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ANNEXED BY EMERGENCY VOTE The CU South saga is finally over—or is it?

by Will Brendza

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news:

The fight over CU South is over—or is it?

by Will Brendza

adventure:

Colorado legislation aims to close gaps and provide accessibility for all in the local outdoor industry

by Karlie Huckels

buzz:

Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio tells fans ‘I Told You So’ on new album

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departments 5 Opinion: Loving our neighbors as ourselves 17 Film: Movies cry for help at the Toronto International Film Festival 18 Events: What to do when there’s ‘nothing’ to do...

21 Arts & Culture: ‘Transcend: Transgender Voices’ debuts on CU Boulder campus 22 Astrology: by Rob Brezsny 23 Savage Love: Love power tripping 29 Taste of the Week: Pumpkin curry @ Bee’s Thai Kitchen 30 Weed Between the Lines: As science’s understanding of cannabis evolves, commercial products are now targeting specific health and wellness goals BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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Publisher, Fran Zankowski Circulation Manager, Cal Winn EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief, Brendan Joel Kelley Managing Editor, Caitlin Rockett News Editor, Will Brendza Food Editor, John Lehndorff Contributing Editor, Angela K. Evans Contributing Writers: Peter Alexander, Dave Anderson, Emma Athena, Rob Brezsny, Michael J. Casey, Jim Hightower, Dave Kirby, John Lehndorff, Sara McCrea, Rico Moore, Amanda Moutinho, Katie Rhodes, Leland Rucker, Dan Savage, Alan Sculley, Tom Winter, Gary Zeidner SALES AND MARKETING Market Development Manager, Kellie Robinson Account Executives, Matthew Fischer, Carter Ferryman Advertising Coordinator, Corey Basciano Mrs. Boulder Weekly, Mari Nevar PRODUCTION Art Director, Susan France Senior Graphic Designer, Mark Goodman CIRCULATION TEAM Dave Hastie, Dan Hill, George LaRoe, Jeffrey Lohrius, Elizabeth Ouslie, Rick Slama BUSINESS OFFICE Bookkeeper, Regina Campanella Founder/CEO, Stewart Sallo Editor-at-Large, Joel Dyer

September 23, 2021 Volume XXIX, Number 7 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-holds-barred 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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Loving our neighbors as ourselves

by Jeff Haanen

R

ich Lopez and I come from different worlds.

I’m white, he’s hispanic. I live in downtown Littleton, and he lives off of Federal. I have a goldendoodle and four young daughters; he has a pitbull named Chulo (Spanish for handsome) and adult kids living in Pueblo. I have an office job, and he paints cars for an auto body repair shop in Sheridan.

Yet Rich and I struck up an unlikely friendship out of mutual appreciation for each other’s work.

We met one day after a church service and started to discuss our jobs. He scrolled through images on his Android phone of tattoos he had penned—his true passion— and I asked if Rich would consider teaching my daughter, then 10 years old, how to draw. He arrived the next week with two gifts in hand: a drawing book that taught principles of light and shading, and a new set of charcoal pencils.

My daughter smiled and looked at me as if to ask, Are those for me?

Rich is both talented and generous, but this Labor Day, millions of laborers like Rich felt underappreciated.

And how to improve the lot of our society’s laborers is

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fiercely debated.

We live in an incredibly tight labor market. Not only are people quitting at rapid rates, but the debate rages whether it’s due to low wages or federal unemployment benefits, which expired this past Labor Day 2021.

And many of these debates overlook the macrotrends that are making it nearly impossible to hire people back after the pandemic. An aging workforce, the lack of comprehensive immigration reform (and the supply of lower-wage workers that such reform would help address), declining birth rates, men in the last 50 years simply dropping out of the labor force, and increased stress laborers feel in affording the basics of life like housing, education, and health care all contribute to the labor squeeze.

In light of such widespread, systemic issues, however, it’s easy to forget that we’re not powerless.

Debates notwithstanding, there’s something that each of us can do to appreciate our city’s laborers and live out the ideal to “love our neighbors as ourselves.”

Recognize dignity. When I interviewed Rich, I asked him what he wanted the city to know about his work. see GUEST OPINION Page 6

SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

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He said, “I want people to see what we’re contributing here. If you get in a car accident, you’re going to need somebody to repair your car. That has value.”

For the vast majority of Denver’s laborers, they don’t first want more pay, better hours, or a promotion from their professional counterparts—they want our respect. Millions of men and women in jobs ranging from retail to janitorial services to construction to home healthcare, first want to be seen and valued by those with more wealth and more prestigious jobs.

The great divide in our society is the dignity deficit—one that we can close.

Recognizing the dignity of a laborer at a hotel lobby or an airport restaurant can be as simple as looking them in the eye and genuinely saying, “Thank you for your work.”

Listen and learn. We need to be curious about how people work, why they work, the pain they experience, the meaning they find in their labors, and the small triumphs of their daily lives. The habit of listening well is central to the act of love.

Yet we also need to learn. A part of my own journey has been trying to understand the field of workforce development, the civic sector dedicated to providing opportunity and skill development to the country’s workers.

Business owners need to get educated on the menu of ways they can provide support and opportunity to their frontline employees. Local leaders like Liddy Romero at WorkLife Partnership, or business leaders l

like Karla Nugent at Weifield Group Electrical Contracting, are well worth listening to as we consider even small interventions that allow workers to thrive.

Give away power. When I started to learn about the myriad ways businesses are working to improve life for workers, from onsite childcare to employee stock ownership programs, I called up Steven Dawson, a workforce development expert, and said, “This is all overwhelming. Where do we start?”

He said something I won’t soon forget. “You shouldn’t decide. They should.”

What do they dream of ? What are their needs? What is important to the frontline laborers in your company, in your church, or in your organization? Ask them.

Dawson said the process of involving them is more important than the intervention itself.

Why? Lower-income workers are used to being told where to go, what to do, when to arrive and when to go home. When managers give away some of their power to their teams, they not only provide better benefits, they give their co-workers a sense of what’s possible. They offer space for them to dream of a better life . . . and a pathway to get there.

To give away power is to invite our vulnerable fellow citizens to the decision table. It’s also a simple way we can love our city’s laborers.

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

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Two-and-a-half decades of discussion and negotiation over the CU South property ends in a council vote to annex by emergency—but the saga may not be over

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by Will Brendza

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he Boulder city council voted 6-1 on September 21 to annex one of the most controversial properties in Boulder: CU South. It was the culmination of decades of discussion, review, negotiations and debate. And while the emergency annexation passed by near-unanimous council vote, it will undoubtedly be challenged by referendum.

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A week prior to the vote, on Tuesday, September 14, protesters had flocked to the City of Boulder municipal building—city council was preparing to hold its second reading of the CU South annexation agreement, followed by a public comment period on the long-contentious issue (read: “The controversy surrounding CU South explained,”

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CU SOUTH from Page 7

Boulder Weekly, 3/14/20).

Tim Johnson, CEO of the Frasier Retirement September 21—the same day they would deliberate The group of anti-annexation protesters outside Community, which was devastated by the flood, and finally vote on whether to annex CU South was there to voice opposition to the agreement. The said. “I helped shepherd our Frasier residents to or wait until the matter goes to a people’s vote in impending city council vote on September 21 was safety on the night of September 11 of 2013.”

November. an attempt to subvert their democratic right to vote He told how emergency services were unavailA few days after the September 14 public on the matter, they asserted. After decades of delibable, how he and others had to evacuate the nursing hearing, Mayor Weaver and Councilmember Rachel eration and negotiation with CU, the city was ready home over the course of two days of nonstop rain, Friend met Boulder Weekly at the CU South Propto move forward with its annexation agreement, on their own. Eventually a wall of water forced its erty for a walking tour of the controversial 308-acre with or without the people. The council was going way into the building and, as Johnson put it, “life lot. to approve ordinance 8483—to annex CU South— changed.”

“I want to get one thing out of the way, right by emergency power.

“There was no time to gather thoughts, review up front,” Mayor Weaver said seriously, a toothpick City staff had recommended the emergency vote and systematically follow emergency procedures,” sticking out of the corner of his mouth. “People who in order to ensure that floodwork and funding for it Johnson recalled for the council. “We began evacuare against this are saying that if we pass an annexcontinued to flow—despite the referendum promating 54 healthcare residents, half of them from our ation by emergency, it means that the referendum ised by opponents. secured memory unit, most in bed, carrying them to cannot happen. That is false.”

“The only reason [the city council] is in this safety, some over our shoulders.”

