Boulder Weekly 09.28.2023

P.

GLIDE or DIE GLIDE or DIE

CHASING

10 NEWS: Boulder’s guaranteed income pilot will begin payments in 2024 BY KAYLEE

HARTER

13 CULTURE: Widening the lens on Colorado’s Black past, present and future BY JEZY

J. GRAY

14 ADVENTURE: Local filmmaker Cedar Wright combines climbing and paragliding to visit untouched terrain BY WILL MATUSKA

23 THEATER: ‘The Laramie Project’ is an urgent story of resilience, remembrance and hope BY TONI TRESCA

• No Vaults (grave coverings, usually cement or plastic)

07 THE ANDERSON FILES: The autoworker strike is building an alliance

08 LETTERS: Signed, sealed, delivered: your views

17 FOUND SOUNDS: What’s in Boulder’s headphones?

18 MUSIC: English shoegaze legends Slowdive bring a dreamy sound from across the pond

19 MUSIC: Newly restored concert-film classic ‘Stop Making Sense’ comes to town

24 EVENTS:

29 FILM: CU’s Brakhage Center honors Ken and Flo Jacobs

30 ASTROLOGY: Love the spiral dance, Virgo

31 SAVAGE LOVE: Unimpressive fuckboy

33 NIBBLES: Boulder County goes from doughnut desert to boomtown

37 GOOD TASTE: A day in the life of Olympia Rare Foods’ Jake Redlener

39 WEED: BoCo and SoCal scientists study DMT hallucinations

• Only biodegradable caskets or shrouds

• Ritual of hand-lowering

• Natural care of the body

Other green options include body composting (natural reduction) and water cremation (alkaline hydrolysis). We also offer flame cremation.

Credit: Jordan Cronenweth

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SEPTEMBER 28, 2023

Volume 31, Number 6

PUBLISHER: Fran Zankowski

EDITORIAL

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Caitlin Rockett

ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR: Jezy J. Gray

REPORTERS: Kaylee Harter, Will Matuska

FOOD EDITOR: John Lehndorff

INTERN: Lily Fletcher

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS:

Dave Anderson, Will Brendza, Rob Brezsny, Michael J. Casey, Chris Piercy, Dan Savage, Toni Tresca, Colin Wrenn

SALES AND MARKETING

MARKET DEVELOPMENT MANAGER:

Kellie Robinson

SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE:

Matthew Fischer

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE: Chris Allred

SPECIAL PROJECTS MANAGER:

Carter Ferryman

MRS. BOULDER WEEKLY: Mari Nevar

PRODUCTION

CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Erik Wogen

SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Mark Goodman

CIRCULATION MANAGER: Cal Winn

CIRCULATION TEAM: Sue Butcher, Ken Rott, Chris Bauer

BUSINESS OFFICE

BOOKKEEPER: Emily Weinberg

FOUNDER/CEO: Stewart Sallo

As Boulder County’s only independently owned newspaper, Boulder Weekly is dedicated to illuminating truth, advancing justice and protecting the First Amendment through ethical, no-holdsbarred journalism and thought-provoking opinion writing. Free every Thursday since 1993, the Weekly also offers the county’s most comprehensive arts and entertainment coverage. Read the print version, or visit boulderweekly. com. Boulder Weekly does not accept unsolicited editorial submissions. If you’re interested in writing for the paper, please send queries to: editorial@boulderweekly.com. Any materials sent to Boulder Weekly become the property of the newspaper.

690 South Lashley Lane, Boulder, CO 80305 Phone: 303.494.5511, FAX: 303.494.2585 editorial@boulderweekly.com www.boulderweekly.com

Boulder Weekly is published every Thursday. No portion may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. © 2023 Boulder Weekly, Inc., all rights reserved.

Boulder Weekly welcomes your correspondence via email (letters@boulderweekly. com). Preference will be given to short letters (under 300 words) that deal with recent stories or local issues, and letters may be edited for style, length and libel. Letters should include your name, address and telephone number for verification. We do not publish anonymous letters or those signed with pseudonyms. Letters become the property of Boulder Weekly and will be published on our website.

THE ANDERSON FILES

THE AUTOWORKER STRIKE IS BUILDING AN ALLIANCE BETWEEN UNIONS AND CLIMATE ACTIVISTS

BY DAVE ANDERSON

On Planet MAGA, where climate change is a Chinese hoax, rightwing media says Joe Biden’s promotion of a “woke” transition to electric vehicles is harming autoworkers and causing a strike.

In an opinion piece for In These Times, Sarah Lazare says too much of the mainstream media coverage parrots the auto executives’ line that union demands will force them to abandon their investments in electric vehicles.

Car manufacturers are posing as champions of progress against a

backward union. Actually, the auto industry’s biggest lobbying organization recently came out against a proposed Biden administration regulation designed to ensure that twothirds of new passenger cars sold in the U.S. are all-electric by 2032.

In 2019, a Guardian investigation revealed that global auto giants were key opponents of action on the climate crisis. In 2020, E&E News found that scientists at General Motors (GM) and Ford knew as early as the 1960s that car emissions caused climate change. Later, their

political lobbying undermined global and U.S. government attempts to reduce emissions.

Like so many labor actions these days, the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike is a response to several decades of rising inequality. In 2008, during the financial crisis, autoworkers sacrificed a great deal when the federal government saved the auto industry. In an analysis for the Economic Policy Institute, Adam S. Hersh writes, “Union workers

Anderson continued on page 8

Continued from page 7

agreed to a wage freeze, entry of lower-wage ‘tiered’ workers, and other concessions affecting retiree pensions and health care benefits. In 2009, the companies suspended contractual cost of living adjustments and have not had one since. Since that time, average consumer prices have increased nearly 40%, and autoworker wages have not come anywhere close to keeping up.”

Hersh notes that profits at the “Big 3” auto companies — Ford, GM and Stellantis (Chrysler) — went up 92% from 2013 to 2022. CEO salaries jumped by 40% and the companies handed out nearly $66 billion in shareholder dividend payments and stock buybacks.

“The companies have more than enough means to meet worker demands, remain profitable, and make the necessary investments to grow into electric vehicles,” Hersh writes. “The Big 3’s $250 billion in profits since 2013 amounts to nearly $1.7 million for each of the roughly 150,000 workers covered by UAW collective bargaining agreements. What’s more, the automakers are set to receive record taxpayer-funded incentives to support their expansion into electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing. Business tax credits and government-backed loans provided by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and bipartisan infrastructure law will substantially boost the profitability of the companies’ investments in developing new EV technologies, expanding and retooling manufacturing facilities, and manufacturing critical EV components.”

More than 100 climate and environmental groups have signed an open statement expressing solidarity with the UAW. The union’s president, Shawn Fain, recently co-authored a Guardian op-ed with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-California).

“The electric vehicle transition must be as much about workers’ rights as it is about fighting the climate crisis,” the authors write. “We will not let the EV industry be built

on the backs of workers making poverty wages while CEOs line their pockets with government subsidies. There is no good reason why EV manufacturing can’t be the gateway to the middle class. But the early signs of this industry are worrying. We will not let corporate greed manipulate the transition to a green economy into a roll back of economic justice.”

The vast majority of electric vehicle plants in the U.S. don’t have unions, and offer lousy wages and benefits. They have received billions of dollars in subsidies from the Biden administration. Is that right?

There was a proposed tax credit for cars and trucks built by domestic unionized workers. Sen. Joe Manchin was opposed, and since his vote was needed for the bill to pass, he successfully blocked it.

“A clean energy transition where CEOs pocket billions in profit from taxpayer subsidies while simultaneously breaking union power and pushing workers into economic insecurity is a pathway to political backlash,” Sydney Ghazarian, an organizer at the Labor Network for Sustainability, told In These Times.

Ghazarian also pointed out that the Inflation Reduction Act is not a Green New Deal.

“[The Inflation Reduction Act] was a historic investment in the energy transition, primarily in the private corporations that are responsible for driving [climate change] in the first place,” she said. “This is in contrast to a Green New Deal, which has a vision of massive investments in the public sector, communities and green jobs.”

This opinion does not necessarily reflect the views of Boulder Weekly.

LETTERS

CHAVEZ FOR BVSD

Jorge Chavez is extremely qualified to be on the BVSD School Board. He has been volunteering with the district in various capacities for years. He completed his second year as chair of the District Accountability Committee. In that role he advised the school district on issues such as budget, policy, diversity, equity and inclusion, school safety and climate, and long-term planning. He is a member of the Latino Parent Advisory Council and advises the superintendent and Board of Education on the need to increase access to and expand the scope of bilingual education in BVSD, disproportionalities in academic achievement, access to advanced coursework, school discipline, special education and translation services.

Jorge is in a position to advise on these issues because he is an expert on education and equity. He is an associate professor at the University of Colorado Denver in the School of Education and Human Development. His research focuses on topics such as racial/ethnic inequalities in the transition to adulthood and the effect of educational and local policy on immigrants and immigrant families.

Obviously, Jorge is a busy person, but I still see him every Tuesday afternoon as he volunteers as a coach for the running club at the school that both his children and my son attend. The running club is the only truly equitable club at our kids’ school. It is free for all families, no transportation or special equipment necessary. Giving his time for this club, on top of all the other things that Jorge does, shows that Jorge is a person who lives his values. He is the kind of leader our school district needs.

We live in a time where school districts across the country are being targeted by conservative groups. We are not immune in Boulder County. As Claire Woodcock wrote in Boulder Weekly in February 2023, Moms For Liberty is now operating here. A vote for Jorge is not only a vote for a highly qualified candidate, it is also a vote that protects all kids in our district regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation, because Jorge is committed to equity for all students.

— Kate Christensen / Lafayette

RE: ANDERSON FILES, ‘LABOR UPSURGE PROMOTES DEMOCRACY’

Dave Anderson’s column last week (Anderson Files, ‘Labor upsurge promotes democracy and prosperity,’ Sept. 21, 2023) was great. He gave a list of the ways that unions are good, and he mentioned something about racial equality. There is another anti-racist aspect of unions that I don’t think gets mentioned often: the way unions can and do stop the spread of racism in the white working-class.

In a column included in a 1998 collection of his work in previous decades, Northern Ireland journalist Eamonn McCann wrote that the labor movement had the most potential to eradicate religious bigotry in N. Ireland. He wrote: “No other institution brings Catholic and Protestant workers together on a regular basis in pursuit of a common purpose, which is antipathetic to sectarianism.” McCann’s columns have been published by an average of 1-2 professional publications (magazines or newspapers) at any given time in the last 40 years and he has held senior positions in Ireland’s labor movement in recent decades and he was one of the main leaders of the N. Ireland civil rights movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 2016 he was elected to the N. Ireland Assembly. He is an expert on fighting sectarianism in N. Ireland and believes that organized labor has a crucial role to play.

Many people believe there are great similarities between the conflict in N. Ireland during The Troubles and the conflict over racism in the United States. This includes people like Angela Y. Davis and, in 1972, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. I believe unions here play a role in combating racism and that that can be escalated when they return to the level of strength they were at before their decline began decades ago. If racist working-class whites see multicultural, anti-racist unions negotiating collective bargaining agreements that they benefit from, many of them will start to question racism.

