Best of JH 2010 Editors Choice: Arts, Entertainment & Sports

Thursday, March 11, 2010

By JH Weekly Staff

Jackson Hole, Wyoming - EDITOR'S CHOICE AWARDS FOR ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND SPORTS

BEST NEW TREND
RedBox
I admit I was suspicious at first. I don’t like sticking my debit card in just any old machine. And $1 for a movie rental … what’s the catch? But count me a Redbox fan. The DVD movie rental kiosks began popping up at McDonald’s restaurants in the Denver area in 2004. Thanks to an estimated 22,000 vending machines nationwide, Redbox now controls 19 percent of the DVD rental market, surpassing even Blockbuster. Jackson-area movie vending machines can be found at Smith’s, Albertson’s, Maverik, McDonald’s, and Hoback Market. Every machine contains some 600 discs; each rented an average 15 times. The trend has some studios seeing red. Warner Brothers just settled a lawsuit with Redbox owners, Bellevue, Wash.-based Coinstar Inc., which will put off their new DVD releases one month before they hit the red boxes. On the plus side, Blu-ray discs will be test-marketed mid-year. – Jake Nichols

BEST POTENTIAL FOR NEW OLYMPIC SPORT
Dog-mushing
There is an embedded mountain culture that all locals share—snow sports, après-ski, plugging in vehicles at night, micro-brew, river sports. Foreign to much of the world, these characteristics define a lifestyle. But further beyond the obvious, and perhaps the smallest of winter subcultures that we get a glimpse of each January, is dog-mushing. Unbeknownst to most, mushers are in the midst of the busiest time of year. The 1,000-mile Yukon Quest finished two weeks ago, the Open World Championship Sled Dog Race starts this week, and the world-famous 1,100-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race begins in early March. Having traveled with the International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race for the last six years, I can attest that the sport is a sheer testament of endurance for dog and human. Apart from the daily competitiveness and logistical demands, it is a gypsy-like, nomadic clan of partitioned kennel trucks with sleds on top, traveling from town to town and helping one another along the way. The  competition and camaraderie blend is heartening. Flip on the TV – should dog mushing be an Olympic sport? – Aaron Davis

BEST STRUGGLING ARTISTS
Teton Artlab
The story of Teton Artlab is a beautiful struggle against indifference, apathy, and an absence of relevant contemporary art. Travis Walker started the Artlab in 2007 because of the lack of exhibition space for local and contemporary artists and the stagnation that existed then at the Art Association. Artlab opened without corporate sponsorship, financial backing, or being taken seriously by the art establishment. The first Artlab was next door to Teton Thai, and it smelled like fish sauce. Teton Artlab was the first to exhibit work by local artists including Sam and Jenny Dowd, Charlotte Potter, Tristan Grezko, Mike Tierney and Ben Carson. Miraculously, the Artlab has managed to grow, and now occupies a space on the third floor of the Center for the Arts. Artlab continues to operate a print shop, exhibit local artists, and teach classes. – Aaron Wallis (Disclaimer: Wallis is a current resident at Teton Artlab).

WORST PLACE TO FIND LIVE MUSIC
Jackson Hole
Before I moved to Jackson, friends of mine would brag about what great music acts came through the valley - Wilco and Sun Volt at the Jackson Hole Music Festival; the pioneers of the coke-rap genre, The Clipse, and The Gza of Wu-Tang Clan performed at the Mangy Moose. Well, I moved here and I have not seen a decent live show since. Brother Ali was OK. The Center for the Arts theater is a great venue, but the booking is sadly un-hip, $500 for Frank Sinatra Jr.? Maybe if they dig up Sammy Davis Jr.’s glass eye and it performs a duet with Frank Jr. Instead of The National, Vampire Weekend, Band of Horses or anybody who is hot in the indie press, the best the Center can do is Bela Fleck. Jam bands are all the same, I get pissed off because I am surrounded by patchouli-reeking trustifarians. Can somebody please pick up a copy of The Fader or Filter and bring somebody cool to Jackson, or at least someone who was cool 10 years ago? – Aaron Wallis

