Boulder Weekly 04.27.2023

GOLD STANDARD

100 years of The Sink — plus the rest of your favorites in Best of Boulder County 2023

AIR POLLUTION’S AFFECT ON DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY P. 8

WONDERBOUND BALLET’S ‘NEW FANGLED WESTERN’ P. 17

LOCAL AUTHOR’S MEMOIR SPARES NO ONE P. 26

8 NEWS: Depressed? Anxious? Air pollution may be a factor BY JIM ROBBINS, KFF HEALTH NEWS

17 DANCE: Wonderbound Ballet presents second run of ‘a newfangled Western’ with Gasoline Lollipops BY ADAM PERRY

22 BOOKS: Local author Hillary Leftwich’s memoir spares no one in account of domestic abuse and trauma BY BART SCHANEMAN

37 GOOD TASTE: Chef Dave Hadley builds a new menu for the latest Rosetta Hall stall BY COLIN WRENN

DEPARTMENTS

4 THE ANDERSON FILES: Is gun machismo destabilizing the US?

5 OPINION: Iran’s Women, Life, Freedom movement is encouraging

7 LETTERS: Signed, sealed, delivered: your views

11 NOW YOU KNOW: This week’s news in Boulder County and beyond

15 MUSIC: A.C. Newman of The New Pornographers is a mainstay of modern indie-pop — but he says he’s just visiting

16 THEATER: Broomfield Community Players kick off 2023 season with ‘Cat’s Cradle’

19 COMEDY: Travis McElroy of ‘My Brother, My Brother and Me’ talks podcasting and family

24 EVENTS: What to do this week on the Front Range

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

29 FILM:

‘Anthony Mann Directs James Stewart’ on The Criterion Channel

30

ASTROLOGY: What Chinese Emperor Hongwu and Cancers have in common

31 SAVAGE LOVE: Late-in-life lesbian?

33 NIBBLES: How a Lafayette eatery dishes out everything for everyone all at once

38 WEED: Mescaline has a 5,000-year history — Colorado will help define its future

COMMENTARY

APRIL 27, 2023

Volume XXX, Number 36

COVER: The Sink, courtesy Branded Beet

PUBLISHER: Fran Zankowski

CIRCULATION MANAGER: Cal Winn

EDITORIAL

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Caitlin Rockett

ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR: Jezy J. Gray

GENERAL ASSIGNMENT REPORTER: Will Matuska

FOOD EDITOR: John Lehndorff

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Dave Anderson, Will Brendza, Rob Brezsny, Michael J. Casey, Adam Perry, Dan Savage, Bart Schaneman, Toni Tresca, Colin Wrenn

SALES AND MARKETING

MARKET DEVELOPMENT MANAGER: Kellie Robinson

SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE: Matthew Fischer

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE: Chris Allred

SPECIAL PROJECTS MANAGER: Carter Ferryman

MRS. BOULDER WEEKLY: Mari Nevar

PRODUCTION

CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Erik Wogen

SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Mark Goodman

CIRCULATION TEAM: Sue Butcher, Ken Rott, Chris Bauer

BUSINESS OFFICE

BOOKKEEPER: Emily Weinberg

FOUNDER/CEO: Stewart Sallo

THE ANDERSON FILES

Is gun machismo destabilizing the U.S. with paranoia and murder?

The pandemic inspired a gunbuying surge. Americans purchased approximately 60 million guns between 2020 and 2022, according to The Trace, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that tracks gun violence. Gun deaths reached historic highs during this period.

This is a distinctive type of gun ownership, according to John Roman, a senior fellow at NORC, a research organization based at the University of Chicago.

Roman told The Hill, “It’s not a rifle stored away somewhere that you take out twice a year to go hunting. It’s a handgun, probably a semiauto-

matic handgun, that you keep in your bedside table or in your glove compartment, or that you maybe carry around with you.”

“Five percent of Americans said they bought a gun for the first time during the pandemic, which is a huge number,” Roman said. Those buyers were younger and more likely to be renters, women and people of color.

Just 3% of American adults own half of the nation’s firearms, according to a 2016 Harvard-Northeastern survey.

Results from the 2021 National Firearms Study, published in the Annals of Medicine, found that 7.5

million Americans became new gun owners between 2019 and 2021. But many Americans who already owned guns, nearly 20 million, bought more.

A string of incidents has alarmed the nation. In one week, a 16-yearold kid in Kansas City, Missouri, was shot after going to the wrong address to pick up his brothers, a 20-year-old woman in New York state was killed after pulling into the wrong driveway and an 18-year-old high school cheerleader in Texas was shot after getting into the wrong car.

This has scared people who have jobs where door-knocking at a

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

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

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

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

stranger’s home is essential (such as door-to-door sales, process serving and political outreach).

The Kansas City shooting has raised questions about racism. Andrew Lester, an 84-year-old white man, twice shot Ralph Yarl, a Black kid, after the teenager rang his doorbell. He said he was “scared to death.”

The shooter’s grandson, Klint Ludwig, said he’d had a close relationship with Lester but in the last several years they have “lost touch.”

He said his grandfather has “become staunchly right-wing, further down the right-wing rabbit hole as far as doing the election-denying conspiracy stuff and COVID conspiracies and disinformation, fully buying into the Fox News, OAN kind of line.”

He said his grandfather has been immersed in “a 24-hour news cycle of fear and paranoia.”

Right-wing politicians, the gun lobby and the gun industry’s marketeers are constantly stoking this

THE ANDERSON FILES

cycle. Donald Trump told the recent NRA convention that liberals “want to take away your guns while throwing open the jailhouse doors and releasing bloodthirsty criminals into your communities.”

There has definitely been an increase in violent crime across the country. Various media outlets and elected officials have blamed progressive prosecutors for this surge. However, a recent study of 65 major cities finds no evidence for this claim. This was a wideranging investigation conducted by the University of Toronto in collaboration with researchers from Rutgers University, Temple University, Loyola University of Chicago, and University of Missouri, St. Louis.

The vast majority of gun violence perpetrators and victims are young men.

Sociologist Eric Madfis notes that males are socialized to respond differently than females to stress and perceived victimization He told Politico, “Women tend to internalize blame and frustration, while men tend to externalize it

through acts of aggression.”

Domestic violence is a public health crisis in this country. Every month, an average of 70 women are shot and killed by an intimate partner.

We are facing an invigorated rightwing crusade promoting male supremacy and a patriarchal society where people adhere to strictly defined gender roles. The fierce fights against reproductive rights and LGBT rights is only the beginning.

It’s an uphill battle for right-wingers. But they have guns.

In fact, four Republican members of Congress want to make the AR-15 “the national gun” (at the moment we don’t have one). The bill was introduced by Barry Moore of Alabama, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, George Santos of New York and Andrew Clyde of Georgia. The AR-15 has frequently been used by mass shooters.

You might remember Clyde as the guy who said the Jan. 6 events looked like “a normal tourist visit.” He has stood by that comment. During National Gun Violence Survivors Week, Clyde passed out lapel pins shaped like assault rifles. He also owns a gun store. Isn’t that cute?

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

OPINION

The

Women, Life, Freedom movement in Iran is encouraging, as we fight for women’s bodily autonomy here in the US

How do we organize together in social movements with longevity? Our collective strategies, our power analyses, and our direct action can bring about lasting social change, or it can be a spark that fizzles out. On rare occasions, we find inspiration in surprising places. One of those is presenting itself right now: In Iran, women, youth and their allies of all genders and ages have been waging an anti-patriarchal, pro-democracy struggle since September.

As we fight for women’s bodily autonomy here in the U.S., we can find inspiration in Iran.

The Islamic Republic is a patriarchal regime that is enforcing “female modesty” through the mandatory covering of women’s hair and bodies. Women can be arrested by “morality police” for simply showing their hair in public. Even worse, they can face state-sanctioned rape, torture, imprisonment and even murder.

This happened to Mahsa Jina

Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian who was visiting Tehran and wearing her head scarf loosely. She was arrested and sent to a re-education camp. Several days later, she died in police custody after being brutally beaten. Mahsa Amini’s death set off widespread protests which continue today. Young women have been removing head coverings mandated by the conservative regime and cutting off their ponytails in public. In their classrooms, girls in uniform can

be seen giving the middle finger to the framed photograph of the supreme leader of Iran.

For more than seven months now, the Iranian people have resisted peacefully. Middle schoolers have taken control of their schools; high school girls have mobilized protests in their neighborhoods; college students have organized walkouts and boycotts on their campuses. Iranian oil workers went on strike in solidarity with youth-led protests. A song, “Baraye” by Iranian singer/songwriter Shervin Hajipour, won a Grammy Award.

The Islamic Republic has responded with extreme violence. They have beaten girls to death in their schools

Boulder Weekly Market

OPINION

and even used mass poisoning, which has escalated, as punishment. They have imprisoned almost 20,000 Iranians for their participation in the movement. They have executed at least four protesters. Stories of gang rape in prison are being verified by Amnesty International.

Indeed, this is one of the most dramatic women’s movements in history, gaining global attention. What can we stand to learn from the women of Iran?

The Women, Life, Freedom movement has at least three powerful lessons for us: 1. Everyone can come together around a deep injustice that is taking place. What we cannot abide can bind us to one another. 2. We must overcome our cynicism and believe that change is possible, against all odds. 3. Each person needs to find ways to contribute to the movement for women’s freedom.

There is so much we can each do to help sustain the #WomenLifeFreedom movement.

We can educate ourselves, read articles about the bold and courageous people of Iran, engage in

conversation with loved ones, and lean into our curiosity. Consider the risks and sacrifices that thousands and thousands of people in Iran are taking to enable change. Doing so may help you realize that radical alternatives to patriarchy are possible in every nation. If you aren’t yet participating in the U.S. movement to assert women’s bodily autonomy, gather inspiration from the young people risking their lives in Iran and the workers who stand in solidarity with them, defending their expressions of dissent.

As Shirin Ebadi, women’s rights activist and Nobel peace prize winner, speaking about the fight to protect abortion, told us on Friday, April 7 when we hosted her at CU Boulder, “Oppression of people and violation of human rights are like a virus,” Ebadi said. “So, we can’t just decide to be silent about it, because it is contagious. If it happens in one society, it can take over. And it can take over all over the world.”

Shawhin Roudbari and Sabrina Sideris are both educators at CU Boulder.

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

THE ANSWER TO GUN VIOLENCE

Let’s imagine a gun control paradise where the Second Amendment is repealed, and all privately owned guns are outlawed, and all existing guns must be turned in.

What could possibly go wrong?

Plenty. Banning things doesn’t make them magically disappear. We created a drug control paradise by banning dangerous drugs since before most people were born. The drugs haven’t gone away.

In gun control paradise, few turn in their guns, and guns are traded on the black market, which becomes a violent big business for organized criminal gangs.

The black market does for the war on guns what it has done for the war on drugs: spectacular violent failure.

