Boulder Weekly 09.07.2023

50 Years of Reproductive Freedom

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COMING HOME AFTER 2013 FLOOD P.10

DEAR

WHOLE FOODS

DADDY P.17

08 NEWS: Colorado’s first abortion clinic celebrates 50 years of reproductive health care BY CAITLIN ROCKETT

10 NEWS: A community finds itself 10 years after historic flood BY

WILL MATUSKA

15 MUSIC: Philly hardcore heroes Soul Glo bring the ruckus ‘to a point’ BY

JEZY J. GRAY

17 ADVICE: Dear Whole Foods Daddy: ‘How do I erase all memories of living in Boulder?’ BY

GABBY VERMEIRE

23 FILM: Dispatch from the 50th Telluride Film Festival

BY MICHAEL J. CASEY

Courtesy Town of Lyons

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM IN BOULDER COUNTY

BY JESSICA MASON

It’s been more than a year since the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade, sending the issue of abortion back to the states and creating a reproductive health care crisis in its wake. Even though here in Colorado our lawmakers have taken steps to protect abortion access within our borders, the damaging impact of Roe’s reversal is undeniable. At Boulder Valley Health Center, it only deepened our commitment to providing the highest quality reproductive and sexual health care to our community and beyond. As we prepare to celebrate the center’s 50th anniversary, it’s brought into sharp focus our

mission and path forward for our next 50 years.

At Boulder Valley Health Center, we know that whole-person health care is community care, and that when we serve our patients we contribute to the health of all of Boulder County.

These are dynamic times in reproductive and sexual health policy.

Boulder Valley Health Center was providing high-quality reproductive and sexual health care before Roe v. Wade was overturned, and we’re unwavering in our dedication to provide it in the wake of the Dobb’s decision. Under the vision and leadership of Dr. Savita Ginde, Boulder Valley

Health Center is prepared for the challenges — and opportunities for rebuilding — that now exist.

Boulder Valley Health Center has always been a place where you will find compassionate, respectful reproductive and sexual health care that centers your needs, regardless of your background, your income or your beliefs. That is even truer today. Our clinic and staff are resources for community members as they come to us for reliable contraceptive methods, compassionate abortion care, genderaffirming care, cancer screenings, or menopause and hormone replacement therapy. Fewer and fewer of these

SEPTEMBER 7, 2023

Volume 31, Number 3

PUBLISHER: Fran Zankowski

EDITORIAL

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Caitlin Rockett

ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR: Jezy J. Gray

GENERAL ASSIGNMENT REPORTERS: Kaylee Harter, Will Matuska

FOOD EDITOR: John Lehndorff

INTERN: Lily Fletcher

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Will Brendza, Rob Brezsny, Michael J. Casey, Jessica Mason Pieklo, Dan Savage, Toni Tresca, Gabby Vermeire, 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.

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Boulder Valley Health Clinic is more necessary than ever

PIEKLO

kinds of clinics exist, especially in the aftermath of Roe’s reversal, which makes the role Boulder Valley Health Center plays all the more critical.

The staff at Boulder Valley Health understand that a key component of a vibrant and healthy community is the ability to feel safe, seen, heard and respected. Reproductive health is public health. As reproductive and sexual health care providers, we play an irreplaceable role in helping our neighbors become the best and fullest versions of themselves. This is another aspect of community care we intend to carry into our next 50 years.

This model and understanding of community care is even more important now as an alarming number of our neighboring states take steps to roll back reproductive autonomy within their borders. Despite Colorado’s reputation as a safe haven for reproductive health care, we feel the impact of restrictions taking effect in places like Oklahoma, Utah, Kansas and Nebraska. We understand that our responsibility as health care providers exists despite the political climate, not as a result of it. Our commitment to community care only deepens as reproductive health care deserts emerge around us. Taking care of each other, and taking care of our neighbors, is what we do at Boulder Valley Health Center.

Our commitment to all of Boulder Valley is unwavering, especially to our most vulnerable and marginalized members. Too many of our neighbors, family and friends currently feel under attack. This is another unfortunate result of the destabilizing effect reversing Roe v. Wade has had on our communities in general, and a challenge Boulder Valley

OPINION

CHARRETTE OR CHARADE?

I’m a neighbor who lives but a few hundred feet away from the Bohn Farm project, and I was shocked that you would print Kaylee Harter’s one-sided account of the developer’s plans and the charrette process.

Furthermore, Young’s most recent plan was actually submitted to Longmont Planning and Zoning prior to the most recent series of charrettes described by Harter. Charrette or CHARADE?

Health Center can help solve. Inside our doors patients will always find judgment-free, stigma-free, medically accurate information and care. And we know that to cultivate a healthy community, we must nurture a diverse community. The two go hand-in-hand. We were one of the first clinics in the area to provide gender-affirming care services, and we remain dedicated to providing our LGBTQ community members with the highest quality of care.

Because of our commitment to serving all of Boulder County, our care doesn’t just stop and start at our clinic doors. We offer sexual health education in our schools. We table at community events and host Q&A sessions with students. We want to know our neighbors, and we want our neighbors to know us. That’s a key part of building and fostering community and countering the stigma around reproductive and sexual health care that allows the political attacks to continue.

These are challenging times to be a reproductive health care provider, without a doubt. But at Boulder Valley Health Center, we don’t do this work because it’s easy. We do this work because it’s necessary and we know the power it has to transform lives. We couldn’t do this without you, our community. Thank you for the last 50 years, as a part of the Boulder Valley fabric, we look forward to continuing to serve you.

Jessica Mason Pieklo is a Boulder Valley Health Center Board Member, legal journalist, and author of the book ‘The End of Roe v. Wade: Inside The Right’s Plan to Destroy Abortion.’

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

Her article contains a half-dozen or so quotes from the developer, charrette proponents and those in favor of increased density throughout the area and just one general comment from a neighbor who was dissatisfied with the process. She could have reported that about 15 or more neighbors spoke in opposition to the proposed 70-unit project which is a 100% greater density from the surrounding neighborhood. Fewer than six spoke in favor of the proposal.

The developer has been calling for three-story townhomes and condos while the majority of surrounding homes are one story. The Bohn Farm Neighbors’ position calling for 46 or fewer units is a 50% increase of the surrounding density. Is that not a compromise? However, the developer has never wavered from his call for 65 to 70 units, yet neighbors are portrayed as inflexible.

Mark Young’s stipulation that only four neighbors in favor of more density and four opposed to the 70 units could participate in the second series of charrettes — in addition to members of his development team and a half-dozen architects — left little chance that the four opposing neighbors would be heard. That was my experience in the April charrette in which I had participated.

Why do neighbors desire less density in their historic neighborhood? Young’s proposal would feed all traffic onto adjacent “local” Spruce Avenue and Sherman Street which, at 28 feet across, are undersized compared to the City’s code of requiring 34-foot width for new streets. Feeder and collector streets are blocks away. My own home has a stone and steel horse tie out front to accommodate vehicles from a less-congested era.

As a regular, long-time reader, an article that sounds like [a] press release is not what I have come to expect from the Boulder Weekly. Given the unusual updates and events from the City of Longmont on page 13, I can only ask “What’s up?”

— John Loughran / Longmont

MAYOR MISTAKE

In the Aug. 31, 2023 edition of the Boulder Weekly, Junie Joseph endorsed Nicole Speer and said we “have the opportunity to elect our first woman mayor.” Boulder has had several women mayors, beginning with Ruth Correll, who was the first female mayor of Boulder, elected in 1978. Then there was Linda Jourgensen, mayor of Boulder from 1986-1990, Leslie Durgin, mayor from March 1990-Nov. 1997, Susan Osborne, mayor from 2009-2011, and finally and most recently, Suzanne Jones.

All were excellent mayors. And while I definitely would love seeing more females in positions of power, I won’t vote for someone just because of their sex but rather for where they stand on various topics and what ideas they have for our future.

— Lise Cordsen / Boulder

TO OUR COMMUNITY AND BEYOND’

Colorado’s first abortion clinic celebrates 50 years of reproductive health care

BY CAITLIN ROCKETT

Boulder Valley Clinic served nine patients on its opening day, Nov. 1, 1973, just nine months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that abortion was constitutionally protected.

It was the first abortion clinic in the state, and Linda Weber, freshly transplanted to Colorado and armed with two years’ worth of experience at a facility in New York, took the helm of the newly launched clinic’s volunteer counseling program.

“We had patients coming from Wyoming, Nebraska and Kansas, traveling great distances,” Weber says. “We had to find places for them to stay. There was a priest at St. John’s [Episcopal Church] here in Boulder ... and he would find housing for someone who didn’t have any money who was in town for an abortion.”

Over the next half century the clinic evolved, changing names and locations and incorporating more sexual health services. Today the facility is known as Boulder Valley Health Center (BVHC) and positions itself as a “community-focused clinic” offering gender-affirming care for adults, family planning, and a confidential clinic for teens to access birth control. But the need for BVHC’s abortion services has only grown since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in the summer of 2022 with the Dobbs v. Jackson ruling.

“A lot of clinics across the country had to shutter services

pregnancy,” Jussen says. “We provided emotional support for the women who came.”

Weber says this was by design, as one of the founding doctors, Irwin “Ran” Sclar, was a psychiatrist.

RULING FROM STATE MEDICAL BOARD BRINGS COLORADO CLOSER TO BECOMING THE FIRST STATE TO BAN ‘ABORTION REVERSAL’ PRACTICE

BY CAITLIN ROCKETT

right then and there,” says Savita Ginde, CEO and chief medical officer at BVHC.

“From that day, we’ve seen a 200% to 300% increase in phone calls per week. More than 50% of the patients we see come to us from out of state. Right now, Colorado is the closest place for reproductive health and abortion care for about 1.2 million people who live in surrounding states that have restrictions on such care.”

While the Dobbs decision dealt a devastating blow to bodily autonomy, Colorado has protected access to abortion through the Reproductive Health Equity Act, giving Ginde and her team at BVHC a chance to celebrate their golden jubilee and “prep for the next 50 years.”

“To get to this milestone we’ve had to rise out of the ashes of harsh legislation, of COVID,” she says. “I think it’s really brought our mission into sharp focus.”

