Littleton kid Brad Corrigan is back with Dispatch – the biggest band you never heard of.
After graduating from Littleton High in 1992, Corrigan was one of a trio of rockers who formed Dispatch in 1995 when they were at Vermont’s Middlebury College. The indie band played acoustic folk-rock, reggae and funk. They had no industry label but big sales of their seven CDs. When they broke up in 2004, 110,000 fans showed up for their final concert, a free outdoor gig in Boston. Called The Last Dispatch, it was bigger than Phish’s farewell by 50,000 and is available on DVD.
“Everything under the sun went right that day,” says Corrigan. “People were flying in from all over the world. We were like, ‘What the heck is this thing?”‘
Corrigan is back in Littleton. His family is in Highlands Ranch and his “beautiful 88-year-old grandmother” lives in Denver.
The boys have just reunited for Dispatch: Zimbabwe, a July 14 benefit concert at Madison Square Garden. The concert sold out in 30 minutes, reportedly the first indie band ever to sell out the Garden. They added a second concert for July 13, which sold out within 24 hours. So they added a third date, July 15, which sold out in 22 minutes. Maybe these guys should stay together.
Corrigan says no. “Not after our farewell gig. Our connection with the fan base is so loyal that the last thing we want to do is go out and tarnish it. But who’s to say we won’t do something like this in a couple of years.”
Single file
An outraged reader wants to know why 5280 magazine doesn’t include gay and lesbian singles in its annual Single in the City issue, which profiles 20 local singles this month. I wrote about the story here last week.
Well, says 5280 editor/publisher Dan Brogan, they do.
“The fact of the matter is, there are gay people on the list, just as there always has been. I’m not sure if this guy wants us to label them. … We have gay people in the magazine all the time. They get featured prominently. This guy is completely off base.”
Dilly Dalai
It won’t rock the house, but it might rock your world. The DVD of the Dalai Lama’s public talk at the Pepsi Center on Sept. 17 is just out. He speaks about compassion, kindness and nonviolence for 90 minutes – and Mayor Hick doesn’t even fidget sitting behind him. It’s $24.95 at mindandlife.org.
City spirit
First she was dating New York Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter. Now Boulder babe Jessica Biel is attached to Justin Timberlake. The New York Daily News spotted them helicopter snowboarding in Utah. … Miss Colorado, Janie Allen, reportedly took 25 pairs of shoes to Monday night’s Miss America pageant in Las Vegas. … Sez who: “My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.” Dalai Lama
Bill Husted’s column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. He also appears Tuesdays and Fridays on “Good Day Colorado” on Fox 31. Contact him at 303-954-1486 or bhusted@denverpost.com. Take a peek at Husted’s next column at denverpostbloghouse.com/husted.