People who don’t want the expense, hassle, and risk of buying black-market guns make homemade guns. Making homemade guns isn’t rocket science. With a kit, they’re easy and cheap to make. Outlaw the kits and components, and people will mill guns out of blocks of metal, or they’ll make

them easily and inexpensively with 3D printers. Of course, homemade guns are outlawed in gun control paradise, but the law is largely ignored.

In gun control paradise, gun violence is worse than ever. Criminals know their prey is likely unarmed. Gun smuggling is a violent business. Black market disputes are settled with violence.

Instead of a violent, rights-violating gun control paradise, what we need is freedom. End the drug war, which would likely cut the homicide rate by 25–75%. End gun-free zones, which is where 94% of public mass shooting since 1950 have occurred. Allow willing teachers, who have training, to carry a concealed handgun, because since Columbine, there have been no children shot in schools that permit teachers to carry. Grow the economy by freeing it from political controls — especially occupational licensure and minimum wage — because gun violence is highest in low-income areas.

Freedom — not authoritarian control — is the answer to gun violence.

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

IN A HAZE

Depressed? Anxious? Air pollution may be a factor

In the 1990s, residents of Mexico City noticed their dogs acting strangely — some didn’t recognize their owners, and the animals’ sleep patterns had changed.

At the time, the sprawling, mountainringed city of more than 15 million people was known as the most polluted in the world, with a thick, constant haze of fossil fuel pollution trapped by thermal inversions.

In 2002, toxicologist and neuropathologist Lilian Calderón-Garcidueñas, who is affiliated with both Universidad

del Valle de México in Mexico City and the University of Montana, examined brain tissue from 40 dogs that had lived in the city and 40 others from a nearby rural area with cleaner air. She discovered the brains of the city dogs showed signs of neurodegeneration while the rural dogs had far healthier brains. Calderón-Garcidueñas went on to study the brains of 203 human residents of Mexico City, only one of which did not show signs of neurodegeneration. That led to the conclusion that chronic exposure to air pollution can

negatively affect people’s olfactory systems at a young age and may make them more susceptible to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

The pollutant that plays the “big role” is particulate matter, said CalderónGarcidueñas. “Not the big ones, but the tiny ones that can cross barriers. We can detect nanoparticles inside neurons, inside glial cells, inside epithelial cells. We also see things that shouldn’t be there at all — titanium, iron, and copper.”

The work the Mexican scientist is doing is feeding a burgeoning body of evidence that shows breathing polluted air not only causes heart and lung damage but also neurodegeneration and mental health problems.

It’s well established that air pollution takes a serious toll on the human body, affecting almost every organ. Asthma, cardiovascular disease, cancer, premature death, and stroke are among a long list of problems that can be caused by exposure to air pollution, which, according to the World

Health Organization, sits atop the list of health threats globally, causing 7 million deaths a year. Children and infants are especially susceptible. Sussing out the impact of air pollution on the brain has been more difficult than for other organs because of its inaccessibility, so it has not been researched as thoroughly, according to researchers. Whether air pollution may cause or contribute to Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s is not settled science. But Calderón-Garcidueñas’ work is at the leading edge of showing that air pollution goes directly into the brain through the air we breathe, and has

serious impacts.

Some psychotherapists report seeing patients with symptoms stemming from air pollution. Not only does the pollution appear to cause symptoms or make them worse; it also takes away forms of relief.

“If we exercise and spend time in nature we become extra resilient,” said Kristen Greenwald, an environmental social worker and adjunct professor at the University of Denver. “A lot of folks do that outside. That’s their coping mechanism; it’s soothing to the nervous system.”

On polluted days a lot of her clients “can’t go outside without feeling they are making themselves more sick or distressed.”

Megan Herting, who researches air pollution’s impact on the brain at the University of Southern California, said environmental factors should be incorporated in doctors’ assessments these days, especially in places like Southern California and Colorado’s Front Range, where high levels of air pollution are a chronic problem.

“When I go into a medical clinic, they rarely ask me where I live and what is my home environment like,” she said. “Where are we living, what we are exposed to, is important in thinking about prevention and treatment.”

In the last two decades, with new technologies, research on air pollution and its impact on the human nervous system has grown by leaps and bounds.

Research shows tiny particles bypass the body’s filtering systems as

they are breathed in through the nose and mouth and travel directly into the brain. Fine and ultrafine particles, which come from diesel exhaust, soot, dust, and wildfire smoke, among other sources, often contain metals that hitchhike a ride, worsening their impact.

A changing climate is likely to exacerbate the effects of air pollution on the brain and mental health. Warmer temperatures react with tailpipe emissions from cars to create more ozone than is generated when it’s cooler. And more and larger forest fires are expected to mean more days of smoky skies.

Ozone has been linked to neurodegeneration, decline in cerebral plasticity, the death of neurons, and learning and memory impairment. Ozone levels are extremely high in Los Angeles and the mountain valleys of the West, including the Front Range of Colorado, Phoenix, and Salt Lake City.

Air pollution also causes damage from chronic inflammation. As air pollution particles enter the brain, they are mistaken for germs and attacked by microglia, a component of the brain’s immune system, and they stay activated.

“Your body doesn’t like to be exposed to air pollution and it produces an inflammatory response,” said Patrick Ryan, a researcher at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, in an email. “Your brain doesn’t like it either. There’s more than 10 years of toxicological science and epidemiologic studies that show air pollution causes neuro-inflammation.”

Much of the current research focuses on how pollution causes mental health problems.

Damage to the brain is especially pernicious because it is the master control panel for the body, and pollution damage can cause a range of neuropsychiatric disorders. A primary focus of research these days is how pollution-caused damage affects areas of the brain that regulate emotions — such as the amygdala, prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus. The amygdala, for example, governs the processing of fearful experiences, and its impairment can cause anxiety and depression. In one recent review, 95% of studies

looking at both physical and functional changes to areas of the brain that regulate emotion showed an impact from air pollution.

A very large study published in February in JAMA Psychiatry, by researchers from the universities of Oxford and Peking and Imperial College London, tracked the incidence of anxiety and depression in nearly 400,000 adults in the United Kingdom over a median length of 11 years and found that long-term exposure even to low levels of a combination of air pollutants — particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, and nitric oxide — increased the occurrence of depression and anxiety.

Another recent study, by Erika Manczak at the University of Denver, found adolescents exposed to ozone predicted “for steeper increases in depressive symptoms across adolescent development.”

But the epidemiological research has shortcomings because of confounding factors that are difficult to account for. Some people may be genetically predisposed to susceptibility and others not. Some may experience chronic stress or be very young or very old, which can increase their susceptibility. People who reside near a lot of green space, which reduces anxiety, may be less susceptible.

“Folks living in areas where there is greater exposure to pollutants tend to be areas under-resourced in many ways and grappling with a lot of systemic problems. There are bigger reports of stress and depression and anxiety,” said Manczak. “Given that those areas have been marginalized for a lot of reasons, it’s a little hard to say this is due to air pollution exposure.”

The best way to tell for sure would be to conduct clinical trials, but that comes with ethical problems. “We can’t randomly expose kids to air pollution,” Ryan said.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism.

NOW YOU KNOW

This week’s news in Boulder County and beyond

MOTION FOR PARTIAL JUDGMENT IN LAWSUIT AGAINST BOULDER’S BLANKET BAN

The ACLU and other plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the City of Boulder over its camping ban have asked for a partial judgment in the case, which could stop the city from enforcing its camping ban.

In a motion filed on April 21, the ACLU said the city had admitted to enough “key factual allegations” to support the lawsuit’s claim that the camping ban violates the state Constitution’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. The so-called “Blanket Ban” forbids living or sleeping outside while using “any cover or protection from the elements other than clothing.”

In an email to Boulder Weekly, ACLU staff attorney Annie Kurtz wrote that because the city admitted to not having adequate sheltering options and that the Boulder Police Department enforces the ordinance “without regard to whether [unhoused

people] have any option for indoor shelter,” the ordinance violates the Colorado constitution.

The city has denied that enforcement of the camping ban violates state law.

Kurtz said other deadlines in the lawsuit will be pushed back until Boulder County District Court judge Robert R. Gunning rules on the motion for partial judgment.

PLAN MADE TO RESTORE BOULDER VALLEY VELODROME

After sitting dormant for nearly three years, a new investor plans to bring the Boulder Valley Velodrome back to life.

BVV Holdings agreed to purchase the 250-meter wooden track on the outskirts of Erie (601 Bonnell Ave.), with nonprofit Team Colorado Cycling signing on to operate the facility.

Todd Stevenson with Team Colorado Cycling says the envisioned track will host full-time racing, junior

development camps, and national and international events. He also wants it to uplift the community.

“The velodrome will become a community hub for people other than members and cyclists,” he wrote in an email, “and we are eager to engage with the town of Erie to host community events throughout the season.”

Stevenson sees the velodrome hosting events like ride-in movies, concerts, food trucks and other family-friendly events starting early this summer.

The change of ownership comes as the track has been closed for more than three years after a tumultuous beginning, including construction setbacks and a pandemic-related failed purchase agreement.

Repairs and improvements to the velodrome, which is one of four international-standard 250-meter tracks in the U.S., include stripping paint from the track surface, raising sections of concrete, opening a new rider lounge and landscaping work.

“By restoring the Boulder Valley Velodrome we can bring new people to the sport and develop the next generation of cycling legends from the United States,” Makala Jaramillo, a junior cyclist, said in a press release.

Team Colorado Cycling is hosting a public open house at the track from 2-5 p.m. on May 6.

COMMUNITY CYCLES DISTRIBUTES EBIKES TO LOWINCOME COMMUTERS

There will be 60 new eBike riders on some of Boulder’s multi-use paths thanks to Community Cycles and a grant from the Colorado Energy Office.

The bikes are destined for commuters making 80% of area median income (AMI), about $67,000, or less and work for one of four specific organizations: Boulder Community Health, CU Boulder, Boulder Valley School District and Downtown Boulder Partnership. In addition to meeting income and employer requirements, applicants are ranked based on distance needed to travel to work, secure bike parking options and comfort on a bicycle.

Successful applicants will get a

bike for $0 to $250, depending on income, this summer.

“Our mission is to get more people on bikes, teach them how to use and maintain their bikes and work for safe places to walk and ride,” Community Cycles executive director Sue Prant wrote in an email to Boulder Weekly “This program does all that.”

If you meet these qualifications, work with your employer to apply. If you don’t and are interested in an eBike, keep an eye out for a potential eBike voucher program being discussed between Community Cycles and the City of Boulder.

CONSTRUCTION FOR AFFORDABLE HOMES APPROVED

The Lafayette City Council on April 18 gave the go-ahead for the first construction phase of one of the largest mixed-use and sustainable housing neighborhoods in Boulder County.

Willoughby Corner, located southwest of 120th Street and East Emma Street in Lafayette, will include 400 new rentals and for-sale affordable homes when fully complete.

The first construction phase, starting in May, includes 63 affordable, ADA-accessible apartments for adults age 55 and above, 129 affordable multi-family homes and a community center.

