Hudson Wisconsin Nightlife

Archive for the ‘The Headliner’ Category

Think the River Falls music fests are fine? While here, and especially if you stayed too long, stop by Bo Jon’s Flowers and Gifts, as it even has much more. If it’s any gift idea, you’ll find it at this five-some family business. In combinations. If its where you hail from, they’re branching out into Minnesota. I’ll name drop these among the bounty of brands: ikebana, Biedermeier designs, Hogart curve designs, Western Line designs …

Sunday, June 25th, 2023

So you went out to get her some killer flowers of a kind originating in say Kashmir — high but not in-the-desert dry as the only thing on your list, that’s filled with this and that — mixed in with those from all around our country, but that was not enough.

A cache of chocolate? And also candles? Creatively make it into a combo? Hey, she’ll cater to the crafts you’ll find here, coming for The Kinni. And extend the gift idea, even if its for other people or occasions or even rewarding yourself, much further with a bunch of newly added brands of bubbly? With wind chimes, and (rough)hewn woodworking that’s either vintage or original, also chiming in? And as they say, so much more. All under one roof in a big for River Falls bonafide floral and gift and design center, at what you could call Powers Flowers.
This is so varied and special that even if visiting from another village, say in the Twin Cities, you might want to stop off just blocks before getting to the main tourist district and take care of all your gift-giving business. Maybe why you’re here, need a quick housewarming present or two? And a makeup gift for back at home if you stayed in River Falls enjoying its various amenities way too long, as people tend to do here? Or were here, there or anywhere in the two-county area for one of its many music festivals, and needed a shopping respite between sets?

 

— Film it and they will come, and maybe with their own and additional camera!

The other night in downtown Hudson, just beyond the Heading East cross-street sidewalk to a main drag road, there was a great big white tarp to be seen. About double the size of a lane in basketball, if at a sports bar. So just what was going on here, causing a street be be basically shut down at that eastern edge? I didn’t think it was the typical construction — as after all this is Hudson and there are some killer posts coming on that topic — but I just had an inkling about the ilk to be found …

So I asked one of the two “extras” who were hanging around on the sidelines. Oh, we are filming a commercial! With Common Council prior OK, I am assuming. Hudson likes its Discovery thing, when it comes to tourism type thingees. There was a guy positioning himself around with a camera, but for the moment at least, a noticeable lack of props. Just that great big and burgeoning heap of plastic piece, with bright lights and big city beaming directly onto it, ten feet east of said sidewalk.

This was at about 9 p.m. on a Thursday. Huh, kinda cool, so then I made my way over to Ziggy’s to take in some music. And then coming back, 45 minutes and one set later, there was still work going on and even the start of some actual filming. Standing at street-corner-side was a guy in uniform, talking to someone. Not sure if it was an actual local cop or a security dude.

Then next day, walking down the opposite side on the same street, on a very close-by street-corner, there was a very fashionable young woman also carrying a camera, the big old school kind, not a glorified cell phone. She had on a barely-there tank top and trademark baggy PJ type pants, a look that often goes together these days. She could have been in front of the camera, primping and preening on the sidewalk.

Like the previous night, I made my way on down, to the convenience store, and on the way back spied her again, scouting out prey with her camera. —

 

So build me up a design, buttercup, to paraphrase a popular flora-focused song?
Enter Bo Jon’s Flowers and Gifts. As a family-owned business with a tremendously broad scope, they are capable of — and indeed relish the thought of — creating exquisite arrangements of flora and beyond, while intertwining countless styles across countless countries that include the traditional, garden style, high style, and to incorporate specific brand names, ikebana, Biedermeier designs, Hogarth curve designs, Western Line designs and many more. Whew. Their experienced designers can create everyday arrangements, wedding and special event designs and installations along with stunning funeral pieces, they say. Also offered, just as importantly, are a wide range of gift items including many specialty chocolates, now even wine and beer, tropical houseplants, wooden crafts, local art and candles. As far as their big plans for expanding, they’ll be offering delivery into the Woodbury, Stillwater, Oak Park Heights and Afton areas, while still ironing out exact details. Their large crew — I even recognized an old neighbor from North Hudson, behind the counter and in one of the main floral assembly areas — agree that they love offering products from many favorite small businesses, whether located in the St. Croix Valley or Texas, or parts in-between. “Let our design team work with you to honor the relationships and moments that mean the most to you,” they emphasize, quite emphatically.
The cordial, very helpful and detail oriented young man who answered the phone, promptly, then wrote every word of my long note onto his notebook, is one of the members of the five-person family who carry on a tradition forged by a number of prior owners over many years, and now run the Bo Jon’s who got its name from them. He added that others like him in that way, including his siblings, provide their personal touch of candles and woodworking products, as those were the two biggies he specified, to round out the mix of offerings.
He added that the family was told it might take some doing to get their liquor license, for things like the bubbly for your honey on your honey-do list, as these are not always easy to come by, since for obvious reasons these licenses are in demand. Everybody wants one. So they applied back in a January time frame, hoping to get all such things in order by Valentine’s Day, and were pleasantly surprised to have them all be an actual go by the first week or two of February. It helps to stay on top of such things. Flowers and other featured products too.

