'90s alt grunge icons & sticky sweet Latin dance
Sure, you may have to work a little for these hot springs, but the reward is well worth the effort

Remember the early ’90s, back when grunge ruled the rock universe? Lost upon many music fans of that decade was what was happening on the rootsier side of alternative music. In the Midwest, Uncle Tupelo laid the groundwork for what would become alternative country music. Out in California, roots rockers like the Beat Farmers and Los Lobos expanded the horizon of what the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers started more than two decades earlier. It was there, in the fertile Los Angeles sand, that two transplants from Mississippi – guitarist Roger Stevens and bassist Brad Smith – met vocalist Shannon Hoon, who had moved to California from Lafayette, Ind., in 1990, hell-bent on forming a band. The trio soon added guitarist Christopher Thorn and another Mississippian, drummer Glen Graham, and Blind Melon was born. 

You certainly know at least one Blind Melon tune, the catchy, poppy “No Rain” from its eponymous debut released in 1992. It came on the heels of Hoon’s backing vocal performance on Guns N’ Roses’ “Don’t Cry” and other songs from GNR’s “Use Your Illusion I & II” records. Other Blind Melon singles followed, including “Tones of Home” and a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Out on the Tiles.” Their follow-up album, “Soup,” also charted, and opening slots on tours by Soundgarden, Ozzy Osbourne and GNR introduced them to hundreds of thousands of people.

The trouble was, Blind Melon wasn’t a hard rock or grunge band. Their sound was always swampier, with elements of southern rock, blues and country. Hoon’s voice was powerful, raspy and melodic, comparable to Janis Joplin’s. While critics and fans were slowly coming around, the “No Rain” video, their second single from the debut album, blew up on MTV. Featuring the “Bee Girl” character, it propelled the song to the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Then it all came crashing down. Hoon battled a drug addiction. Shortly after he was released from rehab in ’95, he was found dead of a cocaine overdose on the band’s tour bus in New Orleans. Blind Melon forged on for the next few years before breaking up in ’99. Capitol Records released a greatest hits package in the early 2000s that sold much better than anticipated. A reunion was inevitable, and vocalist Travis Warren joined in 2006. Their latest tour finds them at the Sky Ute Casino in Ignacio at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Music snobs often relegate Blind Melon to the same pop-rock scrap heap as the Gin Blossoms, Spin Doctors and Hootie & the Blowfish. I never understood this sentiment, and gleefully recollect that era by revisiting my dusty CD collection. I’ll be damned if someone is going to tell me that “No Rain,” “Hey Jealousy,” “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong” and “Only Wanna Be with You” aren’t relevant. Call them guilty pleasures if you must. The music still resonates. In the case of Blind Melon, I’d argue that they were ticketed for superstardom had Hoon beaten his addiction.

On the local music front, Liver Down the River and Elder Grown team up for back-to-back nights at the Animas City Theatre Monday and Tuesday. Liver is a funky, grassy sextet that’s on the verge of breaking out on the national scene. Elder Grown plows the fertile soil where funk meets rock, pop and hip-hop. Doors open at 7:30 p.m., with music starting at 8:30 each night.

Latin band Jarabe Mexicano plays the Concert Hall at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, with the dance floor sure to be busy. Two summers ago, Music in the Mountains head honcho Angie Beach and I booked Jarabe Mexicano as the penultimate band for the annual KSUT Party in the Park. While the headliners, New Orleans’ Stooges Brass Band, were certainly danceable, Jarabe’s music resonated with the crowd. Based in San Diego, members of Jarabe (which translates to syrup in Spanish) live and work on both sides of the border, bringing a slew of traditional and contemporary elements to their sound.

The national touring folk-rock duo You Knew Me When lands at Ska Brewing for tonight’s (Thurs., Oct. 26) Ska-B-Q. The husband-and-wife duo of Cie (guitar) and Karisa (piano, ukulele, glockenspiel and percussion) is based in our fair state but regularly tours the Midwest, East Coast and South. Their third and newest record is “Into the Looking Glass,” released earlier this year. Both their album and live show blend singer-songwriter soul with rock & roll mentality. They’ll also perform Friday at Mancos Brewing. A look at their schedule shows nearly all of their Colorado dates the next four months at top shelf breweries and distilleries, so these folks are kindred boozy spirits of mine.

The Balcony Backstage celebrates its anniversary Saturday night with food and drink specials all day and music from Slowdraw at 4:30 p.m. and Space Wail at 9:30. It also hosts a Halloween party on Tuesday with the jazzy funk of Bacon at 8. Friday’s slate included Red Eyed Djinn at 5:30 and High County Hustle at 9:30.

Speaking of Halloween, the social highlight of the year for kids 10 and younger happens downtown from 4-6 Tuesday afternoon when the Durango Business Improvement District, Chamber of Commerce and Southwest Sound host their annual children’s trick-or-treating event. More than 80 businesses will participate this year (identified by pumpkin signs in the window), meaning little ghouls and goblins will fill suitcase-size bags with Snickers and the like. My spawn, dressed as a stormtrooper and a cowgirl, respectively, will follow this free-for-all with a trek down Third Avenue, supplying Shelly and me with copious amounts of late-night snacks for the foreseeable future.

The Be Frank Foundation hosts their fifth annual Frank N’ Stein fundraiser from 1-6 p.m. Saturday on Mill Street in Bayfield. The event features live music, costume contests, food and a sky-high pumpkin smash. Purchase a commemorative mug and fill it with a pint of local brew from Bottom Shelf and Ska breweries. All proceeds benefit Be Frank, which provides music programming to more than 400 La Plata County youth.

Finally, Black Velvet plays the Derailed Pour House as a trio at 7 p.m. Friday and as a duo for its 6 p.m. gig at the Seven Rivers Steakhouse at the Sky Ute Casino & Resort at 6 p.m. Saturday.

I like watchin’ the puddles gather rain? Email me at chrisa@gobrainstorm.net.