“We’re not trying to interfere with democracy,” great big rush is because they want it to pass before Nikki Lewis, the CFO of Frasier, spoke next, Friend added. the election. They are afraid of us,” Marki Leher voice trembling: “Reliving what Tim [ Johnson] Mayor Weaver explained that even if city Compte, co-chair of Save South Boulder, said to just spoke about, we were there, and it does need to council approves the annexation agreement by the crowd circling before the municiemergency, the people of Boulder will WILL BRENDZA pal building on September 14. “If our still have the opportunity to follow ballot initiative passes, then there will with a referendum, which would allow have to be a citizens’ vote on annexBoulder voters to overturn the council ation, and if that passes they have to go ordinance. back to the drawing board,” she said, to Weaver took out his phone and scattered applause. pulled up the City of Boulder emerPeter Mayer, co-chair of gency provision charter, section 38A, PLAN-Boulder, spoke to the small which allows Boulder voters to overcrowd next. turn an emergency ordinance.

“We need to tell our city council Weaver and Friend hope that to respect democracy!” Mayer shouted. doesn’t happen. Because, they both “To respect our democratic traditions opined, this agreement is about as good that have served the people of Boulder an option as Boulder is going to get. so well. They need to pause this an“My preference would be to mitnexation and let the people of Boulder igate for a [1,000 year] flood,” Friend have a vote.” said. “But, within reality, we’re looking And if the council were to move at five hundred to one hundred year forward without said vote by the people, Mayer be a priority to save our neighborhoods flood protection . . . this has been MARKI LECOMPTE, promised they’d be back with a referendum to overand save our residents.” looked at for 20 years and it’s just been with Save South Boulturn the decision.

A minority of commenters, severder, speaks before the this steady winnowing of options.”

The city council meeting that followed would go al from the earlier protest, spoke out Friend and Weaver then physicalgroup of anti-annexon for nearly five-and-a-half hours. In attendance against the annexation. ly pointed out and explained all the ation protesters on were Phil Kleisler, senior planner with the City of “This is not a debate about flood reasons why the 500-year flood-plan Tuesday, September 14.

Boulder; Joe Taddeucci, the city’s director of public mitigation, which I think we can all was simply unattainable: In order to works; Sandra Llanes, the interim city attorney; agree is a good idea,” David Martus, a build a sufficiently large floodwall Derek Silva, the assistant vice chancellor for busilong-time Boulder resident, told the to contain the water, the city would ness strategy at CU, and Abby Benson, the deputy council. “This is about good governance, and how far need to tie into CDOT’s bridge under U.S. Highchief operating officer at CU. Boulder’s mayor Sam the city should go to get flood mitigation from CU. way 36—which CDOT will absolutely not allow; Weaver, along with the other eight members of city And in my opinion we’re not there yet.” according to Colorado water law, all water detained council, read through and discussed the annexation Raymond Bridge, speaking on behalf of the by a municipality in the event of a flood has to be agreement point-by-point, answering questions and Boulder County Audubon Society, expressed ecoreleased in 72 hours—which wouldn’t be possiupdating everyone as to the latest changes, made logical concerns about the CU south property: “De- ble, given the amount of water that would have to within the month. velopment of an additional campus at CU South be conveyed under Highway 36 in just 72 hours; The public comment period started two-andwould have enormous impacts on Boulder. No site FEMA wouldn’t have approved the 500-year flood a-half hours in—more than 100 speakers were plan has been provided, violating the normal process mitigation plan because it would have violated safesigned up when it at last began. The vast majority the city requires for annexation,” he said, “making it ty codes; the 500-year floodwall would take up eight desperately and emotionally implored the council impossible to judge the likely impacts.” to 10 additional acres of space on the property, and to approve the annexation of CU by emergency One after another residents spoke, making would extend into the State Natural Area (home to powers. Many of the speakers were on the verge of their cases either for or against the approval of the several protected species of animals and plants). tears as they recalled the catastrophic flood of 2013 annexation agreement by emergency. Finally, around Their list of reasons went on. Clearly, the city’s and begged for immediate action.

11:30 p.m., after hearing from almost 100 citizens, engineers had considered the different possibilities; “While I’m sure of the support of some council the tired-looking council members concluded, from a 300-year flood protection plan to different members, I get a sense of ‘Why hurry?’ from others,” agreeing to continue the meeting a week later, on see CU SOUTH Page 10 BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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CU SOUTH from Page 9

layouts and configurations of the floodwall, to different options for groundwater conveyance and drainage. The current plan on the table, both politicians repeated, is the best one that the city and CU could come up with—and it’s the best deal that’s been in the city’s hands in over 20 years of negotiation.

“People say, ‘If you just slow down, and if we just had the property and CU wasn’t part of this, we could do better, we could do 500,’” Friend says. “And we can’t. For 20 years we’ve looked, we’ve tried everything and this is what we can do. When we talk about 500 and there’s a zero chance of doing it, then our choices are: do we want 100 or do we want zero?”

That seems to be the point a lot of residents of South Boulder have arrived at. During the public comment period on September 14, that was a recurring line of reason: This has been a discussion in Boulder for decades, the city has already experienced one devastating flood event, and the possible options have been diminishing over the years. The current agreement is a good one for the city, and the time to act is now, before the area floods again.

“I think this is [a better deal] than everybody hoped for,” Friend said, as the tour of CU South concluded. “I think CU has been a very generous negotiating partner.”

Under the current deal, CU is offering the city 155 acres of the 308 acre property—119 acres of which will become permanently protected open space.

And, contrary to what many opponents of annexation argue, the city will actually get a say in how CU develops its 153-acre portion of the property.

“That’s what this whole annexation agreement is about!” Friend writes in an email. “It sets guardrails around what CU can and cannot do [or build] on the property. As a state entity, CU is not ordinarily subject to city building codes . . .

But as part of this agreement, CU has agreed to many limits that will be legally enforceable.”

“In a climate emergency, delay is not your friend,” Mayor Weaver adds. “If this had not been studied for 10 years, then maybe there would be a case for more consideration. But we have done plenty of analysis and public engagement to support making a well-informed decision and moving ahead expeditiously.

So now is in fact the most opportune time to make a clear decision—when the process is complete and with council members who have had two to 10 years to get up to speed.”

Otherwise, the decision will end up in the hands of a new city council, after the next election. That, Friend says, could lead to “goalposts getting moved.”

When the council gathered virtually on the night of September 21 to finish the meeting they’d started a week earlier and deliberate on the annexation agreement, there was another three hours of discussion before they finally made a motion to vote on Ordinance 8483—whether or not to annex CU South by emergency.

The vote was six to one: Every council member voted in favor except Mirabai Nagel. After almost 25 years of debate, discussion, analysis, review, negotiation, and at least one catastrophic flood event, the CU South property is subject to annexation by an emergency vote of the council. South Boulder is due to get its 100-year flood protection (eventually, after engineering design for “phase 1” is completed in 2024) and CU will have the option to develop their portion of the property according to the constraints laid out in the agreement.

Maybe.

As the protesters at the September 14 anti-annexation rally promised, this decision is already being followed up with a referendum. After decades of fighting against this, the Save South Boulder activists aren’t going to give up easily.

“What happens when the flood comes that wasn’t the design-flood that the engineers planned for and you’ve got a development the size of downtown there?” Peter Mayer asked at that rally. “What happens when the Sam Weaver detention pond and the Rachel Friend flood berm fail?”

Mayor Weaver scoffed when asked the same question (in so many words).

“I would say, ‘Thank God we built the 100-year flood protection plan,’” Weaver says. “Because 55 percent of the water that would have gone downstream into people’s basements would be trapped [at CU South] instead.”

“It would buy [residents] a lot of time,” Friend said. “And what we’re talking about here is preventing catastrophic outcomes.”

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Adventurers need accessibility

Colorado legislation aims to close gaps and provide accessibility for all in the local outdoor industry

by Karlie Huckels

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house bill (HB 21-1318), passed during this year’s legislative session, allows funding to create an Outdoor Equity Grant program; once the application period opens, the grants will be provided to outdoor organizations that create opportunities for underserved youth and their families to get through the barriers that block their access to open spaces, state parks, public lands, and more.

“Our outdoors are an amazing place to spend time and every Coloradan deserves that opportunity,” Governor Jared Polis said during the bill signing.

But the outdoor recreation industry is historically not inclusive.

Accessibility is not adequate for people within lower income brackets and those who live with disabilities. Gear, park passes, transportation, and specialized equipment are all expensive and not easily accessible for everyone.

