Rock, pop or country, you name the style of music, and its clear that the experience is very visual, and this is played out by a pair of bands that are once a month fixtures at Guv’s Place in Houlton.
The duo Wade and Ella are on every second Friday of the month, (including Nov. 14), and Trandy Blue performs every second Saturday of the month (also playing before a good-size crowd on Nov. 8).
Trandy Blue is shown in her promotional flyers at Guv’s wearing — you guessed it — bright blue blouse and jacket and even the same color of guitar propped on its same color speaker alongside her suade shoes.
Wade and Ella can be seen on YouTube playing on a full-size stage, even though they are only a duo, with a huge American flag as a backdrop for Wade playing harmonica when not on the vocals. The overall feel of the stage is not unlike the one at Guv’s. They play a lot of country, but also songs by Oasis, the Lumineers, Kings of Leon, 3rd Eye Blind, Matchbox 20, Steve Miller Band, CCR, Sublime and the Cranberries.
Dan Thompson said that he likes to be among the club owners — who are fewer in number these days — who actually are active hosts of local live music, and not make it a need to travel into the Twin Cities to hear it. Trandy Blue has told him that she, amongst others, are grateful for him taking that view. He adds that as the weather gets colder, people want to be inside and warmed by music, which can then carry on into the time of longer daylight hours.
Also on Saturday, Nov. 15, featuring a 7 p.m. start, is the locally based band Practical Goods, which plays the Hudson area frequently and has developed a following. The duo of Sarah and Eric VanValkenburg take the stage just after a benefit darts tournament, Chicago style, for Kyle Sanders, who has suffered a severe hand injury that’s required numerous surgeries and has been unable to work. There also was scheduled a silent auction, bake sale, blind bottle draw, 50-50 raffle and spaghetti dinner.
— Saturday is also the annual Lucky Dog party at Dick’s Bar and Grill, named after the house brand of beer and regular patrons say it will be special in many ways. In addition to special appetizers starting at 5:30 p.m. and “special treats” at midnight, there will be live music from trop rock artist Jambo Jones at 6 p.m., followed at 8 p.m. by The New Skinny and deejay music to wrap up the night. This will be one of The New Skinny’s final performances and their SWan Song at Dick’s. The last show ever, anywhere, is set for New Year’s Eve, although drummer Brando said they might pick up a fill-in on occasion, and play with an altered lineup once or twice a year.
Enjoy this content?
Let us know. Your support helps us bring you more.
Now accepting donations. Click the button below.
Then explore our website to stay updated on Hudson's Night Life!
November 15th, 2014
It’s cold, so get your teeth into black vampire garb, not Little Black Dresses
November 7th, 2014Sexy was out at the costume parties at nightclubs last weekend, mostly because it was downright frigid outside.
With little opportunity to show skin, what took over was not BEING IN costume, but BEING YOUR costume. In other words, using your get-up to be totally in character and making your mark on the downtown scene that way.
— The best example of the previous trend was the tall elf-like guy who was displaying the sign Gnomes Against Gardens, then breaking into a speech to whoever would listen about how gnomes are people too (well sort of), and are much more than a decoration amidst the flowers.
— There was one other prime example of the trend, if it wasn’t so creepy. OK, that was the point. This guy in a bathrobe, who was about the age and clothing style of Hugh Hefner, would amble up to groups of women, lean forward and stick his somewhat balding head into the midst of their conversation. He was a hoot! Although he stayed in character so well that one has to wonder if he is really that way. (He did apparently parlay that into a date, as he was out on the dance floor later with a young lovely).
— And then there were the two golden painted pros, from head to foot, who were carrying a like-colored baseball bat and tennis racquet and went as a couple. Meanwhile, at the bar, Harry Potter was wielding his own weapon, tapping his wand on Batman’s nose. I don’t know how that would fit in with a bouncer friend’s rule, concerning if you can bring in a fake gun or say a Viking ax as a prop, that hey, if you wouldn’t want to be bopped on the noggin with it, leave it at home.
