THINGS TO DO IN ASPEN AND SNOWMASS - FREE MUSIC IS A BIG PART

English: Pure Prairie League at an outdoor performance in Longmont, Colo., on 23 July 2010. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Looking for things to do in Aspen during the summer?  You don’t have to look far. Aspen overflows (sometimes literally) with events and activities during the summertime.

First, the common outdoor activities associated with many mountain towns (hiking, biking, tennis, golf) are readily available in Aspen and neighboring Snowmass, and then of course, the area hosts well-known, events like the Aspen Food and Wine Classic, the Aspen Environment Forum, the Aspen Ideas Festival, Aspen Security Forum, and more recently, the USA Pro Cycling Challenge.

While these events and activities are fun and entertaining, I’ve been intrigued by some of the lesser-known or more than once-a-summer opportunities as well.

Up to the third week of July, I’d already gone to Aspen Center for Physics events, Aspen Music Festival concerts, and I had even participated in my own Aspen Astronomy activities.  Oh, and I managed to get a little gardening  and social dancing in as well.

Last Thursday night I finally took the opportunity to catch one of the 2012 Snowmass Free Thursday Night Concert Series events – renowned American country-rock band, Pure Prairie League was playing!

MUSIC AND VIDEO GAMES IN GRAND JUNCTION, COLORADO

Dualakoo (Photo credit: Rich Pearce)

Last weekend I had the chance to get out of Aspen and go to the big city (well, Grand Junction, Colorado ) for a couple of days to celebrate my grandson’s 6th birthday.

 

Serendipitously, my stepson’s band, Dualakoo, also happened to be performing at a place called Cruisers Bar the night before the big birthday bash. I was excited about the party, but I was also happy about the opportunity to listen to Stephen’s band play. Although I had seen him perform several times when he was in high school (Battle of the bands in Basalt, Colorado.), I hadn’t heard his music in a long time.

 

When we arrived at Cruisers, formerly a mainstay of North Avenue in Grand Junction but now rocking out Horizon Drive, we found it to be casually friendly and inviting – busy, but not uncomfortably packed. The lively crowd eagerly waited for the band to start as a cowbell periodically signaled a good tip arriving in the bartenders’ till.

 

While Dualakoo checked their sound, I wondered what kind of music we might be in for. Online, they are described as everything from “Sublimish”, “Alternative Rock”, “like Mystic Roots”, and “90’s rock” (whatever that is). I also remembered that at one time Stephen had thrown around the names of some specific bands that they covered, but I’m still stuck in the 60’s through 80’s rock, blues, and blues rock era, so it didn’t help me out too much.

 

During the show, they did play some of that Alternative, Sublimish, Mystic Roots, 90’s rock stuff, but they also entertained the mixed-age, but mostly 20-something crowd with an eclectic mix of danceable tunes by The Beatles, Bob Marley, Michael Jackson, The Jackson Five, and some well-received originals. The fan favorite seemed to be “Colorado”, an original, playful, Reggae-style tribute to their home state.

 

To me, all of it was funky, groovy, high-energy music that everyone seemed to enjoy, and after an hour or so, the festive (and somewhat tipsy) crowd entertained us as well. In fact, our front-row seating allowed us a great view of some interesting, although sometimes over exuberant, dance performances.

 

Before we knew it, it was getting late, and even though we didn’t want to, we left before the band finished playing because I had to get my rest before taking on the grandkid’s birthday party the next day. I was happy -- it had been a very fun and entertaining show.

 

Speaking of entertaining, the birthday party the next day was a hoot – nine energetic, over-“sugarfied” munchkins testing out the new presents and playing video games (and I thought the Cruiser’s crowd was rowdy)!

 

I don’t get to Grand Junction all that often and I typically do not fare well against six and unders in video games, but I have another grandson there with a birthday coming up next month! When I go to the next party, I think I’ll make it a point to visit some other live music venues while I’m there. Maybe I’ll even try to familiarize myself with some of that 90’s rock (and practice some video games) before I go.

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• Concerts In Carbondale, Co. – At the PAC3 Theater I Got It All Back (musicaspen.blogspot.com)

Concerts In Carbondale, Co. – At the PAC3 Theater I Got It All Back

Cover of Coco Montoya
I hadn’t been to any indoor live music concerts in quite awhile – something I really enjoyed back in my college years. So, when the opportunity to see Coco Montoya at the Performing Arts Center at Third Street (PAC3) theater in Carbondale, Co. arose, I thought it might be fun to relive my concert-going days.

I had never been to the PAC3 and was interested to find out what it was like, and although I recognized the name, Coco Montoya, I did not know what kind of music he played – I was curious. When I found out he played the Blues (one of my favorite musical genres) and that he had once been the guitarist for John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers (a band which at various times featured Eric Clapton and Mick Taylor), I was excited to see the show.

As soon as we entered the PAC3, which I learned hosts not only concerts but special events, non-profit functions, and other community affairs as well, I was immediately taken in by its intimate, but professional ambience.

It was considerably smaller than the live music oriented 32 night clubs I occasionally visited while attending the University of Denver in the 1980’s, but the dim, comfortable lighting, large stage, lively bar, and friendly staff brought back fond memories of going to clubs like “After the Fox” to dance and listen to live music.

I looked around the crowd of about 150 people and even though they were, well, older than the After the Fox crowd I remembered (actually, it was probably the “same” crowd, just 50ish now and a LITTLE bit more subdued), the excitement and the energy were reminiscent of the concerts I used to enjoy frequently.

We hadn’t been there for long when the band hit the stage running, diving right in with an energetic tune featuring Coco Montoya himself on guitar (played left-handed and upside-down) and vocals.

With a voice that reminded me of Robert Cray and a “shimmery” guitar style revealing a tasteful mix of both smooth and aggressive influences, Coco entertained the lively crowd with energy and emotion. One couldn’t help but want to dance – and we did! A couple times I even caught myself drifting off to those college days concerts in Denver.

Coco gracefully blended one song after another into the next and the show was highlighted by a sentimental tribute to an old friend, and a fiery encore of the title track on his latest release, “I Want It All Back” -- The title seemed eerily appropriate. Just like days gone by, we kept dancing, not wanting it to end.

After the encore, as and the band left the stage for real, I became aware of my tired legs and aching feet, but I was happy and carefree. I realized that I may no longer be 19 years old, but I still enjoy live music and dancing at concerts -- at the PAC3 theater in Carbondale, Co., at least for a few hours, I got it all back.

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