This new legislation, bolstered by the work of nonprofit organizations, is an attempt to change that inequity. It’s bringing new opportunities for many families unable SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

to afford access to THE GREAT outdoor recreation, OUTDOORS is not as accessible to but there are a lot people with vision fewer options for impairment— people living with however, disabilities. For HB 21-1318 aims to those living with create opportunities blindness or vision for underserved loss, there is a huge youth. gap in accessibility and inclusion. Many people lack transportation, and trained sighted guides are hard to come by. A lot of the time these things cost extra money on top of the park passes and any other costs and fees that arise.

Melissa Fishburn is a Colorado native, and she had never been on a hike until August of this year. She was a part of the Audio Information Network of Colorado (AINC) Bringing Print to Life fundraiser. The AINC Audio Trekkers invited community members to join their team of 10 hikers who are blind or visually impaired and 10 sighted guides on a six-mile hike. The experience was provided at no cost to these Coloradans. l

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Fishburn says volunteers came from across the country to have the opportunity to be a part of the event.

“It just really felt like a good challenge that I wanted to be a part of,” Fishburn says. “Several people signed up to be sighted guides, they were genuinely caring people, and no one made us feel like we were less than, whether you were an experienced hiker or if it was your first go-around like me.”

Colorado is home to more than 17,000 outdoor trails for hiking and biking. According to the organization Nature for All, the state currently has five trails that have braille accessibility for visitors who are blind or print-impaired, all of which are less than a mile and a half.

Among the five listed, two are not hikes but features at businesses in Denver: the Mork Braille Trail at the Anchor Center for Blind Children, and the sensory garden in the Denver Botanic Gardens. There aren’t many resources for guides outside of those trails either, and the ones that do exist, cost. Finding guides with proper training isn’t easy either, but during the AINC fundraiser, they took time to help teach the volunteers.

“People were eager to learn on how to best be guides, nobody made us feel like we weren’t able-bodied or like we weren’t important,” Fishburn says. “Everybody was so supportive.”

Penn Street is the director of development and outreach of AINC and organized the fundraiser. She says she’s not going the typical fundraising route, and while this event was indeed to help fund AINC’s mission of providing news and information in an audio format for the blind, low-vision, and print-disabled community of Colorado, it also provided a way for people to get outside.

After being bit by a western diamondback rattlesnake in her childhood, Street was given antivenom and medication, but an adverse reaction caused Stevens-Johnson syndrome. Her bodily reactions included burns from the inside out, damaged soft tissue, muscle tone, and vision loss.

When she recovered and left the hospital, Street says her par-

ents went into overdrive to try and protect her from anything else that could put her in danger (like most parents whose child experiences a traumatic event). Street says that after years of rebelling against naysayers and still finding a way to do whatever it was she was trying to do, she wanted to help others do the same.

“You can hike, you can paddleboard, you can experience the outdoors. It is just getting the courage to get out and do it one time,” Street says. “I found ways that I could still do what everybody else does, but with a little bit of tweaking.”

Navigating outdoor recreation activities like hiking comes with a lot of challenges when you start, especially without accessibility resources. Street says that she has a guide dog that has been trained to help while hiking but knows not everyone has that kind of resource.

She also utilizes trekking poles because she says she can’t tell if it’s a one-inch or one-mile drop at the edge of a trail.

“Feel the fear and do it anyway,” says Street. “I can push myself more than even what I thought I could do.”

There are groups that do provide help for outdoor recreation activities like skiing and snowshoeing, but they don’t provide transportation.

The pandemic is also impacting what little access to resources people have. Trying to find sighted guides is not a simple Google search, and a lot of events from Facebook groups are still being canceled, but Street is looking to the future.

“I have this dream for next summer,” Street says, “to do a fundraiser that includes a paddle-boarding experience for people with disabilities.”

AINC’s main mission is to provide access to free programming, news and information in an audio format for the blind, low-vision and print-disabled community of Colorado. However, members of the organization are trying to find ways to create a space in Colorado outdoor recreation for people who are blind or print-impaired. Street says that the Audio Trekkers hike is just the beginning.

“We have a right to be out there just like anybody else,” Street says.

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SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

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COURTESY MISSING PIECE GROUP

‘It doesn’t have to sound the same, it just has to sound good’

Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio tells fans ‘I Told You So’ on new album

by Caitlin Rockett ON THE BILL:

Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio with The Green House Band.

9 p.m. Sunday, September 26, Fox Theatre, 1135 13th Street, Boulder.

Tickets are $20.

D

elvon Lamarr’s musical career started with a lie.

“I think it was in seventh grade, I ended up lying to the band teacher,” Lamarr, who fronts the Washington-state-based Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, laughs over the phone from his home in Pullman, about four-and-a-half hours east of Seattle. “You had to take an elective, like a cooking class or guitar, and I didn’t really want to do any of those. So I was in the band room one to play that.’ He put me in band the next semester and I had no idea what I was doing, but I just picked this horn up, looked at the guy next to me and did whatever he was doing. I just played the thing. I couldn’t read music, but I knew how to play, like, automatically, immediately when I picked it up.”

And it’s been that way for Lamarr ever since. He moved on to tenor sax, then trumpet and drums, mostly self-taught. These days the organ takes center stage in Lamarr’s life, leading his jazz trio—sometimes called DLO3—in building grooves deep enough to recline in. The group’s debut album, Close But No Cigar, reached number one on the U.S. Contemporary Jazz Albums chart in 2018. Its sophomore album of originals, I Told You So, released in January, has followed suit.

But the magic of DLO3 is in live performance, in guitarist Jimmy James’ joyful grin as he sears the frets of his Silvertone, in drummer Dan Weiss’ beanie-clad head bobbing as he taps out effortless rhythms, in Lamarr’s amiable storytelling between songs.

The band has historically spent more months on the road than at home, traveling the Then there was COVID. band’s bread and butter, and they’d just hired Weiss to replace original drummer David McGraw. “[Weiss] started in February of 2020. He had quit his day job and everything,” see DELVON LAMARR Page 16

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

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DELVON LAMARR from Page 15

JUST ANNOUNCED

JUST ANNOUNCED

OCT 13 ..................................................................... MATCHSTICK PRODUCTIONS

MAR 26, 2022 ..................................... ANDERS OSBORNE + JACKIE GREENE

FRI. SEP 24

FRI. SEP 24

PARTY GURU PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS

COMEDY WORKS PRESENTS: THE HOPE YOU GET RICH TOUR

HARVE, GANO

THU. SEP 30

ARDALAN

RONNY CHIENG

THE GOOD KIND

TETON GRAVITY RESEARCH PRESENTS: STOKE THE FIRE

SUN. SEP 26

ROOSTER & PARTY GURU PRODUCTIONS PRESENT: DAYMAKER TOUR

SAT. SEP 25

FISTS OF THE PROLETARIAT

FLAMINGOSIS

THE GREEN HOUSE BAND

SAT. OCT 2

FRI. OCT 1

COURTESY MISSING PIECE GROUP

ing talent being marginalized,” Novo has said in the past of her husband’s years as a sideman.

“He would be getting paid like $75 a gig and be spending $60 in gas to cart around his instrument,

IAN EWING

PARTY GURU PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS: TRAILBLAZER TOUR

GREAT DIVIDE BREWING CO PRESENTS

MIPSO

TSURUDA + CHEE + ESSEKS MON. OCT 4

ANNA TIVEL

DISTORTION AND BLUE HEARTS!

SAT. OCT 2

BOB MOULD BAND

THE MARIAS

THU. OCT 7

SUN. OCT 3 88.5 KGNU PRESENTS

JULIAN LAGE WED. OCT 6

SLOW CAVES

PAT METHENY SIDE-EYE W/ JAMES FRANCIES & JOE DYSON THU. OCT 14 ROOSTER & PARTY GURU PRODUCTIONS PRESENT

88.5 KGNU PRESENTS

BRASSTRACKS

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TOBI

MON. OCT 18

THU. OCT 7

107.9 KBPI PRESENTS: THE HUN TOUR

THE HU

STRICTLY PRESENTS

MOST GUTTER, WILDCARD, AUGUST LIGHT SAT. OCT 9 PARTY GURU PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS

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SHOVELS & ROPE “THE BARE BONES TOUR” FRI. OCT 15 PARTY GURU PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS

SHLUMP

THE HAUNT

TUE. OCT 19 THE CELTIC CONNECTION, 88.5 KGNU & BOULDER WEEKLY PRESENT: THE HOME FROM HOME TOUR

THE HIGH KINGS SAT. OCT 23 97.3 KBCO PRESENTS

JOHN HIATT & THE JERRY DOUGLAS BAND SUN. OCT 24 105.5 THE COLORADO SOUND PRESENTS

DAR WILLIAMS HEATHER MALONEY TUE. OCT 26

PASHMONIX

rity for years on the Seattle music Hammond around to play other people’s music.

