Recommended: Mural Hunting, Chili Peppers

Tim Van Schmidt | New SCENE

I went hunting in downtown Minneapolis recently. “Mural hunting” that is.

Our first destination was the new Prince mural that towers 100 feet high across the street from the famous First Avenue nightclub where Prince got his start — right along Prince Rogers Nelson Way.

The bright colors accent a swirl of art depicting the rock and soul icon at three different stages in his career.

The walls of First Avenue are also awesome in their own way. The outside walls are festooned with stars chronicling many of the acts who have played there — from Bo Diddley to Rage Against the Machine. Prince gets a gold star.

But we weren’t done mural hunting in Minneapolis. Within only a few blocks of the Prince mural is another full-sized building mural of revered American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Like the Prince work, this one, titled “The times they are a-changin'”, also depicts Dylan at different ages. 

I know downtown Fort Collins has also become rich in murals.  So recently I checked out the Fort Collins Mural Project’s site and found that one of their 2021 projects featured three murals in one location — on the north side of Ace Hardware at 215 S. College.

Here, in just one spot is a brilliant example of the creativity of the art form. One mural is mystical, one is dadaistic and one is just striking with color and graphic beauty.

This is just one mural stop. Downtown Fort Collins itself has a plethora of murals — tucked into corners, splashed across alley walls, stretched across utility boxes, and more. Mural hunting is good in downtown Fort Collins — and Minneapolis.

The Fort Collins Mural Project is scheduled to get back to work on 2022 projects around town on September 10-17.

Chili Peppers: It was kind of a dream live music lineup at the Denver Coliseum one night in 1991, featuring Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins, and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. The Coliseum was jammed tight.

When it was time to take a position in the security pit at the front of the stage to photograph the Chili Peppers, the security guard nearest to me leaned over and said “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.” I laughed thinking this was just a rock and roll joke.

But sure enough, within seconds after the Chili Peppers hit the stage, a body was flying at me feet first, combat boots aimed pretty much right at my head. My security guard friend made good on his word and stopped the human projectile.

I finished up the shoot and returned to my seat only to have a mosh pit explode in the aisle right in front of me. The moshers ended up mowing down several rows of chairs and fans as the Chili Peppers raged. Let’s just say it was a highly charged atmosphere. 

More than thirty years later, The Red Hot Chili Peppers are set to funk up Empower Field at Mile High in Denver on July 23. It will be interesting to see if the extreme carnage of that hot night so long ago still continues.

Live music: James Taylor plays Fiddler’s Green in Denver on July 19 and Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, and Joan Jett rock Coors Field on July 21.

NOCO shows: Rusty 44 continues the Lagoon Summer Concert Series at CSU on July 20, Wendy Woo plays the Foote Lagoon in Loveland on July 21, and James McMurtry will be at the Aggie Theatre in Fort Collins on July 24.

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