Two bands that are new to the Willow River Saloon in Burkhardt provide some entertainment value this that is truly original, making them an easy pick for this weekend.
The Church of Cash on Friday night features a vibe that’s true to being an accurate, down-to-the-detail Johnny Cash tribute band, complete with cover art of a frontman with hands folded in prayer. They go on to say they’re more than simply a “country” band.
Then on Saturday night, its Wicked Sensations, formed in mid-2012 and featuring members of venerable groups such as Austin Healy, The Pearl (which also is known for being the formerly Phat Pearl), Loose Cannon, Bad Jack and Jaded, “Just to name a few,” according to its web site.
Wicked Sensations is fronted in part by someone you might have seen before at the Willow, the gorgeous female singer from Loose Cannon. The band members have a grungy, hard-edged appeal to their look, even though they emphasize the presence of party rock in their set list. They say they provide songs about that “perfect kegger” of peoples’ youth and as advertised consist of: Dionne Yochim, lead vocals and party planner; Tom Holt, lead vocals, guitar and whiskey distiller; Gary Williamson, guitar and brewer; Matt Whaley, bass and bartender; and George Ford, drummer and yes, keg tapper.
The songs are both old and new, and these are the groups that are on their play list more than once: Lita Ford, Alice In Chains, Motley Crue, Gun’s ‘N’ Roses, AC/DC, Whitesnake, Scorpions, KISS, Journey, Maroon 5 and Collective Soul. Others noteworthy for being not-quite Top 40, Dokken, Jackyl, Warrant, Tesla, Finger Eleven, Dio and The Donnas. And, of course, there is the signature song of sorts, Wicked Sensation by Lynch Mob.
Church of Cash was formed, by former Minnesotan Jay Kalk who later moved back here, in Hawaii in 2010. They say they have an uncanny grasp of the Man in Black’s catalog and have spread his gospel with youthful spirit on three different continents, with baritone that “sings like a prairie breeze and stomps like a boot heel.”
Diverse offerings, no doubt, and worthy of them both being checked out on the same weekend.

As far as (newly seasonal) things to do, there will be enough sand to be kicked in the faces of dozens of 90-pound weaklings — OK, there are no such wimpy people around the stellar Hudson nightlife scene — as Dick’s Bar and Grill pours its middle room dance area full of the grit for its annual beach party. Other places do this too, but this in the first one so far this season to celebrate the (eventual) coming of spring. That warm weather has made its initial appearance really late this year, so as far as dress choices you won’t have to worry about getting sand in your bikini.

The party is Saturday night, April 26, although the sand will be poured-in such as through the proverbial hourglass much earlier than the beginning of the dancing. The mountains of the stuff were scheduled to be moved in starting at 8 a.m., according to the flyers all over Dick’s.

The New Skinny kicks things off by performing with a 7 p.m. start, and there is a shift in the sands, with deejay dancing after that time, all the way until close.

Another band, this one new to the local scene but sure to be in the mix in the future at the Smilin’ Moose, was Junk ‘Em on Friday night, which as a highlight brought a young woman on stage to sing part of a pop-punk verse, only to have her tell the frontman that her name is Simply Awesome, a pronouncement that he said he didn’t dispute, but still said he had trouble believing. Incidentally, that  frontman looked a lot like Kid Rock, (think the early years with the hat like worn on album covers).

The band was loud and could be heard well up the street, but not nearly far enough so to drown out an even louder performance, that by a midnight fire truck with sirens wailing as it went through the Locust Street intersection. It’s worth mentioning that on the street on the Moose opening weekend, in the lone parking stall in front of the bank, some people from the Twin Cities arrived driving a Bentley said to go for about $270K.

One more snippet to serve as a mini-music review, of a solo act that continues to recur locally, especially at Guv’s Place in Houlton, found that an unusually talkative Kyle Kohila was adding additional flourishes to a non-electric version of the guitar solo to Free Bird that was long enough to close out the evening. He also threw in some quick staccato, same-note picking at times.

One last note on the bartender Andrea wedding of the century from earlier in the month — OK she’s not that old — people are probably now sobered up from the experience, which featured overnight stays in nearby motels just to be safe. One of the patrons reportedly lost his shoes on the six-block walk to get to his room, and there’s no word yet as to whether he ever found them again. We can report that Andrea, who is always in demand for singing the National Anthem at pro sports events, did sing at her own wedding — she hooked up to do that with  one-man-band guy Jeff Loven, before hooking up with her new husband a little while later. (A note on the sly, I actually had a dream a couple of nights earlier about the two of them checking into the motel at the front desk).

