Almost Pioneers Responds to Jerks at a Concert

Clint Bales: “About a year ago, we played a show at Tennyson’s Tap, and off to the side of the crowd were a couple of older drunk guys who liked to yell out comments at performers, kind of like the two old guys from The Muppet Show who constantly hurled insults from the balcony – only these guys were shouting catcalls and sexually suggestive remarks at my bandmate, Amy. That made me want to put down my guitar and punch them both in the nose. Since this was our first and only experience with heckling, we looked over at each other for a second before continuing undeterred. We weren’t going to let these jerks derail the music we had come to share! Maintaining her professionalism, Amy continued to sing her heart out like nothing was wrong.

“When our set was over, we hopped down from the stage and were immediately face to face with both men. ‘What’s up, guys?’ I asked. ‘Did you have something you wanted to say?’ All they could do was turn red and look down at their beer-stained shoes.”

Almost Pioneers will play the Black Rose Acoustic Society in Colorado Springs on Friday, November 8.

Editor’s Note: The Denver Bootleg is a series chronicling the stories of local bands by longtime Denver cartoonist Karl Christian Krumpholz. Visit Krumpholz’s website to see more of his work.

Hear Almost Pioneers and more favorites from Westword writers on our Westword Staff Picks playlist.