FRI. OCT 1

105.5 THE COLORADO SOUND PRESENTS

DELVON LAMARR ORGAN TRIO

Lamarr says. “And we played four shows and everything got shut down after that. But he hung in there and now we’re getting ready to do it again.”

The band is packing to hit the road this very evening, Lamarr says, starting at the Treefort Music Festival in Boise, Idaho, before working its way across the mountains to the Front Range for a string of shows between Fort Collins and Colorado Springs, including a September 26 stop at Fox Theatre.

“I’ve got to thank my wife and our manager, Ms. Amy Novo, for seeing us through this,” Lamarr says of the past 18 months of uncertainty. “She works her magic. If there’s a problem, man, she’s on it. We hang in there basically because of her.”

Short in stature and unwavering in her support of her husband’s talents, Novo is

It wasn’t fair.”

Novo made a deal with her husband: You pick the musicians you want to work with, and I’ll take care of the rest. And she has. Part manager, part den mother, Novo gives Lamarr the freedom to do what he does best.

“It’s been a relief,” Lamarr says, “and I’m so grateful to her.”

Of course the band has had its share of hiccups. Original guitarist Colin Higgins parted ways with the group not long after the release of their debut record, and original drummer David McGraw decided he needed to leave the band in 2019 to spend more time with his two young children. trademark groove without McGraw’s hypnotic pocket drumming.

“Dave had such a distinct style of drumming that is kind of a lost art,” Lamarr says.

“I kept telling people, ‘It doesn’t have to be the same, it just has to be good.’ I don’t want it to sound the same, I just want it to sound good. That’s why I called this album I Told You So, because that’s what I’ve been saying the whole time.”

2021 performance on KEXP to see Weiss at work on the scorching jam “Aces,” which McGraw actually wrote.

“I miss David McGraw on drums too, but this guy is also a pocket machine,” one

97.3 KBCO PRESENTS

THE DEL MCCOURY BAND

SAT. OCT 16 PARTY GURU PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS

CHAMPAGNE DRIP MIZE

FRI. OCT 29 ROOSTER & PARTY GURU PRODUCTIONS PRESENT: SOME CREATURE TOUR

GETTER

SAT. OCT 30

TUE. OCT 19

97.3 KBCO & BELL’S BREWERY PRESENT: AN EVENING WITH

WHITNEY

THE MOTET

RENEE REED

HALLOWEEN 2021

THU. OCT 21

SUN. OCT 31

BACK 2 BUSINESS FEAT.

ROOSTER & PARTY GURU PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS: SWIMMING WITH THE CLOUDS TOUR

HARVE B2B KAEGI, BATHROOM BREAK, PŠMĮTYŸ B2B GANO, RYNE B2B TREUTH, SPYDA B2B BALEK FRI. OCT 22

WHETHAN

NOV 2 .................................................................................. YUNG GRAVY NOV 6 ........................................................................ BOOMBOX CARTEL NOV 17 ....................................................................................... CARIBOU NOV 18 ............................................................................ BRETT DENNEN

met [cymbals] are the perfect match.”

(One commenter sums up the profound joy that is watching Jimmy James play guitar: “Jimmy James got the BEST stankface in the game. Rippin’ them solos!”) spirituality of the work. Lamarr grew up listening to jazz greats like John Coltrane, whose 1965 album A Supreme Love made a huge impact on a young Lamarr.

“My interpretation of that whole album is John Coltrane communicating with God, to a higher being—transcending,” he explains. “I grew up in Pentecostal church and I was familiar with people speaking in tongues. The album really reminded me of that.” with God, though he struggles to put it into words when he talks about it. But that’s spirituality: something you feel, not something you explain. Something you trust, not something you try to sell to others.

PARTY GURU PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS

WRECKNO

MEGAN HAMILTON OCT 23 OCT 24 OCT 30 OCT 31

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....................................................................................... AQUEOUS ................................................................................... BIRDTALKER ........................................................................................ SATSANG ............................................................................. JUSTIN MARTIN

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that brings in musicians the band has met in its travels.

“It’s going slow,” Lamarr says, “but so far it’s sounding killing.” l

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

A world at odds with itself

Movies cry for help at the Toronto International Film Festival

by Michael J. Casey

W

estermarkt 20 in Amsterdam is home to the Anne Frank House, the secret annex where the Frank and van Pels families hid from the Nazis for more than two years before being captured and sent to the camps.

Today, Anne Frank is an inspiration to millions. The diary she wrote while in hiding has been translated into 70 languages and sold 35 million copies.

And the annex is now a museum, one where visitors line up by the thousands to glimpse the living quarters and read from the diary penned by the world’s most famous refugee. And as they line the cobblestone streets waiting to get in, they turn a blind eye war-torn countries.

At least that’s how director Ari Folman sees it in Where is Anne Frank, a new animated drama. The citizens populating Where is Anne Frank are not hostile toward the refugees, but neither are they welcoming. They’re excellent at ignoring them altogether—while praising the resilience of Anne Frank. Everything in the city is named after her: streets, bridges, canals, COURTESY TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL schools, libraries, theaters, you name it. It’s a hypocrisy Kitty (voiced by Ruby Stokes) can’t stand. She’s the physical manifestation of Frank’s diary, and thanks to the magic of Anne Frank’s animation team, a witness to suffering so common it often goes overlooked.

Where is Anne Frank is a movie full of hope—even if its primary concern is pointing out a broken world. And it was in good company at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, which wrapped September 18. It seems that the problems of the world are becoming insurmountable, WHAT TO WATCH: ‘Where is Anne Frank’ brings the famed writer’s diary, Kitty, to life in this animated feature.

Take Costa Brava, Lebanon Set in the near future, Beirut is plagued by social unrest and toxic pollution. Trash piles up in the streets, and protests are constant. To appease the citizens, the Lebanese government

outside of Beirut. Right next door to the Badri family.

Then come the tractors and trucks, the digging, the blasting, and the trash, mountains upon mountains of plastic bags—none of it the least bit “green.” The Badris left the problems of Beirut long ago for the last green spot in Lebanon. Now the problems of Beirut have found them.

Where is Anne Frank and Costa Brava, Lebanon hope that visibility can overcome apathy, even denial. That’s not quite the same in Silent Night again at the center. Only this time around, no amount of visibility or awareness will save anybody.

Thankfully, Silent Night is a foul-mouthed black comedy. It would be an unbearable watch if it weren’t. Not everything here works, but there’s something enjoyable about Christmas.

Silent Night’s

ceived it. It’s like a distress signal from the past. So is Where is Anne Frank and Costa Brava, Lebanon. Who knows what shape the world will be in when they make their way to local theaters, but I doubt they’ll lose an ounce of their urgency.

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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E VENTS

EVENTS

If your organization is planning an event of any kind, please email the managing editor at crockett@boulderweekly.com

Wild Heart Dance: ‘GRACE’

September 24-26, October 1-3, The Nomad Playhouse, 1410 Quince Avenue, Boulder.

Price: $35. September 24 tickets are $15.

Wild Heart Dance presents its newest creation, GRACE, a dance of adoration and exaltation, a celebration of the precious gift of being alive and the profound purpose to love fully. Drinks will be served before the show on September 25 and October 2. On those evenings the common room will open at 6 p.m. and the house will open at 6:30 p.m.

Open Studios Opening Reception

Anderson Cooper—‘Vanderbilt’

5-7 p.m. Friday, September 24, Museum of Boulder, 2205 Broadway, Boulder. Free.

Enjoy art, music and refreshments at the Museum of Boulder for the Open Studios Opening Reception. The exhibit features pieces from each local Open Studios artist. Music will be performed by the Boulder Symphony, and there will be snacks and beverages available for purchase on-site.

The exhibit will run at the museum from September 25 to October 18. Open Studios is more than just the annual studio tour. Since 1995, the organization has grown to encompass numerous programs and projects designed to raise awareness and appreciation of art in the Boulder community. Learn more at openstudios.org.

4 p.m. Friday, September 24.

Price: $30-$40. Virtual event: boulderbookstore.net When 11-year-old Cornelius Vanderbilt began to work on his father’s small boat ferrying supplies in New York Harbor at the beginning of the 19th century, no one could have imagined that one day he would build two empires—one in shipping and another in railroads—that would make him the richest man in America. Now, the Commodore’s great-great-great grandson Anderson Cooper joins with historian Katherine ence. Anderson Cooper will speak about his book, Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty, in this virtual event on Zoom. The Zoom link will be emailed to ticket buyers prior to the event.

