(Who ever said that HudsonWiNightlife never sleeps? After a (brief) vacation, We’re Back …)
Not all dressed for the recent bitter cold, such as Men Without Hats, and that’s no April Fool:
— And for everything there is a season, even if it means hogging the spotlight out in the cold. The sign outside Kozy Korner reads “Groundhog. Wanted dead or alive.”
— Many downtown patrons out in the unseasonably bitter cold of Easter Eve were wearing only T-shirts while going from bar to bar, not dressed for the weather. The first two guys I encountered were also dressed down that way, making for double trouble. Enroute to Pudge’s there was more of the same, prompting a woman who was part of a larger group to note that I was not wearing a hat. Maybe better to focus on the freezing effect of those in T-shirts in her crowd.
— A guy at the bar said he had partied the previous night, when it was much warmer, and he didn’t bother to change clothes, rather opting to sleep in them and not update his T-shirt to fit the weather, before getting underway early with partying again. He was lamenting his wardrobe choice.
— Meanwhile, the makers of the sign at Agave Kitchen had found religion, simply saying on the marquee “He is risen.” One of the first songs that I heard played on the jukebox that night was straight-forward Christian rock, kinda strange bedfellows for the bar scene.
— After almost a dozen seasons, and having made the pro bowl for virtually all of them, offensive lineman Joe Thomas has retired. He is married to a local woman who is a stellar athlete in her own right by the name of Nelson. There is no doubt that his jersey is hanging up as part of the many at Kozy Korner, whose owners also go by the way of Nelson. Will they now retire Thomas’ jersey, as well?
— Speaking of football, when Minnesota signed yet another quarterback, by the name of Cousins, he was shown on sports bar TV holding his young child while celebrating, who obviously is not a cousin but his baby.
— The new Rio Loco cantina and tequila bar was packed on their grand opening, even though it was on a Monday. There have since been streaks of such busyness, on both their very lengthy bar rail and dance floor, which even included the rarity of a female deejay.
— A downtown store has a sign out directing you to watch your step, and they top it off with a ramp the size of skateboard.
— Local singer Chaunte Shayne reports that attendance at her gig at the over-flowing international airport on the day after the super bowl was surprisingly slow, but there then was a huge turnout for a subsequent performance at the airport, which more than made up the difference.
And digging deeper into the vault, I’m finally reporting what was seen on St. Patrick’s Day. Sorry this is late, but a leprechaun took over my computer.
— The first greenery in celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, seen the night before, were a pair of over-the-top hats (read tall) at the Village Inn.
— You obviously have heard of green beer. But on St. Patricks Day there was a man sporting a green beard, from top to bottom. And an Irish lass tripled up the ante, with three hair colors that included green.
— There’s more to the food of the holiday then corned beef and cabbage. Girl scout cookie sellers at the all-night Freedom Value Center said they had a run on thin green mint cookies, going right up to the start of St. Patrick’s Day. A quick fix for a Paddy’s Day gift for your spouse, if she happens to be Irish, for those guys who forgot (and this is not even Valentine’s Day).
— There was a Boston Celtic theme to the wearing of the green on the recent holiday. Another take was the band at the American Legion hall in Bayport, Drinkwine and Friends, a six-member, all-female group that all were wearing green. At least one had flaming red hair, but one of the singers broke from form, since she is black.
— There are the bookend St. Pat’s Day parades surrounding Hudson, in both River Falls and New Richmond. A friend Dorothy said she takes in the latter each year in what has been a longstanding tradition, just the faces of who she went with have changed because of an unfortunate death. And not from any kind of potato famine.