, chosen as Durango’s best radio station in a recent poll conducted by that other newspaper. Many of you know I was a longtime KDUR DJ – a volunteer career that spanned parts of four decades. A change in careers drove me from higher education to a full-time public radio gig at KSUT, where we pulled in “Best Radio Station” honors each of the past two years. This time around, Liggett, Lynch, Rachel and KDUR’s countless volunteer DJs past, present and future earned their due.

Community radio is much more than music you won’t hear on commercial stations. It’s a group of music fans – many of them musicians themselves – who spread the word about upcoming concerts, hot local bands and worthy nonprofit groups. Healthy public and community radio pays dividends down the road for all of us.


I’m With Her is one of many acts performing this weekend at the Four Corner’s Folk Festival.

The Four Corners Folk Festival turns 20 years old this year, and the lineup is a mix of old favorites and relative newcomers. The annual Labor Day event on Reservoir Hill in Pagosa Springs is as much a signal of the changing of the seasons as anything. For many, it’s the last camping and picking fester of the year; for others, it simply marks the end of the summer with a three-day weekend of music and friends.

The highlight for many is the return of Hot Rize, with their alter-egos Red Knuckles & the Trailblazers in tow. Eddie from Ohio built a huge local following thanks to its energetic performances under the big tent, and they return for the first time in recent memory. Others, like the Black Lillies, the Oh Hellos, the Jon Stickley Trio and SHEL, have highlighted Folkwest festivals the past few years.

One “new” group that promises to be a highlight is I’m with Her – a women’s power trio that features Sara Watkins (of Nickel Creek), Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O’Donovan (of Crooked Still). All three women have played FCFF with other ensembles or as solo performers.

As always, there are other perks on Reservoir Hill, including a late-night tent (which doubles as the children’s tent during the daytime), the Breckenridge Beer Garden, a VIP area complete with complimentary food and beverages and a workshop tent. The latter often features some of the most intimate, unamplified moments of the weekend. This one often sells out; visit www.folkwest.com to buy tickets early (advance prices run through today – Thurs., Sept. 3).

The Mancos Valley Distillery presents Tucker Hill Citizens Brigade at 8 p.m. Saturday. This experimental quartet has recently put the finishing touches on its second CD.

This month’s Firkin Friday at Steamworks will jack you up. And it celebrates the apple harvest season, too. Apple Jacked! is based in their One Wit Wunder, a Belgian-style wheat beer spiced with coriander and Curacao orange peel. “We peeled and cut green apples and fresh ginger then cooked them down in brown sugar and apple-flavored liquor, also known as applejack,” said brewmaster Ken Martin. “The result is a spaced Belgian wheat beer enhanced with a sweep apple and ginger flavor and a warming sensation from the applejack.” As always, the firkin gets tapped at 3 p.m. Friday.

Durango DOT Comedy presents “A Hard Labor Day’s Night” at 8 p.m. Saturday (doors at 7:30) at the Durango Arts Center. As always, the improv troupe’s performances feature $2 Ska pints.

A back-to-school party highlights Moe’s slate this weekend. The First Saturday event features DJs Icite and Codestar, Cloud Nine and lots of great giveaways courtesy of Animas Herbal Wellness. Funked Up Friday includes dancing to Bootyconda and DJ Kaztro.

KSUT’s earlybird drawings continue at 6 p.m. today (Thurs., Sept. 3) with a VIP package to Telluride Blues & Brews, complete with on-site camping, reserved VIP seating, late-night juke joint tickets and VIP champagne and Bloody Mary tastings. The 2015 Blues & Brews lineup is packed, featuring the likes of ZZ Top, Gregg Allman, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, John Hiatt, Taj Mahal, Anders Osborne and many more. Pledge online at www.ksut.org or call the station at 970-563-0255 between 7 a.m. - 6 p.m. to be entered. The Morning Prize, drawn at 10 a.m., features a pair of tickets to see the Infamous Stringdusters with a dinner gift card to Grassburger. Blues & Brews VIP passes have long since sold out, so this is your last chance to see Blues & Brews in style.

Elsewhere: The Kirk James Blues Band rocks Vallecito’s Hideaway Grill at 6 p.m. tonight and a street party in front of El Rancho from 6-9 p.m. Friday; Pete Giuliani & Richard Leavitt play Durango Brewing Co. from 6-9 p.m. Friday, while Pete goes solo at Mesa Verde’s Farview Lodge Monday and Tuesday; Bacon brings the funk, groove and ska to the Balcony Backstage at 10 p.m. Friday, this time with special guest Jamie Olinger on guitar; and Jeff Solon Jazz does Wednesday’s concert in the Rochester Hotel’s Secret Garden from 4:30-7 p.m. Proceeds benefit the La Plata Family Center.

This week’s Top Shelf list features a Labor Day-themed playlist:

The Gourds, “All the Labor,” 1996. A Jimmy Smith-penned highlight from “Dem’s Good Beeble.”

Tom Russell, “Tulare Dust/They’re Tearin’ the Labor Camps Down,” 1994. A medley of two of the Hag’s finest odes to the working class.

Rush, “Working Man,” 1974. A stellar track from John Rutsey’s brief career as Rush’s drummer.

Jim Croce, “Workin’ at the Car Wash Blues,” 1973. If Croce ain’t one of your guilty pleasures, you were raised wrong.

John Lennon, “Working Class Hero,” 1970. I don’t know about you, but I’m still an effing peasant.

Devo, “Working in the Coal Mine,” 1981. Lest we forget the genius of the “Heavy Metal” soundtrack.

Johnny Paycheck, “Take This Job and Shove It,” 1977. Sure, David Allan Coe wrote it. But Paycheck’s version is chock-full of anger.

Drive-By Truckers, “This F*cking Job,” 2010. Hood, Cooley and Co. are always championing the plight of a blue collar stiffs.

Corb Lund, “Hard on Equipment (Tool for the Job),” 2007. The Hurtin’ Albertan sings one for the carpenters.

The Rainmakers, “Drinkin’ on the Job,” 1986. Top shelf KC roots rock from the mid ’80s.

As soon as you’re born they make you feel small?  Email me at chrisa@gobrainstorm.net