Ronny Chieng: The Hope You Get Rich Tour

7 p.m. Friday, September 24, Boulder Theater, 2032 14th Street, Boulder.

Tickets: bit.ly/RonnyChiengBoulder Ronny Chieng is a stand up comedian, actor and correspondent on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. He starred in the hit movie Crazy Rich Asians and his own Asian Comedian Destroys America. He will be starring in the upcoming Marvel Studios movie Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Disney’s Doogie Kamealoha M.D and tech horror thriller M3GAN.

Climate Cabaret—A cabaret of short plays and songs on climate

September 24-October 3, University Theatre Building, 261 University of Colorado, Boulder. Tickets: $22 CU Theatre & Dance has partnered with Climate Change Theatre Action 2021 in New York City to produce 10 brief climate plays by authors from around the world interspersed with fun cabaret-style musical numbers. Humor, passion and imagination are put to work envisioning an equitable, survivable, and thriving future for all life.

Enchanted Forest

11 a.m.-6 p.m.

Saturday, September 25, Wild Bear Property, 88 Indian Peaks Drive, Nederland. Price: $10-$12—free for children 2 and under and seniors 65 and up. Tickets and for more information: wildbear.org/events/enchanted-forest-2021 Wild Bear Nature Center is hosting its 20th annual Enchanted Forest on its new property at Mud Lake. Park at the Caribou Room in Nederland and walk across the street for musical and theatrical performances in the forest. Families and children of all ages can take a tour on the trail and meet forest creatures (costumed characters) and learn about their natural habitats. Enjoy goodies in your goody bag, live owls and bald eagles, magic, and music throughout the day. Enjoy drinks and live music from 4-6 p.m.

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

EVENTS

ASTRON BARRETT OF THE WAILERS

CONCERTS

Thursday, September 23

GET THE LED OUT

The Impersonators (retro pop/rock). 6 p.m. Bootstrap Brewing Company, 142 Pratt Street, Longmont. Free.

BuffStreet on the Hill (various bands). 6 p.m. Hill Parking Lot at 13th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, Boulder. Free.

Acoustic Eidolon featuring Joe Scott on double neck guitjo and Hannah Alkire on cello. 7 p.m. Longmont Public Library, 409 Fourth Avenue, Longmont. Free Get the Led Out—A Celebration of “The Mighty Zep.” 7:30 p.m. Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 18300 West Alameda Parkway, Morrison. Check axs. com for ticket prices.

Eddie Turner & Trouble. 8 p.m. The Louisville Underground, 640 Main Street, Louisville. Tickets: $10-$15.

Friday, September 24

Ardalan with HARVE, GANO (pop/dance). 9 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th Street, Boulder. Tickets: $15-$18.

Rowdytown IX: Big Gigantic with NGHTMRE, DROELOE, GoldFish, Covex (jam). 6 p.m. Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 18300 West Alameda Parkway, Morrison. Tickets: $55-$85.

Jocelyn Medina. 7 p.m. Caffè Sole, 637 S. Broadway, Boulder. Suggested cover: $15.

Flatirons Jazz Orchestra. 8 p.m. Dickens Opera House, 300 Main Street, Longmont. Tickets: $15.

Saturday, September 25

Scott Martin (jazz). 10 a.m. Vic’s Espresso, 3305 30th Street, Boulder. Free.

Bluebird Music Festival featuring Jeff Tweedy, Phoffman (of Greensky Bluegrass), Jade Bird, Rayland Baxter, Molly Tuttle, Willie Watson, Daniel Rodriguez, Otis Taylor, Trout Steak Revival, and Heavy Diamond Ring. 1-10 p.m. September 25 and 26, Macky Auditorium, 1595 Pleasant Street, Boulder.

Tickets start at $29, all weekend VIP passes are $199, bluebirdmusicfestival.org The Good Kind with Fists Of The Proletariat (jam). 8 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th Street, Boulder. Tickets: $15-$18.

ROWDYTOWN IX: Big Gigantic with Peekaboo, Slenderbodies, Dreamers Delight (jam/dance). 6 p.m. Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 18300 West Alameda Parkway, Morrison. Tickets: $55-$85.

Tumbledown Shack (Grateful Dead covers). 6 p.m. Bootstrap Brewing Company, 142 Pratt Street, Longmont.

Joe Anderies (jazz). 7 p.m. Caffè Sole, 637 S. Broadway Street, Boulder.

Suggested cover: $15.

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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Sunday, September 26

Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio with The Green House Band (funky soul). 9 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th Street, Boulder. Tickets: $20.

Finn O’Sullivan (indie pop-folk). 5 p.m. The Tune Up, 2355 30th Street, Boulder. Free.

RAYLAND BAXTER Lake Street Drive with special guests The Wood Brothers (folk/Americana).

7 p.m. Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 18300 West Alameda Parkway, Morrison. Tickets: $45-$65.

The Wailers with special guest Dave Halchak (reggae). 7:30 p.m. Chautauqua Auditorium, 198 Morning Glory Drive, Boulder. Tickets: $25.50–$40.50.

Monday, September 27

Lynyrd Skynyrd (rock). 7:30 p.m. Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 18300 West Alameda Parkway, Morrison. Tickets: $50.95-$150.95.

Tuesday, September 28

Modest Mouse with Future Islands (indie rock/pop). 7:30 p.m. Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 18300 West Alameda Parkway, Morrison. Tickets: $55$89.95.

Wednesday, September 29

Tyler Childers with Margo Price, Ona (neotraditional country).

7:30 p.m. Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 18300 West Alameda Parkway, Morrison. Tickets: $45.95.

For more event listings, go online at boulderweekly.com/events

SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

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SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

Ally is a verb

‘Transcend: Transgender Voices’ debuts on CU Boulder campus

by Caitlin Rockett

R

More than a dozen visages stare back at patrons of The Laughing Goat Coffeehouse at Norlin Commons on the

“There’s this sense of both moving forward and moving for sure on the more privileged side, but for our community members with intersections of marginalization around trans identity and race and language and citizenship, there’s coming together with joy and ways to find each other and

“I don’t think I’ve sure of walking lery and seeing representation of someone like

do a mural for an LGBT center where I was living in Portland,

artists like Khendi Whiley or Titus Kaphar, those itly only painting tion because they see this lack of

the same for the transgender or

tation, sometimes, if it’s not done by a trans person, I feel like there’s all of this ‘otherness’ ON THE BILL: scend: Transgender in Norlin Commons on the CU Boulder

mission in life has become to create accurate and celebratory The exhibit, Transcend: Transgender Voices, came together as a collaboration between the University Libraries and the CU

arighi’s work can be found at

“I think for everyone there’s this sense of looking for refuge,”

ries: skin and hair would be rendered in rainbow colors, clothes would be painted in black and white, and each individual would

the blue sky background, it was just an homage to us taking up that as a white, “masculine of center” person, he operates with represent themselves, they’re still receiving a lot of push female, but I’ve always been masculine of center and the like me, who are masculine of center and who are white, that backlash tends to go directly to Black and brown folks, While the exhibit focuses on joy, it’s impossible to ignore the

years, the majority of these people were Black and Latinx “One of the things that I get asked a lot is how can I be a

for Black and brown folks on the causes that they are pushing

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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BY ROB BREZSNY ARIES

LIBRA

MARCH 21-APRIL 19: Blogger AnaSophia was asked, “What

do you find attractive in a person?” I’ll reproduce her reply because it’s a good time to think about what your answer would be. I’m not implying you should be looking for a new lover. I’m interested in inspiring you to ruminate about what alliances you should cultivate during the coming months.

Here’s what AnaSophia finds attractive: “strong desire but not neediness, passionate sensitivity, effortlessness, authenticity, innocence of perception, sense of humor, vulnerability and honesty, embodying one’s subtleties and embracing one’s paradoxes, acting unconditionally and from the heart.”

TAURUS

APRIL 20-MAY 20: Taurus author Roberto Bolaño confessed,

SEPT. 23-OCT. 22: In the English language, the words “naked” and “nude” have different connotations. Art critic Kenneth Clark noted that “naked” people depicted in painting and sculpture are “deprived of clothes,” and embarrassed as a result. Being “nude,” on the other hand, has “no uncomfortable overtone,” but indicates “a balanced, prosperous, and confident body.” I bring this to your attention because I believe you would benefit from experiencing extra nudity and no nakedness in the days ahead. If you choose to take on this assignment, please use it to upgrade your respect and reverence for your beauty.

