2 westword.com WESTWORD DECEMBER 14-20, 2023 | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | W ® 11 DROPPING THE BALL Once Denver’s top sports- talk radio station, The Fan keeps fumbling. BY MICHAEL ROBERTS 18 THE MAGIC YETI Permanent immersive experience Shiki Dreams is a mystical wonderland. BY JULIANNA O’CLAIR 21 THAT’S THE SPIRIT Benoit Coquand is shifting his focus from ghost kitchens to catering. BY HELEN XU 25 HOLIDAYS IN HELL The Satanic Temple Colorado gets in the spirit with Saturnalia. BY JUSTIN CRIADO 6 News 18 Culture 21 Cafe 25 Music CONCERTS/CLUBS ................................... 28 34 Marijuana TOKE OF THE TOWN ................................ 34 ASK A STONER ......................................... 36 STRAIN GANG .......................................... 38 VOLUME 47 NUMBER 16 DECEMBER 14-20, 2023 E D I T O R I A L Editor Patricia Calhoun Editorial Operations Manager Jane R. Le News Editor Chris Perez Culture Editor Emily Ferguson Food and Drink Editor Molly Martin Cannabis Editor Thomas Mitchell Social Media Editor Katrina Leibee Staff Writers Catie Cheshire, Bennito L. Kelty, Hannah Metzger Senior Contributors Alan Prendergast, Michael Roberts Contributors Amy Antonation, Staci Berry, Teague Bohlen, Jake Browne, Hyde Chrastina, Jacqueline Collins, Linnea Covington, Justin Criado, John Flathman, Susan Froyd, Lizzie Goldsmith, Nick Hutchinson, Marty Jones, Danielle Krolewicz, Karl Christian Krumpholz, Kristen Kuchar, Conor McCormick-Cavanagh, Cleo Mirza, Abigail Nueve, Julianna O’Clair, Ryan Pachmayer, Michael Paglia, Kristin Pazulski, Adam Perry, Ashlee Redger, Evan Semón, Amber Taufen, Toni Tresca, Kastle Waserman, Juliet Wittman Music Listings Chris Speed A R T Art Director Jay Vollmar P R O D U C T I O N Production Manager Michael Wilson Assistant Production Manager Erin Kirk Graphic Designers Chris Arneson, Tori Bohling C R E A T I V E S E R V I C E S Senior Graphic Designer Allie Seidel A D V E R T I S I N G Account Manager Jack Baker Senior Multimedia Account Executives Amy Camera, Aaron Lembke, Danelle Trujillo Multimedia Account Executives Trayl Chaffee, Nick Naglic, William Savoie, Allison Wissink Marketing and Promotions Manager Heyward Manning Event Marketing Manager Britton Sacharski House Account Manager Anna Schoening Operations Manager Maddie Miller Digital Coordinator Carver Hodgkiss Digital and Advertising Sales Manager Taylor Wheeler Advertising Director Teri Driskell C I R C U L A T I O N Circulation Manager Ty Koepke B U S I N E S S Business Manager Sarah Dunahay Financial Accountant Robert Scribner AR Coordinator Stacy Phillips IT Systems Manager Kris Robinson Receptionist Cindy Perez Associate Publisher Tracy Kontrelos Publisher Scott Tobias V O I C E M E D I A G R O U P Editorial Director Chelsey Dequaine-Jerabek SEO Specialist Jenna deJong Membership Manager Lily Black Corporate Controller Beth Cook Legal Counsel Steve Suskin Chief Financial Offi cer Jeff Mars Chief Executive Offi cer Scott Tobias V M G N A T I O N A L National Advertising: 1-888-278-9866, www.voicemediagroup.com Senior Vice President of Sales Operations Joe Larkin D I S T R I B U T I O N Westword is available free of charge. 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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 retail or classifi ed advertising, call: 303-296-7744 For general information, call: 303-296-7744 For Editorial, email: [email protected] “TESTING THE WATERS,” STEPHEN SINGULAR, NOVEMBER 30 M A N O N A M I S S I O N I want to thank you for the recent stories by Stephen Singular, which introduce us to such interesting people from Colorado doing such amazing things. I wish Terence “Tez” Steinberg all the best with his mission to row from Hawaii to Australia for such a worth- while cause. We need to save our oceans and ban single-use plastics. Joy Martin Boulder This guy is amazing and quite the inspi- ration. After all that he’s been through, he perseveres and challenges himself to the limit, with others and the planet ahead of himself at times. This is a true hero. Chris Pedone Golden Editor’s note: Tez Steinberg is ready to leave Hawaii on his 5,000-mile rowing this week or next, depending on the weather. “EAT HERE,” MOLLY MARTIN, DECEMBER 7 C H E W O N T H I S Most of the places I used to like to go to that were staples are now gone. Aaron Betcher Denver Sam’s No. 3 (Aurora) is the only thing I can think of that I’ve wanted to go to consistently, and it’s never disappointed me. Hope they’ll be back soon (and not move too far). Scott Frisby Denver Sam’s No. 3 is just an expensive Der Wein- erschnitzel, basically. Corey Aguayo El Paso, Texas Love Pete’s Kitchen! How I wish we still had Le Central and Racines. Carolyn Toth Wheat Ridge Love Aspen Lodge! Christmas + Iron Maiden. Maria Redondo Lafayette Pete’s Kitchen for the win every time. Christopher Montague Lakewood Crown Burgers is such a gem on Colorado Boulevard. I lived in Glendale for a while and would go often. Their burgers are top-notch, in my opinion. Glad they made your list! Ryan T. Dolan Pottersville, New Jersey My Brother’s Bar. Classical music, weird plexiglass condiment caddy and everything. Dare I say this is Denver’s better, aboveground version of the Billy Goat Tavern? Miss that “8 minute” Manhattan. Purport- edly the original NYC recipe from the inventor of the drink. Alex Horn Denver Hola! Many happy childhood memories of Casa Bonita, so I was thrilled to hear that it would be reopened by people who really care about it. I, and many family members and friends, signed up for an alleged “list” that enters an email address into a lottery for invite- only dining. Not one person I know has made the cut (and I know a lot of people), so it’s hard to believe that such a list exists, even as I read about people who have had multiple visits. Gonna change my name to “Ed Sheeran” and give it another go. Wish me luck! RJ Gerber Fort Collins I like eating out as much as the next person, but what happened to the Letters to the Editor section of your last issue? It seemed to be gob- bled up by “Eat Here,” the 100 restaurants list. Jack Washington Denver Editor’s note: We can’t publish letters if we don’t get them! But after “Eat Here,” our list of 100 favorite restaurants, we don’t expect another letter shortage any time soon. ON THE COVER ART BY GETTY IMAGES/WESTWOOD ILLUSTRATION 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! 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