Boulder County Housing Authority, which drafted the plans approved by the Council, predicts it could begin accepting applications for Willoughby Corner in spring 2024 for people at or below 60% of the area median income (AMI), or $52,680 for a household of one.

According to Boulder County, Willoughby Corner will be the largest net-zero affordable housing development in the state by combining solar and geothermal technologies with energy efficient building design and materials.

More than $20 million from city, county and federal funds are being used to finance the project.

Got news tips? Email wmatuska@ boulderweekly.com

Shop LOCAL Shop LONGMONT

fritz family brewers

cory’s illustrious brewing career started in Boulder way back in 1992 as a homebrewing college student. As an active member of the home brew club Hop Barley and the Alers, he learned from more seasoned brewers to appreciate a wide variety of beers, but especially lagers.

He spent so much time at What’s Brewin’ home brew shop they had

LEFT HAND LASER STUDIO

Armene Piper is a Boulder native who grew up on the outskirts of town; she can still remember when Arapahoe and 75th Street were dirt roads. Now she lives in Longmont with her husband, five children and four dogs. She is deeply committed to her clients and takes great pride in providing the best customer experience with unparalleled results.

WILD BIRDS UNLIMITED

Locally woman-owned and operated, Wild Birds Unlimited Specializes in bringing people and nature together through the hobby of backyard bird feeding. We offer a wide variety of naturerelated products and expert, local advice. Our store stocks the highest quality items made in the the USA with emphasis on eco-

no choice but to eventually give him a job. He then spent 2 years brewing at Tommyknocker’s in Idaho Springs, before moving to Jackson, Wyoming to brew at Snake River Brewing.

Cory spent 17 years brewing and honing his craft at Snake River and it is there that he met his amazing wife and business partner Kelly.

6778 N. 79th Street, Niwot

Armene also works closely with the transgender community to help them feel more authentic in their own body’s. Armene offers Cryoskin slimming and toning, laser hair removal, vein treatments, sun and age spot treatments, toenail fungus treatments, as well as Boleyn stretch mark and scar camouflage. 1446 Hover Street, Longmont 303-551-4701

www.lefthandlaserstudio.com

friendly products and recycled plastics. We source our unique gifts from Fair Trade companies and local artisans. We also have gift cards and last-minute gift ideas. Stop in and let us explain our mission to Save the Songbirds one backyard at a time!

1520 S. Hover Street, Suite D

Longmont, CO

720-680-0551

www.wbu.com/longmont

Shop LOCAL Shop LONGMONT

ozo coffee

oZO Coffee Company is a coffee roaster & retail operator based in Boulder, Colorado with Espresso Cafe locations in Boulder and Longmont, Colorado.

Founded in 2007, OZO Coffee has based its growth on core

Blue Agave

Blue Agave History.

Northern Colorado’s most highly recommended dining attraction.

Blue Agave is family-owned and operated, bringing collectively over five decades of experience in the restaurant business, offering recipes that go back generations that derive

WASHED UP CAR WASH

We are crazy for clean cars!! We are a locallyowned and operated express tunnel car wash located at 1876 Hover Street in Longmont. Our state-of-the-art carwash system reclaims 70% of the water used, because we

Dee-O-Gee - LOCAL

My name is Rachel Shannon, the owner of Dee-O-Gee in Longmont. I am originally from Montana and moved to Longmont in 2004. I was always very attracted to the local shops because I was raised in a Ma and Pa Grocery store and fell in love with the local community. Starting Dee-O-Gee, which is a small start up from Montana, was a no-brainer for me.

principles of service, quality, community, and sustainability.

We are grateful for the opportunity to share our passion for coffee with you.

JUSTIN HARTMAN, OZO FOUNDER

1232-A S. Hover St. www.ozocoffee.com

specifically from Jalisco, Mexico, and the Pacific coast.

Check out our Happy Hour, Mon- Friday 10a-5pm.

2030 Ken Pratt Blvd. Longmont 303-776-1747

www.blueagaverestaurant.net

care for your car and the environment. Our tunnel system uses a conveyor belt to avoid scratching your shiny rims. We also offer a mat washer system for those dirty floor mats. We would love the opportunity to help you get your car Washed Up!

1876 Hover Street, Longmont www.washedupcarwash.com 303-532-4365

We are growing organically here at Dee-O-Gee and our Google reviews are proof that we are doing our best to get that local vibe. Our shop is owned and operated by my family and me. We offer you a unique one on one experience when you come in the door. We are certified pet nutritionists and we will help you find the perfect diet for your pet. Our services include grooming, day camp and do it yourself dog wash.

110 Emery Street, #A, Longmont, CO 970-629-6600 • www.longmont.dee-o-gee.com

BE OUR GUEST

A.C. Newman of The New Pornographers is a mainstay of modern indie-pop — but he says he’s just visiting

After more than two decades fronting one of the most heralded power-pop acts of the century, Carl “A.C.” Newman of The New Pornographers finds himself at a familiar crossroads. It’s a junction faced by many artists whose hands wind up on the wheel of a bonafide rock ’n’ roll legacy: How do you move a long-running project forward creatively, without stretching it beyond the breaking point?

“It’s not that I want to constantly reinvent myself all the time. I just want to put out songs that feel necessary to me, and make sure I’m not repeating myself,” says the 55-yearold songwriter, guitarist and bandleader who co-founded the Vancouver-based project in 1997 with alt-country queen Neko Case and Dan Bejar of Destroyer. “I didn’t want to put out songs where I’m thinking,

‘Well, there’s already another version of that song out there — I already wrote that song.’”

But on the opening shot of Continue as a Guest, the ninth LP from the indie-rock behemoth and first on Merge Records, what you’re hearing is Newman’s re-animation of a New Pornographers song that never saw the light of day. Written by Bejar during sessions for 2014’s Brill Bruisers, his last (so far) with the onetime “supergroup,” the scrapped bit of music stuck with Newman, who found himself swept up by the challenge of breathing new life into it. Without going back to the original recording, he worked to build a living body around a chorus scrawled from memory: We sit around and talk about the weather / My heart just like a feather — really, really light

“I didn’t want it to feel like I wrote

the verses and he wrote the chorus. I wanted it to feel like a complete song. And that was work, but it was also a game at the same time,” he says. “So it ended up being experimental, even though the end product is what any normal person might hear and say, ‘Well, it’s a pop song.’ It’s like, ‘Yes, but it took a weird road to get there.’”

‘HOW CAN WE MAKE A COOL SONG?’

The New Pornographers are no strangers to “weird roads,” and the line between experimentation and structure has been a central part of their story from the get-go. Newman originally split songwriting duties between Case and Bejar, but while the former’s commanding vocals are still a central part of the music — including Continue as a Guest standouts “Cat and Mouse with the Light” and “Marie and the Undersea” — the band’s creative force is now guided squarely by Newman’s melody-rich brand of snappy and singular songwriting.

“I have a style of song that I write, so I don’t fight that. I’m just going to write what I write, to a certain degree. I don’t have that much control,” he says. “It’s when I go into the studio and start messing around with arrangements that things become different. And these 10 songs were just the ones that felt like the record I wanted to make.”

But Newman set out to make more than a new smattering of pop songs on Continue as a Guest Drawing its title from the language of online registration portals, the pandemic lockdown-era LP explores weighty themes with a feather-light touch as the band’s now-primary songwriter unpacks complicated feelings about connection and isolation, belonging and notbelonging, in a brave new world.

“It sums up a lot of things I was feeling about living here

in America during that time, and about being a musician — trying to make a life for yourself in a place you don’t necessarily feel part of,” the Canadian-born artist says. “I’ve never really felt the urge to be a pop star or anything. I think I was always a very kind of introverted person who made music and put it out there. I think I became more aware and accepting of that over the last few years — like, ‘OK, that’s just what I am. I’m not a member. I’m just continuing as a guest.””

Cultural critique aside, there is a simpler and more familiar mission underpinning the latest from Newman’s time-tested collective. Despite the changes and challenges of steering the unwieldy ship of a pop institution for more than 20 years, he says Continue as a Guest carries on a simple formula that has unwittingly made The New Pornographers a tentpole act in contemporary indie music.

“We don’t know how to aim for a market,” he says with a laugh. “We don’t know how to do anything except sit in the room and put our heads together and go, ‘OK, how can we make a cool song?’ That’s the eternal goal of our band.”

STAGE TURNER

Broomfield Community Players kick off 2023 season with psychological mystery-thriller ‘Cat’s Cradle’

In an effort to raise the standard of living in Broomfield, the city and county surveyed residents in 2015 about their opinions on local amenities. The report found that although community members were satisfied with the caliber of the art events taking place in the area, they wished there were more options available.

“City officials noticed from people’s comments that we didn’t have a local theater company, and people wished we did,” says Jo Ramsey, chairperson for Broomfield Community Players’ executive team and director of its production of Cat’s Cradle, the mystery thriller kicking off its 2023 season on April 27. “Karen Garrity [former cultural affairs manager for the City and County of Broomfield] put out a notice in the paper saying people interested in theater should come to an open call to discuss creating a new theater group in the community.”

From this meeting in the spring of 2016, the Broomfield Community Players (BCP) was formed as an all-volunteer group. Garrity convinced the city to fully fund BCP’s first production, The Importance of Being Earnest, the following fall. But shortly after launching BCP, Garrity accepted a position in another city, which left the theater without a direct line to the local government.

In order to keep the group going, BCP became a program of the Broomfield Council on the Arts and Humanities (BCAH). The entity was established in 1973, and the City Council designated it “Broomfield’s official arts organization” when it was granted tax-exempt status the following

year. In addition to presenting its own programming, BCAH also aids the efforts of over 20 nonprofit groups involved in arts, culture and civic engagement.

“[BCP] is a program of the Council, which means they are our fiscal agency and help with things like liability insurance and some other nitty-gritty business stuff,” says Russ Ramsey, who is married to Jo and the production manager for Cat’s Cradle. “[BCAH] doesn’t subsidize us, but when they apply for grants, we sometimes get a little piece of that. We are not vastly profitable, but we have always been profitable enough to be able to do another show.”

BCP has produced 13 shows since 2016 that have primarily featured Broomfield residents but have also drawn talent from Boulder, Westminster, Lafayette, Aurora, Denver and Centennial. In its sevenyear history, BCP has incorporated 136 actors onstage, 156 production and technical staff members backstage and welcomed thousands of audience members to performances at the Broomfield Auditorium.

“We are focused on offering an opportunity for people in our community to get involved in local theater, and providing residents with affordable, high-quality entertainment without having to drive to Boulder or Denver,” Russ says. “I feel like we have done a good job fulfilling our mission by involving almost 300 people from the area in our productions.”

‘THEY WERE HUNGRY FOR SOMETHING MORE’

Like many community theaters in the area, BCP’s programming is largely made up of family-friendly comedies like Plaza Suite and Deathtrap. But they started hearing from actors and audience members who wanted more drama and mystery plays in future seasons.

