4 SEPTEMBER 25-OCTOBER 1, 2025 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | W ® 8 SCARED SILENT Musician Coles Whalen confronts her fears after the Supreme Court reversed her stalker’s conviction. BY BENNITO L. KELTY 6 THE KRATOM CONUNDRUM Isolated alkaloids from the plant’s active ingredients pose greater danger for consumers. BY BRENDAN JOEL KELLEY 14 TELL CLYFFORD I SAID “HI” Youth from the Colville Confederated Tribes co-curated an exhibition at the Clyfford Still Museum featuring artwork of their ancestors. BY TONI TRESCA 17 MIA MUSHROOMS Matsutake hunting, a Japanese American family tradition for generations, is now an endangered activity. BY GIL ASAKAWA 19 GROWTH AND REBIRTH Fort Collins folk-rock band autumnal is releasing its debut LP. BY ZACHARY VISCONTI 14 Culture 17 Cafe 19 Music CONCERTS/CLUBS ................................... 20 25 Marijuana CANNABIS CALENDAR ............................ 25 HIGH NOTES ............................................. XX VOLUME 49 NUMBER 4 SEPTEMBER 25-OCTOBER 1, 2025 E D I T O R I A L Editor Patricia Calhoun News Editor Thomas Mitchell Food and Drink Editor Molly Martin Music Editor Emily Ferguson Culture Editor Kristen Fiore Social Media Editor Katrina Leibee Staff Writers Brendan Joel Kelley, Bennito L. 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Peri- odicals postage paid in Denver. Domestic subscriptions may be purchased for $100/year or $50/six months. Postmaster: Send address changes to Westword, P.O. Box 5970, Denver CO 80217. Mailing address: P.O. Box 5970, Denver, CO 80217 Street address: 1278 Lincoln Street, Denver, CO 80203 For general information, call: 303-296-7744 For Editorial, email: [email protected] ON THE COVER DESIGN BY MONIKA SWIDERSKI LETTERS T O T H E E D I T O R YOU CAN COMMENT ON ANY STORY AT WESTWORD.COM; SEND LETTERS TO [email protected] Don’t miss a word! The stories in this print edition are just a fraction of the pieces we publish every week on westword.com. For a cheat sheet on all that content, subscribe to our daily newsletter at westword.com/profi le. You can also follow @denverwestword on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok. And it’s all free! PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN MCSWEENEY “LOSING STEAM,” BENNITO L. KELTY, SEPTEMBER 11 S T E A M E D There is no denying that the number of people at local protests has fallen off. But as the outrages from the Trump administration continue to grow, the number of people at future protests will grow, too. Sally Martin Denver Protest? The “hard’ work is ahead. After years of protesting, one may discover that “protests” are simply a distraction, a feel- good activity — and yes, the burnout is real! History has demonstrated that “gatherings” have little infl uence in catalyzing the lawmak- ers. Superfi cial changes and weak “laws” may be made, but the degradation infl icted on the being continues. Drill, baby, drill! Our collective Mother Earth be damned! Praise be Money, Money, Money in God we trust! Now more than ever, systemic changes from the inside out are absolutely necessary! Corporations are not people, and money in politics is not speech. You don’t see billionaires nor millionaires out in the streets protesting. No, those who are making real change in establishing their own preferred government are doing the inside work — above and beyond paying for (buying) politicians/lawmakers — that is absolutely required to make real systemic and lasting change in establishing the form of government they want...and now have while We the People are happily distracted with and by “gatherings.” J.D. Ruybal Windsor LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, SEPTEMBER 18 C L O S E D C A L L I am not sure why you are not constantly writing about the quantity of restaurants closing in Denver. The major thread of most is the absurd minimum wage for tipped staff. It’s the highest in the USA. Yes, higher than New York, California, etc. Why? Most national companies have boycot- ted Denver for this very reason. The true food scene in Denver is diving. Tourism in Denver is down because of a lower-quality food scene. Of course, tax revenue is down also. Surprise! Restaurants have had to raise prices, so consumers in the comfort level are not going out or cut back big time. This needs to be adjusted, as Governor Jared Polis pointed out in the state’s bill last session. Please help your restaurants. Mark Shader Denver Once gone, those kinds of good restau- rants are never coming back. No one can af- ford the entry costs to start and build a small, good-quality restaurant now. Defi nitely not in the same places as these are leaving. We don’t even have central streets like Colfax and Broadway anymore, where it’s cheaper to get a restaurant going with good foot traffi c and nearby affordable housing. Aaron Rivers Denver “THE SUMMER IT TURNED PRETTY,” WESTWORD STAFF P R E T T Y I S A S P E T T Y D O E S The 16th Street cover for “The Summer It Turned Pretty” was so funny! Thanks for ending the summer in such a fun way. Emily O’Hara Aurora It’ll always be the 16th Street Mall, no matter how much of our money they steal to rename it. Just like it’ll always be Mile High Stadium, no matter which mega-corporation owns it. Jeffrey Grubesic Denver Enjoyed reading about MaryJane on the all and the 16th Street renaissance. How- ever, I wanted to point out that the name of the one cannabis consumption lounge on East Colfax is the Cirrus Social Lounge. I don’t indulge so can’t speak to what the club is like inside except I am told they had to go through a lot of hoops to open. Tom Boylan Denver