From the Village to Volbeat at Guv’s Place, and all the letters in between for your weekend (maybe you’d better Rewind, or you’ll be stressed).

With high praise comes high stress, and it’s not too often that a band with those attributes, from so many writers, comes over this way. In stretching the local establishment’s format a little bit, the band High on Stress will play Willow River Saloon on Saturday, April 20. According to those in the know, from Minneapolis to New York City, “Stress” has a rootsy slant, cheeky at times, but always well-written, and drawing comparisons to what made Soul Asylum and the Replacements great, while at the same time escaping being pigeonholed into a particular genre. Whew!

With the band playing at the Village Inn in North Hudson on Saturday night being named Rewind, (think foregone technology), you kinda know what era of music you’re going to hear.

Then, on an ongoing  basis on Sunday nights at the Green Mill starting at 8:30, there will be the return of bingo contests. The establishment made a foray into this type of atypical entertainment, for its format, a couple of years ago with trivia-meisters being some of the comely servers dressed in little black dresses. But for the following Sundays, an additional part of the draw will be $1 off Mich Golden Lights and also food specials.

Trandy Blue once again played Guv’s Place in Houlton on Friday night, and their special was 50 cents of “any bottle of beer with a blue label, yippee,” in honor of the band’s name.

And finally, it was as busy as ever when Uncle Chunk played the Smilin’ Moose, on Friday night. Their sound was now a little harder (think the new addition of a Volbeat song). That reminds me of an offhand comment by Brandon, who works at Dick’s Bar and Grill, that Volbeat had been popular for years in Europe before finally gaining a following here last year.

As far as weekend events, its rain, rain, go away, there’s cycling to be done today, after the band had stopped its play.
— The annual Unfrost Your Nuts motorcycle rally should be able to do just that, easily. Rain is supposed to end by about 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 12, and from there it’s warm temperatures for the annual run that features cyclists gathering shortly before noon on the street outside the Mallalieu Inn in North Hudson — sometimes as many as 5,000. It’s free, but a new twist is the vendors in the inn’s parking lot.
— It what is becoming a weekly go-to event, the Friday night band at the brand new Smilin’ Moose was again hopping on April 11 as Bad Girlfriends took the stage. The nightclub that is owned by Twin Cities luminaries — think G.B. Leighton’s Pickle Park and the Wild Bill’s venues — was forged by gutting the former Sports Club and replacing it with a wood-hewn theme and loads of TVs and has been open for almost a month. Some of their acts have bucked the recent trend of soloists and duets and had bands with as many as six players. Next Friday it’s the pop-rock of the veritable Uncle Chunk, considered perhaps the best cover band coming out of the Cities. The Bad Girlfriends performance was noteworthy because of one trifecta and almost another, as they closed one set with a trio of songs from Journey, then opened the next with two straight AC/DC standards.
— Speaking of Bad Girlfriends, they had on sale pairs of lighted red devil horns for $5 — and one horn for $3! Can you truly wear one of those without the other? It reminds me of one guy dancing downtown a while back who had the only one Viking horn and wore it unicorn style, but on the side like it was coming out of his ear.
— And for an event that’s also different, something they specialize in at Dick’s Bar and Grill, there is Sunday afternoon’s doubles cribbage tournament — you can share the thrill of victory and agony of defeat with a partner! Just like those doubles darts tournaments they have at Dick’s on occasions like Valentine’s Day, but on those you better not lose, or you’re really in the doghouse.

