Press

Save your zany external decorating impulses. Zealous students at the University of Colorado at Boulder have a history of rioting and setting couches on fire, which last year prompted the proposal of a citywide ban on outdoor furniture not specifically made for outdoor use (like that charcoal loveseat). But what do you expect from a student body that is perpetually high (at a mile above sea level)? Boulder music drifts toward blissfully spacy noodle-rock – local favorites, The String Cheese Incident and Leftover Salmon – but there are also a handful of underground bands who rail loudly against the city’s borderline psychotic insistence on all things PC – this is the kind of place where pet owners are know as “pet guardians”! It’s all good after happy hour though – pyro frat-boys, hippies, and punks all end up swilling at the same venues.

ALUMNUS: Robert Redford – the leathery Sundance king. His environmental activism garners much approval from his green-leaning alma mater.

RECORD STORE: Albums on the Hill (1128 13th Street) A multilevel store overstuffed with excellent used CDs and vinyl, indie rock and electronic music dominate, but the basement bins are stacked with funk and disco that survived the Shaft era intact.

LOCAL BAND: Cabaret Diosa is a mean amalgam of brass, strings, frilly suits, fake mustaches, and Latin-lovin’ Jewish kids from the Northeast. The nine-person ensemble pays only slightly tongue-in-cheek tribute to Ricky Ricardo and Burt Bacharach.

PLACE TO SEE NATIONAL ACTS: Fox Theatre (1135 13th Street) The Fox regularly features hip-hop acts – Kool Keith, Ludacris, etc. – giving the lily-white crowds an excuse to bust out their skull caps; there’s also an excellent lineup of on-the-rise rock bands. Fun fact: The Fox is a few blocks from the JonBenet Ramsey home.

CONCERT HALL: Tulagi (1129 13th Street) Jam bands with unwieldy names and hand drums are omnipresent, but this is also a regular stop on the indie-punk circuit.

BINGE BAR: The Sink (1165 13th Street) An ancient watering hole that bears the scars of many guzzling generations – pen-and-marker graffiti lines the tables, bathroom stalls, walls, etc.

HIPPIE HANGOUT: Pearl Street Mall Busking and begging are as much a part of Boulder culture as organic produce and complicated sandals.