Unfortunately, many fiscally moderate and conservative Democrats have declined to vote in favor of strengthening labor unions. I’m sure these same Democrats are alarmed at the rise of Donald Trump and at the existence of the Proud Boys. What’s more important to them: protecting capitalism or fighting racism?

— Tom Shelley / Boulder

NO STRINGS ATTACHED

Boulder’s guaranteed income pilot will begin payments in 2024

BY KAYLEE HARTER

The saying goes that if you give a man a fish he’ll eat for a day, but teach a man to fish and he’ll eat for life.

But what if said man already knows how to fish but nothing’s biting? Or maybe the man doesn’t have fishing gear. Sometimes giving people metaphorical fish is exactly the help they need.

Soon, 200 Boulder residents will receive no-strings-attached monthly payments of $500 for two years through a guaranteed income pilot project called Elevate Boulder that the City hopes will improve financial stability, reduce food insecurity, and boost mental wellbeing for low-income residents. The pilot is just one of several dozen projects across the country challenging traditional American notions of what public benefit programs should look like.

Guaranteed income differs from programs like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which often require cumbersome reporting and have myriad qualifying requirements that experts say can become barriers to those who need the benefits most. For those who do qualify for these programs, making even a little bit more money can lead to disqualification, a phenomenon known as the “welfare cliff.”

Elizabeth Crowe, Boulder’s deputy director of Housing and Human Services, says that a general unfamiliarity with the burdensome conditions of programs like SNAP and TANF can lead those who don’t need assistance to wonder why these supplements aren’t enough for struggling families. Guaranteed income programs like Boulder’s provide an extra layer of support without all the hoop-jumping.

“[Guaranteed income] is a potential solution when you add it to other bene-

fits … that enables people to get more money in their pockets to take care of the needs of themselves and their families, and the dignity that comes with having that choice,” she says.

To qualify for Boulder’s pilot program, participants must be 18 years or older, reside within city limits, have been

The project is primarily funded by $3 million in federal COVID-relief funds and, more recently, a $70,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Boulder County, which also launched a fund that community members can contribute to.

Indira Kumari — a medical assistant, Nepali immigrant, and low-income Boulder resident who is part of the task force that helped build the pilot says receiving $500 a month could prevent her from having to make difficult choices about what she and her family need most.

“My kids have got, even now, quite a bit of medical needs,” Kumari says. “Even with two incomes I cannot [meet

concept — it’s been studied for decades, with many investigations showing positive outcomes. But in recent years, it’s taken on a new prominence in the public eye.

In 2019, a pilot program in Stockton, California, was one of the first guaranteed income projects to launch in the U.S. Similar to Boulder’s pilot, the Stockton project, known as SEED, provided $500 to 125 residents who lived in a neighborhood with a median income at or below the city’s median household income for two years.

The idea of no-strings-attached cash payments also gained traction when 2020 presidential candidate Andrew Yang ran on the platform of unconditional payments of $1,000 to all Americans, a concept called Universal Basic Income (UBI), which is often used interchangeably with guaranteed income but differs in that it provides cash to all citizens rather than a target population.

Stimulus checks during COVID, the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit, are also examples of cash assistance programs at the federal level.

impacted by COVID and make between 30%-60% of Boulder’s area median income — between $27,900 and $55,800 for a household of one and increasing by household size. Participants must be Boulder residents for the duration of the program, but there’s no continued income reporting, meaning participants who start making more or less money after the program’s start will still receive payments.

Crowe says the City expects to receive thousands of applications. Participants will be selected through a randomized lottery and applications will open later this fall with payments starting in January 2024.

their needs.] In order to [provide for them], I had to kind of skip my meals. … Had I had some supplemental support, I could have been better off [attending to] those kinds of medical needs.”

Crowe says that in addition to providing these types of immediate and tangible benefits to participants, she also hopes the program will help City processes become more equitable and challenge assumptions some community members might have about one another.

ACROSS THE COUNTRY

Direct cash assistance is hardly a new

Since the Stockton pilot, more than three dozen guaranteed income pilots have launched across the country from Birmingham, Alabama, to Newark, New Jersey, to San Diego, California. Preliminary results from a pilot in Denver offering guaranteed income to people experiencing homelessness show that participants used the money to meet immediate basic needs and plan for the future, with positive outcomes for their mental health and children or family members.

Stephen Nuñez, who was the lead researcher on guaranteed income at the Jain Family Institute and has more than a decade of experience in program evaluation, says the “tidal wave” of guaranteed income pilots will be most valuable in answering structural questions about benefits and generating policy momentum, as decades of research has already born out the benefits for participants.

“The general thrust of it is: Are [guaranteed income recipients] gonna quit their jobs? No. Are they gonna do drugs? No. Does it make them better off? Yes,” Nuñez says. “We already

know all that. And we don’t need more research to do that … it’s really more about an opportunity to share with the general public what researchers already know, but then also to do that coordination to make sure that it’s not just a bunch of pilots.”

‘WHAT WILL THEY SPEND IT ON?’

While critics of guaranteed income programs argue that no-stringsattached cash assistance disincentivizes recipients from working or that participants will use the funds “irresponsibly,” data suggests otherwise.

The SEED pilot, for example, found that participants were significantly more likely to find full-time employment compared to the control group. It also revealed that participants were better able to cover unexpected expenses, improved emotional and mental health, and created new opportunities for “self determination, choice, goal setting, and risk-taking.”

The SEED pilot showed that the greatest share of the money was spent on basic needs like food, clothes, home goods, auto costs and utilities, while less than 1% was spent on alcohol or tobacco.

Kumari says that if she is part of Boulder’s pilot, she would likely use the money for medical bills, housing and food, as well as for entertainment, like taking her family to the movies or out to dinner — something she says she hasn’t been able to do in ages.

Nicole Borrelli, another task force member and the director of housing and economic justice at Boulder-based domestic violence support nonprofit Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence, says she’s experienced what it’s like to be in survival mode firsthand.

“You’re so focused on, ‘I need to get a place [to live]. I need to get food on the table. I need to find three jobs so I can pay for it,’” she says. “Having a little bit of wiggle room, that opportunity to take a breath, to take your kid out to a movie, it may not seem like a big deal to a lot of people, but it’s huge. You need that to function as a parent. If you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of your kids.”

However, Jeffrey Zax, a CU Boulder

professor of economics who specializes in labor economics, says guaranteed income programs have the potential for disincentivizing work.

“When you help people, you diminish, at least slightly, their incentive to help themselves,” he says.

Still, he says it’s unlikely to occur on a large scale.

“There aren’t that many ‘welfare queens’… that really doesn’t happen very much and it’s not going to happen with this program,” Zax says. “$6,000 [annually] is not a lot to live on, especially in Boulder.”

Nuñez says that in addition to the administrative burden associated with other safety net programs, various requirements can also be “paternalistic and insulting,” and “suggest a distrust” of those receiving benefits.

Nuñez points out the racism and classism baked into that distrust, some of which dates back to Regan-era “welfare queen” narratives that have led to benefits being “even more conditional and even more restrictive.”

Crowe says there’s a pervasive belief in American society that “if you don’t have enough means to support your family, you must have done something wrong.”

“Oftentimes that is extended to or sourced from a belief that people who are Black or brown inherently don’t have the ability to make good financial decisions or you wouldn’t be in that position,” Crowe says. “As opposed to … government systems that intentionally prevented Black and brown folks from being able to acquire and maintain wealth.”

NOTHING ABOUT US WITHOUT US

In building the pilot, nine community members who have experienced being low-income in Boulder or work with low-income populations served on a task force to weigh in on program design and implementation. Part of that, Crowe says, was working to make the application process “dignified.”

Kumari says she wanted to make sure that other members of the Nepali community could access the application regardless of language, address or immigration status.

“I have gone through that and I did not want the same feeling of invisibility towards my other community folks,” she says.

The City is also contracting five constituent-led organizations to help community members with the application process. The organizations serve populations that are disproportionately impacted by income disparities including Latinx, Black, Nepali, LGBTQ and disabled community members.

Crowe says task force members helped to make decisions about various trade-offs, like how long the program would run, how many people could participate and how much money could be provided based on the project’s budget.

“Having their thoughts, their hearts, their expertise, their wisdom, and their collaborative spirit to really talk to and listen to each other was really critical,” Crowe says.

SCALING UP

When it comes to making guaranteed income programs a more permanent part of the social safety net, Nuñez says locally based programs could prove difficult.

“It wouldn’t make sense for every city in the country to have its own little cash assistance program,” he says. “Cities don’t usually have the infrastructure to implement it and they don’t necessarily have control of the purse strings.”

For Zax, the CU Boulder economist, the biggest strain of scaling up a local project would be on the City budget.

“The bigger you make [the program], the more attractive it is for people to take advantage of it,” he says. “200 people, the odds that anybody who’s eligible will get it are quite small. But if those odds go up, then one of the problems the City’s gonna run into is that people will move here in order to take advantage of it.”

Nuñez says that on the large scale, it makes sense for guaranteed income programs to be administered at the state and federal levels. He also says that in order to remove some of the administrative burden, programs could pay all individuals, then tax the money back based on income.

And while there’s not a huge body of research, Nuñez says guaranteed

income programs have the potential to benefit the economy writ large, citing costs of child poverty, the criminal justice system and homelessness that direct cash assistance could mitigate. Still, the benefits of guaranteed income have limits, Nuñez says, and it’s important to think about how the programs will interact with other systems.

“For those who think that guaranteed income is the solution to everything, I’ll just say, if there isn’t a well functioning market, it’s not going to solve any problems,” he says. “Giving people a bunch of money and just saying, ‘Here you go, now you don’t have to worry about health care,’ is not the solution. That is not a well functioning market. … It is not a replacement for health insurance, for a strong unemployment insurance system.”

Nuñez hopes the pilots and the stories that come out of them will expose deficiencies in the social safety net and help the general public and policymakers change how they think about poverty and its solutions.

“The truth of the matter is, money’s gonna run out,” he says. “The pilots are gonna end in two or three years. And then the question is: What do we have to show for it? We want to be able to say, ‘We took this opportunity to connect different groups and push for legislative change.’”

For Crowe, the pilot is an opportunity for the community to lean into empathy.

“This is a very unique opportunity to really try to address problems of economic inequity at its core by raising the level of income people have, and doing it in a way that leans further into trust and dignity,” Crowe says. “We really encourage others to be curious and be willing to learn some new things and hopefully we’ll have a project that is well worthy of continuation post-pilot.”

ON SCREEN: It’s Basic documentary screening and community conversation.

Tuesday, Oct. 10, 6 - 8 p.m. eTown Hall, 1535 Spruce St., Boulder. RSVP or learn more at bit.ly/ItsBasicDoc

CULTURE

A PEOPLE’S HISTORY

Widening the lens on Colorado’s Black past, present and future

BY JEZY J. GRAY

It’s no great secret: Colorado is not the first place that springs to most people’s minds when it comes to racial diversity. That’s especially true in Boulder County, where U.S. Census data suggests white people make up nearly 90% of the population. But when it comes to the grand arc of Black life here in our little pocket of the Front Range, those numbers don’t tell the whole story.