The clarity of that mission was what drew people like Weber to the clinic 50 years ago. She still meets with former Boulder Valley Clinic staffers like Sarah Jussen, an original volunteer counselor who went on to manage the clinic for more than a decade.

“It wasn’t just terminating a

“He and the other [doctors] wanted patients to get psychological support as well as medical treatment,” Weber says. “He knew so many women had issues with relationships, religion, sexuality, and I was absolutely on the same page.”

As the years pass, Weber feels called to share the story of Boulder Valley Clinic, as many of the founding doctors have died: Sclar, Roger Wade, Robert McFarland, Sherburne Macfarlan, and, just last month, Ron Kuseski.

While the name of the clinic has changed, Ginde says the mission is as clear as ever.

“We know that we must continue our deep commitment to providing the highest quality

Colorado is one-third of the way to becoming the first state to ban “abortion reversal,” as its medical board recently ruled the scientifically unfounded treatment does not meet generally accepted standards of medical practice.

Now, the state boards of nursing and pharmacy must weigh in, fulfilling a requirement laid out in April when Gov. Jared Polis approved Senate Bill 23-190, Deceptive Trade Practice Pregnancy-related Service.

Progressive advocacy groups Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR) and New Era Colorado helped craft the legislation. Katherine Riley, policy director with COLOR, says there’s little concern the other two boards will come to a different conclusion as the bill directs all three entities to conclude “in consultation with each other.” The nursing and pharmacy boards are set to meet on Sept. 20 and 21, respectively.

“We gave them a mandate that by Oct. 1 all three of the boards must meet, hear comment, hear testimony, look at all the available data and research, and then promulgate rules on whether or not [abortion reversal] meets the standards of medical practice,” Riley says. “If they find that it doesn’t, then the bill stands.”

SB 190 deems abortion reversal “unprofessional conduct” that could result in “discipline” for those who provide it, namely “crisis pregnancy centers” that masquerade as full reproductive health facilities but only offer anti-abortion counseling. The “reversal” treatment — often mischaracterized in the media as a pill, though it can be administered as an intramuscular injection — is given to people who are undergoing medical abortions, which require two medications: mifepristone, to stop pregnancy growth by blocking the hormone progesterone, and misoprostol, which makes the uterus contract. Reversal purports to use high doses of progesterone to reverse the effects of mifepristone before — and only before — misoprostol is taken.

reproductive and sexual health care to our community and beyond.”

BVHC’s fundraising gala, Condom Couture, is Saturday, Sept. 23 at the Boulder JCC, 6007 Oreg Ave. The event features fashion, burlesque and drag from Colorado-based designers and performers. Guests are encouraged to wear ’70s-style attire. Tickets start at $125 and include food, beer, wine and a special cocktail: bit.ly/CondomCouture

“That’s not actually true,” Riley says, “because when you block the [progesterone] receptors, they’re blocked.” According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, “medication abortion is more effective when both drugs are used, because mifepristone alone will not always cause abortion.”

But doubts around abortion are rare: A groundbreaking, decade-long research study found that 95% of people do not regret their choice to have an abortion.

There are three crisis pregnancy centers in Boulder County, according to crisispregnancycentermap.com.

Original BVHC location. Courtesy BVHC.

COMING UP:

• Get a glimpse into some of the county’s most sustainable homes at Colorado Green Building Guild’s (CGBG) Green Home Tour on Sept 9. The tour will feature eight homes in Boulder, Nederland, Superior and Louisville at various stages of construction and with ranging techniques to cut back on emissions and energy use. Tickets are $15 for CGBG members and $25 for nonmembers. Register at greenhometour.co

• Boulder County Commissioners announced in August plans to raise the minimum wage in unincorporated Boulder County to $15.70/hour beginning Jan. 1 — putting hourly wages 15% above the state’s 2023 minimum wage. Community members and business leaders can share their feedback on wage increases at several upcoming sessions:

- Niwot Town Hall: Oct. 12 at 5:30 p.m. at Left Hand Garage,195 2nd Ave., Niwot. Open to residents and businesses.

- Public hearing: Nov. 2 in the Commissioners’ hearing room at 1325 Pearl St., Boulder, virtually via Zoom or by phone. Additional details will be announced in the Commissioners’ advance agenda Oct. 20.

- Email commissioners@bouldercounty.gov to share feedback.

• After 40 years of service, Mother House, a nonprofit residential program serving at-risk women and transgender individuals and their children, is rebranding as Haven Ridge amid a service expansion and relocation. The organization will relocate its transitional housing facility and navigation shelter to Gillaspie Drive in South Boulder, placing all its services under one roof. Haven House will host an opening neighborhood block party on Oct. 7 with live entertainment and food trucks at the new facility at 1242 Gillaspie Drive, Boulder.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• Two Boulder County projects have received grants totaling more than $8.5 million aimed to develop or preserve affordable housing across the state as part of the Transformational Housing Grant Program. Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley was awarded $720,000 for the Sugarmill Affordable Housing Development, which will include 12 townhomes that will become part of Longmont’s permanently affordable housing stock. The Boulder County Housing Authority was awarded $8 million to add 129 units to the multifamily rental complex known as Willoughby Corner, which is part of a larger 24-acre plot that will include 400 permanently affordable homes.

• Two Boulder residents, Elan Greenberg of Flock Safety and Sebastian Corradino of Archway Communities, were among 30 business and community leaders selected for the Governor’s Fellowship program. The program, a partnership between CivicCO and the governor’s office, allows fellows to shadow members of the Polis administration and other agencies to “deepen their understanding of Colorado state government and statewide public policy issues.”

‘UNTIL WE’RE ALL HOME’

homes and isolated the community for days. Some of the town’s most important cultural venues, like Meadow and Bohn parks, were devastated.

BY WILL MATUSKA

It’s a clear Friday evening in Lyons — the first day of this year’s Rocky Mountain Folks Festival — and a silver-bearded man in a white tank top and ankle-cuffed pants steps on stage.

As the sun falls behind the red sandstone cliffs, onlookers move their camping chairs from the crisp waters of the stage-adjacent North Saint Vrain Creek to dryer spots on the festival lawn where they’ll enjoy the rest of the day’s artists. Kids keep splashing around in the shallows.

The performer is folk artist Kristian Matsson and his band The Tallest Man On Earth. His sharp movements and wit captivate the crowd.

“You bet this mighty river’s both my savior and my sin,” he sings from beneath the wooden Yin-Yang symbol at the crest of the stage.

Whether Matsson knows it or not, those lyrics — about the duality of the river as both a place of refuge and destruction — are all too familiar in this community.

Amid the scene of celebration and music, it’s easy to forget what happened 10 years ago on Sept. 11: the beginning of a multi-day torrential rainstorm that inundated the town with water that filled businesses, took

The destruction spread across the Front Range, amounting to more than $4 billion in damage across 17 counties, according to the Colorado Encyclopedia.

In the ensuing decade, Lyons replaced roads, homes, parks and more thanks to herculean efforts from town staff and administration managing a $75 million recovery budget. At the time of the flood, the town’s budget was $1.2 million.

The completion of a pedestrian bridge over North Saint Vrain Creek last October was the final flood-recovery infrastructure project, and symbolized the flip of a tumultuous page in Lyons’ history.

But Hollie Rogin, the town’s mayor, says the recovery still isn’t complete.

“What we haven’t gotten back are the people who had to leave because their homes were destroyed,” she says during a golf-cart tour of town. “So there’s still a lot of heartbreak.”

Some residents returned to their homes or rebuilt after the flood, but others were scattered to surrounding towns or even out of state.

The most affordable areas along the creek, including two mobile home parks, were decimated. That’s where artists,

musicians and quarry workers often lived.

“Affordable housing was our biggest loss,” says Victoria Simonsen, the town’s administrator. “We lost about 100 affordable units that night and we’ve only been able to build back 46 so far.”

Lyons has made efforts to bring people back to town for the last decade, perhaps most substantially through the new Lyons Valley Townhome Community, a 40-unit affordable housing development giving move-in priority to people displaced by the flood.

One of those people is Kriya Goodman, a teacher and music therapist who has been trying to get back to Lyons ever since her rental was destroyed in the flood. Now living in Michigan, she says moving into the townhome community this fall will be the first time she had a stable home since 2013.

“It’s beyond my wildest imagination the way it’s turning out,” she says. “It’s so beautiful. I’m going to have my own

house. I’ve been moving around so much but I’m so ready to have my own place to really be stable and settled.”

While some say the town has emerged stronger and better since the flood with new infrastructure and more day visitors than ever before, the national trends of rising home prices and virtual workers flocking to small communities leave longtime Lyons residents grappling with the town’s identity.

“We’ve gotta figure out who we want to be and walk the talk,” says Simonsen. “Do we want to be a bedroom community or do we really want to be a true community?”

IT CAME IN THE NIGHT

Everyone in Lyons, a town of around 2,000 people at the time of the disaster, has a story about the flood.

It’s not an exaggeration — the town is only one square mile in size and 20% of its housing was destroyed.

Simonsen, who has served under five mayors over the last 13 years, woke up just before midnight on Sept. 11 to a call that the river was over its banks.

One of her first instincts was to go to Town Hall, where records dating back to the 1800s were stored. Simonsen and two other town employees started pulling the bottom drawer out of every filing cabinet and setting them on tables.

She remembers desperately trying to keep water out of the building, which was already ankle deep.

“Use anything but the American flag to tuck under the doorways and windowsills,” she recalls telling her coworkers.

It was dark and difficult to tell where the water was coming from. In her singular focus to save records, Simonsen lost track of the immediate danger: the water.

“Within minutes of it being ankle deep, we looked up and the water outside the window was about even with my head,” she says. “And oh my god, that was the only time honestly I felt like I might die.”

In a moment of panic, she

The view from Lyons’ 5th Avenue bridge during the flood. Courtesy Town of Lyons.

Damaged or destroyed structures in Lyons. Courtesy Town of Lyons.

A community finds itself 10 years after historic flood

realized the doors only opened outward. But thanks to some quick thinking, she was able to heave open one of the building’s back doors into knee-high water.