Specialty services at Bo Jon’s

They offer a large inventory of fresh flowers that include tropicals, indoor house plants, seasonal outdoor annual plants, dish gardens, contemporary and traditional arrangements, high-style floral arrangements, funeral designs, extensive gift lines, gourmet and fruit baskets, assorted gift baskets, and greeting cards. Got all that, consummate shopper and consumer? They follow with things hard to find under one roof like those wind chimes, garden stones and sympathy-based items, and those from Valley Fudge and Candy Co. Many new vendors are coming onboard soon.
“If you have any questions or need more information, we’re always here to serve you and make your flower-sending experience a pleasure,” they again emphasize. So call them at 715-425-1522, or just stop in at 222 N. Main St. in the center of River Falls, Wis. at the zip code of 54022.
There are many special events planned. Among them, the family caters to weddings, funerals and other such gatherings, and have partnered with Belle Ame Vineyard in River Falls, where in the coming weeks they will be offering to their patrons a Bo Jon’s cart of fresh flowers. The educational facet of the business will kick-in when they host seasonal classes on how to do your own planters, flower arrangements and wreaths, while you enjoy a glass of wine, charcuterie and the beautiful landscape of the vineyard.
Arch rentals that were hand-built by them from 100-plus-year-old reclaimed barnwood, in various styles, as well as centerpieces and other items, are on hand here. This family business now supplies residential and commercial landscaping, outdoor planters throughout the changing seasons, and irrigation systems.
Customers can be supplied with almost anything related to the main focuses of their growing shop. When you are parents, you learn to foster the talents and even expertise possessed by your children and draw these out, and you can see that touch in so much of their merchandise. The kids’ marketing flair, especially in working with their own individual gifts, even is shown by the fact they wrote business plans — and shared their love of plants — for their parents to incorporate. Scores of the sources of product are truly unique. With that said, since the family, as a whole but in particular their mom, loves travel that is regional and beyond, it is only fitting that they should partner to offer their services and products via other like-minded companies in western Wisconsin and especially eastern Minnesota. And deliver to many of those areas.

Here is an article, slightly edited, that tells the tale, posted by the River Falls Area Chamber of Commerce (and Tourism Bureau):
The Powers Family moved to River Falls from Hudson during the height (or depth) of COVID. They were looking for a little more room to spread out without bumping into their neighbors and stumbled upon a house with a little land that made that possible for them. One of the things that they liked to do as a family was to go for country drives, (and there is so much fodder for this in the area, and they even will deliver to much of it). They like to explore and see nature. Ditto. On one of their drives, Erin announced with content that she was home. That was a BIG statement for anyone that knew Erin as she has lived all over the United States and traveled a lot. The next thing she asked Jeff was “Do you want to buy a business and set down roots?”
Jeff and Erin then presented the idea to their three teenagers, (a bold move, but they were very receptive). Then they asked each one of their children to write up a business plan as to what they were interested in, what they could bring to the table and what they absolutely was a non-starter. After reading what each teenager said, and what they were willing to offer, Jeff and Erin embarked on finding the right business that fit their family.
In May 2022, Erin and Jeff as her “not so silent partner,” purchased Bo Jon’s Flowers & Gifts. This allows each of the Powers Family members to bring a little of themselves into the shop, (increasing the skill sets present to five-fold). Erin runs the day to day operations as well, with her creative background, helps dream up all the projects to keep everyone busy. Liam is often seen at the front of the store waiting to welcome customers into the store, much like a Waffle House experience, (and he is a wealth of information). Jonah is often busy with his shop classes at school, (one way he uses that follows), track and his girlfriend but when he has time he likes to make wooden crafts for the store. Cara is a permanent fixture of the store. She is a self described, “plant nerd” and can often-times be found caring for those, even the exotic, in the front of the store or outside. She has a passion for floral design and will one day take over the shop when Jeff and Erin decide to hang up their hats, (and flower pots).
In their free time when not at the shop, the family loves to travel to neat little places and bring back little treasures from their trips, (near and not so near), to share with the rest of the community. Jeff and Cara have taken up pouring their own line of candles called, “Powers of a Candle,” which is sold at Bo Jon’s along with knit hats that Cara makes. The family have sixty-eight and counting animals and often sell their free range chicken eggs to the community. They grow their own fruit and vegetables as well as quite a few of their own flowers that they bring in each year to sell at the shop.
They are excited to continue their journey in River Falls and send a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has supported them throughout their ongoing adventure!

On Sundays they are closed, but on weekdays open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. That last part is important when you are in town for a weekend festival, and there are many.
They accept the following wide range of payment methods: Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, and even Apple Pay and Pay Pal.
Areas served just in Wisconsin include River Falls, of course, and bergs like Beldenville, Baldwin, Ellsworth, Hudson, Prescott, Roberts and Spring Valley. None are too small or too big.
Now talking about the tremendous scope of their store. They deliver to these facilities, so many that you’ve probably done business with some of them before and built up trust: Bakken-Young Funeral & Cremation Services, Our House Senior Living River Falls, O’Connell Family Funeral Homes, Comforts of Home, Kinnic Health and Rehab, Wellhaven Senior Apartments, River Falls Area Hospital and Keehr Funeral Home.
Email them at bojonsflowers@gmail.com. You can also find them on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.

When it comes to Willie and the boys, minus Waylon but adding Robert Plant, there’s a look that runs in my family, throughout decades, so on Friday head to the Somerset amphitheater — its fully natural — to steal the show with YOUR hairdo. Its a classic.

Thursday, June 22nd, 2023

They had gone different routes with their hair, facial and on the head, but these two performers still can rock the look, bringing it to Somerset on Friday evening.

This might, also, be role reversal, but country crooner Willie Nelson is the headliner and singer Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin fame is the opening act, playing with Alison Krauss across the big stage. Trampled by Turtles is also on the bill.

These days, Plant has his curly locks kept as long as ever, and he can be a bit scruffy with the facial hair. Nelson by contrast, now has in most cases his beard fit and trimmed and carefully coiffed, even looking respectable. That’s a tall order for a festival calling itself the outlaw variety. My mom of all people, was told by one of her nieces that RE: The Relatively Older Willie, he could be a lookalike for her, or is it the other way around? The other older and maybe wiser niece has not chimed in. (I must say that the new look Willie’s beard is just like mine, as it is today, rather than MY outlaw days, so to speak, of a few years back.)

— For another event of this and many former seasons, with origins of almost three decades ago, see Picks of the Week. And also, marking the end to fighting another ending that too often crops up, there in a motorcycle rally on Saturday that raises funds for suicide awareness. This is announced as the last installment of this annual event. Kickstands up starting an noon, and ride the rally through 5 p.m. It starts and ends at Mel’s Downtowner in River Falls, and all vehicles are welcome to ride. Even that old Pinto. OK, this is not a joking matter, so I should not make it so. Bad (joke) Joe. Even though the ride ends its run today, donations will continue to be accepted. This series of events was spurred by a lovely young local woman who took her life a few years ago. —

The show gets underway at 3:30 p.m. and is at the “natural” amphitheater, which seems fitting. Also that way is the fact that a madcap drummer friend and fiend of mine, who had gone on world tours back in the day, saw a pop-up performance by Plant when he also went country at an intimate show up near St. Croix Falls.