“There are, there were, and there will be Black people in Colorado,” Minister Glenda Strong Robinson told a packed house to an eruption of cheers at the city’s historic Second Baptist Church during a Sept. 11 NAACP Boulder County meeting. The night’s agenda centered on discussion of an upcoming joint exhibition with the Museum of Boulder exploring local African American history from pre-statehood to the present.

But there’s more to Proclaiming Colorado’s Black History, the kaleidoscopic and community-driven show on display at the downtown history center through September 2025, than simply underscoring the existence of African American people in the Centennial

State. It’s also about broadening the frame on the types of stories that get told about the cultural legacies forged in the fire of the African diaspora.

“When people think of us, they think of disasters, they think of slavery … they don’t think of the joy that we inhabit,” says Adderly Grant-Lord, a Lafayette-based visual artist who curated the exhibition’s section on the cosmic Black cultural tradition known as Afrofuturism. “No matter how bad it gets, we know how to celebrate life and we know how to keep moving forward. We know how to go to the trenches and come out looking pretty.”

‘I SEE A BLESSING’

With this more holistic image of Blackness in mind, visitors to the new Museum of Boulder exhibition can expect to encounter the full fidelity of African American experiences in Colorado: from pain to perseverance, excellence to exclusion, and points in between.

According to exhibition co-project director and lead curator Adrian Miller, a Denver-based cuisine writer dubbed the “Soul Food Scholar,” the show’s

encyclopedic quality — featuring everything from a recreation of Colorado’s largest Black homesteading settlement to the trash picker used by Zayd Atkinson in his viral encounter with a Boulder police officer — was a daunting but sacred task.

“One of the challenges for the exhibit is it’s a vast story to tell — there’s a lot of rich African American history,” Miller said during a guided preview and feedback session on Sept. 22. “So we did a community survey to find out what people wanted. And that’s how we narrowed it down to [the themes of] building community, social justice, civil rights, arts and entertainment, business and enterprise, and Afrofuturism.”

On that first score, the exhibition launches with an immersive recreation of Boulder’s Second Baptist Church, a cornerstone of the city’s Black faith community since its humble beginnings in 1908. Furnished with loaned items from longtime members, the installation includes audio and video from the church’s famous choir and a pew from the sanctuary where visitors can sit and reflect.

“We feel it’s necessary for us to tell our story in the context of the Colorado story, as it relates to Black history,” says Second Baptist Church Pastor James Ray. “This is an opportunity to let the community know how good God has been to this particular church, which has been around for over 115 years. So as I see this exhibit, I see a blessing.”

BLACK FUTURES

But it’s not all blessings in Proclaiming Colorado’s Black History. Dovetailing with its spotlight on Black accomplishment and local changemakers — like campaign ephemera from Boulder’s first African American mayor Penfield Tate II, alongside a bevy of homegrown stars, leaders and titans of industry — the show doesn’t shy from the more

gruesome aspects of the state’s past. That much is clear upon entry to the exhibition’s social justice wing, which greets visitors with the recreation of a plaque commemorating 15-year-old Preston Porter Jr. who was lynched by a white mob in 1900 outside Limon. The grim spectacle of the child’s brutal killing was attended by more than 300 people, offering a stark reminder of the anti-Black violence baked into public life in the Centennial State and beyond.

“For whatever reason, when people think about racism, they think, ‘Oh, that’s a southern U.S. thing.’ But it’s everywhere,” Miller says. “To invoke the old Malcolm X quote: ‘The South is anywhere from Canada going down.’ We want to talk about the legacy of how African Americans, despite being terrorized … were able to carve out community and assert their humanity.”

Through the heavy veil of all this darkness, Proclaiming Colorado’s Black History dwells in the light. From the hope of the first Black child born in Boulder to the soulful sounds of the Second Baptist Church, the idea is to leave visitors to the museum’s first-floor gallery space thrumming with the power of the past and the possibility of what’s to come.

“The amount of soul and energy … that is in us — we live in Boulder, and it’s not shown,” says Grant-Strong, whose curation closes the exhibition with a colorful pop of visual artwork inviting visitors to imagine a Black future. “This is a way of telling people who we are.”

ON VIEW: Proclaiming Colorado’s Black History. Sept. 30 through September 2025, Museum of Boulder, 2205 Broadway. $10

The Second Baptist Church children’s choir. Courtesy: Eileen Lingham Walker

A representation of Anna Belle Riley, described by Museum of Boulder panel materials as the earliest known child of African heritage born in Colorado Territory. Courtesy: Museum of Boulder

Furniture Consignment In

Preloved Modern, Vintage & Retro Furniture, Home Decor, & Art

BOULDER’S LARGEST SELECTION OF NEW AND USED VINYL

WE ARE ALWAYS BUYING USED RECORDS AND WILL PICK UP COLLECTIONS FROM YOUR HOUSE! TOP DOLLAR PAID FOR USED LP’S

VOTED BEST OF BOULDER 2023

As a special main event SOMOS has invited Two Worlds: A Native Theater and Performing Arts troupe to present “Spider Woman Stories” directed by Kim Delfina Gleason with a crew of four actors.

Emceed by Cisco Guevara and a surprise storyteller from the community in addition to Two Worlds. The performance will include a documentary film and “talk-back” with the audience to explore the themes presented in the stories

Tickets - $25, go to: https://tcataos.org/calendar/ to purchase tickets or pay at the door. Saturday, October 14th at 7pm at the TCA! Students eighteen and under are free.

Community Storytelling Event

Friday, October 13th 6pm @ Talpa Community Center, 4 Archuleta Rd., Ranchos de Taos

Curated by Olivia Romo Admission is Free, Donations welcome

The Art of Storytelling Workshop

Saturday, October 14th @SOMOS 10am-noon facilitated by Sarah Malone $25/SOMOS Members; $35/Non-Members

Free Community StorySwap

Saturday, October 14th 2-3:30pm @ Hacienda Martinez 708 Hacienda Way, Taos, NM facilitated by Sarah Malone

for more information go to: https://somostaos.org/taos-storytelling-festival/#about or call SOMOS, 575-758-0081, somos@somostaos.org 108 Civic Plaza Dr, Taos, NM

GLIDE or DIE

Local adventurer and filmmaker Cedar Wright combines skills in climbing and paragliding to visit untouched terrain in high peaks around the world

STORY BY WILL MATUSKA, IMAGES COURTESY CEDAR WRIGHT

Becoming one of the most recognized professional climbers in the U.S. takes an affinity for the unknown.

You might say that’s one of Cedar Wright’s strengths. He followed a love of climbing to Yosemite National Park where, over the course of the last two decades, he has nailed multiple 5.13 first ascents and speed records, and became one of the few people to have free climbed El Capitan in a day. His daring and impressive feats have landed him a spot on the North Face climbing team.

And when he isn’t sending climbs in the Sierra Nevada mountains, Wright’s tenacious spirit for adventure has led him to expeditions on all seven continents.

“I love adventure. I love exploring new places,” says the National Geographic Explorer from his home in Boulder. “I love the give and take of doing something extreme, but in a way that feels within the lines of ‘I’m going to come back safely.’”

With this ethos as his guiding principle, Wright gravitated to another sport: paragliding.

After picking up the activity nearly a decade ago, he holds the longest flight record out of Boulder, when he flew from the Wonderland Lake launch site to Wheatland, Wyoming, about 150 miles away. He has also reached 18,000 feet of altitude — the highest a paraglider can legally fly in Colorado — cocooned under his glider.

Boulder and the Centennial State are his training grounds for “the big leagues.” Earlier this summer, Wright combined his rare skill set in an ambitious escapade to Pakistan’s Hunza Valley region in the Karakoram mountain range. He wanted to test a seldom-used concept called paralpinism, or fly-to-climb.

says. “So it’s pretty incredible. I really want to do more of that.”

Wright says paralpinism is in its infancy. Few around the world use the approach — it’s highly dangerous, requires specialized expertise and favorable weather patterns — but for those with the necessary prowess, paralpinism creates a path to mountain landscapes that were previously inaccessible.

“It’s the future,” says Wright, “and it’s cool to put my toe in that water a little bit and be a part of something that still hasn’t really been explored.”

EYES TO THE SKY

Perhaps the most head-turning accomplishment in paralpinism happened in the summer of 2022, when British mountain guide Will Sim and German alpinist Fabi Buhl made the first ascent of the Gulmit Tower, a formation that sits at nearly 20,000 feet in the Hunza Valley.

“We were able to get up in the morning, walk up to launch, thermal up [fly] to 18,000 feet, glide over 20 miles to this mountain cirque, land, climb a granite spire, and then get

The peak hadn’t previously been climbed because of a dangerous ascent to the base of the tower through avalanche-prone areas, seracs and rockfall. Some estimated it would take four or five days to establish a base-

“Just the scale of everything there is so massive,” Wright says about the Karakoram mountain range. “And so as a paraglider pilot, it’s sort of the ultimate place that you could go fly a paraglider. Just the relief and the drama of those mountains — there’s nothing else like it.”

Wright airborne in the Karakoram mountains.

But on June 26, Sim and Buhl flew their paragliders from the town of Karimabad to the base of the Gulmit Tower in a few hours. After a tedious ascent and descent back to their paragliders at base camp, they launched back off the mountain toward Karimabad.

In total, the expedition took 30 hours.

“When it works, it is totally magic,” Sim says. “It’s an amazing way to be in the mountains.”

The Karakoram mountain range, where both Sim and Wright are practicing paralpinism, has the greatest concentration of high mountains in the world.

The range has an average elevation of about 20,000 feet; four peaks — including K2, the world’s second tallest mountain — stretch above 26,000 feet. The topography is characterized by craggy peaks and steep slopes.

The area’s high cloud base, typically above 22,000 feet, makes it possible for paragliders to take rising hot air, known as thermals, straight to some of the highest peaks.

Wright says paragliding in Pakistan is intimidating and psychological, and success hinges on being comfortable

flying thousands of feet in the air alongside massive rock faces, with narrow margins between glory and devastation.

“You can be instantly transported to some really extreme and inhospitable spots. So you do have to be on your shit,” Wright says. “If you were to crash in the wrong spot, that’s it, you’re dead.”

There are parallels between Wright’s climbing career and his skill as a paraglider.

“It’s got a little bit of a free solo feeling to it, because yeah, there’s no bolts,” he says. “I mean, it’s just you in the sky. And so if you really screw up, you’re gonna hit the ground.”

On top of the mastery of both climbing and paragliding, there’s also a staraligning moment of ideal weather and aerological patterns necessary for flight.

“When it works, it works,” says Sim. “But the potential for it to go wrong is insanely high. When we’re landing on these mountains … if we can’t take off again to get home, we’re really marooned in a very tricky situation.”

