Toasting the Toasters, guitar heroes & Dollface mini-tour

by Chris Aaland

I know, winter technically has 3½ weeks remaining. But unseasonal warm weather as of late has my backyard melting. Spring means drinking beer on porches and listening to tunes that make you groove. Festival tickets need to be purchased (Meltdown is less than two months away!), camping gear repaired and spring gardens planned. Local music and beer offerings are getting festive with the calendar flipping to March this week.

The Toasters toast 35 years on Friday at the ACT.

The Toasters celebrate their 35th anniversary in 2016 and they’ll drop by the Animas City Theatre at 9:30 p.m. Friday. Formed on the Lower East Side of New York in 1981, they forged their instantly recognizable “East Side Beat” in such famous Big Apple dancehalls as CBGB’s, where they were named a Top 20 core artists alongside the Ramones, Blondie and the Talking Heads. They launched the Third Wave Ska revival, collaborated early in their career with the iconic Joe Jackson, and established themselves as the premier USA ska act of a generation. Buster’s Ghost opens their ACT show.

Guitars take over the world – or at least the Community Concert Hall – at 7 p.m. Saturday when the California Guitar Trio and Montreal Guitar Trio join forces. The night features six accomplished guitarists from four countries (Japan, Canada, Belgium and the U.S.) who collectively fuse more than 40 years of experience into a unique, 6-by-6 string “phenomensemble.” The CGT’s steel string guitars blend naturally with MG3’s nylon string instruments as each trio’s fret boards chase the others’ original compositions and arrangements of progressive rock, world, jazz and classical. The two trios initially collaborated in 2009. A live recording followed two years later, followed by frequent co-bill tours across North America.

The FLC Jazz Fest brings the Sean Jones Quartet to the Community Concert Hall at 7 p.m. Wednesday. A thrilling hard bop trumpeter and composer, Jones balances technical virtuosity with the music of his gosepl upbringing. Jones, who served as the lead trumpet for the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra until 2010, stands out from the horn-blowing pack with his bright, muscular tone and impeccable sense of swing.

Hello Dollface has a new album, “Warrior of Light,” scheduled to hit the streets March 25, and they’ll play El Rancho on Friday, the Office on Monday and Eno Wine Bar on Wednesday. Their vagabond soul is displayed on the album’s 10 tracks, which blend R&B, rock, jazz, funk, electro-pop and indie folk. Fronted by vocal powerhouse Ashley Edwards (who also plays keyboards and guitar), the group includes bassist Jesse Ogle, Easton Stuard (keys, organ, flute) and drummers Julian Fritz and Michael Pratt.

Two high-energy local bands – Elder Grown and Pants Party – play the ACT at 9:15 p.m. Saturday. Covering a wide variety of styles, Elder Grown mixes rock, funk, reggae and hip-hop. Pants Party is a funky dance band guaranteed to make even your grandma get down.

Nitro beer fans rejoice! Steamworks has embraced technology and is canning a new nitrogenated Backside Stout. The nitrogenating process is accomplished by infusing nitrogen bubbles rather than CO2 for carbonation. That thick, dense, off-white head? It’s produced by smaller nitrogen bubbles, which also change the mouthfeel of the beer as they are less invasive than CO2. When the top of a nitro can is popped, drinkers can immediately turn it upside down and pour vigorously into a flat-bottomed glass. When done properly, it recreates the cascading effect of a draft beer. The extra excitement of all this is that arguably Steamworks’ best beer – Backside Stout, a two-time Great American Beer Festival medalist – will now be available to enjoy at home with the same nitro effect we’ve tasted at the brewpub.

Not to be outdone, Ska is giving its line of 12-oz. bottles the boot, with all of its mainlines coming out in cans. Hop Ivy, Steel Toe Milk Stout and Buster Nut Brown will soon be available in six packs of cans, while the Decadent Imperial IPA will be canned and sold in four packs. In true Ska form, the artwork takes on the classic comic book theme. Steel Toe even brings back the classic black & white cow, this time sporting a pair – or pairs – of work boots. Twenty-two oz. bombers of specialty beers will still be available for connoisseurs.

Durango Brewing’s tap room, as you know, has been closed for remodeling for months. Word on the street has them reopening in time for spring break. And that’s not all … the rumor mill has a new logo and some tasty new offerings. That’s good news for the folks living up in Animas City who’ve had no local brewery.

Also of note: the Black Velvet Trio plays the Derailed Pour House from 7-11 p.m. Friday, while their duo works the Diamond Belle Saloon from 5:30-10 p.m. Saturday; and DJ Noonz & friends spin music at Moe’s from 9 ‘til close Saturday.

With spring on the horizon, it’s never too early to start planning festival season. Most of these offer earlybird discounts. This week’s Top Shelf List is a six-pack of spring and summer picks worth saving the date:

1. Durango Bluegrass Meltdown, April 15-17. Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley nearly took home a Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album and they’ll headline this year, along with Mipso, Foghorn Stringband and others.

2. Pagosa Folk’n Bluegrass, June 3-5. Aoife O’Donovan, Tony Furtado & the Jon Stickley Trio are highlights.

3. Telluride Bluegrass, June 16-19. All the usual suspects, plus Neil Finn, Dave Rawlings Machine and Emmylou Harris, who has skipped the past few years.

4. The Ride, July 9-10. Two words are all you need to know: Pearl Jam.

5. Telluride Jazz, Aug. 5-7. Galactic, Kermit Ruffins, Rebirth Brass Band, Jon Cleary … A funky good N’awlins fest.

6. Four Corners Folk Festival, Sept. 2-4. The Del McCoury Band, Darrell Scott & the Milk Carton Kids help make this arguably their best lineup ever.

When I get home from work and I’m dyin’ of thirst? Email me at chrisa@gobrainstorm.net.