(For a post that actually manages to combine the seemingly strange bedfellows of elections and nudity, see this web site’s Notes From The Beat department).
Everything is under construction it seems, from an armory to an auditorium to asphalt. Or that’s been termed deconstruction, fittingly, as that item is listed partway down:
— The old armory in the Twin Cities, which has been turned into a happening nightclub, has been done so through the help of a young Hudsonite who is part of a three-person production crew for this and some other venues. The 6,000 seats at the new armory facility often sell out fast for name musical acts, he noted. That made this headline in the St. Paul Pioneer Press — when his crew and others had a disagreement with a related new and major venue also chosen to host a series of bands just prior to the Super Bowl — seem a bit behind the eight ball: “Mystic Lake sued over cancelling temporary nightclub.” Temporary?
— Likewise, a couple of workers from Colorado were part of a small team brought in to troubleshoot some fix-its at the then-almost-finished Hudson High School and auditorium renovation. They said they were fresh off another such task at a small town in Minnesota, where the locals were so happy with the work on the local school and music-staging area that they threw a great big community party with the messiahs of mortar, who can carry a tune with a band as well as carry a toolbox, as guests of honor. After getting the last pieces to fit, they celebrated likewise at Dick’s Bar, but found there was one piece missing — heartily so — that would have made it a true to-do. What was the missing link? You’ve got to remember, the workers were from Colorado.
— The online ad for learning additional languages suggested that people do so pronto, so it would be useful during soccer’s World Cup. What my friend at Buffalo Wild Wings, which billed itself as the Hudson place to view the action, thought about this was the kicker. “I could care less about soccer,” she said with a smirk. Another patron, however, said that she had just been to a Minnesota United game, and was impressed by the about 30,000 people who were there, possibly riding on the coattails of the World Cup and prior to that catching some of the action at BWW. And speaking of events well flooded with people, there have been a couple in recent weeks in Lakefront Park, including the Relay For Life and Riverfest, leading staffers from Dick’s to ponder aloud, “just what’s going on down there?”
— They needed to make the hopper hop to it. On a recent Thursday at the Village Inn, a going away party was so well-attended — so much so that the staff was swamped with up to 150 people, obviously much more than usual for that night — that all their beer hoppers were hard at work all throughout the night, dispensing drinks. This kind of crowd though is what bartenders live for, as they make their living largely through tips. This was at the forefront of the mind of one of them, she told me, even though that packed night not prompted by the Packers was awhile back, but seemed like yesterday.
— Just one thought, from the late night news about their news that China would no longer be accepting solid waste from the U.S. “Looks like they no longer are going to take our shit!”
— Another play on words, as far as use (or misuse) of language. A late-night buddy was livid about the use in the newspaper of the word deconstruct to describe the first stages on the remake of the former dog track into a multi-use complex to include a longer-in-coming than Field of Dreams baseball diamond. He argued that it should read that there would be demolition followed by new construction. To deconstruct would be going back and doing things like taking out individual nails one at a time. (He even planned to look the word up in the dictionary — we debated which one — just to make sure he had nailed it on the head). He also referenced as mandatory use of a wrecking ball. I mentioned to him that the term deconstruct might be more succinct, but that did not go far — in what is unusual for someone who has had a few beers, he didn’t have a tolerance for being chatty.
— The sign, when taken in full, advertised award winning ribs, but because of the lights on one side being out, at night it was seen as “ard ing ibs.”
— The last slogan to reference was on a beautiful women’s T-shirt. I at first thought it read Under Construction, which made me consider quipping to her A Job Well Done. Then I noticed, just in time to save myself from a serious social blunder, that the shirt actually said Under Armour. Later, I made another such miscue, and this time — unfortunately — the words actually exited my mouth. The server had to break away and head to the end of the bar to serve some last-minute off-sale customers, and I regretably said, “this is the back end, you know the drill!”
— Again, I guess Dibbo’s will never go away. A magazine on the rack showed the hottest swimsuit bodies of the year, and weighing in despite her age being beyond 40 was Brooke Burke. I’ve always thought that my old band-watching friend Jen looked much like her, having the long legs although not quite as long in the tooth.
— Tracey, or should I say Traceys, were both back to watch one-man-bander Jeff Loven the other night. Tracey No. 1 got up and for old times sake did their rendition of Paradise By The Dashboard Light. And speaking of the One Man Band, he is headlining the Freedom Fest in Minnesota with a record six-hour set.
— Every dog must have his day, although there’s a limit to where they can go. Now that the kitchen is in at the newly renovated Starr’s Bar, there are signs on the doors saying dogs can no longer be brought in, unless they are service animals. The exception is out on the patio, where they can go as long as they are leashed and neutered. The place once had a problem resulting from that, the sign continued. (Use your imagination! Or maybe don’t).