And that’s happened before. Another pioneer of the sport, Antione Girard, was forced to stay an extra night on Spantik because of bad weather in 2018, then had to take off in a snowstorm because of limited food supply and degrading health.

“You just have to be really respectful of the conditions and not put yourself in [circumstances] that are going to kill you,” Wright says.

‘IT’S ALL TO BE DONE’

Although he says it’s hard to know, Sim guesses there are about 30 people in the world testing the boundaries of paralpinism. And there’s still a lot to learn.

“We’re just making it up as we go along at the moment, we really are just soldiers to be experimented on,” he says. “We’re trying to work out how it works. … Everything that we do, even if it’s more or less a failure, is progress at the moment, because we’re understanding how to carry our stuff in the air. We’re understanding how to land at high altitude and takeoff at high altitude. We’re understanding more every year, but it’s so early on. It’s just very experimental.”

Sim has also explored pairing paragliding with skiing, which is where he thinks more of the future of the concept lies, to get first descents off hardto-reach high mountain peaks.

“It’s basically like heli-skiing, but way cooler because it’s … far more skillful,” he says.

Sim says interest in paralpinism “is at an all time high.” In two years, he predicts there could be four times as many climbers and skiers paragliding, doing even “harder and bigger” objectives than what he’s accomplished.

Since Wright scratched the surface, he’s hooked.

“Now I want to go back and do some bigger objectives in that style, now that I’ve got the basics down,” he says. “I’m gonna try to go bigger.”

The award-winning filmmaker documented his journey, and is working on a film to share the experience. He plans on releasing it this winter.

Sim, like Wright, sees nothing but potential in paralpinism.

“It’s all to be done,” he says. “This is just the beginning.”

David Chen, Wright’s climbing partner, on a granite spire after landing. Now, Wright wants to use his paraglider to access even tougher climbs.

Some of the highest peaks in the world are found in Pakistan’s Karakoram mountain range.

Wright says navigating variable weather and finding invisible thermals in the high mountains, while staying in a “good margin of safety,” is an art form.

FOUND SOUNDS

What’s in Boulder’s headphones?

BY BOULDER WEEKLY STAFF

It’s an indisputable fact that music simply hits different in the fall. Lucky for you, we’ve got a round-up of September’s bestselling vinyl at Paradise Found Records and Music (1646 Pearl St., Boulder) to help you soundtrack the season. From Olivia Rodrigo’s instant-classic GUTS to the latest from English shoegaze legends Slowdive (story on p. 18), these are the albums your neighbors couldn’t get enough of last month.

STAFF PICK

“Ghanaian-Australian artist Genesis Owusu’s genre-bending sophomore album Struggler weaves punk, hip-hop, soul and funk into the epic journey of a metaphorical roach trying to survive the crushing weight of the world. It tackles big themes and existential questions, but is an undeniably fun listen as it bounces from frenetic bops to sensual grooves. If you were lucky enough to snag tickets to his sold-out Nov. 3 show at Denver’s Globe Hall, it’s sure to be one to remember.”

— Kaylee Harter, general assignment reporter

For the complete Top 10, visit bit.ly/FoundSoundsBW

1. OLIVIA RODRIGO GUTS

2. TYLER CHILDERS Rustin’ in the Rain

3. MITSKI The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We

4. SHAKEY GRAVES Movie of the Week

5. SLOWDIVE everything is alive

MUSIC

GAZING INTO THE FUTURE

Two albums into a second life, Slowdive brings a dreamy sound from across the pond

BY CHRISTOPHER PIERCY

When a once-great band decides to give it another go after years of inactivity, the news is often met with a mixture of exhilaration and trepidation. Will they dilute their reputation, dimming the magic that made listeners fall in love in the first place, or bolster their status while bringing in new listeners?

Such questions swirled around the return of English alt-rock legends Slowdive. Pioneers of the dreamy and distorted “shoegaze” subgenre, the band’s self-titled album in 2017 marked their first studio release in more than 20 years. But to hear co-founder Rachel Goswell tell it, those ambient concerns didn’t weigh on the process of making the critically lauded comeback LP.

“We did it without pressure of a record label, and we paid for it ourselves,” says Goswell, who has shared vocal and guitar duties with Neil Halstead since 1989 when the pair formed the band in Reading, Berkshire. “It was more about just seeing how we got on with it — and if it worked, then brilliant.”

Slowdive arrived during the buzzy swirl of shoegaze’s golden era in early-90s Britain, releasing some of the most beloved and enduring music of the scene before calling it quits just six years into their existence. Reemerging in 2014 to play the festival circuit, and now nearly a decade into a fruitful reunion, they are back with a new album — the sublime everything is alive — and a U.S. tour coming to Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom in Denver on Oct. 6.

“We needed to see how we were together after such a long break and how we got on,” Goswell says of the band’s second life. “Obviously, things snowballed for us in a way that we couldn’t have imagined was going to happen. We didn’t want to just do the

Heritage Trail, you know? There are a lot of bands out there who do that, but I think we all are, in our own rights, quite creative people, so it made sense just to do more music.”

NO DINOSAUR ACT

From the opening moments of everything is alive, it’s clear this is still Slowdive, but not in a way that merely retreads the same old path. The wash of sound that fans are familiar with continues to oscillate between melancholy and euphoria, but the electronic base that Halstead developed during the album’s gestation adds a tasteful newness to the mix. This is no dinosaur

only about 12 right at the front barrier,” she says of the band’s recent jaunt to Australia and New Zealand. “It’s really lovely, and it reminds me of me when I was that age going to gigs — and I would always be at the front barrier as well. So I think part of it for me is remembering that feeling of how I used to feel seeing my favorite bands and how exciting it was, and being really conscious about that.”

Like the band’s previous work, everything is alive is an album meant to be experienced as a whole; its constituent parts lock into each other in a way a stray track just can’t match. This is something Goswell feels is missing from the contemporary streaming landscape.

But the changes of a new era haven’t dulled Slowdive’s momentum, as the band continues to enjoy perhaps the most glowing critical response of their career. It’s a contrast to the early days of the band, when the ascendance of Britpop saw the fickle, trend-hopping British press quickly turn on shoegaze. While the critical barbs hurt at the time, Goswell is happy for the warmer reception of Slowdive’s resurrection.

act out on one last prowl; this is a contemporary band continuing to push themselves. And Goswell says a new generation of listeners seem to be tuning in.

“In Auckland, there was a young girl in front of [bassist] Christian [Savill] and I who I swear must have been

“I think there is an importance in listening to a record through from beginning to end because it takes you on that journey,” says the 52-year-old artist who fondly remembers saving her paper-route money as a kid to buy a new album each month. “And I’m sure for all bands really that’s a consideration in how they deliver albums. So I kind of wish the shuffle option didn’t exist.”

“When you’re younger, it’s much more bothering having that kind of criticism, and a lot of it did feel very unfair and like being bullied or picked on at school,” she says. “[But] one thing we’ve always done is release the records we want to make. It’s very nice to have the love that Slowdive get now. It’s a lovely thing and it’s fantastic to be able to go out on tour and play for people. It is one of the things that I love the most about being in a band — just that energy exchange you get with an audience at a gig.”

ON THE BILL: Slowdive with Drab Majesty. 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6, Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom, 2637 Walton St., Denver. Sold out.

After emerging from a decades-long hiatus, English shoegaze legends Slowdive have reclaimed the crown as dream-pop royalty. Photo by Ingrid Pop.

Slowdive’s fifth LP, ‘everything is alive,’ was released Sept. 1 via Dead Oceans.

THIS MUST BE THE PLACE

Newly restored concert-film classic ‘Stop Making Sense’ comes to Boulder

BY MICHAEL J. CASEY

The stage is empty save for one microphone and a boom box. A man in a gray suit and an acoustic guitar walks up, presses play, and a drum loop begins. The man strums the guitar and sings. The song “Psycho Killer” emerges, and the Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense is underway.

The song throws the man around the stage in strange fits. And the man, David Byrne — as skinny as David Bowie in his Thin White Duke period, as possessed as a Southern Baptist minister speaking in tongues, as energetic as a little kid running around his living room — holds the audience, and director Jonathan Demme’s camera, in the palm of his hand. A show is about

to begin, one for the ages, and Byrne is in complete control.

Released in 1984 and newly restored and back in theaters from A24 this weekend, Stop Making Sense was filmed in December of 1983 over a three-night stint at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. To be in that venue on those nights, filled with all that joyous sound and raucous energy, must have been something.

But Stop Making Sense is more. It is a composed film where camera placement and stage movement meld to produce something else, something grander. Consider how close the camera is to Byrne as he gracefully dances with the lamp in “This Must Be the Place.” Or the haunting images creat-

MASTER OF CEREMONIES

I’m talking a lot about Byrne, which isn’t unusual when it comes to the Talking Heads. Formed at the Rhode Island School of Design, the band started as a three-piece: Byrne, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth. Jerry Harrison joined a few years later, and their debut, Talking Heads ’77, soon followed.

ed through high-contrast lighting during “What a Day That Was.” The massive silhouettes of the musicians — larger-than-life shadow puppets — are absolutely entrancing. Yet, Demme and editor Lisa Day continually return to a close-up of Byrne’s face as he sings, a large bar of black shadow falling across his face. It’s a magnificent shot choice in a movie where the shot selection is simply excellent.

Creative tension would plague the band’s tenure, eventually breaking them up in 1991, but that’s pushed to the side in Stop Making Sense. Instead, Demme captures the joy between the artists as they make beautiful music together, create positive energy and generally have a good time — especially when singers Lynn Mabry and Ednah Holt, keyboardist Bernie Worrell, percussionist Steve Scales and guitarist Alex Weir join the foursome on stage. If there’s a false moment to be found, it’s how Byrne introduces the band to the audience. The lead-up is a great moment, with Byrne as master of ceremonies walking behind each of his mates to introduce them to the crowd who applaud and cheer in appreciation. But Byrne never wraps it up with, “And my name’s David, and we are the Talking Heads.” Instead, it goes unspoken and assumed. And in the overwhelming spirit of camaraderie and joy that permeates the show, particularly the rendition of Al Green’s “Take Me to the River” in which this moment takes place, it’s a real bummer Byrne didn’t bring it home.

But that’s a small quibble in an otherwise ecstatic enterprise. It’s been four decades since those Stop Making Sense concerts took place, and yet the audience at my screening applauded at the conclusion of “Burning Down the House.” Imagine that: We all sat before a flat screen with no talent present, watching a moment in time captured 40 years ago, and still they couldn’t help expressing their appreciation for being able to experience such a moment. All art should be like that.

ON SCREEN: Stop Making Sense (4K restoration).

Various times opening Sept. 28, Cinemark Century Boulder, 1700 29th St. $13

The classic Talking Heads concert film returns to theaters with a 4K restoration from A24. Photo by Jordan Cronenweth.

HEALING AFTER HATE

BY TONI TRESCA

Certain events in American history leave an indelible imprint on our collective memory. Matthew Shepard’s tragic 1998 murder in Laramie, Wyoming — which forever changed the country’s perspective on hate crimes and discrimination — is one such event.