Other shows were hawked, even moreso, on the local bulletin boards at various nightspots and the like. They also are a dichotomy, as they range far east and west from the St. Croix Valley. But we have you covered with our coverage as per this review. Weather remained seasonable, not much more than in the 70s and a light breeze, and the rain held off, so these mega-bills with scores of bands playing all day were well attended when the events were held last Saturday. (I deemed this too far afield for a preview, just that if you looked hard enough at places like Ziggy’s that have their own bands, there was the old 8.5-by-11 page on the bulletin board.

First up, all the way over in Marion on the other side of Wisconsin, where I used to live, there was a bill with really cool band names, Polar Alchemy, Lo-Fi Killers who just have a have a creative approach to their sound, Shovel Head, Fallen … This was dubbed the Fett Fest, and that surname is kinda big down that way, and it was BYOB, apologies to System of a Down. Hey this played well in the heart of Badger Beer Country, for obvious reasons.

Take you back the other way to St. Paul and the Payne Avenue Fest, with a full 25-band lineup, too many to list. Again the cool name, as in a main sponsor, that being Caydence Records. You could see this late-breaker announced on the door of one of the newest shops in downtown Hudson, just in the nick of time after their opening.

The encores kept coming, as a three-month summer rolls in with a solstice and maybe Blue Oysters, and even with ninjas and their — boo — only foam sticks. But smog, as in that monster, was the star earlier this week. And not from a light show at a concert. The color of that sun paled by comparison to the smell in the air.

Sunday, June 18th, 2023

With summer and its 90-or-so days of concerts here almost as we speak, it is time for encores of more than one song and/or guitar solo. And of course that summer solstice. The smog that made the sun as pale as that backing a Slipknot concert, or at least a Corey Taylor solo performance, had floated further south.

That is the turning of an event, along with graduation, that was referenced at a local hair salon and spa, saying it is time to get your hair and body fit. It was again — theme here — announced on a two-foot-high sign on the sidewalk. All this reminds me of when Blue Oyster Cult, named after a mystically themed mussel in New England, did a whole televised concert on the solstice theme many years back. Talk about a concept for a concept album.

The two encores I’ve chosen to mention are from new Thursday night music at Bennett’s, and a Jeff Loven show just last Sunday. Both saw more than one extra song, when the singer/guitarist would normally be making haste to leave and get back home to family. One request led to another, like-minded theme and building on an earlier foray into an artist they liked, and the tip jar that kept getting filled, more than once, kept the show going.

At the Hop N Barrel parking lot, on the end on a weekend eve, they shoulda been ninjas. Two swordsmen in black garb and white masks, and I say swordsman loosely, as they were sparring with foam sticks, were the attraction for a couple of onlookers back in the area where the wrestling ring pops up regularly. I again, reference from years earlier, a comparable impromptu event that was occurring at times around midnight in a park in the middle of the city, with a sci-fi theme. This was all the buzz with the local cops, not for a reason that it was sinister, I think, but rather that the park was closed by ordinance each night an hour or two earlier.

All that keeps the canine unit busy. And these dogs will now have their day all afternoon, on Sunday, June 25. A mutt wash at Ultimissimo — did I spell that odd and long name better than when I got such a one wrong and said with a typo Rovertown, (look twice and a third time), and a source complained to my Rivertowns editor that “the only dog in this town” is truly yours truly — will charge $30 for the doggie spa. She gets the full pro treatment with nail clipping, scrub a dub, undercoat (and undergarment if wearing a doggie sweater?) brushing and drying, and ear pruning and piercing, OK I made that last one up. A full 100 percent of the rain or shine event proceeds — not just 99.99 — will go to a Lucky Dogs cause and also the Hudson Police Department Canine Unit. Three pooches are pictured on the flyer and you even get a shot of you and your favorite pup and yourself to keep. Gee, maybe you should go across the street to Dick’s and toast your pooch with a Lucky Dog beer.

On that theme, the Hudson Police Department will be officially closed Wednesday through Friday, to office traffic. Dad had his day and now its for the dogs, at least concerning the Canine Unit and its officers, as they need a break too. But the squad cars will roll on. And call the main number for any need, as all calls will be monitored.

 

This was not seen, above and/or below, by following a Freezing Moon, like the song by the metal group Mayhem. Or a Neon Moon, like the country tune. Or a moon at all. More like a Black Hole Sun, of Soundgarden fame.

The sun shown, around eight on a recent evening, as a hazy pale-and-not-quite-bright orange, not yellow, on what a friend of mine jokingly called National Smog Day. As this was the worst of the worst, as smoke from a rampant Canadian firestorm made its way south to our backyard.
So you might say, Smoke of Her Burning, another metal song. Its been called both death metal, or not quite that dark in tone. I think it fits the bill.

 