PS: Now is also a favorable time to express your core truths without inhibition or apology. I urge you to be your pure self in all of your glory.

“Sometimes I want greatness, sometimes just its shadow.”

I appreciate his honesty. I think what he says is true about most of us. Is there anyone who is always ready for the heavy responsibility of pursuing greatness? Doubtful. To be great, we must periodically go through phases when we recharge our energy and take a break from being nobly ambitious. What about you, dear Taurus? If I’m reading the omens correctly, you will benefit from a phase of reinvention and reinvigoration.

During the next three weeks, you’ll be wise to hang out in the shadows of greatness.

SCORPIO

GEMINI

SAGITTARIUS

of fun everyone else is having,” wrote religious writer C. S. Lewis. That advice is ten times more important right now than it usually is. For the sake of your body’s and soul’s health, you need to indulge in sprees of playful amusement and blithe delight and tension-relieving merriment. And all that good stuff will work its most potent magic if it stimulates pleasures that are unique to you—and not necessarily in line with others’ tastes.

(1770–1827) could be a marvelous friend. If someone he cared for was depressed or feeling lost, he would invite them to sit in his presence as he improvised music on the piano. There were no words, no advice—only emotionally stirring melodies.

“He said everything to me,” one friend said about his gift. “And finally gave me consolation.” I invite you to draw inspiration from his example, Sagittarius. You’re at the peak of your powers to provide solace, comfort, and healing to allies who need such nurturing. Do it in whatever way is also a blessing for you.

MAY 21-JUNE 20: “Have fun, even if it’s not the same kind

CANCER

JUNE 21-JULY 22: “It is one thing to learn about the past,” wrote Cancerian journalist Kenneth Auchincloss. “It is another to wallow in it.” That’s stellar advice for you to incorporate in the coming weeks. After studying your astrological omens, I’m enthusiastic about you exploring the old days and old ways.

I’m hoping that you will discover new clues you’ve overlooked before and that this further information will inspire you to re-envision your life story. But as you conduct your explorations, it’s also crucial to avoid getting bogged down in sludgy emotions like regret or resentment. Be inspired by your history, not demoralized by it.

LEO

JULY 23-AUG. 22: Would you like to deepen and strengthen

your capacity to concentrate? Cosmic rhythms will conspire in your favor if you work on this valuable skill in the coming weeks. You’ll be able to make more progress than would normally be possible. Here’s pertinent advice from author Harriet Griffey: “Whenever you feel like quitting, just do five more— five more minutes, five more exercises, five more pages— which will extend your focus.” Here’s another tip: Whenever you feel your concentration flagging, remember what it is you love about the task you’re doing. Ruminate about its benefits for you and others.

to get their own animal out of their own cage and not look for either an animal keeper or an unlocker.” That’s always expert advice, but it will be extra vital for you to heed in the coming weeks. The gorgeous semi-wild creature within you needs more room to run, more sights to see, more adventures to seek. For that to happen, it needs to spend more time outside of its cage. And you’re the best person to make sure that happens.

NOV. 22-DEC. 21: Sagittarian composer Ludwig van Beethoven

CAPRICORN

DEC. 22-JAN. 19: At age 23, Capricorn-born Jeanne Antoinette

Poisson (1721–1764) became French King Louis XV’s favorite mistress. She was not born into aristocracy, but she wielded her Capricornian flair with supreme effectiveness. Ultimately, she achieved a noble title as well as high prestige and status in the French court. As is true for evolved Capricorns, her elevated role was well-deserved, not the result of vulgar social-climbing. She was a patron of architecture, porcelain artwork, and France’s top intellectuals. She ingratiated herself to the King’s wife, the Queen, and served as an honored assistant. I propose we make her your role model for the next four weeks. May she inspire you to seek a boost in your importance and clout that’s accomplished with full integrity.

AQUARIUS

JAN. 20-FEB. 18: The bad news is that artist Debbie Wagner was diagnosed with two brain tumors in 2002. The good news is that surgery not only enabled her to survive, but enhanced her visual acuity. The great news is that on most days since 2005, she has painted a new image of the sunrise. I invite you to dream up a ritual to celebrate your own victory over adversity, Aquarius. Is there a generous gesture or creative act you could do on a semi-regular basis to thank life for providing you with the help and power you needed?

VIRGO

AUG. 23-SEPT. 22: What’s your favorite feeling? Here’s Virgo

OCT. 23-NOV. 21: Scorpio poet Anne Sexton wrote, “One has

poet Mary Szybist’s answer to that question: hunger. She’s not speaking about the longing for food, but rather the longing for everything precious, interesting, and meaningful. She adores the mood of “not yet,” the experience of moving toward the desired thing. What would be your response to the question, Virgo? I’m guessing you may at times share Szybist’s perspective. But given the current astrological omens, your favorite feeling right now may be utter satisfaction—the gratifying sensation of getting what you’ve hungered for. I say, trust that intuition.

PISCES

FEB. 19-MARCH 20: A self-described “anarchist witch” named Lars writes on his Tumblr blog, “I am a ghost from the 1750s, and my life is currently in the hands of a group of suburban 13-year-olds using a ouija board to ask me if Josh from homeroom has a crush on them.” He’s implying that a powerful supernatural character like himself is being summoned to do tasks that are not worthy of him. He wishes his divinatory talents were better used. Are there any resemblances between you and him, Pisces? Do you ever feel as if you’re not living up to your promise? That your gifts are not being fully employed? If so, I’m pleased to predict that you could fix this problem in the coming weeks and months. You will have extra energy and savvy to activate your full potential.

info@co-techpoint.com • 303-848-3738 • www.co-techpoint.com 22

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

BY DAN SAVAGE Dear Dan: I’m a 26-year-old masculine straight guy who loves exploiting the fantasies so many gay men have about straight men. When a gay guy is into me because I look like his straight-masculine-jock dream, it’s a power trip like no other. It’s always a when I get on Grindr: a very feminine “thicc” guy with a pretty face and physical features begging for a dick. The kind of guy where from the right angles you can’t tell the difference between his big ass and a thicc chick’s big ass. And I always follow the same script: I send my dick pics, I make one of these thicc bottom boys want me, and I tell him to send me a video of him twerking like a stripper for me. But I don’t go through with the meetup. I’ve experimented a few times and have gotten head from a few guys, but I have no interest in dick or fucking one of these dudes. I don’t want to harm anyone or live a lie, but I don’t feel queer or bisexual at all. I actually feel like I’m “earning my heterosexuality” when I do this. It’s like I’m proving to myself just how straight I am by teasing these gay guys. And in all honestly, I feel like I’m doing them a service because a lot of gay guys are looking for that rare, mythical thing—the straight and strict Dom top—and I can play that role. But on some level, this all seems pretty fucked up and I don’t know why I do this and sometimes I’m confused by it. I also worry this comes from a homophobic place. (“Look at this dumb twink, he’s so stupid and obsessed with dick he’ll do whatever I tell him to, I’m the alpha.”)

And I guess it is homophobic because when you remove the intensity and power trip of being the straight male in this scenario, I just have no interest in guys at all. I know this was heavy. Sorry. But please answer my question.

—Ally Loves Personifying Homophobic Assholes Dear ALPHA: “I don’t see any major problems with this, and I’m not fully clear on what he perceives his problem to be,” said Alexander Cheves, the famed gay-sex writer, author, and columnist. “For gay men, straight men can be a kink, and the reverse can also be true. Regardless of ing feminine gay men, who he ultimately denies. Sexual withholding—denying and being denied sex—is part of many fetishes and is really hot. So this guy’s kink involves withholding and, like many kinks, it involves role-play. He’s role-playing as ‘the straight strict Dom top.’”

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of gay men into “straight strict Dom tops,” as you already know, and you’re giving these men something they want. You’re not giving them everything they want—you’re not meeting up with them—but you’re not obligated to give them everything they want.

“We all enter Grindr chats willingly, and we should do so knowing that anyone we talk to may have no plans of following through with their promises to meet,” said Cheves. “Many queer men do the same— talk and tease with no intention of meet-

All credit cards accepted No text messages

messaging are chatting with him consensually, so I don’t see any consent violations.”

Now if you were uploading or sharing the video clips these guys make for you without their knowledge, ALPHA, that would be a very serious consent violation. It would also be a crime in many places. But if feeling powerful and/or powerfully desired is all you want, ALPHA, and these femme thicc boys are willing to meet that need for you, and you’re meeting a need for them, there’s nothing wrong with what you’re doing.

