Dualakoo (Photo credit: Rich Pearce)
Last weekend I had the chance to get out of Aspen and go to the big city (well, Grand Junction, Colorado ) for a couple of days to celebrate my grandson’s 6th birthday.
Serendipitously, my stepson’s band, Dualakoo, also happened to be performing at a place called Cruisers Bar the night before the big birthday bash. I was excited about the party, but I was also happy about the opportunity to listen to Stephen’s band play. Although I had seen him perform several times when he was in high school (Battle of the bands in Basalt, Colorado.), I hadn’t heard his music in a long time.
When we arrived at Cruisers, formerly a mainstay of North Avenue in Grand Junction but now rocking out Horizon Drive, we found it to be casually friendly and inviting – busy, but not uncomfortably packed. The lively crowd eagerly waited for the band to start as a cowbell periodically signaled a good tip arriving in the bartenders’ till.
While Dualakoo checked their sound, I wondered what kind of music we might be in for. Online, they are described as everything from “Sublimish”, “Alternative Rock”, “like Mystic Roots”, and “90’s rock” (whatever that is). I also remembered that at one time Stephen had thrown around the names of some specific bands that they covered, but I’m still stuck in the 60’s through 80’s rock, blues, and blues rock era, so it didn’t help me out too much.
During the show, they did play some of that Alternative, Sublimish, Mystic Roots, 90’s rock stuff, but they also entertained the mixed-age, but mostly 20-something crowd with an eclectic mix of danceable tunes by The Beatles, Bob Marley, Michael Jackson, The Jackson Five, and some well-received originals. The fan favorite seemed to be “Colorado”, an original, playful, Reggae-style tribute to their home state.
To me, all of it was funky, groovy, high-energy music that everyone seemed to enjoy, and after an hour or so, the festive (and somewhat tipsy) crowd entertained us as well. In fact, our front-row seating allowed us a great view of some interesting, although sometimes over exuberant, dance performances.
Before we knew it, it was getting late, and even though we didn’t want to, we left before the band finished playing because I had to get my rest before taking on the grandkid’s birthday party the next day. I was happy -- it had been a very fun and entertaining show.
Speaking of entertaining, the birthday party the next day was a hoot – nine energetic, over-“sugarfied” munchkins testing out the new presents and playing video games (and I thought the Cruiser’s crowd was rowdy)!
I don’t get to Grand Junction all that often and I typically do not fare well against six and unders in video games, but I have another grandson there with a birthday coming up next month! When I go to the next party, I think I’ll make it a point to visit some other live music venues while I’m there. Maybe I’ll even try to familiarize myself with some of that 90’s rock (and practice some video games) before I go.
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