— Down the aisle was a big Play Dough container, with a woman inside, who was in a costume complete with an almost three-foot-wide lid balanced on her head.
— The main exception to the non-sexy rule was a woman who dressed up as Miss Murica on Friday night, being ready for the swimsuit competition, and a mermaid on Saturday night, complete with a long tail that made it hard to walk — and little else.
— Don’t forget that other woman, with a Twister board game propped on her hip and a costume where she was being grabbed all over by a number of little ghouls.
— As part of her costume, a bartender at Pudge’s wore some very big black boots. She even thrust one leg up on the bar counter to show just how large they are. How long would she have the foot stamina to keep them on? Apparently there was an online debate. Meanwhile, across the way, her vampire co-worker was showing patrons something else, that one of her pointed teeth has fallen out.
— In an odd case of synergy, two different bartenders on the same shift at the Smilin’ Moose were wearing corsets as part of their costumes. Inquiring minds want to know if they called each other beforehand to check what the other was wearing.
— Inquiring minds also might want to know how far this was taken: A vampire on the dance floor was twirling her more-than-foot-long whip, (Was DEVO being played by the DJ?), and occasionally giving a back a light slap.
— Ginger update! Ginger update! As was first reported here, and nowhere else, one of the Two Gingers that are displayed to push Irish Whiskey via a bathroom sign, had freckles drawn on her and a few days later was cleaned up. However, just in time for Halloween, the prankster was back, drawing dots on the faces of both women!
— Just how Wisconsin savvy are you? The DJ at the Smilin’ Moose said repeatedly, with the onset of the Daylight Savings Time change, that hey know how to do it up right on this side of the river. He added, also repeatedly, that here rather than in Minnesota, the bars get to stay open another hour because of the switch. However, he said, that makes for a 3 a.m. closing. Hey, wouldn’t that be three-thirty, since this is a weekend? Or do they have so many patrons, they have to push people out the doors early?
— Lastly, Prince was on Saturday Night Live, with a record eight-minute performance, sporting a huge afro that could only be matched in size by the one seen at Dick’s Bar and Grill that was a big as a beach ball, and this all happened before Halloween. And again for Terry at Dick’s, you were noticeable by your absence of a Prince costume at Friday night’s party.
With onset of Daylight Savings Time, Guv’s offers music to fall back on
November 7th, 2014Guv’s Place in Houlton for much of this fall has expanded its availability of weekend bands, and this Friday and Saturday will be no different, with Off the Record taking the stage on the east end of the building on the evening of Nov. 7 and a recurring act around the area, Trandy Blue, on the following night.
Seeing Off the Record is a good value for music lovers, Guv himself points out, as they are about the most costly his establishment will bring in. They come well recommended by other musicians in the area, who say they play very well to the crowd and cater their extensive set list to the people in the audience on a given night. The talent level here is also off the charts, they say, and the guitarist in particular seems to get better with each performance. That’s saying something, since the band has been in existence for about six years.
Trandy Blue is led by a young woman who plays both as a solo act, with pop songs that are single-singer friendly while strumming on guitar, and with a full band. She is becoming more and more of a staple in clubs around the area.
The popular and somewhat quirky acoustic duo, Saving Starz, broke up a few months ago over difficulties with keeping up schedules, and singer Anthony has taken on another guitarist and kept his end of the band going. Think of it as Saving Starz II. (No word yet on if they’ll keep up some of their regular former performance nights, such as Wednesdays at Dick’s Bar and Grill). Meanwhile, the former guitarist, Geno, who had grown weary of the rigors of playing fulltime, now has an 8-to-5 day job, although as a long-term plan he is looking to re-establish his first love and put together a Christian rock outfit.
The party’s wherever you want it to be this Friday (and Saturday)
October 31st, 2014With Halloween on a Friday, many nightclubs are including Saturday in their costume contests and having them on more than one night, sometimes with music, to boot. (This is a good way the get my blog rolling again, as their was a gap in postings due to a crash where demons invaded my computer. Sorry about that).