“It was just very surreal. Terrifying,” she says. “You’re in survival mode at that point.”

Simonsen was experiencing a weather anomaly.

Dave Gochis is a hydro-meteorologist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) who studies convective thunderstorms over complex terrain and models their hydrologic impacts. He says the 2013 floods were unique.

“The event itself was, statistically speaking, a very rare and extreme event,” he says. “Not only just for some of the local amounts of precipitation that fell in a given watershed, but also the spatial extent of [heavy rainfall] spread across almost three counties.”

According to the National Weather Service, rainfall reached up to 18 inches in parts of Boulder County, with most of the rain falling on Sept. 11 and 12. Record flood levels were observed on the Saint Vrain near Lyons.

When the sun rose the next morning on Sept. 12, Lyons residents realized the town was separated into six distinct islands. The roads coming into town were washed out, leaving no way in or out. But the water was still raging.

“The sound [of the river] was deafening,” Simonsen says, which included hearing landslides and cars hitting bridges. “I can still hear it.”

Simonsen says the next 36 hours were “lawless in Lyons.” She remembers being wet for a couple of days — she didn’t think to grab extra clothes or socks — as the town hunkered down together. Even the homes left unscathed by the flood were cut off from power, telephone service and water.

Outside of Lyons, Mike Chard, the director of the Boulder County Office of Emergency Management, was leading the emergency operations center during the flood. More than 800 people were reported missing the first night and his office evacuated more than 1,700 people

across the county by the end of the week.

He says Lyons was “tore up,” and its infrastructure was “bounced back to 1860.” But it was the response from Lyons residents that stood out to him.

“It was remarkable seeing that community hold the line with each other and lean into each other during a time of cri-

sis,” Chard says. “They were an incredible example of human spirit and rising to the occasion.”

Neil Sullivan, co-owner of the St. Vrain Market, says the town banded together when there was no one else to call.

“One of the things that we all realized as a community later on is how vulnerable we are and how quickly we can

come together,” he says. “So that was super impressive to see. But it’s too bad we had to go through [the flood] to realize it.”

Simonsen calls the community’s immediate response “absolutely heroic.” That response — filled with resilience and camaraderie — helped guide the next 10 years of rebuilding.

FLOOD ANNIVERSARY EVENTS

Remember the flood and celebrate how far we’ve come a decade later at these Boulder County events. To start, scan the QR code to check out an interactive website about the flood created through a collaboration between Boulder County, the cities of Longmont, Boulder and Louisville, the towns of Erie, Lyons and Superior, and the Carnegie Library for Local History.

LONGMONT: bit.ly/Longmont_events

• Flood Commemoration Tour. Various times, Saturday, Sept. 16

• Crisis to Camaraderie: The 2013 Flood Photo Exhibit. 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, Longmont Museum, 400 Quail Road

• Motus Playback Improv Theatre’s “Stories Of The Flood.” 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, Longmont Museum’s Stewart Auditorium, 400 Quail Road

BOULDER: bit.ly/Boulder_events

• 2013 Flood Commemoration Story Circle. 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 12, Carnegie Library for Local History, 1125 Pine St.

• Community members are invited to share audio clips, art, sculpture or any other media that express experiences from the flood with the City.

LYONS: bit.ly/Lyons_events

• Open mic for stories, poems and songs. 6-7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, Moxie Bread Co., 442 High St.

• Official Remembrance Ceremony. 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 10, Sandstone Park

• Town-wide exhibits and displays. 12:30-4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 10

• Silver Linings Tour. 12:30-4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 10

• Community gathering with live music and a dance performance. 3-7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 10, LaVern

M. Johnson Park

• Candlelight Vigil. 6:30-8:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 11, Confluence Circle, 4th Avenue and Prospect Street

A RESIDENT RETURNS

When Sarah Triebold handed over the keys to the first family moving into the Lyons Townhome Community on June 30, there were lots of hugs and happy tears.

Since taking on the project earlier this year, Triebold, property manager of the development, has gotten to know incoming families.

“They are ready to come home,” she says.

Kriya Goodman was just settling into her fourth home in Michigan when she got the call on March 15 that there was a place being built for her in Lyons if she wanted it.

“I was elated, I was jumping for joy,” she says about the call. “I still feel like I’m dreaming. I even called my friend up there to ask if it’s really happening.”

But it’s been a challenging road for her since 2013.

Goodman says she had the job and home of her dreams in Lyons. She lived on Apple Valley Road along North Saint Vrain Creek and taught at the local Montessori school. Her grandson would play in the apple tree near her porch.

In the years following the flood, she bounced around from temporary housing scenarios in the Boulder area and in Michigan, where she grew up. She says she always wanted to be back in Lyons.

placed residents on public park land.

The vote was devastating for Goodman. She says she gave up on moving back.

“I just kind of slunk away thinking I’ll never be able to afford to get back in here,” she says. “That’s why I stopped going up [to Lyons] because it was just too hard for me.”

Connie Sullivan, who was the town’s mayor for two terms following the flood and co-owns the St. Vrain Market with her husband Neil, says affordable housing was a priority, but it was “pretty contentious” because it needed to rebuilt away from the floodplain in a safer location.

One initiative Connie says has been successful is the establishment of ADUs for long-term rentals, which give working-class residents more living options in town. Neil Sullivan says the business community relies on those housing solutions.

“We hire those folks. They work here,” he says. “They need to get to work and they sometimes can’t find transportation from outside to get here. [Affordable housing is] a real need for this business community to be vibrant and go forward.”

One of the last things Connie did as mayor was give the Lyons Townhome Community project the green light. She calls it her swan song.

It was only a few years ago, when Goodman was losing hope to live in Lyons, that she met Simonsen on a walking path in town. Simonsen told her the town hadn’t given up on her, and asked if Goodman would share her story at a public town meeting.

So Goodman grabbed her guitar and sang about her pending return to the melody of a familiar John Denver song. She performed it again for Boulder Weekly.

“Take me home, Boulder County roads,” she sings on a FaceTime call. “To the place, I belong, Lyons affordable housing, mountain mama (that’s me), take me home.”

Now there’s finally a road for her to journey home.

‘RESILIENT AND DETERMINED’

Lyons may have physically recovered, but the flood continues to impact residents’ psyches.

“People still get nervous when it rains,” says Mayor Rogin.

Simonsen doesn’t go anywhere without an extra pair of socks in her purse.

Reflecting on the last 10 years, Simonsen says she’s learned a lot about the town.

“It tells me that we are resilient and determined, and that we are creative,” she says. “And that we respect nature in a much different way than we did. And that [the town] was worth putting back.”

The Lyons Valley Townhome Community is scheduled for completion at the end of November, but that timeline could change due to potential construction delays. Three families have already moved in, with more coming this month.

Goodman expects to move into her new townhome in October.

Meanwhile, the town was struggling to rebuild after losing a fifth of its housing. In 2015, Lyons residents voted down a plan to build 60 affordable housing units for dis-

“The town didn’t give up on [affordable housing],” she says. “There’s several people that I still talk to that [have] been waiting for 10 years, just surviving wherever they can. And they’re finally getting housing, which is so incredibly rewarding.”

“I feel like we are rebuilding the community that Lyons was revolving around.”

The project’s motto, created by Triebold and town staff, is fitting for a community finding the final pieces to its decade-long flood-recovery puzzle: “We’re not home until we’re all home.”

Completed homes in the Lyons Townhome Community. Photo by Will Matuska.

Connie and Neil Sullivan in the St. Vrain Market, which was damaged during the flood. Photo by Will Matuska.

This summer as part of the City of Boulder’s “Social Streets” initiative, the Downtown Boulder Partnership is hosting a series of FREE fun events / activities along 13th Street between Arapahoe Avenue and Canyon Boulevard. (There is no cost to attend the events and all members of the community and visitors near and far are invited to attend to participate or just enjoy

YEETING IN AMERICA

Philly hardcore heroes Soul Glo bring the ruckus ‘to

BY JEZY J. GRAY

After nearly a decade grinding in the sweaty basements of the Philadelphia punk scene, it seems the rest of the world has finally caught up with Soul Glo. The fun and ferocious hardcore act started to gain real traction on their first wide release, 2020’s Songs to Yeet at the Sun, but with the arrival of last year’s full-length Diaspora Problems — the trio’s explosive and ecstatic Epitaph Records debut — the needle began to move in a whole new way.

“The thing that has changed for us is that people dance to our music now,” says vocalist Pierce Jordan. “We spent a solid seven years of people staring at us [during shows] and not knowing what they’re looking at. It was like, ‘What am I doing? This music slaps and everybody’s looking at me like I’m a fucking alien speaking goddamn Mandarin.’ Now people treat us like human beings playing music, and not a museum exhibit or some shit.”

One reason for the early slackjawed response might have something to do with Soul Glo’s gleeful scrambling of hardcore orthodoxy. The band wrapped their arms around left-field elements such as nü-metal nearly a decade before outlets like The New York Times were cranking out think pieces on its alleged Gen Z resurgence. To that end, Jordan counts two of his major vocal influences as James Brown and the late Chester Bennington of Linkin Park (“[he] was on some Freddie Mercury shit”) — a pairing that would have garnered blank stares in 2014, but has today led the band to accolades like metal album of the year from Rolling Stone.

“A majority of artists I feel spend a lot time trying to perfect their version of a sound by someone else they admire, and not enough time trying to actually

say some shit they wanna say, and also put it in a way where people are gonna be like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s how I feel,’” he says. “It feels like that’s your job as an artist — not just to express yourself, but to express yourself to a point.”

On that score, there’s another reason Jordan may have felt like a sideshow in the band’s early days — having less to do with genre conventions, and more to do with the expectations placed on Black performers. Despite the early inroads made by proto-punk, hardcore

of the band’s broader reverberation in the culture. “It’s never been just about me. It’s about what we’re doing with music as artists for ourselves and the people around us.”

‘LISTEN, LIBERAL’

With that racial uplift in mind, it’s not uncommon for Jordan to hear from young Black listeners who say Soul Glo’s music has opened doors that had previously seemed shut. To hear the high-energy thirtysomething tell it, these moments of personal connection among fans with a shared struggle are what it’s all about.

