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Spring has finally sprung, and for a rundown on what to do to celebrate around the area, see the Picks of the Week department of this website. Then later this weekend, visit the home page of this site for a review of exactly what went down on both an action-packed Saturday and other events that were held late in April.
— It’s not just about the sport value of pro wrestling, it’s the comedic aspect, and it will be lived out at Meister’s Bar and Grill in Boardman on Saturday evening, April 20, via the skill set of athlete/comedians like Buck Rock and Roll Zumhofe. And yes, it helps that this is inexpensive entertainment.
Besides AWA master entertainer Zumhofe, there are five main matches with numerous grapplers. Tickets are expected to go fast, but there is still opportunity to buy them, at $10 for general admission and $15 at ringside, up close and personal for the antics. Doors open at 7:15 p.m., with wrestling at 8 p.m.
The people at Meister’s point out that this event is back by popular demand, and that numerous AWA professionals have graced the ring in Boardman.
— Dale Martell of the Zebra Mussels band, a longtime group of experienced and seasoned musicians, says those are the qualities that has made the local group successful for so many years. The Mussels play at the Willow River Saloon on Saturday night, April 13. “We call it playing in the pocket,” getting into a groove and just going with the music, Martell said. Something that is a bit new for the band, for those who have not seen them for awhile, is that they now shift duties between three different lead singers. The Mussels play a lot of country, but also a range of other tunes.
They’re still running, whether it be with music or for office:
— Perhaps one of the most impressive facets of the Still Runnin’ country and rock band, which will play at the Willow River Saloon on Saturday night, April 6, is its 64-song playlist, chock full of original choices. They include an auburn-haired songstress belting out tunes such as Call Me by Blondie, I will survive by Gloria Gaynor and Love Shack by the B-52s. They have a local connection with frequent visitor Tommy Tutone, as they play his classic Jenny (867-5309). And, Still Runnin’ will be back again at the Willow later in spring.
— Also, on Friday night, April 5, the Willow will change it up a bit with another band with local ties, The Ricks.
— The Guv is elected! That’s the nickname of bar owner Dan Thompson, who won a St. Joseph township supervisor post by a 451-372 vote over Jim Traeger, who he accused of being too much on the side of realtors and not listening enough to common people — you know, the kind of folk who patronize his tavern. A small poster, “thank’s St. Joe,” was placed on Wednesday on the back side of a larger campaign sign, positioned so people leaving Guv’s Place could see it from the door. Thompson said one of his strengths is being a business owner, and mingling with his customers to get the lay of the land, so to speak, but added on the day before the election that with the new post would come a lot of additional work. So, it would be a mixed blessing, but no matter the outcome, he wins, Thompson said. Suffice it to say that the Guv will have a little bit less time for shooting darts with his customers.
Only a fool would pass up the chance to read the following column! Unless, of course, you think it’s all just an April Fools Day prank.
— On April Fool’s Day, a car on First Street got the treatment, not to a car wash but having dozens of cotton balls stuck to its hoods and doors. This caused the patrons of Dick’s Bar and Grill, when they were told, to wonder if it happened to be there’s that was thus pranked. I also wondered aloud what the cotton balls symbolized and was told — duh — that there had been a chance of snow. Chad behind the bar had an even better prank to tell, conducted by one of his former co-workers who now has an office job. The guy put up a sign on the copier that said the firmware had been changed and that its operation is now voice activated. You can imagine the laughs that brought; suffice it to say a lot of people were caught talking to the copier, and going on and on and on. This also prompted me to tell Chad that at my advanced age, sometimes my firmware has great trouble being activated. Chad’s other April Fool’s Day mention: A guy who lives near an inactive volcano, obviously not locally, hauled to the top of it a whole bunch of tires and set them on fire, causing a scene that really startled his neighbors. Lastly, a man was profiled on the television news for a prank with another kind of drink. He affixed a cup of coffee to his car roof and drove around all day, causing people including a cop to pull him over and alert him, assuming he’d forgotten it there.