— Dad had long since fired up the grill, then gave it a cursory cleaning, and put away until July Fourth. But should he, thusly, be the one to bring home the bacon, although that is what he usually does anyway?
Thought you’d want to know, now, what the stores had in store for Father’s Day.
They are already heavy on Fourth of July stuff, but then there was that aisle of all kinds of summer-style reclining on-the-deck chairs you had to choose from. And the greeting card that said simply Dog’s Day … oops, that’s not Dad’s Day.
And at the local cigar shop, dad’s choice, the night before there was a guy lighting up an unusually thick and long stogie that was the size and shape of that of Johnnie … oh we won’t go there.
And dad of course does one-off construction jobs of various types, on his on days, so its worthy of note that at a local venue, a fixup in the concrete of their parking lot was done the old fashioned way … with dirt and shovel, rectifying a three foot, yard-by-yard square where there had been a killer pothole. And even this weekend, The One Remaining Downtown Bank gave it the whole enchilada, redoing their entire lot in one fell Saturday swoop. —
The air quality, as cast from over in the Twin Cities, was listed as well above 200 — a mere 100 is an average? — which makes the danger threshold, so therefore beyond. I at first scoffed at that, thinking it was yet another overblown index. However, it seen became “clear,” no one had previously seen it that high, as discussed at length across the fence with a couple of buds, as you might have seen in that Fox animated sitcom about some very ordinary, average guys. But it wasn’t until they pointed it out that it fully registered with me. Although I had earlier been aware of a distinct odor in the air, even from inside my apartment, that to me seemed like someone lighting more than one or two candles. But only knows, we all thought, how bad it must have been in the Boundary Waters, before making it down this far, as one would think that in those many hundreds of miles the bulk of the smoke would have dissipated to the ground. Canoeists would have stood, in their boats, in wonder.
But the show would go on, once this weekend came. It was the once a month, or so it would seem, pro wrestling extravaganza at Hop N Barrel. You could tell a block away by the loud thuds on the mat as the combatants landed. The one I heard most loudly, followed by a count of three that was much faster than the usual two-and-a-half, resulted in the crowning of a wrestler only known by the emcee as OSG, which I will guess stands for Ol’ Samson God. A couple of cyclists happened by on the adjacent sidewalk, and paused, also in wonder. Removing a helmet or two, if I recall, in the homage these guys always get.
One of the wranglers not in the ring at that moment, all decked out in face paint, was manning a merch booth, and munching on what I can only assume was a protein snack. For smacking down.

There is a madman (madcap drummer?) inside my head that keeps nagging at me, gnawing at me, quoting Kinks. Actually it’s my editor(s). So here is how a writer builds up a neurosis when the computer screen fails in so many ways and you have to start anew with your precious prose and the deadline is two minutes to midnight away. Events will not restart later, although sometimes I wish they could. Like last week. But wait, salvation …

Thursday, June 8th, 2023

So I gotta retool. Fast. And these are not gigs when you can be a diva and show up late to the stage, and have a opening act do a second encore as a coverup for you. Paranoia will destroy ya. But neurosis lives on, to fight another day, assuming the wifi works again. Like it just now has.

It all only started, I think, with planned obscelliscence.
The old and often unreliable types of computer programming indeed programmed my brain. And if you read this website long enough, or not that long at all, you will see what this long post is getting at. Timely, shimely. Technology is not always your friend, and its shortcomings can back you up in publishing things that suddenly go blip in the night — and isn’t that when we do most of our deadline stuff?

— Baldwin’s June Bug Days has been replaced by Windmill Days, a couple of years ago, but there still are loads of things to do, much more than any other area summer festival. Multiple music acts, of course, but you would expect that. All kinds of other entertainment, arts and crafting stuff, demos and their specialty, many ethnic as in Dutch themes to-dos. It goes on all weekend, to complete its longer than usual for such fests, five-day run.

Along an established line, the be-as-it-May-month-message-board on the wall at Ziggy’s has been blank for June bands. But they make up for it with posters, individual ones for their week’s seven days, on the door of the elevator (yes they have one). Most notably, positioned to the right and downward corner is the Saturday night live act, Pop Syndrome. They’ve been around long enough for treatments for and to their … syndrome. —

Do you ever get the jitters when you hit the next button on the computer that you might lose everything you gained when hitting the hundreds of buttons beforehand? Call me the product of my profession, as I recall far enough back, before there was anything like backup available, to still have bad dreams about VDTs and dialup internet, and their very frequent failures. Made the old manual typewriter seem easier and maybe even more efficient.
So you’d think the only real aspect of this I still have to worry about — at least at first thought — would be a no-brainer to withstand.
I would not have drafted that draft button, would I have known, or at least put full faith in it, as I get caught up on when is the last time, even in seconds not minutes, that the “saved draft” appears and eases my fears, but did it really work that way? Did I see it out of the corner of my eye?
So yesterday’s news can break down in the save process and need to be refashioned as todays, as I lost my post prior to this last weekend I was working for, but not until I was at its end and ready to strike “publish.” Ouch, in those last few minutes, my wifi went out.
Backing up, my popular website, which you are now reading, has a quirk that came about when — gee I don’t really know why — it became clear that when I cut and paste to post in an inside department, it will also appear, as you have seen very recently, as my lead story. Obviously, some posts have more merit then others, so they go inside. But there is not a save button to hit to secure this process and section of posting, I’m taking my chances. If the wifi that I am just newly doing becomes overloaded within the overall network, with too many users at peak times, I run the danger of losing it and having to start over — and even after that maybe get the same result. This is when I need the autosave feature to save me, but it doesn’t accept it as a draft right away, as there are gaps before the protocol again takes precedence. Like just a few days ago. Got all that?!? I wish only for the technical mastery of Audioslave in Like A Stone and its understated but powerfully whining guitar.
It is a total pain to redo such typing, because of the obvious redundancy of content, repeating in your brain. But then sometimes I’ll remember to put in more detail and not keep it so short, rather than rushing to beat time, before the network crashes and my post essentially becomes invisible, at least until I redo it.. So Sometimes Goodbye To A First Draft Is A Second Chance.
But this doesn’t scare me nearly as much as the old VDT, the size of an all-metal refrigerator, and not the college dorm variety, where it was hard to even go back and edit before the page often would go poof! No quarter here, in more ways than one. Or the dialup where you’d not even get the screech like a wounded animal — or wayward reporter — to complete your writing and then send, before you would get that awful blank screen without any flickering lights gazing back at you.
So here we go with Joe psychoanalyzing himself and lining up his neuroseses, most of which we can all relate to, in roughly the order they appeared in his life. I reference via Dr. Phil the difference between anxiety (like someone simply yelling snake without any backup context) and the idea of that same person actually placing a snake down in front of you.
So here we go …
That nasty you just might have a virus message appears. Do you think on the fly, that if you just shut down and turn off your computer, the problem will go away. Doesn’t seem likely and I don’t know the merits of that line of thought, but it gives you comfort and a sense of hope that the one button you hit will fix the difficulty. So your computer won’t virtually explode and you can be allowed to continue anew. Also, when you have to click a button — any button or should I call it key — to make your screen saver revert itself back to what you had open on your desktop, you always choose to strike M not any other vowel or consunant. Am I a bit OCD too?
Do you ever hesitate to firmly and totally, and thus irretrievably although the techno among us might know an avenue, delete something by sending it to trash? You know you’ve had that angst. Fear of the dark?
Or to delete a long string of words as part of a search so you can’t be trafficked, if looking at something that’s a no no — even if just browsing for a second or two or just selecting preview and is that a mitigating factor? — and then not bring in as much reader traffic as your computer dies?
So put it on a flash drive. But can that boatload of letters, stories and other documents ever just disappear from the flash drive if it sets in your drawer, or in the sun too long? Living that shelf life too much in the sun?
And even if you don’t lose emails, and they are there right in front of you for the moment, did you remember to strike both reply AND send. Anxiety in the moments before you check your box to see that it announces, formally, that the message has been sent. And when your screen saver comes on with its beauty scenery, is the scene that you might have lost everything that got typed up and then is momentarily replaced by cool color patterns.
Hey, you highlight something with the good old cut and paste, and fear that if you hit a backspace to delete the extra typo in the sentence below — Type O Negative? — you will have been deprived of more than that one letter, as what you had highlighted will go bye bye. There is the undo button, but did you already use it, for something even prior that you’re trying to get back to where it once belonged? Or if you keep multiple windows open, are there too many in regulation?
And as far as regulation, to go back a couple of decades, what are some of the rules, as I did a gig for Patch for a few months, back when wifi wasn’t as widely and wildly popular, and wasn’t even wellknown. Supposed to publish from my home computer. But as is my theme today, it went down, part on my end and part on theirs. Double trouble. What did my editor say? Find the nearest bar and grill and piggyback by using their inhouse wifi. Just don’t partake in things you should not while on the job. As I unlike he, had no expense account. Being so fish out of water, I did something he considered fishy and just waited until the next day. That did not go over well, as a sports team and their game waited.
All these things can be resolved with time, but that isn’t always there as seconds tick away. Like the recent White House announcement that a debt ceiling pact had been reached. It took them weeks to put together a bill that granted, was likely much longer than one of my stories. Sometimes most of us work best under pressure. But that puts on almost as much pressure on as when, again, a screen goes poof.
Or when the speaker of the house realized that his speaker was not on when his last arguments were being made. So retool. Now that’s real pressure.
A thing that’s somewhat less so is if your car is on fumes and the gas station if still a half-mile away. We’ve all been there at some point. Easier, since the period of angst is spread out over close to a minute, rather than that one strident moment of pure terror. Much the same with backing up your files. The short-term is that its one less thing to have to do, and any consequence for not doing so is off in the future. Backup to the future?