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screaming homophobic slurs at someone on the street and seeking out gay men who enjoy what linguist John McWhorter described on my podcast as “theatrical subjugation.”

While homophobia unquestionably shaped appealing, ALPHA, you’re not promoting homophobia or justifying homophobic violence. Indeed, implicit in stepping into these roles—straight alpha top, gay submissive bottom—is your ability and, even more importantly, their ability to step right back out of these roles. While playing erotic games with homophobic themes won’t eradicate homophobia from the earth (wouldn’t it be nice if it could?), a gay guy who consents to this kind of “abuse” gets to decide when it starts and when it stops.

Alexander Cheves is a columnist for and runs the popular Love, Beastly advice blog. His new book My Love Is a Beast: Confessions comes out next month. Follow him on Twitter @BadAlexCheves.

A note from Dan: My new book, Savage Love From A to Z: Advice on Sex and Relationships, Dating and Mating, Exes and Extras, comes out this week from Sasquatch books. Get it wherever you get your books!

Send questions to mail@savagelove.net, follow Dan on Twitter @fakedansavage, and visit savagelovecast.com.

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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Once upon a Snarf

A toast to one man’s obsession with warm buns, griddled meats, and selling food he wants to eat

BY JOHN LEHNDORFF

S

narf’s was a different kind of Boulder sandwich place from the moment it opened in 1995. The odd restaurant shack on quiet east Pearl Street was painted with colorful, whimsical characters, a visual standout.

Boulder already had too many sub shops, but Snarf’s attracted attention immediately because it served real “grinders,”

Lower left: Snarf’s founder Jimmy Seidel / Facing: Seidel in front of the original Snarf’s Shack in Boulder in 1996.

(Photos courtesy of Snarf’s Sandwiches)

Layered with baked eggplant, marinara sauce, and three melted cheeses, Snarf’s righteous eggplant parmesan sandwich was my instant favorite.

Jimmy Seidel had exactly zero restaurant experience when he opened Snarf’s. “My family was just obsessed with food and dining. The favorite sandwich my mom made when I was growing up in St. Louis was brisket on toasted Wonder bread with mayo and sweet relish,” Seidel says as he sits at a table at Snarf’s in the Table Mesa Shopping Center. career conclusion. “I hated what I was doing making market derivatives. I quit in 1994,” he says.

After moving to Boulder, Seidel managed a Subway franchise until he found the Pearl Street location that had housed numerous takeout eateries, including an A&W. The site is now a condo development. wife at the bank. “Sometimes I didn’t have time to make a cash deposit so she’d come and pick it up, so we got to know each other,” he says.

Many of Seidel’s sandwich favorites are still on the menu today at Snarf’s 22 shops in Colorado, Austin, and in St. Louis (owned by his sister), with six more locations coming.

Snarf’s distinctive artsy look started with Seidel’s preference for existing structures. “I wanted locations to look different, not cookie cutter,” he says. Artist Jen Healy continues to construct locally-themed mosaics in shops using the same quirky characters in pastel colors who populate the menu. pepperoni, capicola, and mortadella plus provolone cheese, mayo, mustard, hot peppers, onions, lettuce, tomato, pickles, herb seasoning, and oil, always on a toasted bun.

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

The signature hot pickled peppers, or giardiniera, were inspired by a classic condiment served on Italian beef sandwiches in Chicago that Seidel loved. Snarf’s popular version is sold by the jar.

Boulder’s larger-than-life sandwich guru is an unapologetic exponent of the comfort foods people secretly love, whether it’s egg salad with American cheese or fried bologna.

“I’m a white-bread guy, but we came up with whole wheat and gluten-free buns that customers like,” he says.

“A lot of people have come into the shop to tell me what I should be doing,” Seidel says. He listens when it comes to Snarf’s Not-on-the-Menu Menu, sandwich variations devised by customers and employees.

Not-on-the-Menu choices range from the Mother Clucker with rotisserie chicken, bacon, and provolone to the McSnarf: roast beef, American cheese, thousand island, onion, lettuce, and a pickle (but no sesame seed buns).

Seidel’s all-time favorite is the German Dog: a beef hot dog with bacon, melted Swiss, mustard, horseradish, sauerkraut, and pickles. It’s made for Oktoberfest.

Snarf’s recently teamed with Colorado band leader Nathaniel Rateliff to fund sandwiches for those experiencing homelessness through sales of The Rateliff, a special sub stuffed with turkey, Swiss, and extra bacon and peppers.

It’s not surprising that Snarfburger, the hamburger stand Seidel launched in 2013, was not the result of a corporate spreadsheet

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kind of juicy burger I like, cooked on a griddle, not a grill. I believe in the griddle,” he says emphatically.

The original Snarfburger is located in a historic former barbecue shack near Boulder High and CU, with two others open in Denver.

A quarter-century after opening, Snarf’s still smells like fresh toast. With many menu choices available, I left with an eggplant parmesan sub.

About the sandwich chain’s name: “Snarf was a nickname I got from my college girlfriend because I liked to eat a lot. It seemed like a good name for a sub shop,” Seidel says.

Local food news

Chefs Lisa and Patrick Balcom have opened Farow Restaurant at 7916 Niwot Road. A true farm-to-plate eatery, Farow is dedicated to using ingredients from farms within a few miles of the eatery, including Buckner Family Farm, MetaCarbon Organic Farm, Browns’ Farm, and Speedwell Farm. The menu is built around seasonal small plates paired with wine . . . Lafayette’s Lunada Eatery and Cantina has closed and will reopen as Cantina Lunada, 1225 Ken Pratt Boulevard, Longmont . . . The Longmont City Council recently voted in an ordinance making milk and water the default drinks available in children’s meals at restaurants. And, yes, parents can still order sugar-infused caffeinated colas instead. All kids’ meals still come with a side of parental guilt.

Words to chew on

Five Easy Pieces, Jack Nicholson gives a server his polite order for a side of toast, even though the cafe doesn’t serve toast: “All you have to do is hold the chicken, bring me the toast, give me a check for the chicken salad sandwich and you haven’t broken any rules.”

John Lehndorff hosts Radio Nibbles at 8:25 a.m. on Thursdays on KGNU (88.5 FM, online at kgnu.org). Comments: nibbles@boulderweekly.com.

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

Sporting beers

Nothing pairs with craft like good old-fashioned competition

by Michael J. Casey

F

ootball season is back, and the Broncos are 2-0! When’s the last time that happened? (It was 2018 . . . ) Jabs aside, nothing is better for the beer business than a winning sports team. And here in the State of Craft Beer, drinking options to pair with your favorite team are endless. So whether you’re part

Common. And you should. This quaint brewpub offers a killer lineup of ales and lagers to quaff with a spectacular basket of fries (they’re lashed with rosemary salt) and a top-shelf turkey club. The Sour Seoul, a sour chili ale with guava, is wild, but don’t sleep on Earth to Märzen, a mahogany-hued lager with toasty autumnal qualities.

The Colorado Native West Slope IPA is a dynamite throwback to the era of clear and bitter IPAs. Drink one while you wait for your Barman Pilsner to pour.

Basketball

Denver Nuggets // Weldwerks Brewing—Juicy Bits is a favorite of coach Michael Malone. The love runs both ways: In 2020, Weldwerks released a limited edition Juicy Bits labeled Prost Malone! This year, MVP Nikola

MICHAEL J. CASEY

of Juicy Bits relabeled as the Sombor healthy this season, there may be an opportunity for a Blue Arrow Juicy Bits in the future.

Hockey

of Broncos Country cheering for “Steady Teddy,” a Rockies fan lamenting another lost season of wasted talent, or a Nuggets shot at the playoffs, there will always be

Football

Denver Broncos // Briar Common Brewery + Eatery—You can walk from Empower Field at Mile High to Briar

Baseball

Colorado Rockies // AC Golden Tank Room—A total cheat because A(dolph) C(oors) Golden is about as far from the Brewers Association’s designation of craft as you can get, but—but—is there anything more Colorado than Coors? You are at Coors Field, after all, and it doesn’t hurt that the beer’s good?

Colorado Avalanche // Odell Brewing—This past June, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak bet a case of beer from Las Vegas’ 7Five Brewing that the Golden Knights would beat the Avs in the playoffs. Governor Jared Polis took that bet and placed a case of Odell 90 Shilling on the line.

The puck didn’t go Colorado’s way.

Governor Sisolak must have enjoyed his free 90 Shilling.

