10 minute read
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
SECTION 3:
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, BUSINESS, DINING AND FUN
Auction for the Arts preview now available online pg. 37 MIIBS: First Security Bank pg. 38 Back 40: The Fine Line pg. 46
Bucking the rules: a night with Dan Dubuque
BY BRIAN D’AMBROSIO
WHITEFISH – In a world of abundant harmonies, yowling collaboration and a full saturation of lyrics, Dan Dubuque does something simple and audacious: He wordlessly performs a broad appeal of genres on a single instrument.
What could be described as an action-packed wallop of sheer sonic improbability, the energy of Dubuque’s Weissenborn slide guitar heightens the senses with thump, sass and force.
“It’s super intense (playing the Weissenborn),” said Dubuque, who grew up in Polson and now calls Whitefish home. “I’m kind of hard on it, it’s kind of ridiculous. I’m hitting the metal bar with my left hand, I’m hitting the strings to get that snare sound, and it just digs into the neck, and puts holes in [the guitar] that way.”
Originally manufactured in Los Angeles sometime around the 1920s by a man named Hermann Weissenborn, the eponymous lap slide guitar is hollow from the neck to the body, ensuring the delivery of an inordinate amount of percussion.
“I like the dynamics of it,” Dubuque said. “You could play it soft and sweet and soulful. You could play really soulful to really heavy and hard.”
Before he learned how to play a Weissenborn in his 20s, Dubuque, 39, would busk on street corners or in parking lots or at farmers markets, twanging a standard acoustic guitar, with little or no notice or response.
“Busking on the streets with a regular guitar wasn’t making much tips, but once I started busking with the Weissenborn, people would give me hella’ tips,” Dubuque said. “And then I learned how to play it good. And then it became a job.”
Dubuque’s engaging solo work stands easily on its melodic, muscular strength, instrumental skill and non-conforming charisma, but his strangely brewed set list of rock, pop, 1990s grunge and heavy metal is a revelation. Indeed, the range of Dubuque’s repertoire is incisive, an extremely wide course of study that surprises even him.
“It’s just crazy all of the styles,” he said. “I do everything from the blues, to country, traditional stuff to electronic music, to hip hop, heavy metal, and everything in between. There are songs that I love, like Tool’s ‘Descending.’ Originally, I thought, man, I wish I could translate this to the slide guitar, and I thought there’s no way in hell I could translate that song to slide. And that’s one of my favorite go-to songs now. I never thought that I’d [be] playing ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ or ‘Heart-Shaped Box,’ so I am more open minded now when it comes to translating songs.”
In addition to its total lack of limitations, another glaring feature of Dubuque’s music is that it isn’t overrun with production or gimmicks. There is a raw objectivity and toughness to his playing that he carries out with the surety of the guillotine.
“I think what makes it like magic when I play it’s just there’s not many tricks, and not all of these pedals, not all of this gear, not all this stuff that everyone hides behind, in my opinion,” he said.
Still, despite a robust following on social media sites, Dubuque concedes that it’s often difficult for instrumentalist artists to convert fans to their brand.
“It would be easier if I sang and strummed some chords, but I’m not singing, I’m doing the bass parts, the percussion and the vocal melodies with the strings,” he said.
Exhilarating to hear, Dubuque’s music projects a relentlessly physical character to see.
“I had one instrument that I broke the hell out of playing it percussively,” he said. “But the one I have now is all custom made, and it can take a beating now, and I think it’s the first Weissenborn to ever be made to play for percussively, because those things aren’t made to be played the way I play.”
Despite its undeniable presence and its popularity among a devout group of notable players such as Ben Harper and Ronnie Wood, the Weissenborn for the most part eludes mainstream awareness. I’m playing. Somebody else, who didn’t know how to play it, would still turn heads.”
While captivation is his aim, resourcefulness is his vessel; Lending each genre a distinct air of passion, he reads the audience with an eagle’s intuition and a wolf’s impulse to determine what comes next.