Tip-top radio talker Tom is back after a short break, new and even more uncensored, which is (or isn’t) unusual these days. —– Takes me back to when he interviewed for several minutes my model friend Bree, of bikini fame on many local lakes, but still perfecting a land of ice and snow with her auger. But not all were enthralled, as there might be young needers-of-a-more-(or-less)-perfect role model at the trade show.

Saturday, May 27th, 2023

Like many, although more intelligently than most, Tom Barnard has never been one to be too filtered when forging forward into info. And he wanted something more into creativity (yes I know that’s an overused word even at ten letters).
So after decades with KQRS Radio as the mainstay of their top-ranked national morning show, Tommy B stepped down a few months ago, but now has revived his act with things like a podcast, flailing at family, and billing himself as (even more?) uncensored. (And what about Bob S?) What little I know of this new effort, begun in spring, was on a bathroom wall at Agave Kitchen on their rotating ad sign. But for a few weeks it has circled forward no more next to that sink, so I don’t know if his amped-up new offering caught fire.

 

— In this day, how can we honor our veterans; I was struck by the horror and subsequent baggage inflicted, when hearing the story of a local veteran, with as is unfortunately often the case multiple traumas, but not from him, as to not complain, but also by listening to songs with war as the theme. Both forms of info end up being told in brief, which is a shame. (A post on that soon, and its not all what you think). To wit: That vet I know was slated to pay off the rest of a loan, $70 as the last installment, but now has lost his apartment and may be essentially homeless. Like so many. And when you are missing most of a leg …

I had planned to do something for him right away next month, set him up with some groceries, for the second time. Food for thought, tit for tat, as it might put him in a better frame of mind to repay me sooner rather than later. That is extremely selfish to have as even a partial motive. I found there was a hitch in these plans, and naturally I took a deep breath and chin-drop for a moment.

But there can still be part of that niche, with my plan. After all, we’re only talking seven times 10 dollars. Put your money where your mouth is Joe, and follow through with the meals donation and maybe get him some comfort food too. And he deserves dessert. Cook some of it up for him in advance, if its one of those days where the remainder of that leg is very sore. Add a care package for later?

A small way to help, those who have given so much more, if only one person and one time. But enough tiny things eventually become much bigger things. Light one candle.

My advice. And plea. Keep your eyes open and recognize ways to help in a creative manner, when they present themselves. Turns out my money is short for me right now, so a whole hog donation would be difficult. But get a balloon payment on The First, so maybe I can do more, even if later? When given time, most things just work out.

But one thing we all can do right now, to support a related cause. Offer to build a new VFW facility and they will come, especially on Monday afternoon. Take in the Sailor Jerri, and yes she’s a veteran, family-friendly concert in Lakefront Park in Hudson on Memorial Day. All aft, and showcasing many music styles but not much in the form of alt, and pushing onward until 7 p.m. This concert rings of all-star status, as she’s joined by a couple of longtime luminaries of the local and regional music scene, Tim Sigler and Josh Lassi, and also Jake Nelson. Sometimes the vocals rule.