“It means the world every time,” he says. “I think about my inner child, and who I was when I was a teen getting into being a musician and [figuring out] how I was going to shape my musical self within who I am as a Black dude.”

through that complacency with the sharp edge of his cultural critique.

“I feel like a lot of liberal and left-wing people think they’re better because they align themselves with those values, even when they don’t embody or act them out at all,” he says. “You’re still comfortable living in this world, thinking one day the system is going to overturn itself. But physical choices and efforts are going to need to be made. Actions will need to be taken, as they’re being taken against us.”

Ultimately, Jordan describes the deeper ambition of the band in terms that are at once basic and bold. He says it’s not so much about chasing critical-darling status, freaking out genre purists or rattling the cages of complacent white liberals who expect a new world to be born without a fight. It’s about carving a more holistic image of the grand arc of Black life in America, one gig at a time.

and alt-rock trailblazers like Death, Bad Brains and Fishbone in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, aggro guitar music has gelled firmly as a “white” artform in the minds of many critics and audiences.

“I’ve always wanted Soul Glo to be a vehicle for Black people … to actualize themselves and make their lives better in whatever way they can,” Jordan says

But Soul Glo is about more than comforting the afflicted, as the old saying goes — it’s also about afflicting the comfortable. Consider a line from “John J,” a vicious and vulnerable heater dropped late in Diaspora Problems’ 40-minute runtime: “It’s been fuck right-wing off the rip / still liberals are more dangerous.”

Instead of letting white audiences coast on the back-patting of a progressive identity, Jordan wants to cut

“My biggest goal is making work that will be timeless and show the evolution of Black history in music and culture — how it affects individuals, and how we use that to express our lived experience,” he says. “No matter what else we mix in, it’s going to reflect that desire to show Blackness in as complete a lens as possible.”

SOUL GLO WITH ZULU. 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 7, Marquis Theater, 2009 Larimer St., Denver. $20

a point’

Punk trio Soul Glo comes to the Marquis Theater in Denver with Zulu on Sept. 20. Photo courtesy Epitaph Records.

Soul Glo’s breakout LP ‘Diaspora Problems’ was named 2022 Metal Album of the Year by Rolling Stone.

DEAR WHOLE FOODS DADDY

BY GABBY VERMEIRE

We all have questions and need advice, but sometimes the pseudo therapy in the Instagram stories of astrology girls doesn’t cut it. Or maybe the gate-keeping culture of adventure bros has you fearing the judgment that comes with revealing yourself as a newbie at anything. This advice column exists to hold space for you and your Boulder queries (especially the uncool ones).

WTF IS DATING APP REPLYING ETIQUETTE? IS IT THE SAME AS FB MARKETPLACE OR IS GHOSTING RUDE?

Have you or a loved one ever been ghosted on a dating app? You may be entitled to absolutely nothing. You owe zip to these people. In fact, they’re not people, they’re just a collection of AI-generated images of beards and Patagonia hats that you compulsively swipe through in the bathroom even though you’re done peeing but your brain still craves small hits of increasingly depleted dopamine.

IS THIS ETHICAL NON MONOGAMY THING JUST A FAD OR HERE TO STAY?

After I explained the nuanced and recent phenomenon of ethical non monogamy (ENM) to my extremely midwestern-rational mother, her response fell along the lines of, “Oh, you mean dating?” That is to say, ENM has been a thing for as long as people outside primary partnerships have been hot, and all involved decided that this was fine and groovy, i.e., for all human history.

HOW DO I ERASE ALL MEMORIES OF LIVING IN BOULDER?

If you’ve ever watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, you know that trying to erase memories of Kate Winslet doesn’t usually work out. Like Kate Winslet, Boulder is also pretty, probably sporting blue hair, and impossible to erase from your memories. It sounds like what you really want is to erase some of the trauma Boulder left you with.

Start your healing journey by going on a date with a trade-school-educated man who eats carbs. Nothing will deprogram your Boulderbruised psyche like a dude named Tad who won’t even know what Strava is, much less base his self-worth on his stats in the app.

SHOULD I MOVE BACK TO BOULDER?

memories of an emotionally abusive ex? I’m not not saying that…

WHERE’S THE ACTUAL GOOD FOOD IN BOULDER?

Hi there! Did you mean to post this in r/ Boulder?

You know who is a person? The dude from Facebook Marketplace you ghosted after he drove all the way from Nederland to a Whole Foods parking lot with a kombucha scoby — because you can’t commit to a situationship much less a bacteria-and-yeast symbiotic mass. (Seriously, don’t ghost people on Marketplace.)

But I get it, it seems like you can’t hook yourself up to an oxygen machine at Tonic these days without a couple in the corner giving you the ol’ horny up-n-down. And, as comes with any labeling of things that don’t really need a label, the smug factor of these abundance-mindset couples is bigger than ever. As the saying goes, if a couple says that they’re opening their relationship and no one is around to hear it, are they still better than you?

Much like memories of a flighty Boulder ex whose insistence on treating you like a side piece seemed like a Bohemian novelty at the time — “You wouldn’t get it, we don’t go out because that’s so inauthentic” — our city takes on a rose-tinted Instagram filter when given time and distance.You remember the reflection of the sun on the Flatirons while forgetting coming face-to-face with death itself after being peer-pressured into scrambling them. Similarly, it’s easy to forget that those sick views of the Flatirons from almost anywhere in Boulder are the result of NIMBYbacked housing construction and density regulations that are the reason your rent was so high that you needed to move out of Boulder in the first place.

Am I saying that Chief Niwot’s curse acts like selective

Eating actually-good food in Boulder is all about the hype vs. the company you keep. Sure, the child-sized portion of morel-infused something at Frasca tasted fine, but you had to listen to the sugar daddy who picked up the tab talk about Deion Sanders for a good hour. However, the burrito bowl and marg you inhaled with your besties at Illegal Pete’s — after Frasca left you a starving waif — tasted the way friendship feels.

For what it’s worth, the best thing I ever tasted in Boulder was a flattened, months-old Cashew Cookie LÄRABAR from the depths of my backpack after hours of being lost on a trail. It tasted nothing like a cashew cookie.

Got a burning Boulder question or conundrum? DM @wholefoods_ daddy on Instagram, or email letters@ boulderweekly.com with the subject line “Dear Whole Foods Daddy.”

Your burning Boulder questions, asked and answered

EVERY WEDNESDAY BOULDER

BLUEGRASS JAM

THU. 9/7 - 7:00PM

CLAY ROSE, SINGERSONGWRITER NIGHT WITH SPECIAL GUEST TAYLOR SIMS

FRI. 9/8 - 8:00PM

ROCKET PARADE

SAT. 9/9 - 7:30PM

SETH GLIER W/ GUEST JEREMY DION

MON. 9/11 - 7:00PM

AMY LEVERE & WILL SEXTON

TUE 9/12 - 8:00PM

BLAIR BORAX, MEGAN BURTT & ALEX DUNN

THU. 9/14 - 8:00PM

ANTONIO LOPEZ BAND & LAURIE DAMERON

SAT. 9/16 - 6:00PM

K9’S, COWBOYS & COCKTAILS FUNDRAISER

MON. 9/18 - 6:30PM

OPEN MIC W/STEVE KOPPE

TUE. 9/19 - 6:30PM

MOJOMAMMA LIVE BROADCAST ON 88.5 KGNU

SAT. 9/23 - 10:00PM

GREEN BUDDHA

WED. 9/27- 8:00PM

WAYNE GRAHAM

THU. 9/28 8:00PM

THE TONY FURTADO

ACOUSTIC TRIO FEAT. MATT FLINNER

SUN. 10/1 9:00PM

BUFFALO WABS & THE PRICE HILL HUSTLE

Purchase Tickets at RMPtix.com

RootsMusicProject.org

4747 Pearl Suite V3A

7

2023 FLAGSTAFF TRASH BASH

4-8:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 7, Stone Shelter, 1198 Flagstaff Drive, Boulder. Free

Want to help clean up the community you call home? Join the Flatirons Climbing Council for a group tidy-up, targeting high traffic areas on Flagstaff Road, including overlooks, parking lots and climbing zones. The day wraps up with free dinner, a raffle and more.

8

‘FIN DEL VERANO’ OPENING NIGHT WITH ALLISON LORENZEN

6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8, North Boulder Arts District, 4593 Broadway. Free

Tertulias Gallery presents the work of Boulder visual artists Carol Ann Wachter and A. Grixm during opening night of their joint exhibition Fin Del Verano, “investigating the transition and transformation of form and space.” Live music by Colorado-based darkwave dream-pop musician Allison Lorenzen rounds out the evening of art and community in the NoBo Arts District.

9

NED NED RACE

8 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, 151 East St., Nederland. $60

There’s something for everyone at the NED NED Race. That includes the 13.1-mile half marathon, a gorgeous trail run that has taken home Best of the Rockies for two straight years. Looking to dress up in costume on a casual jog? There’s a 5k for that. And if you’re searching for something in the middle, this year marks the introduction of a 10k option.

8

STAINED GLASS & CHILL

6:30-8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8, Colorado Glass Works, 1500 Pearl St., Unit D, Boulder. $175 per couple

Get creative on your next date night with Colorado Glass Works, who invite couples to spend an intimate evening at their studio during a 90-minute stained glass workshop. Come with an idea and your special someone, and leave with a one-of-a-kind work of art.

8-10

RARE PLANT PARTY

9 a.m.-5 p.m. Fri.-Sun., Sept. 8-10, Front Range Gardens, 10195 Wadsworth Blvd., Broomfield. Free

Front Range Gardens hosts this green-and-leafy gathering to showcase rare plants like cacti, succulents and orchids along with handmade pottery and jewelry, stained glass and wood crafts. Plus food and drink vendors, music, live painting and more.

9

BEE + BOULDER FEST

11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, Boulder Central Park, 1236 Canyon Blvd., Boulder. Free

Join beloved local children’s music duo Jeff & Paige as they get buzzy with two outdoor shows themed around plants, pollinators and sustainability. Kid-friendly educational booths, arts and crafts and giveaways are just some of what to expect during this event at Boulder Central Park.