“I’m at the point where I could just take a peek up at the audience for one second and see what they want,” Dubuque said. “If it’s a bunch of old timers, I’ll play something like ‘Pancho and Lefty,’ or something to warm them up and make them comfortable. If it’s a bunch of college kids, I’ll play ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ or some techno or electronic stuff. With a bunch of metal heads, it’s Rage Against the Machine, or Tool, or Metallica. If I see a bunch of hippies, I’ll play the Beatles’ ‘Norwegian Wood.’ ‘Paint It Black’ works anywhere.”
Dubuque sounds as if he is as eager as ever to fight the system, buck the rules, take on the establishment and let the music stand alone.
“I don’t need a comfort zone,” Dubuque said, “a spot where only my friends are showing up, always in the same area.”
An ambitious artist outfitted with an ambitious instrument, Dubuque is all about sharing the intoxicating pleasures of the Weissenborn’s sound, color and movement.
“I’ll play it tired, I’ll play it sick,” he said. “I’ll play where I’m getting booed out. I’ll play in old buildings with sh***y acoustics. I’m not picky. I like the challenge. I’ll play in any damn corner of any echo-filled building. I just like to play the best that I can.”
Dan Dubuque will perform at Tips Up on Feb. 12 at 9 p.m.
BIG SKY EVENTS CALENDAR
Friday, Feb. 11 – Thursday, Feb. 24
If your event falls between Feb. 25 and March 3 please submit it by Feb. 16 by emailing media@outlaw.partners.
Friday, Feb. 11
Valentine’s Sleigh Ride Dinner
Bodhi Farm, various times
Live Music: Stoneman’s Way
Tips Up, 9 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 12
Valentine’s Sleigh Ride Dinner
Bodhi Farm, various times
Santosha Wellness Center, 4 p.m.
Live Music: Lena Schiffer and Josh Moore
The Independent, 8 p.m.
Live Music: Dan Dubuque
Tips Up, 9 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 13
Live Music: Cole Thorne
The Standard: Cocktails and Desserts, 7 p.m.
Monday, Feb. 14
Monday Night Ruck
Peets Hill/Burke Park, 6:45 p.m.
Film: “Across the Universe”
The Independent, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 15
The Winter Olympics showing
The Independent, 7 p.m.
Open Mic Night Tips Up, 9 p.m.
Wednesday Feb. 16
Class C Basketball Districts
Butte, Feb. 16-19
Trivia Night
The Independent, 7 p.m.
Live Music: Not James Taylor
Tips Up, 9 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 17
Big Sky Serenity Seekers Al-Anon meeting
All Saints Chapel, 4 p.m.
Film: “Blades of Glory” The Independent, 7 p.m.
Bozeman Doc Series: “The Velvet Queen”
The Emerson, 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
“Live from Laurel Canyon” The Ellen Theatre, 7:30 p.m.
Live Music: Bridget O’Brien
Tips Up, 9 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 18
Little Red Truck’s Vintage Market Gallatin County Fairgrounds, 4 p.m.
Gypsy Jazz Night
The Ellen Theater, 7:30 p.m.
Live Music: Dammit Lauren!
Tips Up, 9 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 19
President’s Polar Plunge
Glen Lake Rotary Park, 1 p.m.
Music: Luke Flansburg & Jess Atkins
The Independent, 8 p.m.
Live Music: Daniel Kosel & Madrona Road
Tips Up, 9 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 20
Live Music: Cole Thorne
The Standard, 7 p.m.
Monday, Feb. 21
Film: “Billie Eilish”
The Independent, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 22
Winter Olympics showing
The Independent, 7 p.m.
Open Mic Night
Tips Up, 9 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 23
Trivia Night
The Independent, 7 p.m.
Live Music: Kaylie Marie
Tips Up, 9 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 24
Big Sky Serenity Seekers Al-Anon meeting
All Saints Chapel at 4 p.m.