(For more on the concert, when previewed at length, check out the coverage I gave on my website last year at about this time). —
The first time I knew someone Barnard interviewed, the subject matter was much colder. He had to ask, at length with his questions, the captain of the tourism-and-winter-recreation-fueled, promotional Bikini Ice Fishing Team why she thought there should be a reconsideration of them be frozen out of a scheduled major trade show appearance. The allegation was made that such attire, in a gratuitous sense, was not good role model material for young girls. So would my deep-dark-haired and darkly complected French model friend Bree get blasted, as its unofficial spokesperson? (It could be asked why you are wearing something so skimpy to go ice fishing in the Minnesota version of the frozen tundra, when parking)? So snap just a few quick photos, then hit the warming house? There’s got to be one in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. I still have an old photo, showing Bree working an ice auger in said bikini while the ice around her was anything but melting. A counterpoint is a snapshot of all the teammates, together, in a big sweaty spa.
(Another, but then-blonde-tinged, model friend by the same name was photographed in a runway shoot, right here in downtown Hudson at the old Dibbo’s club and raised-up all the way down the dance floor, by none other than myself. But the local newspaper editor who was supposed to give me a full-page photo spread, dweedled it down to just three small photos and a copy block, so the second Ms. B lost out on her attempt at pix for her portfolio, something she teased me about. Especially as she was walking away from an open mic jam at that, again, old Twisted Grille with its proprietor, the late Jeff Johnson, turning her head back as we viewed the head-turner crossing the main street. Sorry about the lapse on my part and the fact you had to point it out before I realized, as this backup-blues-tinged event by an up-and-comer was one of the biggest extravaganzas to ever hit Hudson. If only my editor had a clue about entertainment reporting — although he usually just gave me free reign to just go for it. But this time he actually made the comparison of some of the very-amateur local ladies doing their best to preen at a fundraiser for the local hospital, although granted it’s a mega-hospital.)
Anyway, the replacement for Barnard was not a member of The Replacements, rather Dave Gorman, former drummer for The Black Crowes. I regaled a New Richmond nightclub owner with such stories the other day, and he said that for a brief while a full 30 years ago his bar cranked the Barnard-based KQ rather than the jukebox. This was good while it lasted, but then the copyright police also made their presence felt.
As we talked, one of the old Black Crowes tunes came on over the PA, its Angel song. Gorman was at his best, with his classic rock fills between vocal lines.

Friday and Saturday and Sunday will take care of themselves. All fun days and nights. But what was shown out and about on the Wednesday before? Kinda an about-face.

Thursday, May 25th, 2023

It was a slow Wednesday night in advance of what will surely be a busy weekend of days and nights. We are due. I reference weather, especially.
But at Ziggy’s in Hudson, singer Kyle’s biggest fan, (longhaired country boy or older man?), who is one of those consistently there every midweek, was sitting there again, front and center, clapping on much more than one occasion. Also, Arlo Guthrie vibes. Reminded me of the River Falls venue that has a big picture of him on the wall right by the front door, along with a backstory of when he visited the area way back in the day. The clerk was more than willing to share the tale of this story-teller when I asked.
Kyle lent his rich and husky voice, with piercing notes on occasion, to his cover of Hotel California, moving into the classic guitar solo with quick plucking notes, then really rocking out, even though not electric. There was banter between him and a couple at the bar, with Kyle alluding to the idea that his version was unlike hardly any other you’d find. She pegged him for (another) request, another Eagles song, and he thought a moment then confirmed they’d negotiate. Then rip through it.
Another singer who was at the bar, who I’d not seen for years, Lori, said she as I knew was no longer a karaoke-meister, being one of the first in the area, and nevermore got behind the mic either to do that. That’s because she now fronts a relatively new group, The Luck Band, or Luck Duo, (and its 50/50 if you would be the frontman or woman for a twosome), and when there is a rare night off, they just stay in, or once in a great while take in someone else’s band. To wit: They have three shows in three days on this three-day weekend, ending late Sunday, and then have a day of rest, a day or two late.
What you (over)hear traversing the downtown on a slow Wednesday. A man said to his mates that he hadn’t been at Mancini’s, in St. Paul of course, for a while, but hey was here. Could that be Bennett’s steakhouse, as in rail and chop shop? Even though that’s been in existence for a decades shorter time.
Then there’s what she said. Only heard Kia referenced (car or furniture?) But her friends from the Cities won’t come here. At least not much. Now that is role reversal.
So I will now reverse this. For more on what’s happening over the long weekend, see the Picks Of The Week department. I will reference an event at its end that is a followup to one that created a procession from Hudson all the way to Baldwin, all at one time!)

It may not be chicken ala king, rather impress mom on her day with an overt app of salmon falafel and Indian Kashmir spinach with paneer cheese. You don’t even have to go Oriental!

Saturday, May 13th, 2023
Again sorry, move over mom. “Mother … don’t you walk my way, listen to my words, what they mean, what they say, mother …” Sings Danzig, because even though dark and edgy, he has a mom too.
So come Sunday, best not do menu one-ups-manship and leave it as a (large but multifaceted and layered?) appetizer to bring. Mom will think you’re being thoughtful.
— Forego mom for just a moment. Three days ago, or thereabouts, was the end of The Public Health Emergency. We all know what that’s about. So in Blasts From The Past is all the good stuff I have been keeping under my hat, as as far as info, until such time. (Gave it just a bit in case their was a redo, as the gov will do that). Third time is the charm, as far as days. Three days grace? Read it now, before it expires. —
My fishy take on a creative use of food began with mom, of course, learning from the best of her recipes, and this is poignant as Mother’s Day is just around the corner, (and that part of her garden may be at risk. See the trivia question of Where Did You See It).
I spied around Easter, but held out, that when going out for brunch, salmon was the fish and overall meat of choice, and hey I have had a full can setting on the shelf.
Along with some other oddball stuff to combine, largely amped-up rice and hummus — Seder meal anyone? — and more. So what does Joe do … He creates with thoughts in mind that stem back to the April crux that was the heyday of the creator and his crucifixion. (Because mom, and this thus becomes all about her, is very religious.)
But hey, when the diatribe started forming was Good Friday and its fasting, and this post is leaning more toward Easter, so let’s move beyond the divine and dive more directly into the positive from a mainstream stance. Since I have set the stage at length.
Here’s the meal that’ll make mom proud. And still not step on her toes. We’ll leave her hallmark killer cracker crumbs mixed into the salmon as her own thing. But you might be safe adding them again, cut in four pieces, on the four corners of a square bowl.
But it starts with salmon. What wins it, I think, is what you put on the side.
I had the bright idea of putting on each edge globs of Indian Kashmir spinach (Led Zeppelin approved). It comes in a packet with paneer cheese, but you can add virtually any other kind if in need. The initial deal has sprinkled in a bunch of onion, and also tomatoes, chili pepper powder and the ginger you don’t alway see. (Save the Mary Ann and Rosemary for marinara). This is garlic tinged and I find I’m always trying to use mine up, since it usually sells in more than one bulb. I chose to mix in whole-hog, chopped mushrooms and more onion before heating (so yes I fully vetted it). And you can’t go wrong with a bit of bell pepper. Lay over the top a few small and whole hot peppers, and form an attractive pattern. Same with sliced ham? And more cheese?
Also lay on the side as a secondary, some seasoned falafel? It is based on chickpea flour and can include (or you can make it include by adding it) any of the above veggies, so we have consistency. A recommendation is to lay on top full-on sliced tomatoes, cucumbers and tzatziki. You will have a hummus vibe. Substitutions can include candied yams, but I’ll leave that for another post.
Use all of this to fill a full plate, and since it is for grazing, fill any winged extension thingees of the plate as festive with lettuce and better, melba toast crackers.
That will play the best with mom, in so many ways.

