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Why did the chicken cross the road? Because that’s where the entertainment is!
— The band Ditch Chicken has been described online as everything from a variety band, to current and classic rock and country. Yes, you get all those styles with one group! See for yourself when they play the Willow River Saloon in Burkhardt on Friday, Aug. 8, starting at 9 p.m.
— Downtown classic car shows have been all the gas in the last week or two. All day Saturday, Aug. 9, Walnut Street will be closed to all but the vehicles of Brit Fest, which features the Euro models of several car clubs. There was another car show the previous weekend, and part of what’s featured was late night blues music in the Lakefront Park band shell. That meant some of the music you were hearing in the vicinity of Locust Street was from another place then the Smilin’ Moose, which has the distinction of their tunes bouncing off the streetscape as you walk along Second Street — literally hitting the brick above Micklesen Drug Store, banking back to the area across the street and being heard by the cigar shop, where patrons often sit in the evening, relax and take it all in. Again, tunes bouncing right off the pharmacy. Sound psychedelic enough to you?
— Imagine being a karaoke singer and having any song in the history of rock ‘n’ roll at your disposal — again.
That was the case at Pudge’s Bar late in July, and will be again Saturday, as part of an ongoing arrangement for gigs it has with Like The Radio Productions.Their karaoke meister, Aaron Bergman, says that because of a special technology arrangement, his company can use Wifi to access any song that’s ever been recorded. And you can sing it, all from the comfort of the outdoor patio at Pudge’s. That means that passersby can hear just how good you sound performing these hard-to-find gems.The company also has “screen ticker” technology to let singers know if they are one of the next three to come up, so they can make a trip to the bathroom or get a drink, and a database that tracks all singers and their favorite selections.
The shows run from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. on July 24, on Saturday, Aug. 9, and on Friday, Aug. 22.
— There are several local bar regulars who are contemplating — or have decided not to — get back in the ring for things like Ultimate Fighting. Maybe they need to get back in shape, or maybe recover from injury. One of them who leads the way by virtue of having a former sponsorship from Spalding, has been bartending at the Cajun Club, but in a few days will go back to a task that is more in his comfort zone, being a bouncer there. So you have a limited amount of time, kind of like the length of a typical bout, to track him down for some conversation about the biz.
— Rock Godz are on stage at the Smilin’ Moose on Friday night, Aug. 8, and they certainly dress like their name implies, namely like an ’80s hair band. When they took the stage at the back patio of Bo’s ‘N Mine for River Falls Days, there were listeners duded up in the same way, and when there was a set break and the Godz themselves mingled with the crowd, it was hard to tell exactly who was with the group, and who was a groupie, and just how many band members there were.
— There is no point to fiddlin’ around with a lot of detail for this promo, simply, the acclaimed Sun Mountain Fiddler, Dick Solberg, brings his unique brand of humor and various musical styles to Dick’s Bar and Grill on Thursday, Aug. 14, starting early at 8 p.m.

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