Sancho's Shakedown Street 4.20 Celebration

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Sancho's Broken Arrow
Denver, CO

Words & Photo By J-man
Audio By Corey Sandoval (Kind Recordings)

Shakedown Street Live at Sancho's Broken Arrow on April 20, 2013.



What better occasion than the high holy day of April 20th to get together in the parking lot of the mile high city's premier counterculture bar for a 4:20 PM smoke out? Unlike the violent scene of gunfire that erupted at Civic Center Park, the peace was kept at Sancho's Broken Arrow just blocks away. Entering through Sancho's main entrance on Colfax Ave. I was greeted with a smile by Sancho's/Quixote's staple and my good friend, John. The energy was fantastic as folks bounced around the crowded bar with smiles on their faces and bells on their shoes. The party atmosphere carried all of the way to rear of the venue, into the parking lot that was fenced in and secured for the festivities. Familiar faces mingled among merch and beer/alcohol vendors. A stage was brought in for the get down and as the 4:20 mark on the clock approached, Grateful Dead cover band, Shakedown Street, scrambled to set up. The thought of a Dead cover band running late at Sancho's seemed all to fitting. As 4:20 came and went the stark contrast between the celebrating stoners and the police station that shared the same fence line, was a dynamic in which I have never personally experienced. Police looked on downwind as they came and went from their precinct. With The Fillmore in the background, The String Cheese Incident played loudly through the speakers.

Just prior to the set starting, owner Jay Bianchi stepped up to the mic to say a few words about how "we're taking over state by state," with the best quote coming in the form of this gem; "The people have spoken... and they are high!" Shakedown Street hit the stage about 35 mins late and jumped right into "Sugar Magnolia!" The atmosphere was extremely unique with folks clearly in a hazy daze as they got down. Shakedown street sounded as consistent as always. With solid instrumentation and average vocals, the band powered through several fan favorites. Shakedown's following got down as if they were seeing the Grateful Dead, as I reflected on how grateful I was to have a character like Jay Bianchi in my town...

www.shakedownstreetband.com

www.facebook.com/pages/Sanchos-Broken-Arrow

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