— The costume party at the Willow River Saloon in Burkhardt will be Saturday night, with lots of prizes and being deemed The Halloween Bash. The music will be by The Fiddler, a group of guys from a regular band who play the Willow who also have this side specialty gig. “They play a pretty mean fiddle,” a bartender at the Willow said. “Everybody here will be in costume.” on Friday, there will also be some costumed creatures cavorting.
— Guv’s Place in Houlton will double your listening pleasure by featuring the music of Kyle Kohila, with his quick acoustic guitar picking, and also a deejay on Halloween night. The dreaded creatures decorating up the place, however, will provide anything but pleasure as they’ve gotten even more creepy because of even larger numbers, courtesy of co-owner Jess. She this year has provided additional scary clowns (her favorite), as well as a figure-eight-shaped collection of monsters that takes up the majority of the ceiling space, with several yards of spider webs in the middle. There will be cash and other prizes for best costumes.
— The costume party at Pudge’s Bar is enhanced by perhaps the greatest number of life-size monsters you will see at a nightclub, including as quite noteworthy a skeletal beastie with a completely severed jaw. Aptly-named drink specials will abound at Pudge’s during the Halloween night party, such as the Blood Clot Shot and Dead Dude. Of particular interest, though, is The Cyclopse. They are vodka infused, go for $2 each and as you might guess are based on using an “eyeball.” And yes, there are happy hour special prices all night for people in costume, with the judging of those get-ups taking place at 11:30 p.m. in a competition for prizes.
— It’s eat, drink and be scary, in what’s billed as The Nightmare on Sixth Street, the fifth-annual costume party at Season’s Tavern in North Hudson on Saturday night. It will feature the opportunity of food being served until midnight, if you can feast (on what?) if in any mood for eating after seeing the un-earthly sights. There’s a costume contest with cash prizes for first, second and third, and the house band, longtime rockers Thirsty Camel, for listening from 9 to midnight as you watch the creatures dance and indulge in the special, jello shots all night. The event is called crazy, spooky fun, in a good way, for adults. And you never know if that famous cellar-dweliing ghost might show up.
— To round out the mix, Ellie’s on Main will have their usual lengthy and over-the-top costume judging on both nights, and this year’s theme to be aired at Dick’s Bar and Grill on Friday is “movie star.” The Village Inn in North Hudson on Saturday supplements their costume contest with a blue’s band, the Swamp Kings (good name for Halloween). Some places are keeping it low-key, with only a scantly promoted, in-house party, but it seems that virtually every club has something planned, with Woody’s in Bayport on Saturday going the most whole hog, (note that the last three digits of their phone number are 666).
And with a different twist is the Agave Kitchen and Bullpen Cantina with an on-line contest. Not to mention a newcomer to local costume parties, the Smilin’ Moose, which will go both nights and really up the ante for prize money. (While waiting for the judging, check out the moose head now equipped with a big mustache).
— Some of the parties will have a zombie theme, perhaps because of the popularity of the television show The Walking Dead, said my friend Matt. However, it was clear that the ghouls at San Pedro will tone down the blood and guts because after all, it is a restaurant and people will be eating a different kind of flesh.
— Jeff Loven indeed “got the band back together,” as he is fond of saying, when guitarist Brent made an appearance at his One Man Band show. Back in the ’80s, when Jeff cut his teeth with the heavy metal band Obsession, Brent opened for him as a 15-year-old Wunderkind. They on that recent Sunday teamed up to rip through Eruption by Van Halen — a tune that was also played, even more scaldingly, by another guest guitarist a few nights later who was on stage for more songs then usual, about five.
— With Halloween coming, the band choices picked by clubs are apparently effected. One named Shadows on the Wall played at Dick’s Bar and Grill on Wednesday, Oct. 15. The only non-Halloween aspect is that they took the stage in the early evening, not the midnight witching hour. Described as loud, but good, one wonders if this “Shadows” had the same volume as Avenged Sevenfold, a prominent metal band made up of Wiccans that has a member by that name.