If you get right down to the root of the situation, no one should be singing the blues about the entertainment offerings this weekend.
— Just a jog down the expressway, everybody is getting into the act by hosting bands, and many of the venues are having such an offering as a once- or twice-a-year gig.
That’s because in River Falls, this weekend is the annual roots and bluegrass festival.
Here is the band schedule, and there are plenty of them playing from early morning to late at night:
On Friday, its Cousin Dad at Johnnie’s from 6:30-9:30 p.m.; Chris Silver Band at Junior’s from 8:30-9:15 p.m. then the Rambling Rooks at the same venue from 9:30-11 p.m.; and the May North at Shooter’s from 10 p.m.-2 a.m.
On Saturday, its the Rush River Ramblers at the South Fork Cafe from 8-11 a.m.; Barley Jacks with fiddle at Johnnie’s from 1:30-4:30 p.m.; Fish Heads bluegrass jam at Funktion Junktion from 3-5 p.m.; Jack Klatt and the Cat Swingers at the Mainstreeter from 3-6 p.m.; Roe Family Singers at Bo’s ‘N Mine from 3-6 p.m.; Platte Valley Boys at Lazy River from 6-9 p.m.; the Last ReveL at Juniors from 8:30-9:15 p.m. followed by Pert Near Sandstone there from 9:30-11 p.m.; Sans Souci Quartet at Shooter’s from 10 p.m.-2 a.m.; and Horse Shoes and Hand Grenades at Maverick’s Corner Saloon (formerly the Corner Bar) from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
On Sunday, the lone act is the Cactus Blossoms at the West Wind from 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
There are also plenty of other open jams and demonstrations throughout the weekend.
— This is an event that hails from our childhoods, but will be lived out in what promises to be spectacular form by adults at Dick’s Bar and Grill on Sunday, April 6.
Actual racing in the Hot Wheels derby is sold out, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the fun by watching, starting at 1 p.m.
Dick’s has a large main room and when the tables are cleared is perfect to house all the people, and tracks, at such an event.
— The UW men’s basketball team has made the NCAA Final Four, and the second-seeded Badgers have got to be a favorite over No. 8 Kentucky. Saturday evening’s game will be shown, as always, at a variety of sports bars locally. Many of them have bands or deejays slated to start around 10 p.m. and expect the music will have to begin late, even if that part of the entertainment has already been pushed back a half-hour or so since game time is 7:49 p.m. Everyone from the Village Inn, to the Bullpen Cantina, Ellie’s, Dick’s and Kozy Korner expect that Saturday night, all night, will be crazily busy and they hope that this customer traffic can carry over until Monday’s final if Wisconsin wins in the semis.
— Longtime bartender and singer Andrea is getting married on Saturday, with the venue not being announced on this web site because so many of her countless patrons have said they’d like to be Wedding Crashers, if they find the where-with-all. Andrea is known for singing the National Anthem at pro sporting events throughout the Midwest, often being flown there free of charge to make the appearance, but there’s no word yet if she’ll sing at her own shindig.

This weekend’s entertainment features jams by Jambo, and also slam-jam dunks.
— What better musician than Jambo Joe Bones to give feel-good tunes to a charitable benefit held for 15-year-old Jake Lindstrom, who has tragically lost both parents. Jambo will provide the entertainment when he plays his “trop rock” songs on Sunday, March 30, at the Willow River Saloon in Burkhardt. He is joined musically by an eclectic mix, Kelly Jantz and his band Rock Brigade with their classic rock, and Jeff Schwartz and his band Woodshop with their “skiffle” style.
Other features for the benefit, which runs 2-7 p.m., include a spaghetti dinner catered by the Carbone’s that is also part of the veritable Burkhardt entertainment complex, wild game meat raffle, door prizes, silent auction and bake sale. The Lakefront Brewery Inc. is also featured. Donation for all this food and fun is $10.
— How sweet it was when the Badger men’s basketball team moved on to the Elite Eight by bowling over Baylor. UW now advances in the NCAA tournament to face Arizona, which is top seeded in the west region, on Saturday night.
You can see this game, like all the Badger basketball contests, at Kozy Korner. Just make sure you get there by tip-off time, 7:49 p.m., and you qualify for that infamous free drink merely by wearing Badger or other “local” team attire.
Against Baylor, most patrons at Kozy kept rapt attention even as the lead stayed at about 20 points late in the game, although some doubled their pleasure by squeezing in games such as darts. The crowd at Kozy cheered when the substitutes were brought in during wholesale changes, and even more loudly when the final buzzer went off.
Incidentally, have you noticed that the starting times of the postseason games keep on being moved up, starting at 45 minutes after the hour, then to 47 minutes and finally 49 minutes. It just goes to show that every minute of Badger basketball is precious.
The Badger men’s hockey team could have used a few more minutes, as they lost 5-2 on Friday night to North Dakota State to end their season, despite rousing support at Kozy Korner.