Winter is soon to arrive, and you’ll see that around the area:

— It is that time of year when the college students at River Falls still dress to party, not for the cold, when they walk to the bar district and go out. You’ll see a lot of short dresses with high heels, and guys with T-shirts, more so than is likely in another month or two. Or is that the case? Last February, I encountered a young man who was wearing a very thin T-shirt, having flown in from Africa earlier that evening. Around bar time it just got too cold, and he ducked into Bubba’s kitchen for some warmth and some hot fried chicken.
— Talk about cross-marketing. The Agave Kitchen, Dick’s Bar and Grill, and Coach’s in River Falls are among those who have added a bit of advertising/decor to the tables on which people dine. Part of the decorating is hundreds and hundreds of business cards for local establishments laminated and then tucked under the glass, so people can see where they want to do some shopping — for the holidays or otherwise — while they dine or have a brew.
— At Dibbo’s on Friday was a packed house for the diversely-themed, fourth annual Industry Party and food drive, hosted by Believe Music Productions and Leviticus Martin, with original music by 14 Clicks, The Dead Flowers, The Sisseez and David Yellen Band. People could bring a non-perishable food item for free entry. There was an acoustic trio, another band with a standup bass and brightly painted fiddle, and don’t forget the Sisseez themselves, which featured a longtime local musician named Ted, who plays the drums and much more and was one of the members in signature white-button-down shirt and tie.
— Say it ain’t so, Angus! The pinball machine at Dick’s is Ac/DC themed, and numerous of their hit songs were linked to accumulated-point-value prizes — all listed on a display in alphabetical order. I kinda like these guys, so I wanted to see as many of their songs listed as possible. I know there are bigger issues to worry about, such as world peace, but I was a bit concerned to see the gap in listings between “Let There Be Rock” and “Rock ‘N Roll Train.” There were no other hits mentioned between those opening capital letters of “L” and “R.” But then it picked up again with “S’ and “T.”
— A friend named Shannon, who has bartended at places downtown, is quite well informed about the extreme metal scene and really dresses the part, and said that at a recent multi-band show she attended in the Cities, it wasn’t the big-name headliner that impressed her the most. Shannon said that Machinehead was the group that really rocked the house.