The grass is bluer...
Back for its 20th year, the three-day Durango Bluegrass Meltdown begins today. There is the usual stellar lineup of local, regional and national bands – and some gospel thrown in. Never mind the old joke about running faster when you hear banjos – in Durango, people run toward them. It’s what makes this annual festival so successful. Besides concerts and bar gigs, the festival offers jam, workshops, a Celtdown and a Durango-style barn dance. For more information, visit www.durangomeltdown.com.
Tao of Bluegrass
Speaking of bluegrass ... The timely showing of the documentary “The Tao of Bluegrass – A Portrait of Peter Rowan” will be screened at noon Sunday. It’s sponsored by the Four Corners Film Office. Pagosa Springs filmmaker Christine Funk looks at the artistic and spiritual endeavors of Rowan. In the mid-1960s, Rowan played in the band Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys, during which his fascination with world music and Buddhist meditation practice steered him to collaborate with other musicians. After the film, Funk will answer questions about the filmmaking process. Tickets are $10 online or at the door, and $8 for Bluegrass Meltdown ticket holders. Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Drive, www.animascitytheatre.com, 799-2281.
When basketball helps you survive
Looking beyond the weekend ... Durango Community Cinema will screen the film “Medora” at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Durango Discovery Museum. The film follows the down-but-not-out Medora Hornets varsity basketball team over the course of the 2011 season, capturing their stories both on and off the court. Riding a brutal losing streak when the film begins, the team’s struggle to complete bears eerie resemblance to the Indiana town’s fight for survival. It’s an underdog basketball story and a take of a community that refuses to give up hope despite the odds stacked against them. After the film, Jim Cross, associate professor of exercise science at Fort Lewis College, will lead a community discussion about it. Cross teaches courses in exercise physiology, sport sociology, coaching, sports ethics, sport in film and the science of sport performance. Cross coached basketball for 25 years beginning at a prep school in New York City then for five years at Colorado College and 10 years at FLC.
Does your baby got back?
Do you like big butts? Sir Mix-a-Lot said that no fewer than a million (or two) times in 1992 as one of pop’s monster acts and when the nation got its ultimate booty call. The rap spawned an appreciation of big-bottomed girls – even if its underlying tone was a mockery of airhead women – while also sparking a cultural debate of race, sex and the objectification of women. Still, the song shot to the top of the charts, and rap apologists everywhere helped it stay there for five weeks. Which is why it’s hard to think of anything notable Sir Mix-a-Lot did after that. And which is why it is even harder to wonder what else he’ll sing when he performs a full show at Animas City Theatre on Thursday. Suffice it to say it’s a small miracle that some manager somewhere has lured Sir Mix-a-Lot to reprise “I like big butts” for a multi-city tour. But here’s the real shocker: This summer, the Seattle Symphony will perform newly composed pieces inspired by Sir Mix-a-Lot, and he’ll get a chance to boost his image when raps with the orchestra. “Oh ... my ... gawd, Becky!”
Step into it
If you’ve ever wanted to learn to tango, you have many chances each week. Durango Tango holds informal tango practice, with instruction available, 4:30-6:30 p.m. Sundays at Durango Dance, 1120 Main Ave., 769-5519, www.tangodurango.com.