9

CHILE ROAST FESTIVAL

Noon-5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, Left Hand Brewing Company, 1265 Boston Ave., Longmont. Free

It’s been unusually hot this summer, but there’s still time to kick up the heat. Lefthand Brewing Company partners with Longmont Twin Peaks Rotary for an afternoon of roasted green chiles, green chile beer, and of course, loads of live music.

9

ARTS HUB 2023 GALA

7-10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, The Arts HUB, 420 Courtney Way, Lafayette. $100

10

NAMI BOULDER COUNTY MENTAL HEALTH FAIR

9

LAFAYETTE BREW FEST

2-6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, Morrell Printing Solutions Parking Lot, 990 S. Public Road, Lafayette. Free (drink prices vary)

We hope you’re thirsty, because a boatload of nearby breweries and cideries are ganging up for a Saturday of malty mayhem at Lafayette Brew Fest. Food from Ruby Ru’s, The Pretzel Box and RevMex will be on-site, and rain or shine, a laundry list of brewers will be ready to pour you their stuff.

The Arts HUB has a full schedule of youth and adult productions this fall (story on p. 21), and they’re kicking off the season with an exclusive concert dedicated to supporting their work, as well as their Arts4All scholarship fund. Broadway music director Boko Suzuki (Rent, Wicked) is the night’s featured conductor. 9

RMP LIVE PRO WRESTLING

8-9:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, Romero’s K9 Club & Tap House, 985 S. Public Road, Lafayette. $15

Not much gets the blood pumping quite like a good old fashioned wrestling match, so settle into your seat with a beer and a bite at Romero’s K9 Club & Tap House for a night of highflying slams and no-holds-barred action via Rocky Mountain Pro.

1-5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 10, Chautauqua Park, 900 Baseline Road, Boulder. Free

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) hosts its first-ever Mental Health Fair at Chautauqua Park on Sept. 10, featuring presentations on mental wellness, games, food vendors and a donation drive for Centennial Peaks Hospital.

9-16

LONGMONT ARTS WEEK

10 a.m. Sept. 9-16, participating venues, Longmont. Free

Celebrate the creative community of Boulder County at Longmont Arts Week, a showcase of local talent featuring visual art, live music, stage productions, screenings and more. Festivities kick off with the Longmont Artwalk on Sept. 9 and wrap with Rhythm at Roosevelt on Sept. 16 in the Longmont Creative District.

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

LIVE MUSIC

THURSDAY, SEPT. 7

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

NOAH CYRUS WITH ANNA BATES 8 p.m. Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St. $30

STILLHOUSE JUNKIES. 9 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. $14

BUCKSTEIN WITH RYAN CHRYS AND THE ROUGH CUTS AND NINETY PERCENT 90’S. 8 p.m. Globe Hall, 4483 Logan St., Denver. $15

JANELLE MONAE WITH JIDENNA, FLYANA BOSS AND NANA KWABENA 8 p.m. Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater, 18300 W. Alameda Parkway, Morrison. $45

CORONA COLLECTIVE 5 p.m. BOCO Cider, 1501 Lee Hill Drive, Unit 14, Boulder. Free

DAVE ABEAR AND FRIENDS 6 p.m. Wibby Brewing, 209 Emery St., Longmont. $10

DENNY DRISCOLL WITH STRANGERS. 6 p.m. Bootstrap Brewing Company, 142 Pratt St., Longmont. Free

KATIE QUICK 7 p.m. R Gallery + Wine Bar, 2027 Broadway, Boulder. Free

FRIDAY, SEPT. 8

BOULDER SYMPHONY AND MUSIC ACADEMY FUNDRAISER. 6 p.m. Rembrandt Yard, 1301 Spruce St., Boulder. $60

MAGIC BEANS 7 p.m. Caribou Room, 55 Indian Peaks Drive, Nederland. $20

GOODNIGHT, TEXAS WITH JOBI RICCIO 7 p.m. eTown Hall, 1535 Spruce St., Boulder. $20

THE ROCKY COASTS WITH VELVET DAYDREAM AND THE MAGALO

COWBOYS 7:30 p.m. Junkyard Social Club, 2525 Frontier Ave., Suite A, Boulder. Free

ROCKET PARADE. 8 p.m. Roots Music Project, 4747 Pearl St., Suite V3A, Boulder. $12

GEN3 WITH HUNTER STONE 9 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. $14

COLFAX SPEED QUEEN WITH HEATED BONES AND THEE RETCONS 9 p.m. Hi-Dive, 7 S. Broadway, Denver. $20

DJ DIESEL WITH JESSICA AUDIFFRED, SO TUFF SO CUTE, AIMMIA AND SOFTEST HARD 7 p.m. Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop St., Denver. $40

BRANDI CARLILE WITH BRANDY CLARK 7 p.m. Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater, 18300 W. Alameda Parkway, Morrison. $80

THE BARBELFISH BALKAN BAND. 2:30 p.m. Stewart Auditorium, 400 S. Quail Road, Longmont. Free

ON THE BILL

Longmont singer-songwriter Antonio Lopez brings his warm and wistful sound to Roots Music Project in Boulder on Sept. 14, with support from fellow local Laurie Dameron. The show comes amid the homegrown artist’s ongoing Doubles singles series, and ahead of a new full-length slated for later this fall. Don’t miss a BW feature on Lopez in our Longmont Insider issue (on newsstands now) by scanning the accompanying QR code. See listing for details

CASS CLAYTON BAND 5 p.m. Festival Plaza, 311 S. Public Road, Lafayette. Free

TAYLOR SHAE DUO 6 p.m. Mainstage Brewing, 450 Main St., Lyons. Free

JENN CLEARY 6 p.m. BOCO Cider, 1501 Lee Hill Drive, Unit 14, Boulder. Free

ETHAN MORRISON. 6 p.m. Trident Cafe, 940 Pearl St., Boulder. Free

SATURDAY, SEPT. 9

STEVE KOVALCHEK WITH ERIK APPLEGATE AND CLARE CHURCH 7 p.m. Muse Performance Space, 200 E. South Boulder Road, Lafayette. $20

SETH GLIER 7:30 p.m. Roots Music Project, 4747 Pearl St., Suite V3A, Boulder. $20

HERE COME THE MUMMIES WITH PERPETUAL GROOVE 8 p.m. Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St. $25

NICK SHOULDERS AND THE OKAY CRAWDAD WITH RIDDY ARMAN 9 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $20

YACHT ROCK REVUE 8 p.m. Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop St., Denver. $40

BRANDI CARLILE WITH JAY OLADOKUN 7 p.m. Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater, 18300 W. Alameda Parkway, Morrison. $80

FORTUNATE YOUTH WITH KASH’D OUT AND DUBBEST 8 p.m. Gothic Theatre, 3263 S. Broadway, Englewood. $30

THE JOE COOL BAND. 6 p.m. Bootstrap Brewing Company, 142 Pratt St., Longmont. Free

SAM PACE 6:30 p.m. 300 Suns Brewing, 335 1st Ave., Unit C, Longmont. Free

THE WHO DO’S. 7 p.m. Superior Community Center, 1500 Coalton Road, Superior. Free

SUNDAY, SEPT. 10

THE JAYHAWKS WITH FREEDY JOHNSTON 8 p.m. Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St. $30

SARAH SHOOK AND THE DISARMERS WITH PORLOLO AND LINES OF DRIFT. 8 p.m. Hi-Dive, 7 S. Broadway, Denver. $22

TOPHOUSE WITH STILLHOUSE JUNKIES 4 p.m. Globe Hall, 4483 Logan St., Denver. $14

SYLVAN ESSO WITH REYNA TROPICAL AND GRRL. 7:30 p.m. Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater, 18300 W. Alameda Parkway, Morrison. $50

THAT MEXICAN OT 8 p.m. Gothic Theatre, 3263 S. Broadway, Englewood. $90 (resale only)

DOMINICK ANTONELLI 4 p.m. BOCO Cider, 1501 Lee Hill Drive, Unit 14, Boulder. Free

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

MONDAY, SEPT. 11

ALABASTER DEPLUME 7 p.m. Naropa University Wulsin Basement, 2130 Arapahoe Ave., Boulder. Free

RON GALLO WITH THE CROOKED RUGS 8 p.m. Globe Hall, 4483 Logan St., Denver. $20

SYLVAN ESSO WITH GRRL 8 p.m. Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop St., Denver. $40

STEVE MILLER BAND 7:30 p.m. Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater, 18300 W. Alameda Parkway, Morrison. $80

YOKE LORE WITH GIRLHOUSE. 8 p.m. Gothic Theatre, 3263 S. Broadway, Englewood. $70

TUESDAY , SEPT. 12

HERBIE HANCOCK 7:30 p.m. Chautauqua Auditorium, 900 Baseline Road, Boulder. $60

FLUME WITH INTERPLANETARY CRIMINAL, LEON VYENHALL AND KUCKA 6 p.m. Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater, 18300 W. Alameda Parkway, Morrison. $60

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 13

MAMA’S BROKE 7 p.m. Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder. $25

KATELYN TARVER WITH ROSIE DARLING 8 p.m. Globe Hall, 4483 Logan St., Denver. $15

FLUME WITH OVERMONO, ELA MINUS AND KUCKA 6 p.m. Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater, 18300 W. Alameda Parkway, Morrison. $60

THURSDAY, SEPT. 14

PAUL SHUPACK 5 p.m. BOCO Cider, 1501 Lee Hill Drive, Unit 14, Boulder. Free

DAVE ABEAR AND FRIENDS 6 p.m. Wibby Brewing, 209 Emery St., Longmont. $10

DONAVEN. 7 p.m. DV8 Distillery, 2480 49th St., Unit E, Boulder. $5

RAVENSCOON WTH SMITH., GREEN MATTER AND W/OUT 8 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $25

ANTONIO LOPEZ WITH LAURIE DAMERON. 8 p.m. Roots Music Project, 4747 Pearl St., Suite V3A, Boulder. $15 BW Pick of the Week

THE YAWPERS 9 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. $6

JAI WOLF WITH KASBO, EVAN GIIA AND MYRNE. 8 p.m. Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop St., Denver. $40

THE REVIVALISTS WITH BAND OF HORSES AND THE HEAVY HEAVY 7 p.m. Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater, 18300 W. Alameda Parkway, Morrison. $100

Credit: Lauren Wright Photography

STALLED OUT

Social commentary and toilet humor collide in dystopian musical at Lafayette Arts HUB

BY TONI TRESCA

Many of us go home after a long day at work to relax and unwind. But for a select group of Boulder County residents, their lives as performers begin when their 9-to-5 ends.