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My niece now in North Austin will toast with Texas Tea? Not beef roast, as this is Easter. But this report is a (basically geography based) bundle of what kind of brunch you can find around north and central St. Croix County. —– And from this meaty metalhead, more telltale-tone, Easter egg-hue hints on our era and age and Agave too, in the category of Uncategorized.

Friday, April 7th, 2023

For Easter and local brunch, this is like Texas, done big or go home and and make it yourself, although you can glean ideas from this report. Like in Texas toast, and you won’t find that in the region we call Minnesconsin, actually, but there is plenty of French toast to be had.
Start with this, in downtown New Richmond and with other such named places still spreading throughout the Twin Cities metro, as built into the Mallard’s cost structure is a bottomless mimosa. This harkens back to the days in River Falls when a venue or two would on New Year’s Eve offer all you could drink for $25 (before any and many inflation concerns). Its just that what you get at Mallard’s has a more upscale clientele, and it remains family oriented, and the whole affair is just classier in general.
And the brunch itself sits at 15 menu items, with those that are plural offerings counted as two, and when you take into account “and much more” it becomes even more bountiful. Nearing two dozen dishes?
Then there is the downtown in Hudson. Dick’s does what Dick’s does, and Ziggy’s too. Agave (Mexican) Kitchen has begged off of a special Easter menu, and that means the same is likely true of Little Italy in the same block, as has the Smilin’ Moose, via a bartender who handed off the very question to a server, one who knows. But she said go west young man, to the Postmark (American) Grille, the Poster Child for Easter brunches. We are talking these special things, among with the usual (and salmon is a staple and I had planned to make mine myself long before doing this very unscientific investigation) and not necessarily in order: Rosemary French Toast, Wired Robin granola, Red Robin eggs (just kidding), assorted flatbread and parfait bar. And to take a turn on Mallard’s that is even duckier, $15 bottomless mimosa AND bloody Mary’s (no word on NA or All-A).
Benedict’s (American and more) Rail and Chop House has entered the fray, and at $28.95 for adults and even less for children it is affordable for This Day, with among other things: Eggs Lorraine, pecan and more salad (with strawberry, no actually raspberry), mixed breakfast sausage, and yes, French toast (with apricots and walnuts, no actually apples and yes pecans).
As always, reservations are (strongly depending on the venue and its version of wording) recommended.
But lastly back up north, in New Richmond, the take-home catering option of Dick’s Market ends with dessert that’s a bit different, both chocolate and lemon cream- and cheesecake-based bonanza. Like anyone would call chocolate novel on This Day.

The day was warm but the night not so. So the whims of the nightlife traffic were fraught with forms of fickleness. But when early on Friday, people made up for their lost time and packed most places, because the winter weather finally ebbed, as the repeated Alberta Clippers stopped descending.

Sunday, March 26th, 2023

As in music, the comings and going of the nightlife patron traffic can flip, as to when places are super busy or there are at least a few spaces unoccupied at the bar.
This was the case last Friday night in downtown Hudson, when the weather finally warmed to a point where it was statistically significantly above freezing. Most everywhere was hopping and full, even venues that often are not, or have fallen from grace as far as the fullness of their space.
But then that downside. The Smilin’ Moose was as empty as I have seen it, but there was likely a reason. As the Nine O’Clock Hour approached, the temps again started descending fast. About the time the Moose really sees their increase in traffic — as the food service draws many people too, but its the DJ service that really packs ’em in — the degrees started decreasing, and it showed in the number of people there and throughout most of the downtown. There were some who stayed on, but they had been around the scene since the happy hour and before.
A couple from Woodbury, Minn., could be seen as an example of the travels some were doing, at least early on that night. They started over to the north at T-Buckets near Somerset, where we accidentally met up, then it was down to Hudson to Dick’s, which had the most people I had seen there this year, than to Agave up the street, and then to Ziggy’s — where I ran into them again. (And yes, dear lady we all know, as I am listening to Stairway To Heaven as I’m typing to this, to be sung at karoake later, I will promise to tip better than what you had seen). All this was well before the Tim Sigler Band came on upstairs. Despite all this, the next guy that happened by thought there have been a few more people around. He did want to find a place to sit at the bar, and he had to wait a bit, but one eventually availed itself next to me — one of the few.
A commonality: Despite the early-on balminess, women wearing boots was still a staple. It had only been a couple of weeks earlier that I had seen the first muck-lucks.
(For a trivia question on fashion — broadly — as seasons continue to unfold and St. Patrick’s Day runs its course, see the Where Did You See It department).

Tis still spring now, and the green will soon be from flower stems and leaves, not just the recently passed Irish holiday. But when our snow dictated, and doggies were being walked more, their paw prints could be seen looking much like clover in their leaves patterns. In stretches of mud also, along the sidewalks.

