Pro football is here, whether or not you’re a Lite weight:
— You can celebrate the best of NFL football with Miller Lite beer at The Mill, to kick off the new season. Their variety of specials include a pair of 16 ounce cans for $6, a offering that in terms of volume is noteworthy for being far-between the one drink and full-bucket options you see most places (think of it as one beer for each half). The Green Mill offers these and other such specials virtually any time pro football is being played, Sundays, Mondays or Thursday nights. But its only good for the regular season, so don’t wait, and it might be observed if you’re a Vikings fan hey, the your team might not be around with their season through the postseason.
— Jeff Carver will play Mallory’s on Saturday night, and be the fairly new guy sandwiched between Wade and Ella last Saturday and Kyle Kohila next Saturday.
— And that pattern continues on the patio at the Smilin’ Moose this weekend, with Tim Howe on Friday evening, Andrew Hanson on Saturday evening, and Wally Joseph on Sunday afternoon. Hey, I swear I’ve seen that last guy around! Simply said, that type of local recognition will help when competing with football.
— An ad seen at various places across the area, in which the Leinie’s Summer Shandy brew is hawked as the last gasp of warm weather hits us, even if the boys of summer are gone — switching to pro football — to invoke Don Henley: “Wings and beer don’t have a season, and fans have no off-season,” the ad reads, and so the story goes …
— Chaunte Shayne, who will play three local shows in the period of a week, is largely country styled and has a distinctive voice, at times soft and soulful, and at other times ranging widely up and down within a few notes to go on a higher intensity run. She has just the right, minimalistic amount of country twang in her voice, and along with it the sass to take on a tune like Shania Twain’s “Any Man of Mine.” That noticeable yet low-key attitude is apparent in stories introducing songs, which show her great intonation and ability to hold notes. She’s an unforgettable and beautiful, leggy and darkly exotic young woman with just as beautiful a voice. Both are impossible to miss, as is the fact that she’s a workhorse when it comes to playing a lot of gigs. To see for yourself: At Art on the Kinni in River Falls at noon on Saturday, Sept. 9, then later that day at 6 p.m. at the Village Inn in North Hudson as part of their 12th anniversary party (along with smoked brisket and ribs, and prizes and a visit by shot girls), then back to River Falls for the Bacon Bash at 1:30 on Saturday, Sept. 16.