“It takes a special type of person to work an entire day and then come to the theater to work on a show,” says Sarah Hartland, an actor in the Arts HUB’s upcoming production of Urinetown. “We have a lot of STEM and tech professionals on the cast … [but] in the evenings, we’re like, ‘Five, six, seven, eight!’”

That’s been the story at the Arts HUB, formerly known as the Arts Underground, since it began serving the east Boulder County community in 2007. After outgrowing its original basement space in downtown Louisville, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit purchased a 1.4acre Lafayette property in 2015 as the site of its new home. The company moved a year later into the space at 420 Courtney Way, complete with a 194-seat theater and dance rooms, along with a lobby, kitchen and gallery wall.

Seven years after settling into their new digs, the organization introduced the Arts HUB Players, a theater troupe dedicated to showcasing local talent with works produced by and for the community. The Arts HUB Players are currently gearing up for their latest production, Urinetown, a musical that blends satire, social commentary and toilet humor.

This sardonically funny show debuted in New York in 2001, with music by Mark Hollmann, lyrics by Hollmann and Greg Kotis, and a book by Kotis. Urinetown is set in a dystopian future where the government has outlawed private restrooms due to a lack of water, and people must pay the mega-corporation Urine Good Company to find relief.

“In an ocean of musicals that are either ’80s movie adaptations, jukebox musicals or musicals from the 20th century that didn’t age well, Urinetown stands out,” Hartland says. “It’s a unique idea with original music that feels like it could have been written this year. [The play] deals with serious themes around capitalism, labor and class; it doesn’t necessarily have a happy ending, but it is packaged in this really fun way.”

‘CULMINATION OF COMMUNITY’

Jason Lindsey, director of the Arts HUB’s upcoming production of Urinetown, was enthralled by the musical’s humor and score when he first saw it performed at a theater in Dillon.

“I fell in love with its wit right away, and the really dark tone was right up my alley,” Lindsey says. “The fact that people are still doing it over 20 years after its premiere speaks to how timely it is. Urinetown has always been one of my dream musicals to direct. So, when the opportunity to work with the Arts HUB arose, this was the first project on my list.”

Beyond the play’s tone and timeliness, another notable aspect of the production is its intricate and difficult original score, for which it received one of its three Tony Awards, along with Best Book and Direction.

“You might not think it from the title, but Urinetown actually has really beautiful, complex music,” says Bennet Forsyth, who plays Bobby Strong, a worker who accidentally starts a revolution. “There are a lot of really jazzy chords in it, and the ‘Act I Finale’ is a spectacular climax of musical moments from all over the show.”

According to music director Brandon Warren, the score — including a jazz number, villainous soft-shoe routine and gospel choir — is essentially a deconstruction of everything that constitutes a modern musical.

“It’s sort of a pu pu platter of genres, which I think is really interesting because they all come with individual stylistic challenges,” Warren says. “Finding what makes each number distinct and differentiating them from each other has been a fun musical challenge.”

Lauren Wiseley’s choreography for each number is unique, much like the music it is meant to evoke. She takes cues from a variety of musicals and makes allusions to the dances from other well-known productions.

“I would walk in and say, ‘This is our Fiddler on the Roof day; this is our

Chicago-Fosse day,’ and I loved working with the cast to create these references to the diverse musical theater world,” Wiseley says. “We also have a Beyoncé ‘Single Ladies’ moment in one of the songs, but you will have to see the show to find out what that means.”

But perhaps the most essential aspect of Urinetown at the Arts HUB is the collaborative spirit that brought the production to life. With an all-volunteer cast, the show exemplifies the power of neighbors coming together to create something larger than themselves.

“I think the Arts HUB is a wonderful culmination of the community,” Forsyth says. “Our cast is made up of people from all walks of life; just to name a few, we have an ICU night nurse, someone who works for a construction company, and I am currently a school photographer. I love this building and the company for allowing all these different people to come together to make art.”

ON STAGE: Urinetown. Sept. 15-24, The Arts HUB, 420 Courtney Way, Lafayette. $30

‘Urinetown’ runs Sept. 15 through 24 at The Arts HUB in Lafayette. Photos by Clara Wendland.

SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME

Dispatch from the 50th Telluride Film Festival

BY MICHAEL J. CASEY

It all started with a movie, Lonesome, and the promotional team in charge of booking screenings of the 1928 romantic comedy in various mountain towns. They were Bill and Stella Pence, James Card and Tom Luddy, cinephiles with more industry connections than we have space to recount here. The year was 1973, and they brought Lonesome to Park City, Utah, and Aspen, Colorado. The screenings were well attended, but then they took their restored print to the Sheridan Opera House in Telluride and found their audience.

A sellout prompted a second screening. The team looked around the small mountain town in a box canyon high in the Rocky Mountains and agreed: This place needs a film festival. The following year, they returned with one. And for the past 50 Labor Day weekends, the Telluride Film Festival has put on a show. Not a lot has changed in those 50 festivals. There are no awards, no competitions, no red carpets and no onslaught of sponsors and advertisements — just an undying love for cinema. A bevy of marquee movies are screened, many of which will vie for Oscars next spring (particularly the very strange, very weird and very, very funny Poor Things), along with discoveries from the farflung corners of cinema’s past (Yam Dabbo, the little-seen 1986 rural drama from Burkina Faso about a family finding ways to survive in a parched landscape). Attendees can also expect monumental achievements like Abel Gance’s 1923 La Roue, which was never released in the U.S.

‘THE UNBELIEVABLE CONTRADICTION’

Card, Luddy and the Pences loved the movies of today, yesterday and tomorrow, and that’s what makes Telluride special. Current festival director Julie Huntsinger doesn’t just continue that tradition; she celebrates it.

And celebration is the perfect word for the 50th Telluride Film Festival. An extra day was added to the schedule, six filmmakers were invited to play guest programmers, and Mark Cousins’ touching short film, Three Songs About Tom Luddy, played in front of several programs. Huntsinger had planned for the 50th to be a knockout party for Bill

Pence and Luddy, but both passed before the lights had a chance to dim this past weekend: Pence in December 2022, Luddy in February 2023. (Card died in 2000. Only Stella remains.)

And with the festival opening under the shadow of the co-founders’ deaths and a dual strike from the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild — which barred many from attending and promoting their movies — there was a concern that the 50th might play out under somber skies. But then, a large flypaper installation of Agnés Varda appeared over the Nugget Theater on Colorado Avenue. It was the work of French artist JR, one that brought a smile to all who walked by and snapped photos.

And with that, Telluride commenced with a couple thousand die-hard moviegoers spending hours in darkened theaters in one of America’s most picturesque locations — the “unbelievable contradiction,” Ken Burns calls it. Burns wasn’t at Telluride promoting his

next documentary; he was promoting the festival itself. Ditto for German director Werner Herzog. Now in his 80s, Herzog’s legacy in cinema extends well beyond the movies he’s made, and many younger filmmakers at this year’s festival acknowledged his mentorship. Ramin Bahrani, discussing his new doc If Dreams Were Lightning at the Nugget Theater, remarked how pleased he was that his latest was debuting under the watchful eye of his two mentors: Herzog in the audience and Varda on the roof. We’ll talk more about all those marquee titles in next week’s Fall Arts Preview, but for now, we’ll pause and take a deep breath. A chapter is closing on the Telluride Film Festival, but the story is far from over. It’ll return next year and for many more to come. Like Brigadoon, it springs up every Labor Day weekend to celebrate the flickering lights of the past while welcoming the future with open arms. May it never fade away.

Trailblazing French filmmaker Agnés Varda watches over the 50th Telluride Film Festival from Nugget Theater on Colorado Avenue. Photo by Michael J. Casey.

ASTROLOGY

BY ROB BREZSNY

ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19): Aries chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov says war is “more like a game of poker than chess. On a chess board, the pieces are face up, but poker is essentially a game of incomplete information, a game where you have to guess and act on those guesses.” I suspect that’s helpful information for you these days, Aries. You may not be ensconced in an out-an-out conflict, but the complex situation you’re managing has resemblances to a game of poker. For best results, practice maintaining a poker face. Try to reduce your tells to near zero. Here’s the definition of “tell” as I am using the term: Reflexive or unconscious behavior that reveals information you would rather withhold.

TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20): Raised in poverty, Taurus-born Eva Peron became a charismatic politician and actor who served as First Lady of Argentina for six years. The Argentine Congress ultimately gave her the title of “Spiritual Leader of the Nation.” How did she accomplish such a meteoric ascent? “Without fanaticism,” she testified, “one cannot accomplish anything.” But I don’t think her strategy has to be yours in the coming months, Taurus. It will make sense for you to be highly devoted, intensely focused, and strongly motivated — even a bit obsessed in a healthy way. But you won’t need to be fanatical.

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20): Gemini author

Ben H. Winters has useful counsel.

“Every choice forecloses on other choices,” he says. “Each step forward leaves a thousand dead possible universes behind you.” I don’t think there are a thousand dead universes after each choice; the number’s more like two or three. But the point is, you must be fully committed to leaving the past behind. Making decisions requires resolve. Second-guessing your brave actions rarely yields constructive results. So are you ready to have fun being firm and determined, Gemini? The cosmic rhythms will be on your side if you do.

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22): Journalist Alexandra Robbins was addressing young people when she gave the following advice, but you will benefit from it regardless of your age: “There is nothing wrong with you just because you haven’t yet met people who share your interests or outlook on life. Know that you will eventually meet people who will appreciate you for being you.” I offer this to you now, Cancerian, because the coming months will bring you into connection with an abundance of like-minded people who are working to create the same kind of world you are. Are you ready to enjoy the richest social life ever?

LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22): Author Kevin Kelly is a maverick visionary who has thought a lot about how to create the best possible future. He advocates that we give up hoping for the unrealistic concept of utopia. Instead, he suggests we empower our practical efforts with the term “protopia.” In this model, we “crawl toward betterment,” trying to improve the world by 1% each year. You would be wise to apply a variation on this approach to your personal life in the coming months, Leo. A mere 1% enhancement is too modest a goal, though. By your birthday in 2024, a 6% upgrade is realistic, and you could reach as high as 10%.

VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22): In honor of the Virgo birthday season, I invite you to be exceptionally distinctive and singular in the coming weeks, even idiosyncratic and downright incomparable. That’s not always a comfortable state for you Virgos to inhabit, but right now it’s healthy to experiment with. Here’s counsel from writer Christopher Morley: “Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to continually be part of unanimity.” Here’s a bonus quote from Virgo poet Edith Sitwell: “I am not eccentric! It’s just that I am more alive than most people.”

LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22): Do you sometimes wish your life was different from what it actually is? Do you criticize yourself for not being a perfect manifestation of your ideal self? Most of us indulge in these fruitless energy drains. One of the chief causes of unhappiness is the fantasy that we are not who we are supposed to be. In accordance with cosmic rhythms, I authorize you to be totally free of these feelings for the next four weeks. As an experiment, I invite you to treasure yourself exactly as you are right now. Congratulate yourself for all the heroic work you have done to be pretty damn good. Use your ingenuity to figure out how to give yourself big doses of sweet and festive love.

SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21): Scorpio novelist Kurt Vonnegut testified, “I want to stay as close on the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge, you see all kinds of things you can’t see from the center. Big, undreamed-of-things — the people on the edge see them first.” I’m not definitively telling you that you should live like Vonnegut, dear Scorpio. To do so, you would have to summon extra courage and alertness. But if you are inclined to explore such a state, the coming weeks will offer you a chance to live on the edge with as much safety, reward, and enjoyment as possible.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21): “Where there is great love, there are always miracles,” wrote Sagittarian novelist Willa Cather (1873–1947). In accordance with upcoming astrological aspects, I encourage you to prepare the way for such miracles. If you don’t have as much love as you would like, be imaginative as you offer more of the best love you have to give. If there is good but not great love in your life, figure out how you can make it even better. If you are blessed with great love, see if you can transform it into being even more extraordinary. For you Sagittarians, it is the season of generating miracles through the intimate power of marvelous love.

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19): Capricorn author Alexander Woollcott (1187–1943) could be rude and vulgar. He sometimes greeted cohorts by saying, “Hello, Repulsive.” After he read the refined novelist Marcel Proust, he described the experience as “like lying in someone else’s dirty bath water.” But according to Woollcott’s many close and enduring friends, he was often warm, generous, and humble. I bring this to your attention in the hope that you will address any discrepancies between your public persona and your authentic soul. Now is a good time to get your outer and inner selves into greater harmony.

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18): In 1963, Aquarian author Betty Friedan published The Feminine Mystique, a groundbreaking book that became a bestseller crucial in launching the feminist movement. She brought to wide cultural awareness “the problem that has no name”: millions of women’s sense of invisibility, powerlessness, and depression. In a later book, Friedan reported on those early days of the awakening: “We couldn’t possibly know where it would lead, but we knew it had to be done.” I encourage you to identify an equivalent quest in your personal life, Aquarius: a project that feels necessary to your future, even if you don’t yet know what that future will turn out to be.

PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20): “Among those whom I like or admire, I can find no common denominator, but among those whom I love, I can: All of them make me laugh.” Piscean poet W. H. Auden said that. After analyzing the astrological omens, I conclude that laughing with those you love is an experience you should especially seek right now. It will be the medicine for anything that’s bothering you. It will loosen obstructions that might be interfering with the arrival of your next valuable teachings. Use your imagination to dream up ways you can place yourself in situations where this magic will unfold.

SAVAGE LOVE

BY DAN SAVAGE

Q: I’m a fisting top and I always ask my bottoms to make sure they’re cleaned out. What is the proper etiquette when brown liquid explodes out of a bottom, covering me, the bed, the walls, and the floor?

A: Get out of bed, shower off, get dressed, put the bottom in an Uber, exit the apartment, lock the door behind you, go to the airport, fly to a new city, don’t leave a forwarding address.

Q: My BF of 10 years is 53. I’m 43. Things have cooled off in the bedroom as he has age-related issues like indigestion, back pain, and headaches — all the usual age stuff. How do we spice it back up? How do I get him back into his kinky gear for some kinky fun? He was kinkier when he was younger, so I know it’s in him. Any tips?

A: Instead of trying to get him back into the exact same kinky stuff he enjoyed doing 10 years ago and felt physically capable of doing 10 years — work on identifying some new kinky stuff that vibes with the themes of the kinks he used to enjoy and that aren’t as physically taxing. For instance, you could substitute simpler easy-in/easy-out bondage for long, elaborate bondage sessions or you could ask him to watch while you do whatever he orders you to with your favorite insertion toys. (I’m guessing at your kinks here but you get the idea.)

Q: My university-aged cisgendered heterosexual daughter now identifies as asexual. Which is all good. But what does that mean? Not getting any? Doesn’t want any? I don’t want to bother her about it if she isn’t into chatting about it but I would like to know what’s going on.

A: Some asexuals aren’t getting any and don’t want any. Some asexuals get some but don’t want much. Some asexuals get lots and want more. Asexuality, like so much else, is a vast and broad spectrum. You can learn about all the different points (and all the different pride flags) along that vast and broad spectrum at the Asexuality Visibility and Education Network. (LINK: https://www.asexuality.org/). But only your daughter knows where she falls — at least for now — along that spectrum.

Q: I’m a 40-something straight male who only gets off to gangbang porn. It has to be focused on female pleasure; I don’t enjoy anything violent or rough. I’ve never even had a threesome, and honestly when it’s over right after I come — I’m not into the idea anymore. What’s going on?

A: Don’t mistake post-nut indifference for post-nut clarity — meaning, your sudden disinterest in gangbang porn right after you come watching gangbang porn isn’t a sign that there’s something wrong with you or with the gangbang porn (provided, of course, that it’s ethically produced gangbang porn, which does exist). Like all men, you’re less “into the idea” of whatever turns you on right after you come. Losing interest as you crash into your refractory period doesn’t mean your kinks are shameful — it means you have a little time to think about something else.

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FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEART, WE WANT TO THANK OUR COMMUNITY FOR SUPPORTING LOCAL BUSINESSES!

A GLASS ACT

Cocktail Caravan crafts bar-quality, farm-fresh mixers for at-home bartenders

BY JOHN LEHNDORFF

This is one of those classic Boulder origin tales: a story with a natural foods flare, a pandemic twist and a happy ending. It should really be read while sipping a cocktail. And it starts when Crystal Sagan pulled into town in 2006.

“I didn’t really know anyone in Boulder, so I got a bartending job just to meet people,” says Sagan, founder and owner of Boulder’s Cocktail Caravan. “After doing that a while, I woke up one day and said, ‘What am I doing with my life?’”

She found a job in publishing, but mixology never quite left her mind. “I still loved bartending, so I told my friends: ‘If you know anyone having a party, I’ll bartend on the side,’” Sagan says. “People just started calling.”

Sagan launched Cocktail Caravan in 2016 as a boutique mobile cocktail caterer focused on using fresh, local ingredients. “The business was great and then the pandemic hit,” she says. “I [had] my existential life crisis and [thought]: ‘What am I doing with my

life?’ That lasted a day until I saw the silver lining.”

Cocktail Caravan’s bartenders started bottling and delivering the brand’s mixers. “We called it ‘Community Supported Cocktails,’ modeled after farm share CSAs,” Sagan says.

Boulder has gone back to partying in person in a big way, maybe making up for the happy hours it lost. Boutique mobile bartending is booming along with demand for bar-quality mixers for home use, according to Sagan.

One sobering statistic: Many of the mixers are being enjoyed as non-alcoholic mocktails and spritzers.

“There’s a big movement for mocktails because not everyone’s drinking, or not all the time,” Sagan says. “They still want a satisfying beverage. I’m the mother of a 2-year-old now. I drink very little at this point.”

Besides offering its changing menu of mixers at the Boulder Farmers Market, Cocktail Caravan has launched a new Cocktail (and Mocktail) Club starting Oct. 1. Members get two bottles of cocktail

MICHELIN AWARDS ARRIVE IN BOULDER

mix per month for three months with a changing seasonal menu. The frozen mixers are available for Boulder pickup or delivery. At home, members add their favorite spirit or sparkling water.

“Fresh squeezing juices and freezing them is the reason the flavors are so bright and vibrant,” Sagan says. “Anything you buy at the liquor store has been heated up to be pasteurized.”

Ingredients like cucumber, mint, basil, serrano pepper, peach and rhubarb are sourced from Oxford Gardens (Longmont), Black Cat Farm (Boulder), First Fruits (Paonia) and Ollin Farms (Longmont).

Cocktail Caravan varieties range from the Q Sour (orange, rosemary and maple) to the Palisade Pleaser (peach, thyme, lemon) to the Queenstown Margarita.

“These are designed with a bitter element and a sweet element so they have legs — they hold up when they’re mixed,” Sagan says.

There is a simple reason that homemade cocktails and mocktails don’t taste as good as those composed by a mixologist at a bar.

“It’s kind of a pain in the butt to do it right, especially if you’re only making a couple of cocktails,” Sagan says. “I don’t necessarily want to peel, slice and muddle the cucumber, then do the lemons and make simple syrup every time.”

The Front Range figured prominently when the inaugural Colorado Bib Gourmand awards were announced. On the list is chef Kelly Whitaker’s Basta in Boulder, “where familystyle, contemporary Italian-American cooking is the name of the game,” Michelin noted.

Denver’s Ginger Pig, which started as a Boulder food truck, was also honored. “I am still in shock! It is amazing,” says chef Natascha Hess, who will come back to Boulder when a second Ginger Pig opens on The Hill later in September. (New on the menu: Hong Kong French Toast.)

