Tour diary: Chad Price tackled 10 breweries in a single day, and our liver lived to tell about it
Matt Schild
Article Tools
How many shows can Chad Price play in 12 hours? And how many beers can he drink in that same stretch? To promote his upcoming solo debut, Smile Sweet Face (to be released tomorrow night at the Oriental Theater), Chad Price and Suburban Home Records last week charted a one-day 10-stop tour of Front Range microbreweries, and The A.V. Club tagged along to see whether his liver or musical ambition would win out in the war of attrition.
Fort Collins
“I’ve never played this early before,” Price says as he takes the stage in the O’Dell’s Brewery taproom (800 E. Lincoln Ave., Fort Collins, 970-498-9070). It’s 11:15 a.m. and his Levity Ale is half empty as he opens the set with “Peachy Tuscadero,” a tune about his dog. By the time the set’s reigned into a close by Suburban Home label head Virgil Dickerson, everyone is warmed up. Price doesn’t seem at all bothered by the early set, nor does the 30-person Suburban Home entourage seem too bashful about slugging down beers before lunch. A short hop takes us to Road 34 (1213 W. Elizabeth St., Fort Collins, 970-491-9934) just in time to catch some college students nursing a hangover over lunch. Most scatter before Price is through with his hit-and-run set. Nobody tagging along seems bothered by the students’ desertion. It’s just after noon, and the party’s in full swing as the R.V. that’s hauling everybody hits Highway 287.
Longmont
Amid the house-party pandemonium on the R.V., Price admits he initially wasn’t hot on the idea of barnstorming local breweries; the day’s already behind schedule after two shows, so he might have been right. In a rush to make up time at The Tasty Weasel Taproom (1800 Pike Rd., Longmont, 303-776-1914), Price hustles through a set, gulping back a glass of Mama’s Little Yella Pils, the entourage hastily knocks back their microbrews, and everyone realizes that the schedule isn't foolproof.
The lunch show at Oskar Blues’ Liquids & Solids (1555 S. Hover St., Longmont, 303-485-9400) is a disaster. The restaurant doesn’t remember anything about the visit. The promised buffet never materializes and the crew’s stuck with a skimpy family-style meal. After a little bickering about the check, Dickerson and Price cut their losses, skip the show and head to Left Hand Brewing (1265 Boston Ave., Longmont, 303-772-0258). This would be the tour’s high point. Toward the end of the set a pair of preschool-aged sisters pull up barstools front and center to listen; he steers away from his booze-laced tunes to give them “Peachy Tuscadero.” The set winds up and the Suburban Home crew rushes back to the bar. Price stays, takes a knee and chats with the girls, and beams with his biggest smile of the day.
Boulder
The R.V. drops everyone off at the Upslope Brewing Co. (1501 Lee Hill Rd., Boulder, 303-960-8494) and leaves to refuel. Only after it leaves does anyone realize that the cables for the P.A. are still aboard. An unfazed Price delivers an unplugged set in the parking lot and fights the noise from the road a hundred yards away. It’s hard to hear him, and everyone seems more interested in moving to a better venue than listening to him play.
At Avery Brewing Co. (5763 Arapahoe Ave., Boulder, 303-440-4324), he sets up in a warehouse space stacked with wooden barrels of ale, and some of the happy-hour drinkers wander back for the largest crowd of the tour. He delivers a cover of the Everly Brothers’ “Cathy’s Clown” with enough soul to bring tears to anybody’s eyes; a middle-aged couple wanders back out to the picnic area instead.
Denver
Drunken wrestling matches and heated discussions about farts fill the R.V. Most of its passengers are looped out of their heads and rowdy; Price, low-key as ever, seems more interested in watching their drunken hi-jinks unfold than joining in with them. We skip a stop at the Breckenridge Barbeque and head straight to the brewery’s brewpub in LoDo (2220 Blake St., 303-297-3644). The unexpected schedule change loses the fans following in the van behind us. They don’t miss much. The bar’s meager patrons’ eyes are glued to the ALCS game on screen, and most heartily ignore Price’s set. The singer-songwriter downs an Avalanche, soldiers through a set, and everyone involved is relieved to get out of there.
At Great Divide (2201 Arapahoe St., 303-296-9460), we’re shuffled into a sour-smelling back room, as Price sets up between keg shells and brewing tanks. He enjoys his longest set of the night, about eight songs, which includes a version of Drag The River’s “Modern Drunkard.” The tune particularly connects with the pickled entourage crammed into the space. When Price finishes off his Hibernation Ale and unplugs, the mood is a sense of relief rather than accomplishment. Everyone’s content to limp home and sleep it off instead of reveling in the glory. There’s always tomorrow.
