The Squire Lounge: The meth of Denver's late-night scene

Everybody's seen those lovely "Meth Will Change That" billboards dreamed up by the Colorado Meth Project, which depict scenarios so vile they'll surely make you want to drop the dope or at least reach for a Handi Wipe. Now local comedians Adam Cayton-Holland and Greg Baumhauer have applied the concept...

By Joel Warner

October 22, 2010

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "12017618",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17242653",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261320",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261321",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

Everybody's seen those lovely "Meth Will Change That" billboards dreamed up by the Colorado Meth Project, which depict scenarios so vile they'll surely make you want to drop the dope or at least reach for a Handi Wipe. Now local comedians Adam Cayton-Holland and Greg Baumhauer have applied the concept to the Squire Lounge, the East Colfax dive bar at which the two host a weekly open-mike comedy night. (To read about a local professor's colorful attempt to use a "humor theory" he developed to get some laughs there, check out the feature "The Nutty Professor.")

We don't know why, exactly, the two made the faux ad above, and we're pretty sure the Squire didn't sign off on it, but that's okay. No one thinks they'll stop worrying about things like copyright. Meth will change that.

KEEP WESTWORD FREE... Since we started Westword, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.

Joel Warner is a former staff writer for Westword and International Business Times. He's also written for WIRED, Men's Journal, Men's Health, Bloomberg Businessweek, Popular Science, Slate, Grantland and many other publications. He's co-author of the 2014 book The Humor Code: A Global Search for What Makes Things Funny, published by Simon & Schuster.

Contact: Joel Warner