My Best Concert Experience Was in a NoCo Dive Bar

When I arrived at the Swing Station, I couldn't find the entrance until a big biker guy busted out a back door. Before I could say, 'Love the leather jacket,' he looked me in the eyes, and said, 'This hipster music F*#@ing sucks!' and left me in a cloud of dust in the parking lot. But as the door swung open, my ears knew I was in the right place.

A lot of the time, to catch a good alt rock show, I find myself jetting south on I-25 to Denver, which is why you can imagine my excitement when I found out a new indie alternative band I had been following, Phin, would be playing at the Swing Station in Laporte.

Yes. You read that right.

With my best friend Kyle in tow, and the company of the Nashville four-piece alternative rock band, I had one of the greatest nights of my life inside the wood paneled walls, cluttered with local beer branding and bills of country-Americana acts past and present. It's one of those times that you realize, sometimes the best experiences come out of unusual circumstances. Like, a band making a tour stop in Laporte unusual.

The Swing Station, nestled on the corner of West County Road 54 G and Overland Trail in Laporte, gave me a better, more intimate and unique experience than Denver venues ever could. It was a stop for the band on the trip back to Tennessee after a set at Denver Day of Rock (...and a busted car). Phin opened for local band Winchester Holiday that night.

I don't really mind if Northern Colorado venues become a post-Denver pit stop for bands. As long as they stop, I'm happy.