Reverend Friendly, street poet, dies at 76

Laverne Lobdell, the heavily bearded, silver-tongued street poet known as Reverend Friendly, who haunted Boulder’s open mics for decades, died on Jan. 7. He was 76.

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In the heart of Cirque du Soleil

Boulder Weekly dives into the company’s Montreal headquarters and gets a behind-the-scenes look at how it all happens

Put the name of Quebec billionaire Guy Laliberté, the mercurial founder of Cirque du Soleil, into YouTube, and the first result isn’t circus-related but a six-and-a-half-minute clip from a high-stakes game of Texas Hold ’em.

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Inside the heads of circus performers

Cirque du Soleil's resident 'performance psychologist' explains what makes circus artists tick

A typical Cirque du Soleil show is a long way from the “Greatest Show on Earth” of the early 1900s. Gone is the ringmaster entreating you to step right up and see a fabulous variety show, and animals and sideshows are nowhere to be seen. The Big Top, that is, the tent where it all goes down, is no longer a requirement either.

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A tale of two predators

Former Denver Post reporter Amy Herdy reflects on her relationship with serial rapist Brent Brents

In 1989, a jury found Brent Brents, then 18, guilty of raping two children. He spent the next 15 years in jail, and when he got out in July 2004, he went on a terrifying rampage, raping and assaulting dozens of men, women and children until his capture in February 2005.

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Writing a new ending for Boulder's chronically homeless

Complex issues confront the homeless and their community

The 76-year-old man who calls himself Reverend Friendly walks with a shuffled gait. Old age and decades of heavy, indiscriminate drinking have reduced his mobility considerably. His long, white beard flows down to his chest, and his eyelids droop heavily over his eyes, giving him the appearance of being permanently sleepy, or at least squinting.

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Hopped with love

What to get a beer-lover for the holidays

What do you get for the beer lover in your life that has everything? Or more appropriately, has tried every Kolsch, Baltic porter and barleywine money can buy?

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Learning the trance

Otis Taylor teaches his flavor of blues at workshop

In November 2010, Otis Taylor, Boulder’s grizzled guitar-wielding and banjo-slinging statesman of the blues, found himself with some rare time off between bouts of playing his signature trance blues in Europe. The 11-time Blues Music Awards winner decided to bring to reality an idea he’d been kicking around for awhile: Host an inclusive workshop teaching people how to play his style of music. If it’s successful, then build on it. If not, no harm done.

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Tonight's Ra Ra Riot show cancelled

Openers Delicate Steve, Yellow Ostrich to play Shug's tonight

Ra Ra Riot has cancelled tonight's show at the Fox Theatre due to illness.

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When talent and influence aren't enough

Fishbone film tells story of pioneering African American punk band

Fishbone is one of those bands that doesn’t belong to one particular genre, prompting critics and listeners to over-hyphenate when describing the band. Ska, punk, metal, reggae and funk all found their way into the Fishbone stew, which made the group members somewhat outsiders as the band paid its dues in South Central Los Angeles as hip-hop was becoming a cultural phenomenon. "Everyday Sunshine" tells the sometimes tragic, often-funny story of Fishbone, a band from Los Angeles that influenced many, yet never found a way to mainstream success.

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Breaking the mold

Mastodon refuses to make metal from a formula

After beginning its career playing basements and sleeping in vans, Atlanta-based metal outfit Mastodon has, over the course of its roughly decade-long career, become one of the most important and dominating metal bands in the country.

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