“People love a fun night out at the theater, but they were hungry for something more,” Jo says. “So, I started looking for the right play. I had read a lot of Agatha Christie’s stories, and, while I love her writing, I wanted to do a mystery that was a little less convoluted. Cat’s Cradle is not a known play … but we brought a bunch of shows to the table, and all agreed this was a tightly written psychological drama that would resonate with the community.”

Set in an old coach house in the English countryside, Leslie Sands’ 1983 play tells the story of an almost forgotten kidnapping, and possible murder that went unsolved by Inspector Frost, the policeman assigned to the case. Haunted by his failure to apprehend the perpetrator, Frost returns to the area to

reopen the investigation, but he quickly discovers that the locals are withholding information from him. As Frost dives deeper into the mystery, justice is served, but at what cost?

“What we all liked about the play was that it has a plausible ending that is just unpredictable,” says Russ. “The script also includes some fascinating ideas about how power operates in a community, and heartfelt remarks on aging.”

If you want to find out how this compelling psychological thriller ends, you should consider buying tickets soon because Cat’s Cradle is only performing at the Broomfield Auditorium for one weekend, and its final performance is almost sold out.

“I am hoping the audience will have the same reaction that we did as we read the script,” says Jo. “You won’t know how it unfolds until the final moments of the show, but afterward, you’ll realize there was no other way. People should plan to grab a coffee or a cocktail after the show because they will need to talk about how the ending affected them with other people; it is that shocking.”

ON STAGE: Cat’s Cradle by Leslie Sands. April 27 and 28 at 7 p.m., and April 29 at 2 p.m. Broomfield Auditorium, 3 Community Park Road. $25

ON POINT

Wonderbound Ballet presents second run of ‘a newfangled Western’ with Gasoline Lollipops

Before dedicating his life to dance, Garrett Ammon was first drawn to choir and theater as a kid in his native Arizona. There was just one problem.

“I would get too nervous,” says the current creative director and choreographer of the Denver-based Wonderbound Ballet. “My throat would lock up. I would be great in class, but the moment I got up on stage in front of people, I’d suddenly freeze — just blank. But that didn’t happen with dancing.”

After ninth grade, Ammon enrolled in a ballet school in Mesa — on a scholarship, as his parents bounced from job to job — and started transforming his obsession with MTV music-video choreography into a career. After attending a summer dance program in Virginia, his love for hip-hop and jazz movement drew him to San Diego in high school to audition for major dance schools.

Ammon eventually became a member of Houston Ballet and later Ballet Memphis in Tennessee. That’s where he met Wonderbound Ballet President Dawn Fay, who was already dancing with the company when he arrived. The two fell in love, even though they were both in serious, but destined-to-fail, relationships — thanks in part to the

intense connection naturally forged between dancers.

“You’re being incredibly intimate with each other all the time. You spend most of your waking hours together,” he says. “If you’re not a dancer, you can’t really understand what it is to be a dancer — not only the pressures and demands of it, but also the drive of it, the need to do it. Very quickly, we became partners off stage and we became partners on stage.”

After nearly a decade together at Ballet Memphis, with Fay’s career as a full-time dancer winding down as Ammon’s passion for choreography was heating up, the duo moved to the Centennial State in 2007 to take over Ballet Nouveau Colorado in Broomfield, and “abruptly retired, with only a few months’ notice, from dancing.” Five years later, on the other side of the Great Recession, Ballet Nouveau was split into the teaching-focused Colorado Conservatory of Dance and performance company Wonderbound Ballet.

“By separating those two arms and letting them each focus on their respective missions, it allowed both organizations to kind of reinvent themselves and resolve the major financial challenges we were living through,” Ammon says.

In the decade since, Wonderbound

has built a dedicated following thanks to the leadership team’s mixture of dance knowledge and experience, paired with a top-shelf repertoire of contemporary ballet productions that toe a delicate line between traditional and avant-garde. And with community programs like the company’s partnership with WellPower (previously Mental Health Centers of Denver), they’ve also been hard at work forging deep connections with the community they serve here on the Front Range.

‘A NEWFANGLED WESTERN’

When it comes to navigating that line between the past and future of the form, Ammon and Fay often bring in artists from outside the dance world. That includes beloved Colorado bands like Paper Bird and Chimney Choir, along with the company’s upcoming resurrection of The Sandman — its “newfangled Western” ballet with Clay Rose and his beloved local alt-country outfit Gasoline Lollipops.

Based on songs from across the Gas Pops discography, The Sandman combines and reimagines Rose’s lyrics to tell a story that plays out with the help of Wonderbound dancers and live music from Rose and his band.

When Wonderbound started in 2012, Ammon and Fay prioritized live music for all of their productions, which eventually led to teaming up with Rose and his other band, The Widow’s Bane, on Wicked Bayou in 2019. Then came the following year’s collaboration with Gasoline Lollipops on The Sandman, which begins its second run with Wonderbound — this time at their new, permanent space — on May 3.

“The moment I start hearing Clay’s

lyrics, I start seeing [his characters] in the flesh,” Ammon says. “I start to see their world and their lives and who they are … it just drives me into a kind of creation mode of, ‘OK, how do these people know each other? What’s the conflict, and what [are] their motivations?”

Ammon and Rose are also currently working on another ballet together. This time, it’s an original story crafted by Ammon and Rose, set to Wonderbound choreography and music performed by Rose and a whole new group of musicians he’s assembling. Ammon is tightlipped about the details beyond that, but he says building something with the local musician from the ground floor will offer a chance for both to continue complementing each other’s unique craft while exploring bold new storytelling possibilities.

“I’m taken aback sometimes about the things that are in his lyrics. Sometimes I’m like, ‘Wow, that’s ballsy,’ but then he’s kind of said the same thing about my choreography. He’s, like, ‘I can’t believe you actually did that on stage,’” Ammon says. “If we’re going to take on a subject, we’re going to dig in and be brutally honest about it. We’re going to dive into some probably pretty heavy territory.”

ON STAGE: The Sandman: A Newfangled Western. Various times, May 3-14, Wonderbound, 3824 Dahlia St., Denver. $65

Editor’s note: Reporter Adam Perry occasionally performs as a drummer with Clay Rose, and was a full-time member of the Gasoline Lollipops from 2015-2018.

SIBLING REVELRY

impulse is often to be gracious and gentle. But we’re all very comfortable together, so sometimes we’ll give each other a hard time and people in the comments will think there’s serious tension.”

That family dynamic will be in full fidelity for Front Range comedy fans when McElroy and his brothers return for a live taping of My Brother, My Brother and Me at the Temple Hoyne Buell Theatre inside the Denver Performing Arts Center on Saturday, April 29. But the brothers’ path to performing their oddball brand of improv comedy in big-time spaces like the Buell — ranked among the country’s highest-grossing theaters with fewer than 5,000 seats — wasn’t without its hurdles. Initially acting as their own booking agent, the siblings had to carve their path to such hallowed stages at a time when a live model for podcasting didn’t really exist.

Travis McElroy never thought shooting the shit with his two brothers would be a major part of his full-time job. But since the sibling trio launched their beloved My Brother, My Brother and Me comedy advice podcast more than a decade ago, the 38-year-old West Virginia native has made a career doing just that.

“The beginning of the show was us moving away from each other across the country. We weren’t even hanging out in person anymore,” McElroy says of the podcast’s early days in 2010. “So the thought never even crossed my mind. But there were milestones along the way, when it started to feel like a thing.”

Major among those milestones was signing to the Maximum Fun network a year after the show’s launch. The media platform founded by podcasting trailblazer and NPR host Jesse Thorn

(Bullseye, Jordan Jesse GO!, Judge John Hodgman) helped McElroy and his brothers make inroads with a bigger audience and expand the possibilities of what My Brother, My Brother and Me could be.

“People started wanting to schedule meetings with us about what a live show would look like. Then we signed with an agent, and I quit my job [as technical director at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company] in 2014,” McElroy says. “That’s when it really clicked for me. It was like, ‘Well, I’m going to throw my hat over the fence. This is what I’m doing full time.’”

Now regularly staking out prime real estate in top podcast rankings, the brothers’ funny and foul-mouthed, Dear Abby-style comedy hour — dubbed “an advice show for the modern era” — has since developed a deep and devoted fan base. When the

show was adapted as a live-action TV series through NBCUniversal’s shortlived comedy streaming channel Seeso in 2016, it premiered as the No. 1 television show for sale on iTunes.

FAMILY MATTERS

But the McElroy family affair doesn’t end with brotherly advice. Travis and his siblings Griffin and Justin also host The Adventure Zone fantasy-adventure podcast with their dad, Clint, built around elaborate family-run campaigns of the tabletop roleplaying board game Dungeons & Dragons. In addition to that runaway hit, whose graphic novel adaptation landed at the top of the New York Times bestseller list in 2018, Travis also hosts the polite-society send-up Schmanners with his wife Teresa. But the closeness of this rollicking family enterprise is most clearly expressed in the signature sign-off ending each episode of the brothers’ flagship show: “Kiss your dad square on the lips.”

“When you think about family bands or whatever, you always think they secretly hated each other,” McElroy says. “But for us, I think it’s sometimes the other way around. Our

“In the beginning, it was absolutely thrilling — but also, looking back, we did it so wrong,” McElroy recalls. “One time we rented a sort of barnslash-theater in Austin, and when we showed up, a lady just handed us the keys and was like, ‘Lock up when you’re done!’ There was no one there to do anything, so our friends ran lights and our wives took tickets.”

For McElroy, the upcoming Denver show is an extension of the long arc that took My Brother, My Brother and Me from a low-stakes family goofaround to one of the most successful comedy podcasts in the history of the medium. Mostly, though, it’s a chance to do what the trio does best: craft live improv comedy around listener questions and quandaries, and bring more folks into the fold.

“I think people have fun at our shows. And it’s not like there’s a lot of lore. There’s not a lot of inside jokes, because we never remember them,” he says with a laugh. “You don’t need to know anything about us to have a good time.”

ON THE BILL: My Brother, My Brother and Me. 7 p.m. Saturday, April 29, Buell Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex, 1350 Curtis St. $43

‘Middlest brother’ and New York Times-bestselling author Travis McElroy of ‘My Brother, My Brother and Me’ talks podcasting and family

BY JEZY J. GRAY

28

COMFY COUCH PERFORMANCE CIRCLE

6-8:30 p.m. Friday, April 28, Longmont Public Media, 457 Fourth Ave., Longmont. Free

Cozy up at Longmont Public Media on Friday for an evening of acoustic music and storytelling. This free BYOB event at the public-access studios takes place in the round, so artists can take turns sharing the spotlight. Watch onsite (registration required) or online at longmontpublicmedia.org

27-29

UNDERGROUND COMEDY SHOWCASE

6-7 p.m. Friday, April 28, License No. 1, 2115 13th St., Boulder. $25

Need a good laugh? Drop by the Underground Comedy Showcase at License No. 1 for a hilarious long weekend of stand-up. Bust a gut with a drink in your hand during rip-roaring sets by local comedians — including Joshua Emerson, profiled in last week’s issue of Boulder Weekly. Read the story at bit.ly/ EmersonBW before the show.

