So many souls were out to see the new Mayan themed Iron Maiden, playing many a tune from their new CD “Book of Souls,” that there weren’t too many souls to be found around local haunts until around the time of, as could be said evoking a classic song by the metal band, Two Minutes To Midnight. But when they finally got to Hudson, concert-goers had plenty to say.
– The local bars were largely dead on the night of the Iron Maiden concert at The X, with one bouncer saying things wouldn’t heat up locally until 1 a.m. or so. Still, a middle-aged man came into Buffalo Wild Wings an hour prior to that and reported that Maiden, whose T-shirt he proudly wore, did largely songs from their new album (about six from their Mayan decked out stage) and not too many from their storied history (about nine) and there were some very popular ones that were omitted from their set list. One of those was Hallowed Be Thy Name, and my source speculated there was some legal hassle about playing that anthem, since a lesser known band claimed some of the lyrics were lifted. But as usual, the crowd favorite was The Trooper. The guy said lead singer Bruce Dickenson was spot-on, as always despite battling throat cancer, and added he’s always impressed that Dickenson is also a pilot, author and amateur theologian and historian, and succeeds in virtually everything he does. That description could be applied to my old friend Debbie from St. Paul, who’s been trying to fit it into her schedule and again come this way, who also loves the Maiden. Debbie at a youthful age was an Olympic caliber sprinter and also was offered modeling contracts by two of the top agencies in the country. Then, at age 38, she had a photo shoot to appear semi-nude (shown from the back) in a Calvin Klein ad for Vogue. So, there’s hope for us middle-aged people, and maybe unlike Jethro Tull said, we can still sport the Spandex — as that seems to be a theme of the day. Carrying on the Maiden theme, a bartender at The Next Stop in Houlton said that if he were not there, he’d be at the concert. Reminded that it was that evening, he interrupted the jukebox and cut in to a play a song from the vault in their honor — The Flight of Icarus.
– The night later was one of the first of the season for bridemaid’s heaven. In particular, the Smilin’ Moose had a group of young women out for a bachelorette party that were so large in number they were seemingly everywhere. You could tell because of the T-shirts worn that were also an ad for their limo company.
– Then, one more night later, Jeff Loven between songs invoked the that other metal concert that just took place in The Cities, that being Judas Priest (a group that a couple of my go-to-most-every-concert friends originally thought was too hard core). Much like the Next Stop bartender referenced above, Jeff said that he would’ve been at the concert if he didn’t have to “work.” (He also is known for performing with another kind of T-shirt on him, that from an old Iron Maiden concert). I asked Jeff if in honor of the Priest concert we could sing together an on-again, off-again standard, You’ve Got Another Thing Coming. He deferred to our usual tried and true Clash song.
– A photographer was at Buffalo Wild Wings late one afternoon, shooting a promotional picture of a big glass of beer with lemon wedge. (Better to drink it then to have that be your model, I say). He had two big cameras, two big tripods and one more smaller piece of equipment. As if that wasn’t enough, the bartender topped it off by putting something in his drink (no she didn’t roofie him).
– Along those lines, a sign at a downtown antique shop says “no paparazzi.” (Two thoughts: (1) Its a bit arrogant to think anyone would care and (2) damn, there goes my chance).”
– In one of the metro dailies: From Fargo on down, entertainment outlets get wrong the distinction between Eden Prairie and Eden Valley (although far from HudsonWiNightlife to make the same mistake). But it does remind me of all the times I’ve seen the TV news out of the metro wrongly refer to that village in the middle of St. Croix County as Rogers, as in the berg between Minneapolis and St. Cloud. Let me lead the way: It’s actually Roberts, of course. Got that? Roger. (Oh here we go again).
– I was talking with a friend at Dick’s Bar and Grill when he pointed out that someone else he knew, Big Steve, had just walked in, and boy did the guy live up to his nickname, big hair included. We were introduced and it turns out he knew me from days gone by. Meanwhile, at that same time, at the other end of the bar rail was a man who had the hair and chisled jaw of the star “Big” in the TV series Sex In The City, although not quite as tall as either that character or Big Steve. Not that it’s that big a deal …
– As they say, this one’s for you, as in the totally “pimped out” in decore SUVs for beer travel, (parked in an alley in Hudson that heads toward North Hudson), and for other area products such as deli food, flooring, soft drinks and numerous other distributors. That’s during the day. At night you’re more likely to see slightly bigger vehicles decked out as party machines for both Big Guys BBQ Roadhouse and more recently Mallory’s.
– A friend enlisted me, as Mr. Coupon Man, to hunt up one for Azul Tequila and I found a great deal. It said on the coupon that their other location was in Eau Claire. That’s the same two places as Shanghai Bistro, although they have other places in the metro as well. But the whole thing reminds me of seeing some friends on the hill who had worked at the latter estabishment, one of whom said that at their Eau Claire end they had actually tried out Naked Sushi. Could such an offering at Hudson be far behind? Hmm, in hoidy, toidy Hudson? Seems unlikely.