On that dark October day, Shepard, a 21-year-old University of Wyoming student, was brutally attacked, tied to a fence and left to die outside Laramie. This heinous act of cruelty catapulted the formerly sleepy town into the national spotlight.

Now, 25 years after Shepard’s death, the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities presents The Laramie Project, a powerful and moving documentary theater production. Based on interviews with members of the community conducted by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project, this groundbreaking play offers a window into how a small town grappled with the aftermath of a brutal hate crime that reverberated far beyond its borders.

“We have made big strides in the queer community, but unfortunately, the hate is even stronger than almost ever,” says performer and co-director Rodney Lizcano. “Yes, we have gay marriage, but the ferocity and timbre of the opposition has grown exponentially as well. The Laramie Project enables us to keep having crucial, essential conversations about homophobia in order to continue to grow.”

Based on hundreds of dialogues with town residents, journal entries by members of the Tectonic Theater Project and media coverage of the incident, the play depicts the harrowing tale of a community rocked by the shocking murder. The Laramie Project was first workshopped 23 years ago for its world premiere at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.

“When Tectonic was invited to workshop Laramie, I was in the DCPA’s [National Theatre Conservatory] MFA program and got to witness the play’s creation in rehearsals,” Lizcano says.

“They literally had pages and pages of interviews that they would grab and read together to figure out which ones created a story.”

These interviews, drawn from a variety of sources — including members of the town’s queer community, Shepard’s family and friends and people who knew the perpetrators — provide a glimpse into the raw emotions and personal experiences of those directly affected by the tragedy.

“I’ve tried not to portray these real-life people as characters but to bear witness to the truth in what they’re saying,” says cast member Vin Ernst. “My attention has been on the truth that is written on the page; instead of allowing my own emotions to color the lines, I am trying to focus on the meaning of each word to express what the text actually communicates.”

‘A COMMUNITY COMES TOGETHER TO HEAL’

The Matthew Shepard Foundation, an LGBTQ nonprofit organization established by Dennis and Judy Shepard in memory of their son, maintains a close relationship with the theaters that present The Laramie Project. The nonprofit donates resources to support the production, in order to ensure the veracity of the story. Additionally, Andy Paris, a member of the original production’s Tectonic Theater Project, took part in a Zoom Q&A with the creative team.

“We were extremely fortunate to meet with Andy because it allowed our actors to ask questions to someone who conducted the interviews they are performing onstage,” says co-director Kate Gleason. “It was refreshing and honest to hear he did not have all the answers while still being able to speak to each character’s humanity.”

In addition to its gripping narrative, The Laramie Project is known for its innovative use of technology to enhance the storytelling. The original production featured a half-dozen television screens with footage of the actors in Laramie. Lizcano says the Arvada Center will be staging the play in a “thrust configuration,” with the audience surrounding the performers on three sides, and using projections to make it feel as immersive as possible.

“Because we have so much of that footage available to us, we thought we would take a cue from what Tectonic has done with its media-forward production and just turn up the volume a little,” Lizcano says. “The Laramie Project has never been done before at

the Center, so it is exciting to share and explore with the organization ... We also work with a fantastic costume designer who is from Laramie. Because Nicole Watts knew these people personally, it will be very special to see that specificity in the production’s costuming.”

As the play unfolds on the Arvada Center stage, it offers a poignant opportunity to reflect on Shepard’s legacy and what it means for the struggle for LGBTQ rights today. The Laramie Project is more than just a historical account; it serves as a catalyst for change in the present and a glimmer of hope for a brighter tomorrow.

“I grew up in a very insular, conservative Christian environment, and I’ve been thinking about how impactful it would have been for me to see a story like this at that point in my life when I felt so isolated,” Ernst says. “Although this story was created out of a tragedy, that’s not really what the story is about. It is about how a community comes together to heal. There is hate, but there are also people who are willing to stand against it, so while The Laramie Project doesn’t shy away from hatred, it also doesn’t linger on it.”

ON STAGE: The Laramie Project. Sept. 29–Nov. 7, Arvada Center, 6901 Wadsworth Blvd. $47

‘The Laramie Project’ is an urgent story of resilience, remembrance and hope

‘The Laramie Project’ runs Sept. 29 through Nov. 7 at the Arvada Center. Photos by Collin Sanders.

EVERY WEDNESDAY BOULDER BLUEGRASS JAM

THU. 9/28 - 8:00PM

THE TONY FURTADO ACOUSTIC TRIO FEAT. MATT FLINNER

SAT. 9/30 - 5:PM - 8:PM

SISTER WINDSFUNDRAISING CONCERT W/AKACIA ROSE, MYSTIC CHOIR AND MORE

SAT. 9/30 - 9:30PM

ROOTS LATE NITE W/DJ BLUE, GODLAZER, JUZE’, AND ADAGES

MON. 10/2 - 6:30PM

OPEN MIC W/ STEVE KOPPE

WED. 10/4 - 8:00PM

SARAH & SHANNON W/ MAIA SHARP

MON 10/5 - 8:00PM

BEN JORDAN AND FRIENDS

FRI. 10/6 - 8:00PM

BIRDS OF PLAY

THU. 10/12 - 8:00PM

JEREMY GARRETT

FRI. 10/13 - 7:30PM

DELTA SONICS BLUES DANCE PARTY

TUE. 10/17 - 8:00PM

CRYS MATTHEWS

WED. 10/18 - 8:30PM

BRENDAN ABERNATHY

FRI. 10/20 - 8:00PM

SHADOW WORK-JAZZ ROOTS/DREAM ROCK INDIE

102.3. PICK OF THE MONTH

SAT. 10/21 - 7:00PM

AN EVENING W/ HAZEL MILLER

29

NUDE FOODS FEST

4-7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29, Nude Foods Market, 3233 Walnut St., Boulder. Free

Colorado’s first zero-waste grocery service celebrates its second year in business with a festival filled with free food, thrift pop-ups, clothing repairs and activities for the whole family. Everything from drinks to desserts will be served in reusable containers during this eco-friendly celebration at Nude Foods Market.

29

VATOS LOCOS COMEDY FESTIVAL

5:30-9:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29, The Speakeasy, 301 Main St., Longmont. $20

Need a laugh? Marc Christopher Lawerence and Javi Luna invite you to a sidesplitting night of stand-up comedy at The Speakeasy in Longmont. Book a table to cut up with your friends in this ornate underground space in the heart of downtown Longmont.

30

BLACK TO THE FUTURE

4-8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30, Museum of Boulder, 2205 Broadway, Boulder. $20

Broaden your perspective of the place you call home with the Museum of Boulder’s new exhibition, Proclaiming Colorado’s Black History. Learn about the legacy of revolutionary residents with a stroll through the interactive gallery show and a lecture by scholar and professor Adam Bradley. JJ Brown’s Raw Soul Groove Band rounds out the opening weekend celebrations with a rooftop concert.

29

2023 LEFT HAND OKTOBERFEST

5-9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29 and 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30, Left Hand Brewing Company, 1245 Boston Ave., Longmont. $10-$20

Don your best dirndl or lederhosen and raise your steins with Left Hand Brewing Company during this weekend’s family-friendly Oktoberfest event. Feast upon brats, pretzels and beers from local vendors — plus live music, a costume contest and more.

30

LAFAYETTE MINI-CON

10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30, Lafayette Public Library, 775 W. Baseline Road. Free

Watch live-action duels, create arts and crafts and explore science with the Colorado School of Mines during this free community event hosted by the Friends of the Lafayette Library Foundation. You’re sure to leave with more knowledge of costume and prop design, gaming, storytelling and pop culture.

30

TOE JAM 2023

5-11 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30, Foot of the Mountain Motel, 200 Arapahoe Ave., Boulder. $10

Enjoy live music, local beer and food vendors at the Foot of the Mountain Motel’s second annual Toe Jam festival. Proceeds from the event, presented in partnership with Upslope Beer and Snowmelt, will be donated to the Chef Ann Foundation to help promote healthy cooking programs in schools across the region.

CENTENNIAL STATE

BALLET: FALL SHOWCASE

7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 1, Longmont Museum, 400 Quail Road. $25

Support local youth dancers as they perform works from classic to contemporary ballet, accompanied by choreography from Tomm Ruud and dance group Zikr. Students will perform a variation of Camille SaintSaëns’ “Carnival of the Animals” and “Vespers,” followed by Zikr’s performance of “Mobile.”

AVERY BREWING OKTOBERFEST 4K

9-11 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 1, Avery Brewing Company, 4910 Nautilus Court N., Boulder. $45

Enjoy a German-style fun run with Avery Brewing Company. Registration includes electronic timing, a medal and an Oktoberfest stein for the first 200 who sign up. Post-race festivities include a beer party, German breakfast burritos and live music. Beer and cash prizes are available to those who finish at the top. 1

BABY GOAT YOGA

4

COMMUNITY HARVEST FESTIVAL

3:30-6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4th, Hawthorne Farm, 1630 Hawthorn Ave., Boulder. Free

Growing Gardens’ urban farm invites you to celebrate a fruitful harvest with food, flowers, live bluegrass and more. Consider an alternative transportation like walking, biking or carpooling to be entered for a prize during this seasonal event benefiting the Growing Gardens Food Donation Program. 2

PERSIAN CULTURAL DAY

Noon-5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 1, Museum of Boulder, 2205 Broadway, Boulder. $10

Celebrate Persian arts, culture, food and entertainment with the Museum of Boulder. The day focuses on celebrating the Persian history of Mehregan, which is a time to honor love, friendship and harvest. Performances will be held at 1 and 3 p.m. and will be followed by refreshments.

10-11 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 1, Junkyard Social Club, 2525 Frontier Ave., Suite A, Boulder. $30

Ever wondered how to do a downward dog pose with a goat on your back? Join Rocky Mountain Goat Yoga to experience a wildlife yoga lesson featuring adorable mini goats. The curious critters can be held and petted, or they might just be your expert yoga partner.

HAWAIIAN HULA CLASS

6:30-7:30 p.m. Mondays through Dec. 18, The Spark, 4847 Pearl St., Unit B4, Boulder. $20

Join instructor M. Pumehana to learn about Hawaiian culture, dance, history and language at The Spark in Boulder. Drop-ins are always welcome for beginner and intermediate students ages 17 and up, but attendees are encouraged to attend four classes for the full experience.

