Kate Innes and Ali Frankfurt: “Ten years ago, Tooey’s was new and so were we — not counting our stage experience getting heckled on a Tuesday at a Lion’s Lair open-mic night. The bass guitar was a borrowed pink Daisy Rock in the shape of a heart. We had five or six songs, total. We blazed through them at top speed — first-timer nerves. Ali made eye contact with nothing except the frets on her guitar, frozen like a deer in headlights. The bar wanted us to play another set, so we got back up and played the exact same five songs, probably in the same order.
“Ten years later, we’ve played so many shows and written so much that it hardly seems possible to be nervous or short on songs. We were six women then (now we’re a four-piece), a mix of rock, metal and punk. Some former members are now in other bands. Venues like 3 Kings Tavern, the Lion’s Lair, Bar Bar and Bender’s gave us gigs. Now we engage the audience when we rock a stage.”
The Blackouts will play McDonough’s Irish Pub on February 16, 3 Kings Tavern on March 16, and Moe’s BBQ on March 23.
Editor's Note: The Denver Bootleg is a series chronicling the history of local music venues by longtime Denver cartoonist Karl Christian Krumpholz. Visit Krumpholz's website to see more of his work.
