Halloween, like elections, just won’t go away, but we’d instead like to lead off this segment of the web page by talking about the lovely Amanda (one of two women going by that name who have bartended at Dick’s):

— When Smirk Worthy had their initial gig at Dick’s Bar and Grill on Wednesday, the style of precise but understated guitar was perfect to promote lead singer Amanda’s vocals, which were invariably dead-on through songs both classic and lesser played by cover bands. Her range of pitch was apparent when covering Blondie’s “One Way Or Another,” and overall skill shown through on Sweet’s “Ballroom Blitz,” a difficult song few would even attempt. The overflow crowd clamored for an encore, which was a song by Adele.
A long-time aquaintance of Amanda’s agreed, saying all the instruments were at an ideal tone. She showed the audience a bit more flair than her usual, both by being animated with her arm motions and dance, and by dressing up with a hot layered look. Her flamboyance was only rivaled by Ben on the bass. When she addressed the crowd by saying, “the heat’s really on in here,” a guy yelled back, “you know it.”
Stay tuned for more opportunities to see Smirk Worthy, a five-piece band that will likely play again in the Hudson area around Thanksgiving.
— Two other holdovers about after-the-fact Halloween costumes. A man came into Guv’s dressed as a nurse, complete with the fact that he was on crutches and sporting a cast on one leg. Physician heal thyself? Also, a group of people who were waiting to pay the cover charge at Dick’s, and sporting the same type of wide brim hats that were profiled last week in the Halloween edition of this web site, found they were having trouble getting in the door as a group because … those hats were just too wide!
— And one more for alternative headgear, the guy doing karaoke at Ellie’s who looked like Jar Jar Binks of Stars Wars fame. Who knew he could sing?
— With the elections now done, this web site is not without political commentary, such as it is. A man who had an Australian accent and his buddy were watching the returns at Green Mill, with rapt attention rarely seen in this country, when they asked about some things that are about elections American style. Just what is this thing called an Electoral College? And what happened in Florida that is so important that everyone keeps talking about it? That only started the discussion.
— Also, at Woody’s in Bayport, a man said he knows an elected official with whom he graduated from an area high school, who was “fourth or fifth in line” in the presidential cabinet. The patron then pulled out his cell phone and showed the bartender photos of his acquaintance with several other, higher profile politicians, including Hilary Clinton.

These oddities abounded in Hudson recently.

— In this age of YouTube, people take pictures of the strangest things. A man came into a local haunt and started taking pictures, lots of them from various distances away, of the popcorn machine. The bartenders glanced at each other and apparently didn’t know what to think. He then sat down at the bar like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. I wonder if one of those kernels looked like Jesus?
— Other photos get taken, too. Birthday greetings are often posted on bar marquee signs, whether they be at Agave Kitchen, Kozy Korner, Guv’s or other places. However, when a regular who was one of the recipients saw her well-wishes on the sign at the Village Inn, she immediately got out her camera and recorded it, yet again, for posterity. (Just to show how many times you can make record of being 29). That same sign often uses the play-on-words wording “Saturday Nite Live Band” to advertise their music.
— Two things you can find in bathrooms, all in the same block, that are normally not seen. At Agave Kitchen, for years there has been an Ottoman setting in the restroom, which is just plain cool. Down the way at Pier 500, the bottoms of the bathroom sinks have a slanted format that runs at a near-45-degree-angle away from the patron. Less water capacity, more style.
— The same-sex marriage vote clamor in Minnesota has spilled into Wisconsin, over the rock music airwaves. A 93-X radio deejay said this on the air: “I got a text that I think was a same-sex marriage proposal, but it was from Wisconsin, so you never know what the hell it was about.” A sign that was a proposal of a different type — a political endorsement — can be seen in a yard sign along Second Street in Hudson. Does this person know what state he’s in?
— Richard Cheese is also going over well in Cheesehead Country. The artist, and I use that word lightly, takes heavy metal standards and converts them into cheesy — I had to say it, at the risk of being redundant — lounge music. He had an entire album, song after kitschy song, played back-to-back at Dick’s the other day. That was something that I thought only happened at the former Twisted Grille, when the late night scene took over downstairs after dining.

With Halloween on the horizon, here are some of the most interesting things seen as a precursor.