— The folks at Stone Tap were figuring that their many Oktoberfest beer specials would be bringing in customers, some of them stopping in after spending some introductory time across the street at the German themed Winzer Stube, which of course is offering more of the same. Some of the others having Oktoberfest beer specials include Dick’s and Casanova Historic Liquors.
— And for a last seasonal happening, and a possible prelude to Halloween haunts, check out the Hudson Raider football game at Kozy Korner in North Hudson at 7 p.m. Friday. (The costumes that will abound, in the form of football jerseys on the wall, will be more along the lines of highly decorated varsity athletes who went on to college ball). This is round two of the playoffs, and the No. 2 seeded local team faces a No. 3 seed, Appleton North, by virtue of defeating Green Bay Preble in a 27-3 blowout, also shown at Kozy, in the opening round.
Belly-me-up my fave, a black and orange drink, said the Wolfman
October 31st, 2014
I don’t know if it was Ebola or a Halloween beastie, but my computer had a meltdown, getting back on board just in time to list the sights and sounds of the haunted holiday. What follows on this page are local happenings, many with a Halloween theme, and for the lowdown on the many parties in town, see the Picks of the Week page.
— Halloween decorating season has been in full swing all month, and a prime example are the fake blood stained signs on the doors at Dick’s Bar and Grill, to places like the back patio and bathrooms. They have wording like “keep out” or “help,” written in the dripping red stuff that runs as long as a detached femur. There also is a sign hanging from the ceiling with similar wording, simply “asylum,” that the other night was being blown around spookily by a nearby air conditioner. In back were many spider webs clinging so closely to areas where there were tables, people couldn’t possibly escape.
— One place they might try to take refuge is the Green Mill, where patrons on the night before the holiday were being queried about what’s their favorite black and orange drink concoction. But back at Dick’s, bartender Matt had a handle on how he’d meet the establishment’s rule that servers be in costume. Hey, he figured, for me being dressed up is throwing on a suit, so that’s what I’ll do. I wondered aloud if he was going to loosen the tie a little, but was told it was going to be a clip-on. Meanwhile, bartender Terry was contemplating how he could possibly top last year’s Prince costume.
— Ghosts and ghouls were out in force last Saturday night as a trial run for the costume parties that will be held virtually everywhere starting six days from then. At Dick’s, there was a quartet of movie characters in the main room as early as 10 p.m.
— Bartender Whitney at Pudge’s has Halloween off, but that isn’t keeping her from dressing up in a manner appropriate to her job, as an old time saloon girl. Another decision with such reasoning is someone’s plan to meet the requirements of a scary facial hair theme by getting in a get-up like Van Gogh.
— With Halloween near, two groups of young people could be seen after hours running across the hood and roof of cars. Seems to me like that’s an indication of more zombie activity.
— I’ve toyed with the idea of providing a “deer death wish rating” for the trek from Hudson to Houlton to get to Guv’s Place, somewhat like the government’s color-based alert for terrorist activity. A recent weekend would have to have registered an orange, as there were four deer seen in ditches in three different places along a four-mile stretch. Plus that, at the intersection with Hwy. V, there was a streak of road kill blood as long as several zombies placed back to back to back. Yes, Virginia, Halloween must be near.
— With that said, there is an even more spooky site as you trek by St. Croix Street to go toward the Willow River Saloon. A homeowner who is remodeling the entire facade of his residence has turned it into a literal house of horrors with creepy decorations.
— And even more potentially scary is the alleged $100 million referendum for things such as a new high school. Two groups of three business cards were propped into the side of a freestanding bathroom ad poster, directly across from an ad for a part-time firefighter (interesting choice of posting place). And, at eye level at the urinal nextdoor, there was an Irish Whiskey ad for 2 Gingers that had one of the women’s face covered with drawn-in freckles. Alas, just in time for the Nov. 4 vote, her face has been fixed to be no longer defaced, rather fresh-faced again.