LIVE MUSIC

THURSDAY, SEPT. 28

THE STEELDRIVERS WITH TROUBADOUR BLUE 7:30 p.m. Chautauqua Auditorium, 900 Baseline Road, Boulder. $35

JALEN NGONDA 8 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $20

ROOTBEER RICHIE & THE REVEILLE

7 p.m. Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St. $75

THE TONY FURTADO ACOUSTIC TRIO WITH MATT FLINNER 8 p.m. Roots Music Project, 4747 Pearl St., Suite V3A, Boulder. $25

PEDRO URBINA 5:30 p.m. Trident Cafe, 940 Pearl St., Boulder. Free

WOLF LOESCHER 6 p.m. Left Hand Brewing, 1265 Boston Ave., Longmont. Free

DAVE CORBUS ESSENCE 7 p.m. R Gallery + Wine Bar, 2027 Broadway, Boulder. Free

LUNA LUNA WITH MICHAEL SEYER

8 p.m. Marquis Theater, 2009 Larimer St., Denver. $18

AVENGED SEVENFOLD WITH KIM

DRACULA AND WAKE ME. 6:30 p.m. Ball Arena, 1000 Chopper Circle, Denver. $40

FRIDAY, SEPT. 29

BOULDER SYMPHONY WITH TRACE

BUNDY. 7:30 p.m. Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St. $35

EGGY WITH SQUEAKY FEET. 8 p.m. Aggie Theatre, 204 S. College Ave., Fort Collins. $18

JYNXJAZZ TRIO. 6 p.m. BOCO Cider, 1501 Lee Hill Drive, Unit 14, Boulder. Free

TIM OSTDIEK BAND. 6 p.m. Bootstrap Brewing Company, 142 Pratt St., Longmont. Free

S.G. GOODMAN WITH ALYSIA

KRAFT 7 p.m. eTown Hall, 1535 Spruce St., Boulder. $28

KIMANDALA 7 p.m. Muse Performance Space, 200 E. South Boulder Road, Lafayette. $20

ON THE BILL

THE BAND CAMINO WITH BAD SUNS AND THE WLDLFE. 7 p.m. Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop St., Denver. $75

MASEGO WITH HIATUS KAIYOTE AND MARIAH THE SCIENTIST 7 p.m. Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre, 18300 W. Alameda Parkway, Morrison. $70

TUESDAY, OCT. 3

AWOLNATION WITH IRONTOM 8 p.m. Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St. $35

TROUSDALE WITH ANNA VAUS 8 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $18

Alaska psych-pop heavyweights Portugal. The Man come to the historic Boulder Theater for an intimate performance following the premiere of Legend Has It, the new ski and snowboard film by Teton Gravity Research. Whether you come for the stoke or the sounds, you won’t want to miss it. See listing for details

PACIFIC DUB WITH TUNNEL VISION

8 p.m. Marquis Theater, 2009 Larimer St., Denver. $18

MANÁ. 8:30 p.m. Ball Arena, 1000 Chopper Circle, Denver. $60

SATURDAY, SEPT. 30

SUECO WITH 44BLONDE. 8 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $22

MOUNTAINS MAJESTY BRASS

BAND 4 p.m. Broomfield Auditorium, 3 Community Park Road, Broomfield. $10

GOOD MUSIC MEDICINE 6 p.m. BOCO Cider, 1501 Lee Hill Drive, Unit 14, Boulder. Free

KORTET 7 p.m. Muse Performance Space, 200 E. South Boulder Road, Lafayette. $20

JOHN R. MILLER WITH RAYE

ZARAGOZA. 7 p.m. eTown Hall, 1535 Spruce St., Boulder. $28

HANABIE WITH DROPOUT KINGS, FOX LAKE AND SIN EATER. 7 p.m. Marquis Theater, 2009 Larimer St., Denver. $20

SUNDAY, OCT. 1

SNARKY PUPPY WITH NATE WOOD

7:30 p.m. Chautauqua Auditorium, 900 Baseline Road, Boulder. $48

SAMANTHA FISH WITH ERIC JOHANSON. 8 p.m. Aggie Theatre, 204 S. College Ave., Fort Collins. $30

BLUE EYED KELLY. 4 p.m. BOCO Cider, 1501 Lee Hill Drive, Unit 14, Boulder. Free

LEAH KATE WITH CONOR BURNS, SENSES AND LAUREN AMOUR 7:30 p.m. Marquis Theater, 2009 Larimer St., Denver. $20

FKJ WITH NIGHTMARES ON WAX 6:30 p.m. Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre, 18300 W. Alameda Parkway, Morrison. $55

GNOME WITH BONEHAWK AND LORD VELVET. 8 p.m. Globe Hall, 4483 Logan St., Denver. $15

MONDAY, OCT. 2

JOHN R. MILLER WITH ALYSIA KRAFT AND NATHANIEL RILEY. 8 p.m. Aggie Theatre, 204 S. College Ave., Fort Collins. $15

ISLANDS WITH FAT TONY 8 p.m. Marquis Theater, 2009 Larimer St., Denver. $20

AVSKUM WITH RESISTANT CULTURE AND POISON TRIBE. 8 p.m. Hi-Dive, 7 S. Broadway, Denver. $18

CLAUD. 8 p.m. Bluebird Theater, 3317 E. Colfax Ave., Denver. $20

WEDNESDAY,

OCT. 4

PORTUGAL. THE MAN (TGR’S LEGEND HAS IT PREMIERE). 7:30 p.m. Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St. $60 BW Pick of the Week

VIC DILLAHAY WITH DOUG CARMICHAEL 7 p.m. Dry Land Distillers, 519 Main St., Longmont. Free

STICK TO YOUR GUNS WITH COMEBACK KID, SPIRITWORLD AND ORTHODOX 7 p.m. Marquis Theater, 2009 Larimer St., Denver. $22

THE USED WITH SLEEPING WITH SIRENS AND DEAD AMERICAN. 8 p.m. Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop St., Denver. $45

CHRIS FARREN WITH GUPPY AND ANIKA PYLE. 8 p.m. Globe Hall, 4483 Logan St., Denver. $18

Want more Boulder County events? Check out the complete listings online by scanning this QR code.

Credit: Maclay Heriot

LIVING ARCHIVE, LIVING CINEMA

CU’s Brakhage Center honors Ken and Flo Jacobs

BY MICHAEL J. CASEY

Ken Jacobs is coming back to Boulder, and it’s kind of a big deal.

“He’s part of the history of poetic cinema/experimental cinema, the pivotal group of New York City artists,” Hanna Rose Shell says.

A filmmaker in her own right, Shell is an associate professor straddling two departments at CU Boulder: art and art history, and cinema studies and moving image arts. She’s also the current director of The Brakhage Center for Media Arts, which is dedicated to preserving the legacy of former CU professor and poetic filmmaker Stan Brakhage.

Shell aims to honor and engage with the legacy of Brakhage while also creating a space for “diverse artists and art makers” who are “interested in interrogating and digging a little deep-

er into the Stan Brakhage archive — looking at it in unusual ways.”

And that sentiment dovetails nicely into this semester’s Brakhage Symposium: Living Archive, Living Cinema: Processing the Work of Ken and Flo Jacobs

Free and open to the public Oct. 5 and 6, Living Archive, Living Cinema is a collaboration between the Brakhage Center and CU’s Rare and Distinctive Collections (RaD). It features the newly acquired Jacobs’ collection to explore the influential work of Ken and Flo Jacobs while questioning what it means when an institution like CU accessions a filmmaker’s archive.

“It’s been very pointedly called the Ken and Flo Jacobs Collection,” Shell explains, adding that this collection will center the role Flo Jacobs played in Ken’s career. “[Living Archive, Living

Cinema] is not just about Ken Jacobs — or rather, just a retrospective of Ken Jacobs. It’s Ken Jacobs in the context of his archive and drawing out all these other voices [like wife Flo and son Azazel] … to open [a] conversation about who is part of the process of making experimental film.”

In addition to Ken and Flo, Azazel Jacobs will also be attending Living Archive, Living Cinema. He’ll be there specifically to introduce and discuss the movie he made, 2008’s Momma’s Man, “to get at this interesting issue, which is the relationship of Ken Jacobs’ work and the archive material and the space where he worked,” Shell says. “As well as the family relationships that create and facilitate the formation of archival collections.”

FUTURE VISION

In charge of that archival collection is Jamie Marie Wagner, who oversees moving image film and video materials in RaD, as well as paper collections related to American experimental filmmaking and media history. For several years now, Wagner has been working with the Jacobs, particularly Azazel, to collect and ship the family archive from their New York loft to CU’s library.

As Wagner explains, the sheer number of items in the archive is extensive: 87 linear feet of banker boxes containing printed material and VHS tapes. A lifetime of work that Wagner gets to choose from to display during the symposium.

“I don’t know how much of our audience is familiar with Ken and Flo Jacobs,” Wagner says. “Even in cinema studies, there are new students who might not know the times Ken and Flo have been here before.”

So Wagner will provide a panel display at the reception’s opening, “a timeline of major works, introducing who they are,” in addition to “a few cases of artifact documents from the collection.”

And from the Jacobs’ collection of VHS tapes, Wagner plans to present clips, including the original footage that went into the Jacobs’ finished works — a great deal of their filmography deals with deconstructing and reworking found footage — as well as home movie conversations and rehearsals for shadow plays.

That includes a series of 3D stereoscopic slides from the Brakhage Collection: “pictures Ken Jacobs took in the 1970s while he was visiting the Brakhage family,” Wagner explains. “Pictures of Jane Brakhage and Flo Jacobs with all of the kids walking around Central City, playing with goats.”

For these slides, Wagner took 35 mm stills, printed the images on larger card stock and pulled stereoscopic viewers out of the rare books collection “so people can view these photos that Ken took of Stan’s family on these stereoscopic slides” in all their 3D glory.

Featuring two days of seminars, screenings and presentations, Shell sees Living Archive, Living Cinema as proof that “CU Boulder continues to center its legacy as a centerpiece of the past, present and future of experimental filmmaking.”

ON SCREEN: CU Boulder’s Brakhage Center Symposium: Living Archive, Living Cinema 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5 and 9:30 a.m.9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6, ATLAS and Norlin Library. Free

Flo and Ken Jacobs in the 1970s.

Photo by Robert Haller / Courtesy CU Boulder’s Stan Brakhage Collection.

ASTROLOGY

BY ROB BREZSNY

ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19): Author Diane Ackerman says it’s inevitable that each of us sometimes “looks clumsy or gets dirty or asks stupid questions or reveals our ignorance or says the wrong thing.” Knowing how often I do those things, I’m extremely tolerant of everyone I meet. I’m compassionate, not judgmental, when I see people who “try too hard, are awkward, care for one another too deeply, or are too open to experience.” I myself commit such acts, so I’d be foolish to criticize them in others. During the coming weeks, Aries, you will generate good fortune for yourself if you suspend all disparagement. Yes, be accepting, tolerant, and forgiving — but go even further. Be downright welcoming and amiable. Love the human comedy exactly as it is.

TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20): Taurus comedian Kevin James confesses, “I discovered I scream the same way whether I’m about to be devoured by a great white shark or if a piece of seaweed touches my foot.” Many of us could make a similar admission. The good news, Taurus, is that your anxieties in the coming weeks will be the “piece of seaweed” variety, not the great white shark. Go ahead and scream if you need to — hey, we all need to unleash a boisterous yelp or howl now and then — but then relax.

