Thursday August 24 Gathering of the tribes: Radio broadcast folks of the KBCO programming ilk will meet in Boulder this week to check out the latest and the best in Adult Album Alternative recording artists. But this is more than a test drive for esoteric unknowns: Three Gavin AAA Convention Showcase Nights, open to the public and held through Saturday at the Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder, feature some truly happenin' acts. Emmylou Harris, a formidable songstress whose repertoire swings from traditional country to folk to rock, starts things off tonight, accompanied by the Daniel Lanois Band; Joan Osborne, Michael McDermitt and Jonathan Brooke and the Story also perform, beginning at 9 p.m. Tomorrow's performers include Natalie Merchant, and Saturday's bill is led by John Hiatt; for tickets, ranging from $15 to $21, call 447-0095 or 830-TIXS. But if you call too late to secure a seat for any of those hot-selling evenings, some of the same talent will pop up at E-Town, the public-radio program that tapes live in the Boulder Theater, 2030 14th St. Emmylou reappears there tomorrow, Joan Osborne appears Saturday and Hiatt performs Sunday. All shows begin at 7 p.m.; for information and tickets, $7 in advance ($9 day of show), call 786-7030.
Friday August 25 Gospel truth: Clarence Fountain doesn't mind the blues, as long as you understand this: "The difference is that in gospel we sing about Jesus, and the blues guys sing about their baby." Or so says the lead singer of the soul-stirring Blind Boys of Alabama. In concert, the group--respected elders of African-American gospel who've been performing since the '40s--more than proves its spiritual devotion, wrapping it up in the kind of timeless harmonies and finger-snapping rhythms that inspired doo-woppers, Al Green, Otis Redding and Aretha herself. In other words, they're not to be missed. Mosey on down to the Arvada Center tonight at 7:30 and you'll be treated to a transcendent concert bordering on a foot-stomping revival meeting, all under the stars in the center's outdoor amphitheater, 6901 Wadsworth Blvd. Admission is $16 reserved ($8 lawn); call 431-3939 for reservations. And tell 'em God sent you.
Triple-strength action: What happens when three giants of jazz fusion get together and jam? In the case of Rite of Strings--bassist Stanley Clarke, guitarist Al Di Meola and violinist Jean-Luc Ponty--they simply wail, with heart-stopping, gorgeous results. The union marks a high point in each member's evolving career: Clarke recently completed a film score, Di Meola's blurry-fingered guitar attack has calmed into something more passionate, tempered by the influence of late tangomaster Astor Piazzolla, and Ponty, a veteran of the Mothers of Invention and the Mahavishnu Orchestra, lately has melded West African rhythms into his classically derived, jazzed-up sound. They'll perform tunes from their self-titled CD tonight at 8 at the Paramount Theatre, 1621 Glenarm Pl. To reserve tickets, $18 to $23, call 534-8336 or 830-TIXS.
Saturday August 26 Hot plants: Has the acrid, spicy smell of flamed Hatch chiles seared your nostrils lately? Makes you hungry, doesn't it? It's just a given for those of us living in these parts, and it's a perfect excuse to celebrate Southwestern culture, all in the late bloom of August. The Chile Harvest Festival, at the Denver Botanic Gardens, 1005 York St., does it up right, spotlighting Colorado's Spanish colonial heritage in myriad ways. Activities include a salsa taste-off for the strong of tongue and tours of DBG demonstration gardens planted with over 150 chile varieties--big, small, colorful, mild and five-alarm. Add to that craft demonstrations featuring tin workers, adobe makers, weavers and more; live music and dance (the popular Grupo Tlaloc will perform at the festival's opening ceremony); and a "hummingbird headdress" station for kids. Enjoy it all from 9 to 5 today and tomorrow. Gate admission is $4 ($2 seniors and kids six to twelve); for additional information call 370-8187.
Standing in-line: Wheels will spin again at the old Stapleton Airport today, when over fifty international in-line speed-skating competitors gather for Dare to Skate '95, headlined by a 20K Pro Elite Race but also offering various events--10K advanced and intermediate races, a 5K Family Fun Roll and a 2K Kids' Race--for local speedsters and the not so speedy. In addition, roaming spectators will be treated to free safety and instruction clinics, with demo skates included. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m.; entry fees for races, continuing throughout the day until around 5, range from $10 to $35 in advance ($5 more on race day) and help benefit Colorado D.A.R.E. (Drug Awareness Resistance Education). Enter Stapleton at 26th Ave. and Quebec St.; call 368-1268.
Disco inferno: Tonight at Fiddler's Green, polyester and platforms rule. Fan your Saturday Night Fever (and don't forget yer gold chains) at the KOSI Copacabana Concert, where you can head for the YMCA with the Village People, be one of the family with Sister Sledge, burn it down with the original Trammps and get left this way by Thelma Houston, beginning at 7 p.m. Call 830-TIXS for tickets; they're $12.50 and $17.50. Fiddler's Green is located at 6350 Greenwood Plaza Blvd.
Sunday August 27 Homes, sweet homes: Although there's nothing like snooping in someone's dirty laundry, kind homeowners opening their doors for the West Washington Park House Tour probably won't be leaving any around for visitors to inspect. More likely, each stop on the eight-home tour--ranging from resplendent Victorians to Denver Squares to stuccoed charmers--will be spotless, spit-shined and undoubtedly beautiful. Tickets for the tour, taking place from 11 to 4, can be purchased at the Washington Park Community Center, 809 S. Washington, for $8 apiece; call 722-3418 for information.
Monday August 28 Plume perfect: It's Monday. And it's not Labor Day yet. So play hooky. Drive up to Estes Park. Go to the Estes Park Museum. Inside you'll find antique Native American baskets, handwoven textiles, bead and quill work, jewelry and kachinas displayed in the carefully culti-vated exhibit Charles Eagle Plume: The Collection. A legacy of the late trader-connoisseur Charles Eagle Plume, the collection has roots in Kansas: A Topeka woman decorated her Estes Park tearoom in 1917 with Indian relics amassed by her father; she later turned the shop into the still-existing trading post eventually owned by Eagle Plume, whose discerning eye added museum-quality artifacts. Both historically important and interesting, the extensive exhibit runs through October 23 and can be viewed from 10 to 5 today. For information and directions call the museum at 1-970-586-6256.
Tuesday August 29 Play Doe: A legendary piece of Colorado history is the scintillating vehicle for John Vernon's novel All for Love: Baby Doe and Silver Dollar. The fictionalized account--based on the life of Baby Doe Tabor, an infamous and sad character who seduced and married silver baron Horace Tabor, later following him into ruin--is finally the story of Silver Dollar Tabor, Baby Doe's worldly daughter, who did time as a reporter, a hooker and even a poet before being scalded to death in Chicago by a john. Vernon will discuss and autograph copies of the book tonight at 7:30 at the Tattered Cover Book Store, 2955 E. 1st Ave.; call 322-7727.