— Bartender Shalice is used to being in front of the camera as a model, but never before during an NFL football broadcast. She was in the front row at a Houston Texans home game, and was so prominently shown on an ESPN clip that some of her patrons at Guv’s Place in Houlton couldn’t help but noticing and pointed it out to her.
— It takes a lot to mistake pop music for hard rock, but apparently a radio deejay on KQ92 playing tunes for partiers on a recent weekend wasn’t up to the task. He thought he had started to begin playing the Beatles and announced it as such, then caught his mistake and noted it was actually AC/DC: Oh well, not that much different, he corrected. I wonder if they’ve ever had the same problem at the Smilin’ Moose, where an old AC/DC video recorded across the water is the only thing that ever differs much from Rihanna, etc.
During a recently broadcasted interview with Paul McCartney, KQ noted it has the largest song library “on the planet.” Sir Paul might add, what about on “Venus and Mars.” They might not be all right tonight with being excluded.
— Vikings gifts don’t always go over, as came to light early in the NFL season. Even though she’s a native Minnesotan and diehard fan of the North Stars back in the day, who would go to virtually every game — as well as following the Twins but not the Vikings — bartender Sue at the Village Inn used to get plenty of purple each Christmas. Her tree ended up being full of that, rather than red and green. The trend ended, she said, when she got a pair of Packer boxer shorts.
— Seen sitting at the Green Mill counter was a (much) younger and hotter version of the late Joan Rivers, even when you take into account all of the comedian’s plastic surgeries. I felt like using the pickup line, “Can we talk?” And while on the subject of celebrities whose number is being retired, for various reasons, does anybody else think that bartender and bouncer Terry at Dick’s looks like Jerek Jeter (again younger)?
— People from all over like the sports bars here, and not just for one of the major sports at a time. A woman who was raised in Annapolis was in Buffalo Wild Wings wearing a Baltimore Ravens jersey and cheering on her post-season Orioles. She said her husband had been a hockey coach at a major Twin Cities university, but then stepped down and started a hockey-themed business in the metro. So why did she end up in Hudson? Her husband was over at the nearby ice arena doing business and she was killing time, adding that back in Maryland, hockey is big to the north and south, but right there the sport of choice is field hockey or lacrosse, which she played in high school.
— After years of quality service, bartender Kylee has stepped down from the Green Mill, where she has been a fixture. So I have to take this last opportunity to tell a slightly embellished tale about her. One night, a male patron was doing his best to get her phone number. I need to note here that I am a member of the establishment’s e-club, which means I log-in by jotting down my own phone number every time I get a receipt. Thus, I was tempted to tell the smitten patron, “Good luck. I’ve given Kylee my number scores of times, and she’s never called me!” All kidding aside, we’ll miss you Kylee.
October 4th, 2014
Whether KFAN or other faves, it’s a gas to be a fan:
— The classic rock anthems and dance music “get a little higher” as far as variety and tempo when High Octane will burn up the
stage at the Willow River Saloon in Burkhardt on Saturday night. The veteran five-member group is billed as among the hardest
working, high energy, get-your-buzz-on bands that you’ll find. As they say, “High Octane is rock it fuel.” That is seen by cover
songs as diverse as Cold Gin by KISS, Sex Type Thing by the Stone Temple Pilots, and Symphony of Destruction by Megadeth.
— Singer and bartender Amanda gave her mini-review of the band Off The Record, which played at one of her workplaces as part of
a twice-in-a-week foray around the area that included Guv’s Place in Houlton. She went back to bus tables around the stage area
a few days later, while working at Dick’s Bar and Grill, and gave a one-word platitude, paused, then embellished that they did
their usual great job.