Colorado Eagles // Verboten Brewing—If you love hockey, then you gotta check out the minors. The Eagles play in Loveland, home to the excellent Verboten Brewing and Barrel Project. Get the Monster Cookie, Verboten’s rotating cookie-inspired imperial stout.

Soccer

Colorado Rapids // Station 26 Brewing—Located on the edge of Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge northeast of Denver, the Rapids call Dick’s Sporting Goods Park home, just a short

drive to Station 26. You’ve probably had the Juicy Banger IPA or Tangerine Cream before, and you’ll probably have them again. This time, make it a Vienna Lager: It’s light, biscuity, and refreshing.

Lacrosse

Tivoli Brewing—It doesn’t matter if you’re a Denver Outlaws or a Colorado Mammoth fan—both play within spitting distance of Tivoli Brewing, Colorado’s oldest brewery. Business has been up, down, and sideways for Tivoli as of late, but the Helles Lager remains a staple. Not adventurous enough for you? The Strawberry Mint Berliner Weisse is bound to throw you for a tasty loop.

Rugby

Glendale Merlins // Bull & Bush Brewery—Our last two sports feature male and female athletes, and if you’ve never seen a rugby match in person, then it’s time to remedy that. Even if you don’t like sports, the sheer physicality on display will knock your socks off. throw from Bull & Bush Brewery, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The time has never been better to dip into a pint of The Tower ESB.

Australian Rules Football

Denver Bulldogs // Seedstock Brewery—Conceived in 1996 and organized in 1997, the USAFL is a relatively new addition to the sporting scene, and the Denver Bulldogs have been one of the most successful clubs around: The men have won eight national championships, and the women have won six. The Doggies play at Washington Heights Park, close enough to Seedstock on Colfax to make the trip. Seedstock specializes in European lagers and obscure historical styles. Try the Czech Pilsner; it’s outstanding.

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

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BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

JOHN LEHNDORFF

bY JOHN LEHNDORFF

TASTE OF THE WEEK:

Pumpkin Curry @ Bee’s Thai Kitchen WHENEVER I demands curry, my head needs noodles, and my stomach craves fried rice.

It’s especially hard to choose at Bee’s Thai Kitchen, a great Lafayette-based food truck. Bee Rungtawan Kisich grew up in northern Thailand and cooked at a Thai eatery before recently launching the truck with her family.

Bee’s Thai curry lineup includes panang, green, red, sweet pineapple, and pumpkin. Noodle dishes feature the three favorites—pad Thai, “drunken” noodles, and pad see ew, and then there’s Thai fried rice packed with lump crab meat or pineapple. That doesn’t include Bee’s stir fries, Thai omelet, satay, chicken wings, samosas, and sweet sticky rice.

The creamy pumpkin curry with chicken won out. A steaming, terra cotta-hued sauce was packed with coconut milk and carefully sliced chicken, kabocha squash, carrots, and bell peppers. Infused with basil, shrimp paste, and chile, medium-hot was plenty zesty. Bee’s authentic cooking has those salty, tart, sweet, this is my idea of pumpkin spice.

What to do with too many beets

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ists of America’s most hated foods inevitably include beets. I get an aversion to anchovies, but roasted beets are a sweet, savory, and nutritional powerhouse. Saute beet greens simply in olive oil with salt, garlic and ginger.

Boulder County’s farms, including Aspen Moon Farm (right) in Hygiene, grow diverse varieties of organic heirloom beets you can use in this recipe from CSU’s Extension Service.

ROASTED BEET AND CHICKPEA SALAD 3 to 5 medium fresh beets 3 to 6 large garlic cloves, peeled and chopped 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided Fresh rosemary (optional) Salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste 1½ cups chickpeas (15.5-oz. can), drained ½ large red onion, peeled, sliced ½ cup roughly chopped dill pickles About ½ lemon, juiced ½ cup crumbled cotija or feta cheese 2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs (dill, rosemary, chives) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Scrub beets, trim tops, and cut in bite-size pieces. Add beets, garlic, and fresh rosemary to baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, sprinkle with salt

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

JOHN LEHNDORFF

Culinary calendar day Boulder Farmers Market is October 6, but the Saturday markets in Boulder and Longmont stay open through November 20. Besides corn, chiles, and tomatoes, end-of-season produce ples, black-eyed peas, peppers, Swiss chard, beets, tomatillos, tomatoes, green onions, and Italian parsley . . . Learn to make Argentinean empanadas, salsa

and pepper and toss. Roast about 30 minutes, or until beets are fork tender. In a bowl combine beets, garlic, chickpeas, onion, pickles, lemon juice, and remaining olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper and mix well.

Sprinkle with cheese and fresh herbs. l

chimichurri sauce October 15 at Boulder’s Food Lab: foodlabboulder.com . . . Longmont’s Journey Culinary hosts an immersive Peruvian cooking class October 22 including music, culture and language with dinner: journeyculinary.com.

Send information about local food events to: nibbles@boulderweekly.com

SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

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Delivering on the promises of cannabis

many in an industry-wide push to make and market products that are optimized for a

As science’s understanding of cannabis evolves, commercial products are now targeting specific health and wellness goals

by Will Brendza

C

annabis has always made big promises as a medicinal supplement: pain relief, reduced anxiety, increased appetites, better moods, sharper focus, and surer sleep. But for a long time, knowing what

was the only way to shop by effect. For a clear, focused high, you’d ask your dealer or budtender for something like Sour Diesel or Black Jack; if you needed a strain that would make you ravenously hungry, you’d seek out something like Lemon Kush or Head Cheese; and for Hundu Kush or some equivalent.

It wasn’t an exact science, but there was science behind it. Different terpenes and cannabinoid varietconcert, enhancing one another’s unique properties: the ballyhooed “entourage effect” at work.

Now, in the era of commercial cannabis, companies are cracking the code behind that chemical phenomenon stimulating the appetite, focusing creatively, or for falling fast asleep.

It’s the whole idea behind Wana’s new Optimals line, according to Mike Hennesy, the vice president of solutions at Wana.

“Not everybody understands what strains and what formulations are going to be right for them,” Hennesy says. “So, Wana Optimals was designed to achieve different health and wellness goals for consumers by in this new line of cannabis creations, and one among

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AM gummies. Stratos offers a line of emulsion tinctures sold as “Energy” (1:1 CBD/ sativa THC), “Relax” (1:1 CBD/sativa and indica THC), and “Sleep” (1:1 CBD/indica THC). And Veritas Fine Cannabis has even

labels (read: “All About Those Terpenes,” Boulder Weekly 5/27/21).

What’s different about Wana’s new Fast Asleep gummies, though, is their cocktail content of different terpenes, cannabinoids and hormones. According to feedback to chemically craft the ideal cannabis sleep-aid gummy.

“The newest research shows that higher doses of CBD can be sedating and relaxing, while lower doses of CBD can end up being alerting and awakening.”

So they wanted to make sure to use a higher dose of CBD, Henessy explains. “Interestingly, THC is sedating, however, if you take too much, it can actually damage REM sleep.”

The key then, he says, was to use a high dose of CBD and a low dose of THC. But they didn’t stop there—they took the entourage effect one, perhaps even two steps further: adding mixture to help alleviate the two most common sources of insomnia and sleeplessness.

“CBN has been shown to be pain-relieving, and CBN has shown to be stress-relieving,” Hennesy says, most widespread causes of sleeplessness. “And again, when taken with CBD, they work in this ‘entourage effect’ ually.”

SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

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The Fast Asleep gummies also contain over 30 different specialized terpenes in the formula. tonin—a hormone that naturally helps regulate a person’s sleep, and is the most widely-used over-the-counter sleep aid in the country. But melatonin is not without its own critics. lead to grogginess and some other side effects the next morning,” he says. The reason is most over-the-counter of the hormone. “Our research has shown that to be too high of a dose to be used effectively. Especially alongside cannabis.”

The end result of all this is a gummy that contains 10mg CBD (for calming and relaxing effects), 2mg CBN (which can lower stress, relieve tension, and alleviate (for its relaxing and anti-in(which works with the CBD to help regulate the body’s circadian rhythm), and just 1mg of melatonin to top it all off. noids, I really think it just helps the product be that much more functional,” Hennesy says.

The Wana Optimal Fast Asleep gummies are just one cannabis product in a new wave that will likely change how consumers view and use cannabis.

No longer is cannabis going to inconsistent edible—going forward, people will be able to use cannabis as a functional dietary and medicinal supplement that can be used to achieve a variety of very “What we were trying to do with the Optimal line is simplify things for the consumer,” Henessy says. “We’ve individuals. We’re trying to deliver on the promises of cannabis.”

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

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