28-30

TETHERED: EARTH TO SKY/ HUMAN TO HUMAN

7:30-9 p.m. Fri-Sat, April 28-29 and 2-3:30 p.m. Sunday, April 30, Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder. $24

Join Frequent Flyers aerial dance company for a high-flying afternoon of dazzling movement. This breathtaking show written and performed by Brice Maiurro combines contemporary dance and spoken word with live violin music performed by Robyn Julyan.

28

THE GOAT EXPERIENCE: CHEVRE CHEESE MAKING AND GOAT FARM TOUR

1-3 p.m. The Art of Cheese, 505 Weaver Park Road, Suite E, Longmont. $65

Learn the basic science of how milk becomes cheese and then see how easy it is to make Chevre — the classic soft goat cheese. Taste some delicious samples and then make your own custom-flavored log of cheese to take home. After cheesemaking class, take a tour of the farm and meet the goats who provided the milk for your cheese.

29

DÍA DEL NIÑO 2023

11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, April 29, BMoCA, 1750 13th St., Boulder. Free

We love our little ones here in Boulder County. That’s why BMoCA is celebrating all children at Día del Niño (Children’s Day), a family-fun blowout including art-making

activities, live dance, musical performances and more. Grab the kiddos and head to the city’s flagship contemporary arts institution for a day that’s all about them.

29-30

BLUEBIRD MUSIC FESTIVAL

2-4 p.m. and 6:30-10 p.m. Sat.-Sun., April 29-30, Macky Auditorium, 1595 Pleasant St., Boulder.

$39-$59

The Bluebird Music Festival is back in the historic Macky Auditorium this weekend, featuring headliners Ben Harper, Watchouse and Shovels & Rope. The festival includes an afternoon Strings & Stories event each day, where performers play a few songs accompanied by storytelling, followed by the main event in the evenings. All-weekend passes are sold out, but you can still snag tickets for afternoon and evening events, both days.

29

THE FRONT RANGE KIDS FILM FESTIVAL

7-9 p.m. Saturday, April 29, The Arts HUB, 420 Courtney Way, Lafayette. $15

The world through a child’s eyes is a beautiful thing. That’s why The Arts HUB welcomes you to check out visual works by both children and adults who “share in this spirit of innocent creativity” at this weekend’s Front Range Kid’s Film Festival — featuring food vendors, activities, photographs, films and more.

29-30

FIREFLY HANDMADE SPRING MARKET

10 a.m.-5 p.m. 1000 block of South Gaylord Street, Wash Park, Denver. Free

Handmade is always better — even if you have to go to Denver to find it. Stop by the Firefly Handmade Spring Market to peruse goods from more than 80 artisans offering a selection of handcrafted wares including ceramics, jewelry, apparel, accessories, home goods, decor and more. Bring the kids and the dogs to shop, grab a bite to eat at one of your favorite restaurants on Gaylord Street, and enjoy music from the Daniella Katzir Band, The Dollhouse Thieves, Many Mountains and Sturz. If you can’t make this market in Denver, never fear: Firefly will host its fall market in Boulder Sept. 22-24 on Pearl Street Mall. 30

POLISH FOLK DANCE GALA

3-5 p.m. Sunday, April 30, Broomfield Auditorium, 3 Community Park Road, Broomfield. $25

Lively and full of joy, Polish folk dance is synonymous with festivity. Lucky for you, Krakowiacy is taking their talents to Broomfield Auditorium on Sunday for a live showcase of this energetic, traditional form of movement.

PLAYBACK THEATRE: WE ARE OUR STORIES

6 p.m. Sunday, April 30, Boulder Jewish Community Center, 6007 Oreg Ave. $25

For 50 years, Playback Theatre has operated with the knowledge that everyone has a story worth sharing. On Sunday, trained actors and musicians want to bring your story to life as audience members share life experiences and performers reenact them on the spot.

1

LES COMMUNITY NIGHTPINBALL & SILENT DISCO

5-8 p.m. Monday, May 1, The Louisville Underground, 640 Main St. $10

Head down to Louisville’s Main Street for a family-friendly evening of fun featuring silent disco with pinball, arcade games and more. Hosted at Tilt Pinball and The Louisville Underground, this is a great opportunity to add a little fun to your Monday night.

JUST DESSERTS: HAZEL MILLER SINGS HER FAVORITE THINGS

2-3:30 p.m. Sunday, April 30, Boulder Public Library - Canyon Theater, 1001 Arapahoe Ave. Free

Ever wonder about the music that inspired Colorado music legend Hazel Miller? She joins Cultural Caravan on Sunday for a performance around the jazz classics that first lit a spark in her — many of which she rarely performs live. You don’t want to miss this one, so register now for this free after-

1LANGUAGE EXCHANGE NIGHT

7-9 p.m. Monday, May 1, Trident Cafe, 940 Pearl St., Boulder. Free

Trident Booksellers and Cafe welcomes you to this once-weekly gathering to polish up on whatever language you’re learning in a warm, comfortable environment. Trident hosts a number of fluent speakers for you to practice with. All proficiency levels are welcome.

LIVE MUSIC

SHIFT WITH BARNACLE BOI 8:30 p.m. Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom, 2637 Welton St., Denver. $21

PIXIE & THE PARTYGRASS BOYS 9 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. $14

FRIDAY, APRIL 28

VAMPA WITH SAMI G, RSENIK AND PLANET BLOOP 9 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $20

MOSAIC LEMONADE WITH JESSE MARCUS AND THE SWAN SONG

7:30 p.m. The End Lafayette, 525 Courtney Way. $15

CAS HALEY WITH MIKEY PAUKER

9 p.m. Velvet Elk Lounge, 2037 13th St., Boulder. $17

SUNDAY, APRIL 30

TREVOR HALL AND THE GREAT IN-BETWEEN THE CALIFORNIA HONEYDROPS AND BAY LEDGES

6 p.m. Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre, 18300 W. Alameda Parkway, Morrison. $60

RUBY WATERS WITH CHANDRA DESANTIS 8 p.m. Bluebird Theater, 3317 E. Colfax Ave., Denver. $23

THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS WITH WILD PINK 8 p.m. Gothic Theatre, 3263 S. Broadway, Englewood. $36. STORY ON P. 15

SARAH LEE GUTHRIE 8 p.m. Chautauqua Auditorium, 900 Baseline Road, Boulder. $49

TUESDAY, MAY 2

ON THE BILL: Connecticut emo revivalists The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die stop at Bluebird Theater on May 5 with support from Worlds Greatest Dad and Dreamwell. The show comes on the heels of the band’s latest Epitaph release, Illusory Walls See listing for details.

THURSDAY, APRIL 27

DEAD PIONEERS 7 p.m. Longmont Cultural Center, Stewart Auditorium, 400 Quail Road. $18

ON THE DOT WITH TWO PUMP CHUMP, THE GALENTINES AND SHORT ON TIME 8 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $18

GORGON CITY WITH DJ SEINFELD, FRANKY WAH, KOROLOVA AND YULIA NIKO 6 p.m. Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre, 18300 W. Alameda Parkway, Morrison. $50

MK WITH HUGO FRANCISCO, LEVYL, SKI PATROL AND HAMMER HYPE 8 p.m. Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St. $30

DONOVAN WOODS & HENRY JAMISON WITH ISABEL PLESS

7:30 p.m. Bluebird Theater, 3317 E. Colfax Ave., Denver. $20

SUBLIME WITH ROME, BONE THUGS-N-HARMONY AND THE IRIE 7 p.m. Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre, 18300 W. Alameda Parkway, Morrison. $50

DEREK DAMES OHL 6 p.m. BOCO Cider, 1501 Lee Hill Drive, Unit 14, Boulder. Free

SNAKEHIPS WITH VEGGI, LEVI DOUBLE U AND SISS 9 p.m. Ogden Theatre, 935 E. Colfax Ave., Denver. $25

WHITECHAPEL, ARCHSPIRE, ENTHEOS AND SIGNS OF THE SWARM 8 p.m. Gothic Theatre, 3263 S. Broadway, Englewood. $30

THE BEACHES. 7 p.m. Marquis Theater, 2009 Larimer St., Denver. $15

JOHN BUTLER 8 p.m. Paramount Theatre, 1621 Glenarm Place, Denver. $45

SATURDAY, APRIL 29

AN EVENING WITH BROOKS NIELSEN 8 p.m. Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder. $28

SKRILLEX 7 p.m. Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre, 18300 W. Alameda Parkway, Morrison. $180

TOM PEVEAR 4 p.m. BOCO Cider, 1501 Lee Hill Drive, Unit 14, Boulder. Free

HIPPO CAMPUS WITH GUS DAPPERTON AND CHARLY BLISS 6 p.m. Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre, 18300 W. Alameda Parkway, Morrison. $60

WILDER WOODS WITH ABRAHAM ALEXANDER 7:30 p.m. Bluebird Theater, 3317 E. Colfax Ave., Denver.

RUSTON KELLY WITH BRISCOE. 8 p.m. Gothic Theatre, 3263 S. Broadway, Englewood. $26

WEDNESDAY, MAY 3

JASON ISBELL AND THE 400 UNIT WITH ANGEL OLSEN 7 p.m. Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre, 18300 W. Alameda Parkway, Morrison. $50

THE WORLD IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE & I AM NO LONGER AFRAID TO DIE WITH WORLDS GREATEST DAD AND DREAMWELL. 8 p.m. Bluebird Theater, 3317 E. Colfax Ave., Denver. $25. BW PICK OF THE WEEK

ERIC OTTEM AND VIC DILLAHAY 7 p.m. Dry Land Distillers, 519 Main St., Longmont. Free

ON STAGE:

Alice Walker’s masterful 1982 novel The Color Purple comes to life in a musical adaptation featuring a moving treasure trove of soul, gospel, jazz and blues at the Denver Performing Arts Complex through May 7. See listing for details. (Image: Maiesha McQueen and the cast of The Color Purple Photo by Jamie Kraus Photography.)

EDEN PRAIRIE, 1971

Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder. Through April 29. $40.

ON VIEW:

Don’t miss the annual Boulder Valley School District High School and Faculty Exhibition on view at the Dairy Arts Center through May 6. Displayed works range from painting, sculpture, digital art, mixed-media, animation and more — all by students and faculty across the BVSD system. (Artwork by Emily Steele)

ON THE SHELF:

The Literary

Ladies in collaboration with East Window Gallery

welcomes four Colorado writers for a curated evening of spoken word.

Jay Halsey, Hillary Leftwich, Claire Corina Stevens and Heather Goodrich will bring a variety of styles — from prose to poetry to points in between — to the NoBo gallery on May 5. See listing below for details.