Film: “Interview with a Vampire”
The Independent, 7 p.m.
Live Music: The Damn Duo
Tips Up, 9 p.m.
Celebrate Valentine’s Day with your girlfriends on Saturday, Feb. 12 at 4 p.m. at Santosha Wellness Center. Join Esthetician Samara Alcoke for an hour of healthy and fun self-love. Participants will be offered a nourishing cocoa beverage to open your heart and Samara will educate everyone on key ingredients for healthy skin and walk participants through facial steps. Participants will self-administer cleaning oil, a mini peel pad and use high potency Sanitas skin care products of retinol, Vitamin C and peptides. Honor love and yourself this Valentine’s Day for just $35.
Do You or Someone You Know Need Help Getting Sober?
Contact A.A. - We’re alcoholics helping other alcoholics stay sober. Call 1-833-800-8553 to talk to an A.A. member or Get the Meeting Guide app or Go to aa-montana.org for virtual and face-to-face meeting times and locations
Auction for the Arts preview now available online
ARTS COUNCIL OF BIG SKY
BIG SKY – The Arts Council of Big Sky is hosting its 10th Annual Auction for the Arts fundraising event on Feb. 26 this year at the new Montage Hotel, and the silent auction catalog is available for viewing on bigskyarts.org. Bidding for the silent auction opens Monday, Feb. 21 for anyone who registers to participate online or purchases tickets to the Feb. 26 live event.
Nearly 100 items will be available in the silent auction, including paintings, pottery, photography, sculptures and jewelry from local and regional artists, all priced to allow everyone from the casual buyer to the discriminating collector participate.
Confirmed silent auction artists include Ariane Coleman, Heather Rapp, Jill Zeidler, Shelly Bermont, Ryan Turner, Jim Dick, Kirsten Kainz, David Mensing, Tom Gilleon, Dave Pecunies and many more.
New to the mix this year, the auction will include exclusive travel and experience items, including several Montage vacation packages, a Museum of the Rockies private tour and two VIP Foo Fighters tickets paired with a live concert photo of Dave Grohl by professional rock photographer Nick Pickles. Starting on Monday, Feb. 21, the public can view all silent auction offerings, as well as some live auction pieces, at the vacant space next to the Haas Builders office, just across the street from the Gibbous sculpture in the Town Center roundabout. The public preview will be open daily through Feb. 24; Check the Arts Council website for times. Online bidding also starts Feb. 21 at 9 a.m. and closes on Feb. 26 at 8 p.m.
Tickets for the live auction gala event at the Montage are now on sale and include valet parking, a welcome cocktail, one drink ticket for beer, wine or champagne, hors d’oeuvres, dessert, final silent auction viewing and live auction participation. Proceeds from the auction will support the Arts Council’s ongoing events and public art efforts, as well as their move into the BASE community center where accessible and affordable arts programming will be made available for Big Sky residents and visitors alike.
This annual event is a great way to find new artwork for your home while helping out an important Big Sky nonprofit organization and the working artists they partner with.
“Garry Owen Blues,” a fine art print on paper from Montana artist Tom Gilleon, will be available in the Arts Council’s online silent auction. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ARTS COUNCIL OF BIG SKY Visit bigskyarts.org to register to bid, buy tickets and to find out more information about the Arts Council’s programming.
STACY OSSORIO
Broker, Private Office Advisor 406-539-8553 stacyossorio.evrealestate.com stacy.ossorio@evrealestate.com
140 Upper Beehive Loop Road | Beehive Basin | Big Sky, MT Views of Lone Peak, Sphinx, Pioneer, Cedar and Fan Mountains +/- 20 Acre | +/- 6,705 Sq. Ft. | 4 Bedrooms | 4.5 Bathrooms $6,250,000 | MLS# 366377 Spanish Peaks Mountain Club | The Ranches, Lot 12 +/- 4.07 Acres | $2,150,000 | MLS #366465
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