But now I take you back to another summer time when there were more then hundreds clamoring around — on a Thursday! It was one of the first times that Hudson’s bar scene reopened from the pandemic while Minnesota stayed closed, so guess what happened? The border was overwhelmed with soon-to-be-partiers going eastward.
I that night, for one of the first times, became Hudson’s unofficial nightlife ambassador.
A beyond tipsy guy came over to me at Hudson Tap and tapped my brain. At length. Making not too much sense. One of his friends, a lovely and composed woman, came over a saved me and asked me to join her and her more sober friends a couple of tables away. But there was a main man who engaged me in captivating conversation. He wanted to know all there was to know about the local nightspots.
He wanted to talk almost exclusively about what were their next places they should hit in Hudson. So my website came up and he was entruiged and asked even more questions. It seemed I was doing all the talking, so I tried to draw him into the conversation.
And then the guy dropped a bomb, after I queried, two times. What does he do for a living? He works for the U of M? And what does he do there?
You can’t make this up.
He is a brain surgeon!
As I walked up the way, I encountered a foursome of partiers and they were … black! Interracially, sort of, the most talkative woman who singled me out said it was her birthday and they’d never been to Hudson before, but here we go, they came here, on this of all nights. So I told her, as well, where to go in this place. Quite at length. Suddenly she cut it off and said they’d be on their way, to explore on their own.
Interestingly, this interchange came on the east side of the interchange that is the main drag. It shows if you know the lay of the bar land, you know that the happening side of the street is the other.
On that side, there was one man, no two, with slung guitar cases on their back going I know not where to find a gig. More recently, as warmth again came to the city, their was a punker chic who also had that instrument across her shoulders. Like Tommy Tutone of “Jenny” fame, here in days of yore when he’d come into clubs and take over the stages. But that is another story.

In this year’s shortest month, several shovels cut a slit sideways, on a diagonal through certain yards, to create another point of entry to the houses when the residents were super cold. They were still, for long, in OK shape, just with maybe a bit of ice. But now they have been replaced with the cracks running at diagonal angles through the ice, grooves that were cut by runoff from the now melted snow.
And with this season comes spring cleaning. On the warm weekend there were people throwing boatloads, almost literally, into bigger than waste disposal containers, of their old plywood and two-by-four and paneling and such. One of those houses with diagonals through snow now had a bright lime green dumpster and truck with big enclosed trailer in about the same area. A man was counting what looked to by a whole bunch of coins, or maybe on second look it was not a counting, but collecting, of silverware. So I joked to his smiling wife, “must be a mega-garage-sale. Or you’re moving out.”
Across the way, that one big Christmas ball had earlier fallen off the tree, but did not break, into the at that time softer snow …
Many T-shirts were still being worn, through the winter, and also shorts as part of a small package of clothing, and even a bit of belly showing, even on the coldest of days. Of course all this now has really picked up pace and become practically the norm. As it warmed, there were a few outdoor-style house parties, or just people enjoying the new warm with a cold one on their front porch, and some of them had the tiki lights back up and glowing through the now later nightfall.
By the recently past snow-buried hydrant and other such things, like a cable box that was dismantled with the box laying sideways and wiring running amok, there only a week or two earlier had been no walkable cutaway at all from the curb due to heavy snows. As time went on, the sidewalk clearance became slower and more iffy, and where there was that for-sale vacant lot of the Flaming Moe’s joke, at the expense of those local Realtors and I hope they have a sense of humor, from an earlier post, shoveling stalled even more right toward the end. Would those going by the name of Boe have followed suit?
As this extra snow, of course, put a lot of pressure on local homeowners and Realtors alike to keep the sidewalks clear. If I were a councilman, I’d suggest a new rule that after a seasonal snow total exceeded a certain number of inches, city crews would step in and pick up the slack. Of course that would mean more hires and/or overtime, and the taxpayers would end up footing the bill, so I think the extra pushing of snow would bring pushback from those with no sidewalks in front of their houses.

And lastly, the second and final chapter of Ye Ol’ Ice Boulder, the big knee-high-and-sometimes-more lump that is/was at the end of the entryway to my street and now thank goodness is just rather wet cement. (Scroll down to see a previous post).
It has drawn various comments, based on my quasi-complaints, from cabbies, drivers and friends who have picked me up. Take an ice pick to the steel, and for a day or two its just a Puddle of Mudd, then back to ice. Tough if you go for a smoke and want to roam? Near the end, there was an angle cutting sideways, across most of the ice. So you Twist and Shout, really going at it, but then hey its gone. Throughout my tales of the weather, I saw the boulder build up then back off.
I need to carry it forward, as when I’d stride over the mound, it took a few feet into the street to stop my momentum, then retrace my steps. Gimme Three Steps?
I must refer to that lady and gent seen at a Hudson corner, as he helped she over it. So beware of those white painted stripes at intersections, as they can be slick as ice. To do a Dio take, even though you know those stripes are clean, some light can never be seen (of course even moreso at night watch your step.)

This is not gaslighting, and I would not kid you or be Suspect: It you care to take a dare and Drive beyond the Usual tale, there are two full-length concerts to be seen within a 28-hour span at The GasLite in Ellsworth this weekend

Friday, March 24th, 2023

To close out the month, (save for the 31st), The GasLite in Ellsworth has a rarity these days, back-to-back bands, the locally based country tunes of Blue Moon Drive, (which you never know just might drive you through the rural tale of Under A Neon Moon), on the 24th, and not just the usual fare, as in a true and varied variety and more (though still classics) band, The Usual Suspects, on the 25th. And they seem to stand out, or so the locals and not-far-away-sorta-as-in-Twin-Cities-locals seem to think, from the other bands by that name that broaden out to the UK, and not The Beatles although you could make a comparison, and also could include The Unusual Suspects. Both times, Friday and Saturday, are 8 p.m. starts. So 28 hours between the start of one and the finish of the other.
And as far as that first band, there is a title synergy with Under A Silver Moon, but that is a much different genre that has not shown to be as (broadly) popular as the local group, but that is another story.
Also with wordplay, you can check out the band Heart Breaker, reminescent of the classic Led Zeppelin song, at the Willow River Saloon in Burkhardt on Saturday night, (starting just a bit later then the music in Ellsworth), and the space in their name is provided via their official, methinks, marquee announcement. Does that have anything to do with, or linked to, an ad I saw that was for a “manufacteres coupon.” Spelling choice intentional? Get it?

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