Paying it forward, channeling Lou & Canuck country
by Chris Aaland
While the rest of the nation is locked in a never-ending political squabble for the ages, local folks from both sides of the aisle do good deeds like throw fundraisers for first responders, music education and community radio.
As has become tradition, Seasons Rotisserie & Grill will be “Burning Down the House” from 5:30-10 p.m. Monday. This is the seventh year in a row that Seasons has hosted this benefit for Durango’s emergency responders through the 100 Club. The 100 Club’s mission is to provide financial assistance to families of law enforcement and firefighters who are injured or killed in the line of duty, and to provide resources to enhance their safety and welfare. The event has been organized each year as a “thank-you” to the Durango Fire & Rescue Authority and its personnel who responded to the downtown fire in the 700 block of Main Avenue on Feb. 22, 2008. This fire destroyed three businesses, including Seasons. To keep with the fire theme, the evening’s special menu will feature “smoky” and “spicy” offerings prepared by Chef David Stewart. “Guest Chef” former DFRA and current Upper Pine Fire Protection District Fire Marshal Tom Kaufman will also prepare his special five-alarm chili.
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| KDUR’s?Cover Night (Saturday at The Animas City Theatre) is almost enough to make Lou Reed smile. |
Standout local musicians are bringing their bands together for a Local Music Showcase featuring two nights of music at the Balcony Backstage at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday to support and expand the programs of Stillwater Music. Friday’s slate includes DJ Mateo, Oblee, Magi Nation and SkyPilot. Saturday’s lineup features DJ Mateo, the Jade Robbins Project, Groove Casters and Durango Funk Allstars. Admission is just $5. Attendees under age 21 must be accompanied by an adult.
The KDUR Cover Night is a quasi-annual tradition where local musicians unite to support freeform, community radio that happens all too infrequently. Fortunately, this is one of those special times in which the stars aligned. KDUR rolls out its latest Cover Night, this time featuring the music of Lou Reed & the Velvet Underground, at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Animas City Theatre. Confirmed bands include Farmington Hill, Lawn Chair Kings, Papa Otis, the Crags, the Cannondolls, Bob’s Yr Uncle, Wellington & the Brett, the Sweet Janes, Mossy Oak and Oblee. These nights always showcase the best local talent. And it’s just $5 at the door.
The Community Concert Hall welcomes Adonis Puentes & the Voice of Cuba Orchestra at 7 p.m. tonight (Thurs., Feb. 18). Puentes has earned critical acclaim as a soñero, singing ballads backed by the mix of Spanish guitars with African rhythms distinctive to Cuba. Born 45 miles southwest of Havana, Puentes was playing with a children’s guitar ensemble at age 6 and singing and writing his own music at 14.
Then at 7 p.m. Tuesday, award-winning country singer/songwriter Terri Clark will take the Concert Hall’s stage. Like her fellow Canuck contemporary Shania Twain, Clark stormed out of Canada and captured the attention of the U.S. country music industry in the mid-1990s. Popular on radio, Clark has enjoyed six #1 hit singles, including “Better Things to Do,” “Poor Poor Pitiful Me,” “Girls Lie Too” and “I Just Wanna Be Mad.”
Local bluegrass favorites The Badly Bent play their annual “Concert at the Strater” on Friday night at the Hank. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with opening act Last Nickel.
The Mancos Valley Distillery hosts the blues duo Blind Boy & Bill at 7 p.m. Saturday. These guys go way back … all the way to the Mississippi Delta, inspired by Robert Johnson, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Muddy Waters and Slim Harpo. Blind Boy & Bill, aka Stanley Maynard McNeil & Bill Reigel, hail from the Four Corners and Las Vegas, respectively.
Heading up to Telluride this weekend? Folk icon Judy Collins plays the Sheridan Opera House at 8 p.m. tonight, while Nahko & Medicine for the People bring their world groove on Friday and Saturday.
Way farther up north – at Nottingham Park in Avon, to be precise – is Winter WonderGrass, a festival from Friday through Sunday which includes Greensky Bluegrass, the Wood Brothers, the Travelin’ McCourys, Drew Emmitt & Andy Thorn of Leftover Salmon, and dozens more. There’s also a celebration of craft brewing going on.
The San Juan Symphony presents its third concert of the season, “Unforgettable Triumph,” featuring guest conductor and Music Director candidate Geoffrey Robson and trumpet soloist Ryan Anthony at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Community Concert Hall. Selections include Beethoven’s Overture to The Creatures of Prometheus, Jim Stephenson’s world premiere Trumpet Concerto No. 3 and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 in D minor.
Alpine Bank presents the fourth annual School Music Extravaganza from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Community Concert Hall, featuring music from Miller and Escalante middle schools, Durango High School and the Fort Lewis College drumline. Admission is free.
BREW Pub & Kitchen has some new offerings to take the chill off cold winter’s nights. Among the new beers this month are Oaked Wallace, a smooth Scottish ale aged on oak; Xenu, an otherworldly oatmeal stout on nitro; and Bonnie, an earthy, citrusy hop experience.
Elsewhere: Kirk James channels Albert Collins as he goes ice pickin’ at the Lake House for the Vallecito Lake Ice Fishin’ Gala Dinner at 7 p.m. Friday; James’s blues band joins him from 2:30-5:30 p.m. Saturday at Purgy’s Pub; and DJ Noonz spins at Moe’s from 9 ’til close Saturday.
This week’s Top Shelf list recounts my highlights of the 2016 Grammy Awards that escaped the TV spectacle (yet televised honors for Chris Stapleton and Alabama Shakes are both noteworthy and deserved).
1. Jason Isbell, two Grammys for “Something More than Free.”
2. The SteelDrivers, a bluegrass win for “The Muscle Shoals Recordings.”
3. Buddy Guy, “Born to Play Guitar,” which was proven with a blues Grammy.
4. Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn winning a folk trophy.
5. Mavis Staples getting an award for Best Roots Performance.
Time for jumpin’ overboard? Email me: chrisa@ gobrainstorm.net.n