BVSD HIGH SCHOOL AND FACULTY EXHIBITION Dairy Arts Center, 2590 Walnut St, Boulder. Through May 6. Free. BW PICK OF THE WEEK

HER BRUSH: JAPANESE WOMEN ARTISTS FROM THE FONGJOHNSTONE COLLECTION Denver Art Museum, 100 W. 14th Ave. Parkway. Through May 13. $15

JERRIE HURD: BEYOND THE MALE GAZE BMoCA at Macky, 1595 Pleasant St., Boulder. Through May 26. $2

LASTING IMPRESSIONS. CU Art Museum, 1085 18th St., Boulder. Through June 2023. Free

JEWISH FAMILY CENTER LUNCHEON WITH AUTHOR

MICHAEL LEWIS Noon1:30 p.m. Friday, April 28, Sheraton Downtown Denver Hotel, 1550 Court Place, Denver. $200

CITY SILHOUETTES: A LOCAL WRITER AND ARTIST SHOWCASE 6 p.m. Sunday, April 29, Tattered Cover, 2526 E Colfax Ave., Denver. Free

JULIET WITTMAN: AGAIN AND AGAIN 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 2, Boulder Book Store, 1107 Pearl St. $5

CAT’S CRADLE Broomfield Auditorium, 3 Community Park Road. April 27-29. $25.

STORY ON P. 16

THE COLOR PURPLE The Marvin & Judi Wolf Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex, Speer Boulevard and Arapahoe Street. Through May 7. $25. BW PICK OF THE WEEK

DAMN YANKEES Arvada Center, 6901 Wadsworth Blvd. Through May 7. $45

A GREAT WILDERNESS Benchmark Theatre, 1560 Teller St., Lakewood. Through May 13. $30

AUGMENTED ORGANICS: ELEANOR SABIN, CHERYL COON AND ALEXANDRA CHRISTEN-MUNOZ Firehouse Art Center, 667 Fourth Ave., Longmont. Through June 4. Free

EXPLORATIONS OF RESILIENCE AND RESISTANCE / OUR BACKS HOLD OUR STORIES. 4550 Broadway, Suite C-3B2, Boulder. Through June 28. Free (by appointment only)

ONWARD AND UPWARD: SHARK’S INK CU Art Museum, 1085 18th St., Boulder. Through July 2023. Free

TREASURE TROVE POETRY READING BY LOUISVILLE MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS. 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 3, Boulder Book Store, 1107 St. Free

BONNIE GARMUS: LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY WITH R.L. MAIZES. 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 3, First Congregational Church, 1128 Pine St., Boulder. $10

FRAME LITERARY SALON FEATURING JAY HALSEY, HILLARY LEFTWICH, CLAIRE CORINA STEVENS AND HEATHER GOODRICH 7-9 p.m. Friday, May 5, East Window Gallery, 4550 Broadway, Suite C-3B2, Boulder. Free. STORY ON P. 26

Case

HER DARK MATERIALS

Local author Hillary Leftwich’s memoir spares no one in account of domestic abuse and trauma

Hillary Leftwich wanted her son to know what his first years on Earth were like — and she wanted him to know the whole, unvarnished truth.

A few of those key points: He had an abusive, horrific father. His mother made some big mistakes. And his terrifying epilepsy forced him into devastating treatments that affected him mentally and physically.

In her new memoir, Aura, the Denver-based writer speaks directly to her son throughout the book about this harrowing time.

“I strongly feel as a writer we have a responsibility to our audience, especially when we’re writing creative nonfiction, to be as honest as we can,” Leftwich says. “However, the more important audience is my son. That was my whole motivation behind writing as vulnerable as I can.”

That vulnerability permeates the narrative, as Leftwich crafts a story of pain and struggle that’s at times so unflinching and raw it’s hard not to imagine the toll it took to write.

During the process, she accessed her son’s medical and court records and old photos, some of which are included in the book. These bureaucratic and personal artifacts sit alongside more otherworldly elements, like spells based in folk-magic developed by Leftwich through her experience reading Wiccan texts as a kid in Colorado Springs.

But when it came to revisiting this dark material from more than 10 years ago, she sought out a pair of thera-

pists to help her process the emotions. At the time, she says she had to disassociate or she would have lost her mind.

“To write the book almost felt like an out-of-body experience,” Leftwich says. “Sometimes I can’t believe we made it through all of that.”

The result is the story of a young woman’s life in America as she fends off a vicious man who is also the father of her child — a personal horror told with a specificity and attention to detail that in the end makes it universal.

“When we talk about domestic violence, it’s usually very similar across the board,” Leftwich says. “I wasn’t trying to step outside of that, because nobody wants to be unique in that situation. The only difference is I got out, and there are so many women who don’t.”

SURVIVAL GUIDE

Leftwich considers herself lucky. Domestic violence tends to escalate, with sometimes deadly ends. Yet the author doesn’t make a claim to exceptional strength or any other special attribute that helped her make it out alive.

“It’s more about how women are treated differently in these situations, and how quickly we can vanish and how quickly we’re overlooked,” Leftwich says. “That’s the universal thing I wanted to speak on.”

Normally a fiction writer, Leftwich says she found the memoir form freeing when it came to unpacking the trauma of Aura. It allowed her to be honest with herself and her audience

about a painful and poignant slice of her life.

“If we step into the realm of memoir, we have the same responsibility [as writing fiction],” she says. “We have to write about the world around us, our reaction to it, and how we survived it. I would do it again, even though it was terrifying.”

Leftwich credits her Future Tense publisher Kevin Sampsell with helping her navigate the terror of the writing process. Sampsell is well-known in the indie-lit world for championing authors and helping lesser-known writers find an audience.

“I call him my book doula,” Leftwich says. “He was so crucial. He saw the potential. He had me write about childhood. There was so much more I had to write to make the memoir feel complete.”

On the other side of the process, when she thought about how this book would land, Leftwich ultimately only had one reader in mind.

“It’s about holding myself accountable to my son, and making damn sure he had a good, honest account of what happened to him,” she says. “[I wanted to be] as real as I could for him, because really, it’s just all about him.”

ON THE PAGE: FRAME

Literary Salon featuring Jay Halsey, Hillary Leftwich, Claire Corina Stevens and Heather Goodrich. 7-9 p.m. Friday, May 5, East Window Gallery, 4550 Broadway, Suite C-3B2, Boulder. Free

FOUND SOUNDS

What’s in Boulder’s headphones?

We’re back with a special Record Store Day edition of the latest bestsellers from Paradise Found Records and Music (1646 Pearl St., Boulder). From Boulder favorites Grateful Dead to an alternative studio offering from pop icon Taylor Swift, here’s what flew off the shelves during last weekend’s high holiday for vinyl freaks.

STAFF PICK

Months after The Mars Volta burst back onto the prog-rock scene with their self-titled seventh album, fans have been treated to an acoustic interpretation of the record, Que Dios Te Maldiga Mi Corazon. It would be careless to call this an “unplugged” album, since it transforms a number of tracks into completely new works, its softer edges drawing the band’s Latin roots into sharper focus. Cedric Bixler-Zavala’s abstract lyrics and Omar Rodríguez-López’s time-defying signatures are an acquired taste, but this album challenges any preconceived notions you might have.

— Caitlin Rockett, editor-in-chief

For the complete list of top new local vinyl releases, visit bit.ly/FoundSoundsBW

MAHLERFEST XXXVI MAY 17–21, 2023

LOUD & LIVE

Hear 200 musicians on stage at Macky Auditorium in Mahler's Symphony No. 2 with Wagner's Die Walküre, Act I

Go back in time with Liederabend, a re-created concert from 118 years ago ...and more!*

ALL-AMERICAN

‘Anthony Mann Directs James Stewart’ on The Criterion Channel

There are Hollywood icons, and then there’s James Stewart. He was the guy who told Donna Reed he’d “throw a lasso around the moon” and bring it to her. He convinced more than a few people that a 6-foot-tall rabbit named Harvey was a living, breathing friend. And he was the guy who told the U.S. Congress that “standing up for the little fellow” was something worth fighting for. Everyone knew him as Jimmy,

and few had a negative word to say about him.

But between all those aw-shucks performances, Stewart was capable of portraying an astounding range of characters, and a large part of that was due to his service in World War II. From 1940 to 1945, Stewart flew combat missions over Germany for the Army Air Corp, 20 in all, advancing in rank from private to colonel. While other actors were hocking bonds and

maintaining the front at home, Stewart went to war.

And though he could and would continue to play light comedy throughout his career, a new darkness began to seep into Stewart’s characters and the projects he picked. That’s most evident in the cycle of films he made with director Anthony Mann, eight in all, each featuring varying shades of psychological trauma, cruelty and the recognition that not even Hollywood can always produce a happy ending. And starting May 1, you can stream them on The Criterion Channel in the new program, Anthony Mann Directs James Stewart Mann was an exceptional director for Stewart to partner with. Born in San Diego and educated in New York, Mann made his bones crafting downand-dirty noirs befitting his urban background. The four he made with ace

cinematographer John Alton are some of the best from the movement. But in 1950, Mann left the asphalt jungle for the so-called “frontier” and took to the West with aplomb. That year alone, he made three Westerns, including Winchester ’73, his first with Stewart and arguably one of the best American movies ever made.

Winchester ’73 is about a gun — a rare rifle that’ll shoot true every time. Everyone knows about the legend of the Winchester, and everyone wants it. But death comes to those who hold the rifle, and the Winchester passes from hand to hand like a pox. Lin McAdams (Stewart) tracks the weapon, encountering skirmishes here and bad blood there, all while hunting down Dutch Henry Brown (Stephen McNally), himself hungry for the gun.

Winchester ’73 is fascinating as a movie and an entry in Stewart’s career. Prior to Winchester, the only Western he made was 1939’s Destry Rides Again, with Stewart playing a sheriff who purposely doesn’t wear a gun, choosing to solve his problems with comedic rhetoric rather than a fast draw on Main Street. But that was in 1939 when the U.S. was still taking an isolationist stance on the war in Europe. Eleven years later, Stewart and the movies had a different opinion of things.

You could easily say Stewart was among the best American actors of his or any generation, but you’d be missing the mark. Stewart is America, and tracing his career through the decades functions like a skeleton key for the art and politics of the time. He worked with a lot of great filmmakers in his day, but these eight films with Mann show Stewart at the top of his game, crackling with intensity — sometimes heroic (The Man From Laramie), sometimes manic (The Naked Spur) and sometimes downright romantic (The Glenn Miller Story). For that one, Mann and Stewart came out to Boulder to film scenes on CU’s campus.