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20): Here are famous people with whom I have had personal connections: actor Marisa Tomei, rockstar Courtney Love, filmmaker Miranda July, playwright David Mamet, actor William Macy, philosopher Robert Anton Wilson, rockstar Paul Kantor, rock impresario Bill Graham, and author Clare Cavanagh. What? You never heard of Clare Cavanagh? She is the brilliant and renowned translator of Nobel Prize Laureate poet Wisława Szymborska and the authorized biographer of Nobel Prize Laureate author Czesław Miłosz. As much as I appreciate the other celebrities I named, I am most enamored of Cavanagh’s work. As a Gemini, she expresses your sign’s highest potential: the ability to wield beautiful language to communicate soulful truths. I suggest you make her your inspirational role model for now. It’s time to dazzle and persuade and entertain and beguile with your words.

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22): I cheer you on when you identify what you want. I exult when you devise smart plans to seek what you want, and I celebrate when you go off in high spirits to obtain and enjoy what you want. I am gleeful when you aggressively create the life you envision for yourself, and I do everything in my power to help you manifest it. But now and then, like now, I share Cancerian author Franz Kafka’s perspective. He said this: “You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait. Do not even wait, be quite still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked. It has no choice. It will roll in ecstasy at your feet.”

LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22): Let’s talk about changing your mind. In some quarters, that’s seen as weak, even embarrassing. But I regard it as a noble necessity, and I recommend you consider it in the near future. Here are four guiding thoughts. 1. “Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” —George Bernard Shaw. 2. “Only the strongest people have the pluck to change their minds, and say so, if they see they have been wrong in their ideas.” —Enid Blyton. 3. “Sometimes, being true to yourself means changing your mind. Self changes, and you follow.” —Vera Nazarian. 4. “The willingness to change one’s mind in the light of new evidence is a sign of rationality, not weakness.” ―Stuart Sutherland.

VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22): “The soul moves in circles,” psychologist James Hillman told us. “Hence our lives are not moving straight ahead; instead, hovering, wavering, returning, renewing, repeating.” In recent months, Virgo, your soul’s destiny has been intensely characterized by swerves and

swoops. And I believe the rollicking motion will continue for many months. Is that bad or good? Mostly good — especially if you welcome its poetry and beauty. The more you learn to love the spiral dance, the more delightful the dance will be.

LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22): If you have ever contemplated launching a career as a spy, the coming months will be a favorable time to do so. Likewise if you have considered getting trained as a detective, investigative journalist, scientific researcher, or private eye. Your affinity for getting to the bottom of the truth will be at a peak, and so will your discerning curiosity. You will be able to dig up secrets no one else has discovered. You will have an extraordinary knack for homing in on the heart of every matter. Start now to make maximum use of your superpowers!

SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21): Have you been sensing a phantom itch that’s impossible to scratch? Are you feeling less like your real self lately and more like an AI version of yourself? Has your heart been experiencing a prickly tickle? If so, I advise you not to worry. These phenomena have a different meaning from the implications you may fear. I suspect they are signs you will soon undertake the equivalent of what snakes do: molting their skins to make way for a fresh layer. This is a good thing! Afterward, you will feel fresh and new.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21):

According to legend, fifth-century Pope Leo I convinced the conquering army of Attila the Hun to refrain from launching a fullscale invasion of Italy. There may have been other reasons in addition to Leo’s persuasiveness. For example, some evidence suggests Attila’s troops were superstitious because a previous marauder died soon after attacking Rome. But historians agree that Pope Leo was a potent leader whose words carried great authority. You, Sagittarius, won’t need to be quite as fervently compelling as the ancient Pope in the coming weeks. But you will have an enhanced ability to influence and entice people. I hope you use your powers for good!

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19): Singersongwriter Joan Baez has the longevity and endurance typical of many Capricorns. Her last album in 2018 was released 59 years after her career began. An article in The New Yorker describes her style as “elegant and fierce, defiant and maternal.” It also noted that though she is mostly retired from music, she is “making poignant and unpredictable art,” creating weird, hilarious line drawings with her non-dominant hand. I propose we make Baez your inspirational role model. May she inspire you to be elegant and fierce, bold and compassionate, as you deepen and refine your excellence in the work you’ve been tenaciously plying for a long time. For extra credit, add some unexpected new flair to your game.

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18): Aquarian author and activist Mary Frances Berry has won numerous awards for her service on behalf of racial justice. One accomplishment: She was instrumental in raising global awareness of South Africa’s apartheid system, helping to end its gross injustice. “The time when you need to do something,” she writes, “is when no one else is willing to do it, when people are saying it can’t be done.” You are now in a phase when that motto will serve you well, Aquarius.

PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20): I invite you to spend quality time gazing into the darkness. I mean that literally and figuratively. Get started by turning off the lights at night and staring, with your eyes open, into the space in front of you. After a while, you may see flashes of light. While these might be your optic nerves trying to fill in the blanks, they could also be bright spirit messages arriving from out of the void. Something similar could happen on a metaphorical level, too. As you explore parts of your psyche and your life that are opaque and unknown, you will be visited by luminous revelations.

SAVAGE LOVE

BY DAN SAVAGE

DEAR DAN: I’m a cis straight woman. I recently hooked up with a bisexual man I met online. In the middle of missionary position sex, he began to sniff what I can only assume was poppers. I have no experience with them. Should he have said something beforehand? Should he have asked if this was OK with me? Or offered me some? What if he spilled it on me? Missionary position can feel vulnerable and something about this man unscrewing a small bottle of liquid directly above me felt pretty weird.

— Hoping Unimpressive Fuckboy Finishes Sniffing

DEAR HUFFS: Adam Zmith is the author of Deep Sniff: A History of Poppers and Queer Futures, an absolutely fascinating social history of one of the world’s most popular recreational drugs.

“If HUFFS didn’t know what poppers were, this man should’ve explained them to her,” said Zmith. “He should have told her how you do them, and what it feels like to do them, so she could decide if she wanted to try them. And if she didn’t want to, he still could have sniffed himself.”

For the uninitiated: Poppers are a grouping of chemical compounds known as nitrites (amyl nitrate, butyl nitrite, pentyl nitrite, etc.) that come in liquid form and were originally used to treat chest pain. Poppers lower your blood pressure, allowing more oxygen to your brain and your muscles to relax.

“This makes you a bit high for a minute or so in a very particular way that feels great during sex,” Zmith says.

Poppers have a strong odor that instantly fills a room; some people don’t like the way they smell, and people with chemical sensitivities or asthma can have a bad reaction to them. No one is obligated to run through a bathhouse or a sex club asking everyone for permission to open a bottle of poppers. But not asking for an OK when you’re alone

with someone is bad sex etiquette. Popper use is particularly popular with young gay and bi men. If this guy mostly has sex with other men, he may have assumed — incorrectly — that he didn’t need to ask because no one ever asked him. Or this guy is an inconsiderate asshole who didn’t ask for your OK — or offer you a sniff — because he didn’t care about your comfort or pleasure.

Or maybe he’s one of those guys who has become psychologically and physically dependent on poppers; the association between the headrush and climax can become so strong that some regular users can’t come without poppers. If he’s one of those guys, HUFFS, he may have figured it was better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission — also the actions of an inconsiderate asshole.

As for your concerns about a possible spill: “Because the liquid itself is pretty toxic and can burn the skin, you have to be careful not to spill it in bed or wherever you’re having sex,” said Zmith. “So, the way this guy opened his bottle above HUFFS wasn’t very cool.”

People who use poppers regularly are pretty good at opening and closing the bottles without spilling a drop. Still, when this guy opened that bottle — already inside you — he made it clear that your safety, comfort and pleasure didn’t concern him. But he was the danger, not the poppers.

GLAZED AND CONSUMED

Formerly a doughnut desert, Boulder County experiences a fried dough renaissance

BY JOHN LEHNDORFF

You walk into a cloud heavy with the scent of fried dough, sugar and coffee at Boulder’s new Voodoo Doughnut. Your eyes lock on a revolving case displaying an incredible array of frosted, glazed and topped varieties available at this local outlet of the Portland-based chain of doughnut factories.

The standing joke for many years was that Boulder was the place where doughnut shops came to die. From 2008 to 2012 alone, Boulder was home to zero purveyors dedicated to fried dough cakes.

Establishments shuttered here in the past decade include Daylight Donuts, Tastefully Toasted, K’s Donuts, Dizzy’s Donuts and Winchell’s. Longtime locals may also recall Boulder’s Dixie Cream, Norm’s Donuts, Gronk’s, Dom’s, German’s and Rogers. Spudnuts had several Boulder locations and delivered doughnuts by bicycle to fraternities on the Hill.

Certain efforts to popularize fried dough over the years in the People’s Republic have been met with resistance. Boulder forced the new Voodoo Doughnut to re-paint its signature shocking pink exterior a shade of gray

before it opened because — “doh!” — it was a sign code violation. Boulder should be glad that no doughnut shop has taken the approach of Debbie Duz Donuts. The Fort Collins coffee shop featuring topless servers lasted eight months in 1989.

Voodoo joins Dunkin Donuts as Boulder’s only outposts of cruller culture. But while the city has no independent doughnut shops, you can still find classy, pastry-chef doughnuts. Blackbelly Market serves a special brioche doughnut every Friday, and fried treats are featured every Thursday at Shamane’s Bake Shop. Freshly fried beignets are on the menu every day at Lucile’s Creole Cafe.

Meanwhile, the rest of Boulder County is fast becoming a carb-loaded doughnut destination. Louisville has a Lamar’s Donuts franchise, and Lafayette is home to Nok’s Donuts, the only local shop to make everything — doughnuts, filling and icings — from scratch, not from a mix or a tub. In addition, many bakeries make doughnuts, and long, thin churros are dished at various taquerias and panaderias.

LONGMONT’S BIG BOOM

Longmont rules when it comes to doughnut saturation. Besides the city’s sole chain shop, Dunkin Donuts, Landline Doughnuts launched in 2022 serving fluffy, potato-based handmade doughnuts including traditional apple cider cake doughnuts. Just opened is Mochi Dough, the first Colorado location for the California-based chain offering chewy, Japanese-style mochi doughnuts.

JD’s Delights also started selling cake and yeast-raised treats about a year ago in a Longmont location that was home to a Daylight Donuts shop for decades. Pull up to the strip mall in the a.m. and you’ll likely see folks chomping doughnuts and sipping coffee before they even leave the parking lot.

“We have people who come in for their daily doughnut for breakfast, and we have a doughnut for everyone,” says Caitlin Reneau, co-owner of JD’s Delights with her husband, Jeremy. She happily offers a tour of the trays of cake and yeast-raised favorites ranging from chocolate dipped cake and apple fritters to cream-filled long johns. The shop’s fancier varieties include a vanilla cake doughnut with strawberry icing and strawberry Pop Tart topping.

“I liked the Hot Cheetos doughnuts I made but they didn’t sell,” Reneau says with a smile.

Reneau, who had years of experience working in Whole Foods Market bakeries, arrives at JD’s Delights at 2 a.m. almost every day with a co-worker in tow: the 2-year-old namesake of the shop, her son JD. The back of the shop looks very much like a day care center packed with loads of toys, an attraction for visiting parents.

