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Written by Dan England
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Tuesday, 27 May 2008 |
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There was a time once when Mishawaka was a place to shake the Poudre River out of your wetsuit, soothe the pain of your sunburn with a Coors Light and maybe grab a burger after you burned your steak to charcoal on the campground grill.
What else would a bar up the Poudre Canyon next to some of the river’s more well-traveled rapids be good for?
Well, now it still is all that, but it’s grown into one of the most unique and well-respected venues for live music in northern Colorado and probably the whole state. Mishawaka, after all, takes one of the natural beauties of Colorado, in this case the Poudre Canyon and the river next to the bar, and frames it into a cool place to listen to music.
No wonder some call it the Red Rocks of northern Colorado.
“The goal is to provide a unique concert setting that also helps people experience the quality recreational opportunities the place has to offer,” said Sean MacAskill, spokesman for the venue.
Artists apparently are taking notice. Mishawaka isn’t going to draw in the superstars that Red Rocks gets, of course, but a venue of 900 isn’t going to attract, say, U2. It will attract a number of artists that fit the venue’s mission of providing cutting-edge funk, bluegrass, electronica, jam bands and reggae with some top-notch all-day music festivals.
Past artists who have played there include Mark Cohn, O.A.R., Ozomatli, The Reverend Horton Heat, The Samples, Ziggy Marley, the Indigo Girls and G. Love and the Special Sauce. This year’s summer music slate includes a two-day reggae festival, the Drive-By Truckers and Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Famer George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic.
“There is no specific act we’re looking for,” MacAskill said. “We’re just looking for good music.”
The venue began booking acts and emphasizing live music six years ago and expanded its dinner menu to make the Mishawaka a place to spend a weekend and not just a place to chug a beer after a rafting trip. The menu offers steak, shrimp and chicken dishes, served as dinners or lunches. The idea is to encourage patrons to make an evening of it.
Others make a weekend of it, choosing to camp in the public spots or at one of the many private campgrounds and lodging establishments that dot the canyon. That fact, and the music choices, may lead you to believe Mishawaka is populated by those taking a break from following the Grateful Dead or the Phish members around the country, but it’s not just a place for modern hippies. The menu, after all, is a touch red state, with “freedom” fries, for instance, and a double, full-pound burger “for those who don’t mess around.”
Now the place can’t boast of a huge arena, but it can point to the Poudre rushing by the stage as a way to draw acts into the Mishawaka spell.
“I think the location definitely helps,” MacAskill said. “Many of the artists tell us they want to return because of the location. I think that’s what they’re looking for.”
In fact, Mishawaka wants to offer a place to get away and wipe away life’s blahs, just like the river that runs by it.
“It’s almost an escape for people,” he said. “I think what we’d like to do every time is provide a multi-sensory concert experience for whoever else may find themselves in Colorado.”
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