ASTROLOGY

ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19): According to a study by Newsweek magazine, 58 percent of us yearn to experience spiritual growth; 33 percent report having had a mystical or spiritual experience; 20 percent of us say we have had a revelation from God in the last year; and 13 percent have been in the presence of an angel. Given the astrological omens currently in play for you Aries, I suspect you will exceed all those percentages in the coming weeks. I hope you will make excellent use of your sacred encounters. What two areas of your life could most benefit from a dose of divine assistance or intervention? There’s never been a better time than now to seek a Deus ex machina. (More info: https://tinyurl.com/GodIntercession)

TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20): After the fall of the Roman Empire, political cohesion in its old territories was scarce for hundreds of years. Then a leader named Charlemagne (747–814) came along and united much of what we now call Western Europe. He was unusual in many respects. For example, he sought to master the arts of reading and writing. Most other rulers of his time regarded those as paltry skills that were beneath their dignity. I mention this fact, Taurus, because I suspect it’s a propitious time to consider learning things you have previously regarded as unnecessary or irrelevant or outside your purview. What might these abilities be?

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20): I’m turning this horoscope over to Nigerian poet Ijeoma Umebinyuo. She has three messages that are just what you need to hear right now.

1. “Start now. Start where you are. Start with fear. Start with pain. Start with doubt. Start with hands shaking. Start with voice trembling but start. Start and don’t stop. Start where you are, with what you have.”

2. “You must let the pain visit. You must allow it to teach you. But you must not allow it to overstay.”

3. “Write a poem for your 14-year-old self. Forgive her. Heal her. Free her.”

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22): Historical records tell us that Chinese Emperor Hongwu (1328–1398) periodically dealt with overwhelming amounts of decision-making. During one ten-day phase of his reign, for example, he was called on to approve 1,660 documents concerning 3,391 separate issues. Based on my interpretation of the planetary omens, I suspect you may soon be called on to deal with a similar outpouring. This might tempt you toward over-stressed reactions like irritation and self-medication. But I hope you’ll strive to handle it all with dignity and grace. In fact, that’s what I predict you will do. In my estimation, you will be able to summon the extra poise and patience to manage the intensity.

LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22): Is it even possible for us humans to live without fear—if even for short grace periods? Could you or I or anyone else somehow manage to celebrate, say, 72 hours of freedom from all worries and anxieties and trepidations? I suspect the answer is no. We may aspire to declare our independence from dread, but 200,000 years of evolution ensures that our brains are hardwired to be ever-alert for danger. Having provided that perspective, however, I will speculate that if anyone could approach a state of utter dauntlessness, it will be you Leos in the next three weeks. This may be as close as you will ever come to an extended phase of bold, plucky audacity.

VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22): “Dear Sunny Bright Cheery Upbeat Astrologer: You give us too many sunny, bright, cheery, upbeat predictions. They lift my mood when I first read them, but later I’m like, “What the hell?” Because yeah, they come true, but they usually cause some complications I didn’t foresee. Maybe you should try offering predictions that bum me out, since then I won’t have to deal with making such big adjustments. —Virgo Who is Weary of Rosy Hopeful Chirpy Horoscopes.” Dear Virgo: You have alluded to a key truth about reality: Good changes often require as much modification and adaptation as challenging changes. Another

truth: One of my specialties is helping my readers manage those good changes. And by the way: I predict the next two weeks will deliver a wealth of interesting and buoyant changes.

LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22): Poet Pablo Neruda wrote, “Let us look for secret things somewhere in the world on the blue shores of silence.” That might serve as a good motto for you in the coming weeks. By my astrological reckoning, you’ll be wise to go in quest for what’s secret, concealed, and buried. You will generate fortuitous karma by smoking out hidden agendas and investigating the rest of the story beneath the apparent story. Be politely pushy, Libra. Charmingly but aggressively find the missing information and the shrouded rationales. Dig as deep as you need to go to explore the truth’s roots.

SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21): We’ve all done things that make perfect sense to us, though they might look nonsensical or inexplicable to an outside observer. Keep this fact in your awareness during the next two weeks, Scorpio. Just as you wouldn’t want to be judged by uninformed people who don’t know the context of your actions, you should extend this same courtesy to others, especially now. At least some of what may appear nonsensical or inexplicable will be serving a valuable purpose. Be slow to judge. Be inclined to offer the benefit of the doubt.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21): I completely understand if you feel some outrage about the lack of passion and excellence you see in the world around you. You have a right to be impatient with the laziness and carelessness of others. But I hope you will find ways to express your disapproval constructively. The best approach will be to keep criticism to a minimum and instead focus on generating improvements. For the sake of your mental health, I suggest you transmute your anger into creativity. You now have an enhanced power to reshape the environments and situations you are part of so they work better for everyone.

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19): In the 17th century, renowned Capricorn church leader James Ussher announced he had discovered when the world had been created. It was at 6 pm on October 22 in the year 4004 BCE. From this spectacularly wrong extrapolation, we might conclude that not all Capricorns are paragons of logic and sound analysis 100 percent of the time. I say we regard this as a liberating thought for you in the coming weeks. According to my analysis, it will be a favorable time to indulge in wild dreams, outlandish fantasies, and imaginative speculations. Have fun, dear Capricorn, as you wander out in the places that singer Tom Petty referred to as “The Great Wide Open.”

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18): We often evaluate prospects quantitatively: how big a portion do we get, how much does something cost, how many social media friends can we add? Quantity does matter in some cases, but on other occasions may be trumped by quality. A few close, trustworthy friends may matter more than hundreds of Instagram friends we barely know. A potential house may be spacious and affordable, but be in a location we wouldn’t enjoy living in. Your project in the coming weeks, Aquarius, is to examine areas of your life that you evaluate quantitatively and determine whether there are qualitative aspects neglected in your calculations.

PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20): “Dear Dr. Astrology: Help! I want to know which way to go. Should I do the good thing or the right thing? Should I be kind and sympathetic at the risk of ignoring my selfish needs? Or should I be a pushy stickler for what’s fair and true, even if I look like a preachy grouch? Why is it so arduous to have integrity? —Pinched Pisces.” Dear Pisces: Can you figure out how to be half-good and half-right? Half-self-interested and half-generous? I suspect that will generate the most gracious, constructive results.

SAVAGE LOVE

DEAR DAN: I’ve begun to think I am a lesbian I’m 29 years old, and I’ve only been with men up to now. The first guy I was with was sexually abusive and convinced me that sexually servicing a man regardless of how I felt was the norm. I carried this into my next decade-long, mostly long-distance relationship with a man, another relationship that involved a general disregard for sexual boundaries. (At one point when I refused PIV to prevent pregnancy, he joked about pinning me down and “just sticking it in.”) I didn’t realize that being happy in a long-term sexual relationship was even possible. The thing is, while remembering most of the sexual things I’ve done disgusts me, and while I find myself uninterested in the male form, I did enjoy making out with someone and being held. But while I am now repulsed by the thought of being with a man, I have no experience with women at this late age and having actively sought out relationships with men makes me think I can’t be gay. Why would I have sought out sex acts which now disgust me? Why did I pursue men if that wasn’t what I wanted?

— Done With Men

DEAR DWM: Lesbianism is not a consolation prize; lesbianism is not a severance package a woman is handed on her way out of a shitty straight relationship. Lesbianism is a romantic and sexual orientation. It’s a positive force — it’s about what (and who) a woman is drawn to, not what (and who) a woman is repulsed by. I mean, think about it… if having shitty relationships with men turned women into lesbians, DWM, there wouldn’t be any straight women left. Hell, if having shitty relationships with men turned people off men generally, DWM, there wouldn’t be any gay

men left either. Straight guys with shitty ex-girlfriends would go gay, lesbians with shitty ex-wives would go straight, and bisexuals wouldn’t know what (or who) to do.

So, after reading your letter, DWM, I have few questions for you: Are you attracted to women? When you think about making out with someone and being held, do you see yourself with a woman? Does the thought of having sex with a woman turn you on? Do you get aroused when you think about going down on a woman, being gone down on by a woman, and doing all the other sexy sex things women do with women? If the answer to each of these questions is “yes,” DWM, then you might be a lesbian.

Many women realize they’re lesbians later in life, DWM, so your experience — years in unsatisfying straight relationships before coming out — wouldn’t be an uncommon one; you wouldn’t be the first lesbian who struggled to dig her authentic homosexuality out from under compulsory heterosexuality. Lots of women go through the motions with men — putting up with their smelly bodies and their vaguely threatening “jokes” about sexual violence before coming to the realization it wasn’t men they wanted at all, or not men they wanted exclusively.

Whether the sun is shining or snow is falling, our little corner of Pearl Street is the perfect place to soak up winter in beautiful Boulder! Feast alongside the jellyfish, sink into a lounge or take a seat at one of our lively bars.

Prefer the great outdoors? Our fireside patios are the coziest place to savor those mild winter days.

When your own couch is calling, all of your favorites are available for curbside pickup too.

No matter how you choose to dine don’t miss our ever-evolving specials, delicious seasonal cocktails, and latest rare whiskey!

TRIPLE TREAT DESTINATION

How a Lafayette eatery dishes everything for everyone all at once

Walking into Button Rock Bakery (400 W. South Boulder Road, Suite 2200, Lafayette), you’re not surprised to find the glazed cream-puff eclairs and frosting-stuffed cookie sandwiches that have made the eatery a dessert lovers’ magnet.

What you don’t expect to encounter is sashimi and nigiri, spot-on reuben sandwiches and eggplant Parm grinders. Not only are they available at Button Rock’s sister counters, Kenny Lou’s Deli and Sushi Bar, but everything on the menu is as fresh and firstclass as the best-selling cupcakes.

Opening a three-headed culinary destination wasn’t necessarily what Button Rock’s owner and pastry chef, Jamie Lachel, had in mind when she searched for a new location.

“This is a former brewery with 7,000 square feet, so it was way too big for just a bakery,” Lachel says.

That led to hiring chef John Bauer to launch Kenny Lou’s Deli.

“It’s an homage to my father. He’s an East Coast guy and loves sandwiches,” Lachel says, meaning Kenny Lou’s menu fuses the best of Jewish and Italian delis.

Even after adding the deli, Lachel still had more space and a bar she didn’t want to remove.

“I [asked] a sushi chef, Jason Gerk, who had just lost his job because of the pandemic, if he wanted to open a sushi bar,” she says.

This culinary mashup works so well because each part of this three-mealsa-day multiverse has separate kitchens and chefs but a shared scratch-made ethos. Besides the bakery’s devotion to fresh ingredients, the deli makes its own corned beef and sauerkraut and smokes lox and turkey. The sushi is made from fresh sushi-grade fish.

“Sometimes we get, ‘Oh, wedding cakes and sushi in the same place?’

But each has its own kitchen,” Lachel says.

When you walk in, the sushi bar is on your left, in the middle is the deli, and to the right is the bakery. “I like to think of this as a bodega where you can get a lot of different things,” Lachel says as she sits near glass cases filled with grab-and-go soups, sushi rolls, cookies, salads, mac and cheese and Korean barbecue ribs.

Button Rock’s plethora of offerings caters well to busy families with diverse palates: “I’m a mom with two kids — 8and 9-year-olds. I understand about not having enough time,” Lachel says. Nevertheless, she’s still very much handson at the bakery, especially when it comes to making and delivering the bakery’s wedding cakes.

Button Rock is not one of those cookieonly TikTok bakeries; it’s a classic neighborhood bakery connected to people’s lives.

