Manno’s is not your typical golf course fare — it’s better. Photo and text by Kristen Browning-Blas.

After playing 18 holes on a city course, a golfer is usually so hungry that a premade sandwich and chips is good enough. But at Collindale, a public course in Fort Collins, a famished foursome can dine on locally grazed beef, freshly made salads with house-made dressings, and big, juicy burgers on Kaiser rolls accompanied by piles of thin-cut, crispy fries.

When expectations are low, it’s easy to be wowed, but Manno’s delivers consistently fresh, carefully prepared, high-quality ingredients at prices well under similar restaurant menus in the area. Right on Horsetooth Road, Manno’s serves not only golfers — like the course, it is open to the public — for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

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“We see you. And we have nets.” Blitzen Trapper will hunt for new listeners at the Monolith Music Festival on Sept. 13.

The following Q&A is part of an occasional series of news, interviews and videos in advance of the Monolith Music Festival, Sept. 13-14 at Red Rocks.

Portland, Ore. act Blitzen Trapper spent several years toiling in various capacities, crafting songs in the studio before finally seeing some substantial success with the release of “Wild Mountain Nation” in 2007.

A band that mashes together a wide range of influences from Pavement and Bob Dylan to King Tubby and Outkast, Blitzen Trapper is still getting used to the touring life. We spoke to the band’s primary songwriter Eric Earley about their signing to Sub Pop, their new album, and how he puts together his songs.

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Ferry Corsten is just one of several world-class DJs rocking the Global Dance Festival this weekend at Red Rocks Amphitheatre.

The hills are alive in Denver this weekend. The big-ticket Mile High Music Festival sets up camp for two days in Commerce City, but that’s not the only gig in town. For the club crowd, the place to be is the Global Dance Festival on Saturday at Red Rocks. With nearly 20 DJs on two stages, and about 10,000 happy beat-freaks sandwiched between the rocks, it’s a full night — and morning — of celebrating Colorado’s electronic-music scene.

Still, even Ha Hau — one of the dance festival’s producers, with Triad Dragons Entertainment — was a little nervous about clashing with the Mile High fest. “At first, with the magnitude of acts they were doing, we were assuming there’d be some kind of conflict,” Hau said. “For the size of our event, I’m sure it hurts a little a bit.”

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Remember that old jump-rope game? Now misspell it, and eat it!

If the dollar weren’t tanking, I’d be planning a European vacation right now. It would involve lengthy visits to Paris and Rome and perhaps a drive through the Alps, but my first stop would be Amsterdam. But in case you haven’t noticed, vacations have morphed into stay-cations this year, and everyone is using their time off to hang around at home. And everyone’s acting like they don’t really mind at all.

Fine. I’ll play along.

But even if I can’t have my lazy bike rides along the canals and art-filled visits to the Rijksmuseum and drawn-out afternoons relaxing in, er, coffee shops, I still want my salty cheese sandwiches and bracingly bitter licorice and soft chocolate candy. Good thing Dubbel Dutch, spitting distance from Regis University, is just a short car ride away.

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“Our kitchen in Canada is much cooler.” Photo of Tokyo Police Club from Static and Sirens.

This post is part of an occasional series of news, interviews and videos in advance of the Monolith Music Festival, Sept. 13-14 at Red Rocks Amphitheatre.

Tokyo Police Club became popular in several indie circles after its 2006 EP “A Lesson in Crime”. The eight songs made up only sixteen and a half minutes, but the catchy, fast paced, spastic rock left an impression. In April, Saddle Creek Records released “Elephant Shell,” the band’s first full length, and though the songs haven’t become drastically longer a subtle maturation is apparent.

In advance of the band’s Sept. 14 Get Real Denver talked to Tokyo Police Club’s Dave Monks about America vs. Canada, the band’s evolving sound, and Canadian nachos.

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