Other winners include Denver’s Tavernetta, a sister eatery to Boulder’s Frasca Food and Wine and Pizzeria Alberico, and Ash’Kara in Denver. The Boulder Ash’Kara location recently closed.

According to the Michelin Guide, Bib Gourmand eateries offer “a meal of good quality at a good value.” They define value as two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for about $50, tax and tip not included. We can quibble about Michelin’s definition of “value” and why the Bib Gourmand list was limited to a measly nine restaurants, mainly in Denver, for a purported statewide guide. Michelin earlier announced it would limit awards only to restaurants in Denver, Boulder County, Aspen, Vail and Beaver Creek. A lot of great restaurants got left out as a result.

Other Bib Gourmand winners are AJ’s Pit Bar-B-Q, Glo Noodle House, Hop Alley, La Diabla Pozole y Mezcal, and Mister Oso, all in Denver.

The coveted Michelin star-winning restaurants will be announced on Sept. 12. Several Boulder eateries should be in the mix.

What do you think of the Bib Gourmand choices? Comments: Nibbles@BoulderWeekly.com

Left, Crystal Sagan (Credit: Ashleigh Wurzbach); Right, Cocktail Caravan mixers (Credit: Crystal Sagan)

Kelly Whitaker, Basta (Credit: Kim Long)

LOCAL FOOD NEWS: NEW ARRIVALS, CLOSINGS

● Murphy’s South restaurant closed Sept. 3 in the Table Mesa Shopping Center (657 S. Broadway, Boulder). “Sales had been flat for a while. With inflation and COVID it was a little too much. It’s sad to be leaving Boulder but our Louisville locale is thriving,” says Adam Perkins, general manager and owner of Murphy’s Tap House in Louisville. An Illegal Pete’s eatery will open in the Murphy’s South space. The original Murphy’s opened in north Boulder in 1984 and closed during the pandemic.

● Heaven Creamery is open at 2525 Arapahoe Ave., serving allnatural artisan ice cream, gelato, sorbet and fruit pops made from scratch with dairy-free, vegan and gluten-free options.

● Alice and Rose, an Alice in Wonderland-inspired all-day cafe, is open at 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., Boulder, formerly Innisfree Poetry Bookstore

● A long-time Lafayette favorite, Ting’s Place Chinese Restaurant, has closed at 1265 S. Public Road.

● Coming soon: The Sophomore, 1043 Pearl St., Boulder, former location of Ash’Kara

CULINARY CALENDAR: BAKLAVA AND SALSA TASTING

● The Colorado Romanian Festival Sept. 10 in Lakewood offers European fare such as cabbage rolls, polenta with sour cream, sausage with beans, Moldavian cheese pie, sweet bread with walnuts and apple pastry.

● Baklava and treats from Iraq, Lebanon and Syria are on the menu at the Taste of the Middle East Festival Sept. 9 in Aurora.

WORDS TO CHEW ON: CHEESEBURGER IN PARADISE

“I like mine with lettuce and tomato / Heinz 57 and French fried potatoes / Big kosher pickle and a cold draft beer / Well good god almighty which way do I steer for my / Cheeseburger in paradise.”

— The late Jimmy Buffett

John Lehndorff hosts Kitchen Table Talk with chef Dan Asher and guests 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Sept. 7 on KGNU-FM, streaming at kgnu.org.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME

The Regular is pushing Colorado’s fine-dining envelope

BY COLIN WRENN

Sometime in the timewarp that was summer 2020, husband and wife chef duo Brian de Souza and Syd Younggreen started serving elegant, multi-course meals at their home in Boulder. It was served on Friday and Saturday nights to just 16 people. There was only one seating.

They called it The Guest.

Younggreen and de Souza met in New York working at the Latin American fine-dining establishment Her Name Was Carmen, opened by a former Le Bernardin chef. “It was my first kitchen job and everything was in Spanish,” says Younggreen.

Food is a mutual obsession the couple, whose apartment in Brooklyn often overflowed with dishes as they tested out recipes. “I think food is something that consumes his thoughts so much,” Younggreen says of de Souza.

After learning the ropes in some of New York’s finest kitchens, de Souza and Younggreen moved to Boulder, where Younggreen’s parents live, to forge their own culinary path, recently opening The Regular in downtown Denver. The massive space is home to a three-part project. The main room houses The Regular. There’s a space

where El Mercado will soon open, stocking goods from purveyors like Olympia Rare Foods, Lazy Acre Beef and WONDER Press Juice, alongside soups, salads and sandwiches for the lunch crowd. Then there’s a door that opens into a private dining room set to host a new iteration of The Guest by the end of the year.

“It was about July or August of 2021 that we realized we wanted to take that next step and make it official,” says Younggreen. By that point, the pair had moved to Denver and were continuing The Guest from their downtown loft.

The Guest is a way for de Souza and Younggreen to push their experimental brilliance. The Regular is a bit more approachable — at least from de Souza’s point of view. “The idea was that The Regular was going to be easy neighborhood food, but I don’t think Brian can do that,” Younggreen says with a laugh.

The single-page menu is broken down into tapas, appetizers, mains, steaks and sides. There’s a few white tablecloth standards, like steak tartare, oysters and filet mignon. But even the simplest dishes hit the table as forwardthinking expressions of serious tech-

nique. The tartare is transcendent with cashew cream and garlic chips, the oyster covered with parsley, thyme, pickled shallot and bacon fat. Even the house salad, with Esoterra greens, candied nuts and green grapes tastes otherworldly.

“I’ve been training this team for over a year. They’re pitbulls, rottweilers and sharks back there,” says de Souza. “I’m trying to do the best we can do. If we put Denver on the map, that’s awesome.”

Diners shouldn’t leave without getting the Seco de Branzino with little neck clams and carrot puree. But the nearly show-stealing drink menu from general manager and beverage director Bruce Polack is an equally crucial part of any visit. Polack is a certified sommelier who curates the nearly 150-strong, bythe-bottle wine list. “We want you to see producers and varietals you aren’t familiar with,” he says. That same phi-

losophy extends to the spirits. “We don’t do brand names here. Moulin Vodka and Four Roses Single Barrel are our wells.”

The Tears of Dawns Simplicity, with Junmai sake, green tea gin, yuzu liqueur, rice wine vinegar syrup and orange blossom spritz is a good look into Polack’s knack for drinks that are both boozy and pristine. The Jungle Fog, with Jamaican rum, cognac, pineapple lime and demerara, is the kind of powerful poolside pounder that should come with a warning label for sunburn risk.

The Regular leaves no stone unturned. The booths are intimate enclaves, and the music darts effortlessly from The Doors to Little Dragon. It’s a dining experience that’s greater than the sum of its already exquisite parts.

“We were always underground,” says Younggreen. “Now we’re trying to make regulars.”

Clockwise from top left: Filet mignon; Confits and Salty Michele; Choritos. Photos by Alex Chan, Bird Tree Productions.

AN EXISTENTIAL REMEDY

Texas researcher explores whether psilocybin can treat cancer patients’ depression better than SSRIs

BY WILL BRENDZA

Acancer diagnosis is a heavy reality, no matter what type or which stage. More than a quarter of patients surveyed by the American Cancer Society report suffering from depression and end-of-life anxiety.

“We also have a patient population that [doesn’t fall] into the realm of anxiety and depression, but their functional status deteriorates so significantly because of the emotional hit that they’re suffering from,” says Dr. Moran Amit, a head and neck surgeon and assistant professor at the University of Texas (UT) MD Anderson Cancer Center. “They’ve just been traumatized by their cancer diagnoses or cancer treatment.”

Currently, the majority of such cases are referred to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and are sometimes prescribed either a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) or a benzodiazepine. But Amit says many cancer patients he sees are resistant to CBT, or cannot muster the energy or find the time to fully invest in it. Benzodiazepines are highly addictive, Amit adds, and both those and SSRIs should be prescribed carefully and in low doses to cancer patients.

Amit believes the medical community needs another tool to help patients cope. He’s in the process of setting up a clinical trial to observe how psilocybin affects the brains of people living with different types of cancer. He and

to change those neurons a little bit.”

He references numerous studies that have indicated this. One, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2021, made direct clinical trial comparisons between psilocybin and established treatments for depression, like SSRIs. It concluded that there was no “significant difference in antidepressant effects” between psilocybin and SSRIs, and that secondary outcomes “generally favored psilocybin.”

Another from 2016 found that onetime use of psilocybin produced clinically relevant and long-lasting effects on depressive and anxious symptoms.

effect only after one or two sessions.”

With colleagues Dan Yaniv, Lois Michelle Ramondetta and Lorenzo Cohen, Amit co-authored a commentary in the International Journal of Gynecological Cancer pleading with their peers to explore the use of psilocybin with cancer patients.

“Considering the prevalence of distress among … cancer patients and the potential benefits and safety of psychedelics, there is a clear need for more well-designed protocols prioritizing safety and exploring psilocybin, and other psychedelics, in this vulnerable population,” the authors write.

Amit says patients in his upcoming clinical trial will prepare for psilocybinassisted psychotherapy for several weeks before ingesting anything. At the end of the third week, participants will undergo a psilocybin treatment with integration sessions following the experience. Subjects will repeat the process at six weeks. Amit’s team will analyze MRI scans before and after treatment to see how it affects brain neuroplasticity. Patients will be monitored throughout the process.

his colleagues at UT want to know whether or not this psychedelic molecule might be a viable alternative to established remedies.

“I became familiar with the hallucinogenic drugs family, most of which affect different types of serotonin receptors,” Amit says. “And those have been shown, at least in the lab with animals,

The scientists concluded that psilocybin is “an alternative to first-line antidepressants.”

“The beauty of psilocybin is that the effect is durable,” Amit says. “With SSRIs, I need to keep my patients on them in order to maintain the effect. But with psilocybin and drugs from the same family, you see a [lasting]

“My fulfillment, or sense of joy, is with my ability to make [this treatment] accessible to our patients,” Amit says. “This is a drug that, in your wildest dreams, you would have never imagined we’re going to give [to people] in Texas. But we’ve made it accessible for patients. I’m really happy about it.”

Amit encourages cancer patients suffering from depression or anxiety to contact him at mamit@mdanderson. org