— Speaking of mini-reviews, the latest Viking appearance and KFAN radio live broadcast from Woody’s in Bayport on Friday drew
as many parked cars up and down the street there as I can remember seeing. That despite the team’s embarrassing loss to the
Packers the night before, and the fact that one of the Viking girls giving away prizes didn’t know which team member was on the
air. (Low and behold, it was none other than Brian Robson). The event did have a Lambeau Field feel to it however, as one guy
wore a Pabst Blue Ribbon T-shirt that was purple in color, (go figure), and Robson talked for a couple of minutes about how
experiencing the Ice Bucket Challenge was far colder than any type of Ice-Bowl-experience he’d had.
— When Cherry Gun played at the Smilin’ Moose, there were periodic several-second blasts of colored concert-style smoke that
were really thick at times. Less thick was the output of the wind machine that blew through the lead singer’s blonde locks.
Could either or both of those things be thought of as a smokin’ “Gun” at the Smilin’ Moose?
September 26th, 2014
They may not all be taking songs from off their records, but these are bands you will want to hear live:
— For the record, the band Off the Record has been recording a lot of local gigs for the first time in a while. They will play at Guv’s Place on Saturday, Sept. 27, and that follows a performance by the duo at Dick’s Bar and Grill last Sunday. They filled in for Jeff Loven, the One Man Band, who took one of his rare nights off during the 10-plus years he has been a fixture at Dick’s.
— Also at Dick’s on Friday, Sept. 26, is a band of locals that’s often been in the local spotlight. To quote an oddly worded flyer on the wall, “Practical Goods will be in the house from 6-9 p.m.” After that, there will be Extravagent Luxuries. Just kidding.
— The Hudson Bowling Center is having its disco party, with that music and dress from 7 p.m. to close, on Saturday, a combination of things that just has to make you think of That ’70s Show set in Milwaukee.
— Saturday and Sunday will bring even lighter acoustic sounds to the area, as the Spirit of the St. Croix Art Fest takes over Hudson’s Lakefront Park on both days from 10 a.m. to about 4:30 p.m. In order on Saturday, live from the “artist village,” which is sprawled out on the lawn near the dike road, is the strolling musician Paul Imholte (who has an act kind of like that seen occasionally at Pudge’s Bar this summer), the Americana music of the male and female duo Firefly, and the soft folk of the young guitarist Trevor Ohlsen. Also, at the band shell from 1-4 p.m. are the quartet the Barley Jacks with Brian Wicklund, whose bluegrass, Celtic, folk and other acoustic music is becoming increasingly popular in and around the area. In order on Sunday, is guitarist Sam Ketcham with folk, alternative and jazz that can be a little less light, to be followed, again, by Firefly. And at the band shell from 1-4 p.m. are the Devine Collection, a fivesome with keyboard whose collection of sounds is a bit more diverse, with soul, funk, R&B and jazz.
September 19th, 2014
More football is the focus, and the fluctuations of karaoke voice:
— For something new in the rather staid world of karaoke, check out the Friday and Saturday night offerings at the Hudson Bowling Center, which feature a new provider with some cool technology that really brings out the tone of the music, and every fluctuation of the voice.The former and longtime karaoke meister there, the softspoken Brett, has moved down south, much like the pathway taken by Jams by James a few years ago, who was one of the first such providers in the Hudson area. He did it for as long as most local crooners can remember.
— With NFL football back, one of the best munchies deals, during any such game, is the $2.95 Johnsonville brat that comes with sauerkraut and chips at Dick’s Bar and Grill. They also have announced the new “season” of fall food specials that include some popular chili — which on one of their past flyers left out the “e” and referred to the offering as home mad chili, which says it all. Another flyer said of watching NFL football there, “Go Team,” which did not specify any particular franchise — guess they are both Viking and Packer friendly.
— Kozy Korner in North Hudson is known as a place to watch such games and take in related amenities, but they may have slightly mis-stated the case when their marquee said about breakfast pizzas, “one trillion served.” They may be off by about a million or so. With that said, it’s important to note that this Sunday’s noon Packer-Lions game is the initial one of the season to be subject to blackout rules, the first of as many as seven, which is more than usual, so it’s important to choose where you watch.