While many Denver residents prepared for another year of watching Not-the-Broncos represent the AFC in the Super Bowl, others gathered at Denver’s favorite record store Wax Trax for a unique blend of comedy, questions, and musical discussion.  

“Wax Trax at 1:30” became somewhat of an informal motto and rallying cry for the event. The phrase is a reference to James Acaster’s February 4th appearance on “Late Night with Seth Meyers” where the comedian repeated the phrase numerous times to drum up interest for his in-store appearance, alongside Kalyn Rose Heffernan of acclaimed Denver hip hop group Wheelchair Sports Camp. While Heffernan has performed at Wax Trax previously, Acaster’s debut allowed him to join music royalty like Mazzy Star and the Ramones who have appeared in store over the years. 

Acaster, who in addition to his work as a comedian, also dabbles as a presenter, podcaster, author, and musician, first discovered Wheelchair Sports Camp during his infamous crusade to collect as much music from the year 2016 as possible, a quest cataloged in his 2019 book “Perfect Sound Whatever”. The central claim Acaster set out to prove in the book was that 2016 was the best year for music of all time.  In doing so, Acaster wound up connecting with many of the musicians whose music he coveted. This dovetailed with a Mockumentary project in which Acaster was set to play a drummer which was ultimately scrapped due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, but not before Acaster completed recordings of numerous drum tracks. 

Throughout the course of the pandemic, Acaster would exchange emails and tracks with the musicians he had first contacted during the writing of “Perfect Sound Whatever.” Everything culminated with the 2023 release of the album “Party Gator Purgatory” and accompanying the “After Party” EP from the newly formed musical collective Temps, spearheaded by Acaster and consisting of 40 separate musicians including Open Mike Eagle, Xenia Rubinos, Shamir, and Denver’s own Wheelchair Sports Camp. 

This collaboration serves as vital context for Acaster’s one-of-a-kind appearance at Wax Trax alongside Heffernan. The line began to form around 10:30am on Sunday, February 8—3 hours before the event was scheduled to begin. By 1:30, the line stretched all the way down the block and around the corner of 12th and Washington. The event started closer to 1:45 in part because, as Acaster announced on the microphone, he had to pee. Before returning to the improvised stage, Acaster greeted the overflow crowd as they watched the event through a TV and PA speaker on the sidewalk. 

Denverites asked the artistic duo about everything from food to music to mental health, and answers ranged from silly to heartfelt and emotional. With devoted fans of both Acaster and Heffernan in attendance, questions often referenced each artist’s extensive bodies of work, making for quite a layered and dense conversation. 

Acaster, who played a sold-out show at the Paramount the previous night, hung around in the shop after the event to meet fans and sign the precious few copies of “Party Gator Purgatory” stocked on store shelves. Wax Trax Marketing Director, Delaney Schoenfeldt, who organized and moderated the event also made sure to shout out the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network, a non-profit which provides free legal services to immigrants in detention centers. Signs were posted around the store with links to donate to the organization. Owner Pete Stidman added “we’ve gotten a lot of attention, but that’s really the important thing.” Schoenfeldt also hinted at future events with cross-medium guests which can be found on Instagram @WaxTraxDenver or on the Wax Trax website.