— What would Halloween be without an alien item? Sue at the Village Inn always teases me about when I plan to do my expose on the object that fell from the sky a few miles northwest of here and plunged to the bottom of a lake. TV news outlets broke the story, and even said a government UFO team was called in to check just what the object happened to be. However, there never was a followup story on what they found, although it seemingly was not Chicken Little. This caused this intrepid reporter to suggest that it was Brett Favre’s private jet flying through to the Twin Cities, and dropping a refrigerator full of beer to lighten the load. (It was about the time Favre signed with the Vikings). To this day, most times I see Sue I suggest a solution.
— Back at Guv’s Place in Houlton, the “Guv” himself has set the bar high for costuming and will have trouble this year beating what he did in an earlier Halloween. He shaved part of his head and styled it to look like that of a monk — to the point that some regulars didn’t even recognize him. Then there’s Duke, a salesperson who frequents Dick’s Bar, and says that in his youth he also had an everyday, non-Halloween Mohawk that raised his height a half-foot.
— Guv’s has its share of patrons who are subbing at professionally-done haunted houses and other such attractions in the Cities. Recently, one guy who was still in his mask, pressed his face against the glass door and scarily rubbed it around before making a more conventional entry. (At which time, fittingly, a song by Rob Zombie was playing on the jukebox). He also carved a pumpkin to give it a grimace and had it spewing seeds out of its mouth, like someone who’s imbibed too much.
— At Hefty’s Roadhouse, a new place in Bayport that formerly housed Captain’s, one of the servers plans to dress up as the cartoon character Jasmine, although she adds her outfit will be too sexy for some of Jasmine’s young fans. Kind of like her namesake at Green Mill, who was stunning last year as the leatherclad Olivia Newton-John character in Grease.
— Also at Green Mill recently, a male patron got a head start on the holiday by donning a blond wig — and constantly tossing his hair — all while playing the hair band Poison on the jukebox. This led the slightly balding guy across the room to say he wished he had some of those locks. None of them, however, can compare to the waist-length blond hair of their server.
— Back at Hefty’s, one of “Jasmine’s” co-workers said the theme of a recent Halloween party in her family was — what else — dress up as another family member. The other day, she was dressed in what looked like the outfit of the spokesperson for the new Farmer’s Daughter beer, although adding that wasn’t by design since she had heard of the brew, but had never seen it offered. That could be a theme, since recently at a place that does serve plenty of it on tap, but temporarily ran out, the plastic cup that was put over the top of the lever to show it was unavailable would not fit. The top was square, and this literally was like putting a square peg in a round hole.
— This Halloween sign hung on the door to a men’s bathroom says it all: “Insane Asylum.”

These are a random collection of quirky occurrences seen while covering the Hudson

entertainment scene. There are plenty to be found; just make a showing and keep

your eyes and ears open.

— Local people who work there are still talking about the appearance of Van
Halen at the Afton House Inn. (OK, it was more than an appearance, they holed up
there for almost a week after a recent show in the Cities, and spent loads of
money in the lounge). A noteworthy fact that was discovered: The bands
dog-walkers get $68,000 a year, and there’s more than one of them. Workers also
took the boys in the band over to Woody’s in Bayport just to get them out of the
house, so to speak. No word of if they ever made it to Hudson to party, like
when Brad Arnold of 3 Doors Down and Gregg Allman, on separate nights, did when
they closed up at Pudge’s.
— A local man was a principle in redoing a mansion for Prince, down to the fact
that there were 16 showers installed with two shower heads each. He told me over
a beer that Prince can be someone with whom you can get along, but when first
getting to know him, just be all business and don’t look him in the eye. Do this
and eventually, he will open up to you at least a little bit. It turns out that
Prince, in a way that is unusual for a singer, has streaks where he hardly ever
speaks, rather relying on telepathy.
— I have my own Prince story. At an area gas station, I met a very well-dressed
man whose car had broken down and he needed a ride. He seemed harmless, so I
concurred. Hence, he told me that aside from his day job, he was a guitar player
in Prince’s backup band while the Purple One was on tour at the height of his
popularity. The man gave me his card and was adamant that we do lunch. Alas, and
I regret it, I never called him back. Too busy with deadlines such as this, I
guess.
— A sassy blonde friend of mine came to the rescue of one of her girlfriends,
when they were on the tour bus of the heavy metal band Lacuna Coil after their
most recent show in the Cities. It seems one of the musicians was getting way
too cozy with her friend. Reminds me of that song, Once Bitten, Twice shy, and
the deeds of the drummer: “I got there in the nick of time, before he got his
hands across her state line.” Incidentally, another local friend who looks quite
similar could find herself in the same situation; she has been dating the
manager of Five Finger Death Punch, who she met at a St. Paul concert.
— A noteworthy presence in downtown Hudson bars has come from two regular
patrons who are ordained ministers, but took a white-collar and blue-collar job,
respectively, rather than pursuing a career with the cloth. Suffice it to say
they won’t be giving any sermons.
— (First, a disclaimer. I try not to look at anyone while they are in a
bathroom stall, but sometimes you just have to look through the crack — pardon
the pun — to see if the stall is occupied). You think that people overuse cell
phones late at night, or while behind the wheel? I recently had to wait quite
some time to use the facilities while someone was texting on the toidy!
— The weather is getting cool, so you don’t want to get wet. But you would have
during our first cold snap if you parked your car along the spaces between
Lakefront Park and First Street. The city had their sprinklers on and they were
raining down on the front hood, the windshield, the back window — you get the
picture. I know the city is energetic in keeping people out of the park at
night, moreso and moreso, but this is ridiculous.
— Seen at the counter of the Village Liquor store: The book, “How to cook with
beer.” Wouldn’t you know it, this literary masterpiece was an inch thick! Only
in Wisconsin, where there are seemingly a gazillion ways to make beer-cheese
soup.
— To further that note, patrons at Guv’s Place in Houlton were prompting a cloth
monkey dressed as a Viking to drown its head in a beer glass. The shocked bartender
(OK that’s an over-statement), rescued it and lightly slapped the perpetrator
with the monkey. One has to wonder, would any of this have happened if the
monkey could hold his beer like any self-respecting Wisconsinite?