“Before we opened this place, when we went to doughnut shops we always started with the raised glazed,”

Reneau says. “Those need to be perfect. You shouldn’t have to put a bunch of stuff on top of it to make it taste good.”

All doughnuts are not created equal, she says.

“People ask me why our doughnuts taste so much better — they’re fresh,” she says. “Everything is handmade here — no machines. At a lot of supermarkets, the doughnuts arrive frozen.”

DO THE DOUGHNUT TASTE-OFF

There are three immutable Laws of Doughnuts:

1) They always taste better at a doughnut shop.

2) Fresh is best. Always. The lifespan of a great doughnut is short. Like all fried foods, flavor fades and changes after just a few hours.

3) You always get what you pay for when it comes to doughnuts. Cheap tastes cheap.

I bought a raised glazed doughnut at King Soopers, Nok’s Donut and Lamar’s Donuts and had a taste-off. Even if I had sampled them blindfolded, I would have known which one was supermarket-made. Nok’s tasted the best, with a great fresh flavor. Lamar’s raised glazed was perfectly acceptable. The King Soopers doughnut was a sad, lifeless thing. It tasted like a day-old memory of a doughnut. That said, the supermarket doughnut was much less expensive.

Krispy Kreme’s famous raised glazed — which cost $2 more a dozen than the store doughnuts at King Soopers — tasted a little better. Really, they don’t taste nearly as good as the raised glazed fresh at a Krispy Kreme shop. There is a reason they sell them warm.

Left: Jeremy and Caitlin Reneau at JD’s Delights, Longmont. Right: Voodoo Doughnut, Boulder

Photos by John Lehndorff.

Boulder Spudnuts shop at 1605 24th St., circa 1965. Courtesy Carnegie Library for Local History.

Nibbles continued on page 34

HOME COOK CLASSES WITH ESCOFFIER

BEER HERE: WINNING LOCAL BREWS

Colorado breweries picked up 40 medals at the recent Great American Beer Festival in Denver. Avery Brewing was the only Boulder brewery to snag an award. Lafayette got wins with Liquid Mechanics and Westbound & Down Knuckle Puck Brewing made Mead proud. Longmont dominated with medals going to Pumphouse Brewery, Left Hand Brewing and Oskar Blues Brewery

Longmont’s Wibby Brewing was honored as Brewery of the Year in the 5,001 to 15,000-barrel category. Complete list of winners: greatamericanbeerfestival.com

LOCAL FOOD NEWS: NEW BOULDER CAKE SOURCE

Pony M Cake bakery and cafe has opened at 4900 Baseline, Boulder, former location of Elephant Fusion Cafe, and, for many years before that, Erhard’s European Bakery. The new owners are part of a Denver family that operates a Chinese bakery supplying cakes to restaurants, but this is the first retail location. Pony M Cake’s menu features coffee drinks and milk and fruit teas with boba paired with scratch-made Japanese crepe cakes, custard tarts, Basque burnt cheesecake, and special cakes with mango, matcha and durian frostings sold by the slice. These cakes are less sweet and much lighter than standard bakery offerings.

WORDS TO CHEW ON: DUNK THAT DOUGHNUT

“People who habitually drink chocolate enjoy unvarying health and are least attacked by the host of little illnesses which can destroy the true joy of living.”

— Jean-Anthelme

Brillat-Savarin

FALL FRUIT FARM STAND FUN

Boulder County’s farms are still producing a haul of summer veggies including great tomatoes to enjoy now and preserve, but there’s also a bevy of fall fruit in the mix. Take advantage now with Boulder Weekly’s guide to roadside local farm stands: bit.ly/2023FarmStands

OF THE EARTH

A day in the life of Olympia Rare Foods’ Jake Redlener

BY COLIN WRENN

Jake Redlener often starts his day foraging. After that, he loads his car with caviar, A5 wagyu, truffles and an assortment of mushrooms. Then he hand-delivers the product to some of the finest restaurants in Boulder and Denver.

Redlener started Olympia Rare Foods in 2020 and currently operates from his hillside bungalow in Evergreen. He was born in New Rochelle, New York, but fell in love with Colorado while working with the Southwest Conservation Corps during the summer of 2015.

“I was basically living out of my car and my tent,” Redlener says. During long days of trail-building and invasive species removal, Redlener started teaching himself to identify plants and fungi. He quickly learned what was edible, along with the traditional and medicinal uses of the many things that sprouted from the desert floor. “I immediately fell in love with the land,” he says.

He returned the following summer, and while acting as a youth crew leader, he continued to distill his vision for a future in business. Redlener decided then and there that he would focus on

using his influence for the greater good, reduce waste and find a way to monetize and commodify things that don’t hurt the earth.

“If you’re foraging responsibly, it’s like picking an apple from a tree,” Redlener says. In 2017, Redlener returned home to take care of family, though his interest in foraging only continued to grow.

“It was at that time that I learned people were going door-to-door to sell stuff to restaurants that I was finding in the woods,” he says.

In spring of that year he started working for Regalis Foods, one of New York’s leading purveyors of exceptional products like truffles, uni, black garlic and lobster. “Almost all my clients had at least one Michelin star.”

With the opening of Olympia, Redlener has been bringing the same kind of hands-on, mom-and-pop approach to luxury goods distribution

that he witnessed while working at Regalis. He currently serves between 25 and 50 active clients from across the Front Range. During an average week, he and his assistant Gracie will personally dispatch roughly 175 to 200 pounds of mushrooms, 10 to 20 pounds of white and black truffles, 10 to 15 kilos of Tsar Nicoulai caviar and close to 100 pounds of wagyu. “You’re like a fixer in a lot of ways,” Redlener says.

‘WORKING IN LUXURY’

I joined Redlener for one of his average Wednesday afternoon routes, where we packed the truck with a crate of fresh Saskatchewan chanterelles and drove the roughly 90 minutes from his place to Boulder where we knocked on the kitchen doors of both Frasca and Corrida. We caught Corrida’s chef Samuel McCandless, who after quickly inspecting the goods, said “I’ll take ’em.”

Even though Redlener largely relies on advance orders these days, he says this kind of cold calling has been fundamental to the business’ success.

“I’m much more connected with my suppliers than I think a lot of other people are,” he says. “The products I sell are the ones I know are going to be the absolute best. I went through a million vendors for all these things.”

It’s clear that Redlener views the state’s restaurant culture as its own ecosystem. And even though he sources much of his supply nationally and internationally, he still approaches the network with localization in mind. “A true chef wants to be as close to pulling the vegetable out of the fucking ground as they can,” he says. “We need chefs to support these small local businesses.”

While Redlener largely sells sourced products, he’s confident he’ll be able to start integrating foraged and grown items as his market continues to expand. “With the Michelin Guide coming in, it will draw more people to open fine dining and that will raise the bar across the board,” he says.

Redlener hopes that within a couple of years he will be able to expand the business to include a combination warehouse and marketplace where he can do more direct-to-consumer sales. In the meantime, he’ll continue doing three to four airport trips a week, making sure his clients get the best of the best.

“I like working in luxury,” he says. “There’s no better way to stop a kitchen in its tracks than to bring in a bucket of truffles.”

“If you’re foraging responsibly, it’s like picking an apple from a tree,” says Jake Redlener. Photos courtesy Olympia Rare Foods.

THE DMT EXPEDITIONS

Scientists in Boulder and San Diego are studying extended-state hallucinations

BY WILL BRENDZA

There are two main ways in which people ingest DMT (N,N-Dimethyltryptamine). But researchers are pursuing a third method of ingestion that will allow them to gain deeper insights into how the brain works during the peak of a DMT trip, and how this drug might be used to heal trauma.

The oldest form of DMT ingestion is the traditional Amazonian method. Tea is brewed with beta-carboline-rich Banisteriopsis caapi vine and Psychotria viridis — a mixture known as ayahuasca. The effects often cause colorful hallucinations of patterns and hieroglyphics. Sometimes users even report having out-of-body experiences and interactions with “beings.” The trip lasts for somewhere between four and six hours.

The other common way to consume DMT is by smoking a concentrate, either in powder or oil form. The effects are often more potent but last for just 10 to 15 minutes. Many people describe “blasting off” at high doses — flying out of their physical body, through a psychedelic kaleidoscope, meeting god-like entities, seeing past lives, and physically experiencing the intercon-

nectedness of all things.

According to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, DMT affects the parts of the brain where we generate reality. But it also acts on the highestevolved areas of the brain that deal with complex problem-solving, language, planning and imagination (Weed Between the Lines, “Your brain on DMT,” March 30, 2023).

But we don’t know much about the peak out-of-body state achieved by DMT users who smoke the substance. That state is so fleeting that it’s very hard to gather meaningful data on what’s going on inside our brains, which makes it difficult to understand what conditions the drug might be used to treat.

Scientists are working to get to the bottom of this, though. Researchers from the Department of Anesthesiology at UC San Diego School of Medicine were recently awarded a $1.5 million grant to gather data on the effects of DMT on consciousness. And there is also a program in Boulder seeking answers.

The UC San Diego grant will fund an entirely new research program within the university’s Psychedelic and Health

Research Initiative: the Division of DMT Research. It will be focused solely on studying the biological and psychological effects of DMT in humans. Jon Dean, PhD, postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Anesthesiology, is the division’s first director.

“Reliable methods for measuring DMT directly in the human brain and bodily fluids do not exist,” Dean said in a press release about the grant; so he and his division plan to develop their own methods.

To suspend their subjects in an “extended state” of peak DMT visions, Dean and his team will implement continuous intravenous infusions of DMT. So instead of drinking ayahuasca tea

other psychedelics could be used in a therapeutic manner to address pain, trauma and various medical conditions related to the brain,” Dean said.

While UC San Diego is the only university in the U.S. to create a dedicated division to conduct extended-state DMT research, it isn’t the first institution to experiment with intravenous DMT infusions. Boulder’s own Center for Medicinal Mindfulness likewise launched an extended state DMT research program known as DMTx in 2018.

However, where the UC San Diego program is focused solely on scientific data collection, the Center for Medicinal Mindfulness is also interested in spiritual and perhaps even extra-dimensional exploration. Daniel McQueen, the Center’s founder, says they’re hoping to spend more time in the DMT realm to better understand it as a “place.”

“We believe extended-state DMT research is as much an expedition as it is a scientific experiment,” McQueen writes on the DMTx webpage. His group plans to pursue scientific inquiry, while upholding the creative and spiritual interests and values of the psychedelic community.

or smoking DMT concentrate, an IV will administer DMT directly into the subject’s bloodstream over an extended period. It’s a newfangled third method of ingesting DMT, and no doubt it’s the most potent, dangling users at the apex of their trip for many minutes or even hours.

“Our long-term objective is to gain a better understanding of how DMT and

The Center for Medicinal Mindfulness’ DMTx program is still seeking volunteers. Interested psychonauts can apply on the Center’s website: bit.ly/MedicinalMindfulnessDMTx. For more information on the UC San Diego Psychedelic and Health Research Initiative’s (PHRI) Division of DMT Research, and to learn how you might apply to become a subject in that study, contact phri-recruitment@ ucsd.edu