“Lafayette feels like a tight-knit community. It feels palpable,” Lachel says. “I love seeing the same families for birthdays and weddings and watching kids grow up.”

The roster of baked goods ranges from breakfast pastries and chocolate chip cookies to macaroons, scones and gluten-free, vegan and dairy-free options.

Kenny Lou’s deli menu is equally expansive, offering more than 65 sandwich and burger options and all-day breakfast.

The nearly perfect, East Coast-style reuben sandwich layers house-made corned beef and sauerkraut with Emmental cheese and Thousand Island dressing on grilled rye bread. It comes with the traditional half-spear sour pickle and hot-from-the-fryer fries.

Button Rock is located in The District, a sprawling interior mini-mall with food businesses. Lachel recommends also visiting OTIS Coffee and Nok’s Donuts. Customers can eat inside the bakery, on a patio or at tables inside the mall.

Button Rock’s owner is a huge fan of the burgeoning Lafayette food community and eateries like Tangerine, Casian Seafood and Acreage.

“I respect the hell out of anyone doing food service,” she says. “I love going to the other Lafayette bakeries. Jeannot’s Patisserie is outrageously good.” Sweet Bites panaderia is also near Button Rock.

After recently being approved for a liquor license, Button Rock customers can have wine with their éclair, beer with their Nutty Kale Salad (with Marcona almonds and goat cheese) and wash down their Fire In The Sky Roll (with tuna and avocado topped with salmon, tuna and crispy onions) with sake.

By the way, the City of Lafayette is looking for a new civic slogan by April 30. May we suggest “City of a Hundred Flavors”?

HOME COOK CLASSES WITH ESCOFFIER

LOCAL FOOD NEWS: OUT-OF-THISWORLD CIDER

● Yuki Pizza and Wings is open next to Kings Soopers at 385 Crossing Drive in Lafayette.

● Gundruk - Taste of Nepal and India is open at 2770 Arapahoe Road in Lafayette.

● Coming soon: MECO Coffee Collective, 1280 Centaur Village Drive, Lafayette.

● Condé Nast Traveler recently featured Lafayette as one of The Best Small-Town Day Trips from Denver. Food destinations mentioned include East Simpson Coffee Company, Teocalli Cocina, Community and Acreage by Stem Ciders

● Acreage is now serving

Capstone, Stem Ciders’ hoppy release with raspberry and Meyer lemon crafted in collaboration with Advanced Space to honor NASA’s Artemis missions.

AWARD-WINNING AND BOULDER COUNTY-CRAFTED

If you wonder what the best tasting foods and beverages in the United States are like, simply sample the following local products, which beat out hundreds of others to win at the 2023 Good Food Awards: Pastificio Heirloom Wheat Campanelle (Boulder), Dry Land Distillers’ Cactus Spirit (Longmont), Stem Ciders’ Carrot-Ginger-Turmeric Cider (Lafayette), Willoughby Bourbon Barrel Aged Honey (Rollinsville), Bibamba Noir Classic and Pate au Chocolat (Denver), Healthy by Design Kimchi Pickles (Broomfield), and Mountain Girl Pickles’ Corn Relish (Boulder). See other Colorado winners: goodfoodfdn.org

NIBBLES INDEX: 493 STARBUCKS

It’s not your imagination. There has been a frappuccino invasion. Colorado ranks fourth after Oregon, Washington and Nevada as one of the most Starbucks-heavy states, according to the price-tracking website pricelisto.com. Colorado boasts 493 Starbucks, or about 3.11% of all U.S. shops. No statistics were provided detailing how many of the state’s Starbucks are unionized, or planning to unionize.

WORDS TO CHEW ON: BREAKFAST RULES

“Popcorn for breakfast! Why not? It’s a grain. It’s like grits, but with self-esteem.” — James Patterson

Lehndorff hosts Radio Nibbles on KGNU and administers the pastry-centric Facebook group Global Pie Society at: facebook.com/ groups/piekind

SAMOSA SHOPPIN’

Chef Dave Hadley builds a new menu for the latest Rosetta Hall stall

Dave Hadley’s voice is hard to miss. Folks have probably heard it booming through the farmers market since the chef opened his roving stall, Samosa Shop, a few years back. Or they may have caught it in their own home, during one of Hadley’s appearances on Food Network mainstays Chopped or Supermarket Stakeout.

Wherever it was, Hadley was surely evangelizing the cuisine of Southern India. He speaks a mile a minute, with slang that quickly reveals his East Coast origins. Born and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey, Hadley developed an early love for cooking. With a combined 12 aunts and uncles, he was exposed to the controlled chaos of entertaining from an early age.

“Hospitality has always been at the forefront of my family. I just didn’t realize that was the word until later,” he says.

In 2010, Hadley began attending the Culinary Institute of America. “My parents tried to convince me not to go to cooking school,” he says with a laugh. But their attempt at sabotage went largely unnoticed, masked by an indomitable conviction. He’s since cooked at Mark Fischer’s Six89 in Carbondale, at

Biju’s Little Curry Shop in Denver, as well as running a year-long stint at Gaggan Anand’s famed two Michelinstar Indian eatery in Bangkok.

In August of 2020, he launched Samosa Shop. The project saw Hadley peddling thousands of samosas at markets largely around Denver, and gained traction at the many socially distanced events that sprang up that summer. Some of his stock leaned traditional, with choices like saag, vegan potato and tandoori chicken. There were also more outlandish flavors like the bacon and egg breakfast option.

“There’s a business and then there’s passion food. That middle ground you gotta work for,” Hadley says. “No wonder my samosas take seven fuckin’ hours.”

He will be relaunching the concept at both Boulder and City Park farmers markets beginning Saturday, May 6.

“Indian food has always been happening in America,” he says. “My goal is to educate people that there’s another idea than what Indian food is perceived as.”

On Wednesday, April 26, Hadley opened India in the Chameleon stall at Rosetta Hall. Over the course of the previous month, he acted as consulting

chef, producing an eight-item menu and developing systems so that staff could execute the dishes in his absence. He taught a spice class and introduced cooks to a vocabulary they could use at India’s Grocery on 28th Street where he sources many of the ingredients he uses for Samosa Shop.

The dishes all arrive with the highmindedness that befits the chef’s pedigree. But it’s also memory-drenched home cooking, with details recalling the cuisine of Hadley’s mother and grandmother who grew up in the southwestern state of Kerala.

“Dave is just so charismatic,” says Sarah Beckwith, Rosetta’s director of operations. “He brings so much passion about the cuisine that only someone who knows it intimately could.”

The menu is divided between four small plates and four robust mains. It’s essential to start with the pea and potato samosas, a plate of three that uses the same recipe that has made Samosa Shop such a powerhouse. From there the Cauliflower 65 is a good play, repur-

posing the classic dish made famous by the Hotel Buhari, Chennai, for a vegetarian crowd. Most dishes come topped with fresh and sautéed curry leaves, and everything is genuinely remarkable.

The star of the stellar lineup is the lamb vindaloo that comes atop a bed of upma, a grits-like porridge that tastes like buttered popcorn.

“It’s my ode to Americana, but still from India,” Hadley says.

While Hadley admits he will not likely be particularly boots-on-the-ground with the Rosetta Hall project, the cooking is in good hands with Chef Mike Sullivan, who has been running the show across the concepts for more than two years. It’s currently open Tuesday through Saturday for dinner, though there are plans to shift the schedule to seven days a week come July 1. Beckwith says the project has no set end date. The team plans to run it through the summer, with Beckwith noting that it could potentially become a permanent fixture if the demand is there.

THE PSYCHEDELIC SUCCULENT

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, mescaline had a real shot at being accepted as a medicinal and therapeutic substance. The psychedelic molecule is most often associated with peyote, the spineless, button-shaped cactus native to Mexico and the Southwestern U.S. that has been used ceremonially by Native Americans for centuries.

And now in the state of Colorado, mescaline is getting a second shot. Even though, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), it’s a Schedule I narcotic with “a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted

medical use in treatment in the United States, and a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision.”

That classification is being challenged by recent research. With the passage of Proposition 122, mescaline was legalized in this state alongside psilocybin, psilocin, DMT, and ibogaine. And by 2026, state-certified clinics will be able to offer mescaline therapy legally.

The first recorded evidence of mescaline use comes from the Inca and Aztecs more than 5,000 years ago. And they weren’t just eating peyote buttons.

Enter: Peruvian Torch (Echonopsis peruviana), Bolivian Torch (Echonopsis

boliviana), and San Pedro Cactus (Echonopsis pachanoi). These common — federally legal — cacti are often found in garden stores, nurseries and personal cacti collections. And like their cousin peyote, they are packed with mescaline. San Pedro, Bolivian and Peruvian Torch were the preferred cacti of consumption for the Inca. Their gods were regularly depicted holding cuttings and their priests and shaman would regularly ingest them.

The Aztecs were similarly fond of mescaline. They took peyote as a warrior sacrament, believing it to be a protective plant. The Aztecs accessed it through their northern neighbors, the Huichol Native Americans of Mexico’s western Sierra Madre mountains.

When the Spanish arrived, missionaries tried, unsuccessfully, to stamp out peyote use. In fact, peyote use was unintentionally spread following colonization, as the U.S. government pushed Plains Indians into reservations in the southwestern U.S. where peyote grows naturally, and where other Native tribes already had a history of ceremonial ingestion.

By the mid-1800s, more North American tribes were using peyote than prior to the arrival of European colonizers. By the late 1800s the Native American Church (NAC) was founded. Its members are still protected by the Constitution to use peyote for spiritual practices. Today the NAC has more than 230,000 members spanning geography, reservations and tribes.

Around the same time as the founding of the NAC, pharmaceutical companies and researchers started to take an

interest in mescaline. In 1893, ParkeDavis drug company began offering a peyote tincture as a respiratory stimulant and heart tonic. Two decades later, pharmacologists in New York City ran a trial investigating whether the drug could offer insight into schizophrenia. In 1919, German pharmaceutical company Merck started marketing it.

Then came World War II and research motivations changed. Nazi physician Kurt Plötner (later recruited by the CIA for MK-Ultra) experimented with mescaline on concentration camp prisoners as a “truth serum.”

By the 1970s, mescaline was being actively persecuted by the U.S. government’s new “war on drugs.”

However, research published in the journal SAGE Chronicle in 2021 surveyed 452 respondents on their experiences with mescaline and concluded that it “may produce a psychedelic experience that is associated with the spiritual significance and improvements in the mental health with low potential for abuse.”

Another study published in 2021 found that “naturalistic use of mescaline is associated with ... psychiatric improvements and enduring positive life changes.”

Where the history of this distinctly American psychedelic goes now is largely up to us, here in Colorado. Several other states, counties, and municipalities across the U.S. have legalized or decriminalized mescaline possession. But Colorado is the only one slated to certify mescaline clinics to administer state-sanctioned psychedelic-assisted therapy.

Mescaline has a 5,000-year history of use — Colorado will help define its future