BEST ATTEMPT AT KEEPING THE MUSIC GOING
Indie Promoters
“People joining hand in hand / while the music played the band. / Lord, they’re setting us on fire.”  – from the Grateful Dead song, “The Music Never Stopped,” written by Bob Weir and Wyoming’s own John Perry Barlow. Economically speaking, last year was a trying time for residents and businesses. With less disposable income to support the arts, one would expect fewer options for live music. In fact, the opposite was true. New promoters came to the foreground, delivering a fresh influx of up-and-coming to nationally recognized bands, untapped venues, and affordable price tags for shows. What’s Good Here? Productions (Matt Donovan and Neil Albert/Jackson), Behind the Barn Productions (Josh Weltman/Tetonia), and Poppa Presents (Dom Gagliardi/Jackson) have led the independent charge. Besides the fact that these individuals take on some level of monetary risk, the multi-faceted business game of booking, promoting and organizing concerts is a labor of love. Each of the proprietors have figured out what works best, given the character of our community, and for that, the music didn’t stop in ’09, but accelerated to ’10. Thanks fellas, it’s appreciated! – Aaron Davis

BEST LOCAL DOCUMENTARY
Swift. Silent. Deep.
How many times this winter have you dipped out of the gates at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort? This relatively new phenomenon of allowing backcountry skiing at JHMR – implemented only 11 years ago - is thanks to the Jackson Hole Air Force. Swift. Silent. Deep. chronicles these renegade skiers and their tireless efforts to forever change the strict, no access backcountry policy while innovating a more aggressive, extreme style of skiing.  And the film is more than just the story of the JHAF conquering Jackson Hole’s steeply scenic terrain, it also offers a historic look at the genesis of JHMR and changing societal perspectives on skiing culture. Garnering a handful of awards including Best Documentary from the Powder Video Awards, Best Soul from the Cold Smoke Awards and Best Selection from the Newport Beach Film Festival, Swift. Silent. Deep. is a valuable time capsule that instills pride in locals, but also pretty much any skier or snowboarder who acknowledges the effectual, consuming force of the mountains and that transcendental powder run.  – Robyn Vincent

BEST PERFORMANCE
Off Square Theatre
Over the last year, Jackson’s regional theater company has produced big shows with big casts that demonstrate its ambition. While Pettycoat Rules and Macbeth were entertaining, the musical Man of La Mancha demonstrated what artistic director John Briggs and his staff are capable of. Though two lead roles and the music director were shipped in, the rest of the cast and the musicans in the pit were all local. The set, craftily making use of some materials from previous performances, was impressive in its detail – thanks to set designer John Wayne Cook. Resident artist Terry Schwab comfortably fell into his role as the romantic author Cervantes and the fool-hearty, but chivalrous Don Quixote. Some J-Holers attended the show two or three times, and you betta believe I heard people around town singing some of the numbers for weeks. – Matthew Irwin

BEST TOURIST CORALE
Outside Haagen Daaz
My parents don’t like surprises when it comes to their food. That’s why they like chain restaurants. And if there’s one thing a tourist can count on for a mid-day break from gift-shopping, it’s Haagen Daaz Ice Cream. Even the kids can’t complain. Jackson’s Haagen Daaz also happens to be located in an alcove on the southeast corner of Town Square, which acts as a sort of corale. Tourists who don’t spot the benches in the George Washington Memorial Park – most of them – usually plop on the boulder right there, daydream about moving here or window-shop the stores within view. I know, because that’s my route home (on foot) and more than once I’ve been creamed. – Matthew Irwin

Photo: Joe Rice, owner of Sidewinders Sports Bar by Mary Grossman




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Best of JH 2010 Editors Choice: Arts, Entertainment & Sports | Planet JH News Article: General News

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