— Two men were sitting at Green Mill and talking about crazily celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in St. Paul, particularly at Alary’s, the notorious former strip club that is now a Chicago Bears bar — yes, you read that right — and also is the unofficial law enforcement and firefighter bar of the Twin Cities. Oh, and did I mention that the female servers wear bikinis, causing Eddie Vetter of Pearl Jam to say it has the most beautiful women in the Cities, and to make it a point to stop in whenever he has an area concert. One of the men at Green Mill noted that he lives in the apartments near Alary’s, which does indeed have a Hudson connection. At least seven of the women who have worked there are from the Hudson area, and one of my longtime friends, Bree, went on to a successful modeling career. Also, it was a Hudson women and worker who took legal action after the Vulcans made one of their stops by and their leader on that trip allegedly sexually assaulted her.
— Green Mill had four featured Irish drinks around the St. Patrick’s Day holiday that all told were made with 12 different ingredients. Also, Hefty’s in Bayport had an Irish drink that had six different ingredients in one glass alone.
— Also on St. Patrick’s Day, many of the dozens of hats, traditional and otherwise, that were hung all over the ceiling at Guv’s Place in Houlton were distributed to prize winners — but the proprietor had to get on a ladder to do so. That was also needed to access the green themed T-shirts they sold out of. An example was the one that said “World’s tallest leprechaun.”
— Seen at Dick’s on that day was a man with a green vest, to go with ear studs that also had been colored green. And over at Ellie’s on Main, a woman sported a miniskirt that was accented by white stockings adorned with dozens of Irish insignias.
— During the championship college hockey tournament, which was being aired at Dick’s, the Minnesota Gophers played a team named the Beavers. Would that make this the Rodent Bowl, I asked the bartenders? The response: It could be worse, as far as not striking fear into the hearts of the opponent, as the other Oregon team is nicknamed the Ducks.
Hundreds celebrate the day the music died.
When the soon-to-be closed Dibbo’s nightclub held their final band night on Saturday, March 23, more than three times as many people as expected showed up to say farewell.
Manager Chuck McGee said earlier that week that he anticipated a crowd of about 200 partiers, maybe 300, to his venue that as radio advertisements have said for years was “rock solid in downtown Hudson.”
The number he got was at least 1,000.
The spacious back concert hall was shoulder to shoulder prior to the guest band for the evening, the original members of southern rock group Austin Healy, getting ready to take the stage. Patrons were lined up five deep all the way around the circular bar area, waving money to grab the attention of bartenders — whose numbers were bolstered when guests for the evening who used to serve at Dibbo’s were pulled in to help. The talk throughout the night by both attendees and people elsewhere in Hudson’s downtown, as word got around, was surprise at the sheer number of people who showed up. The cops took notice, too, and did at last one walk through, as the maximum number of people allowed in the bar at one time was being pushed.
In large part because of the frenetic activity, Austin Healy didn’t get onto the stage right away, and its members were seen trekking back and forth and socializing in the long hall between the equally packed front bar area and the concert section. A solo performer on acoustic guitar kept the crowd engaged.
There were rumors that other longtime bands that had often graced Dibbo’s stage would make cameo appearances, but they didn’t materialize. In particular was a much anticipated showing by the Wetspots, and a few years back the word on the street and in the concert hall was that if there were to be a reunion of the band, it would be at Dibbo’s.
After Austin Healy did go on, and after its first set, the number of patrons thinned somewhat — and in what was a boon that kept other downtown bars quite busy all night, the revelers roamed around to other establishments. However, new people kept coming in the door to pay their respects to Dibbo’s and Austin Healy, who after scores of engagements was playing Dibbo’s for the final time. The concert hall is being sold to be remade into a cafe in front, a banquet hall in back where bands have played for so many years, and office space upstairs where there currently are apartments.
Austin Healy started with spot-on instrumental, especially in the rhythm section, and only got stronger as the night went on. After they closed with Free Bird, which McGee had said was the perfectly fitting finale, the band members thanked McGee and Dibbo’s for giving them a chance back when they were still another fairly unknown country band. A longtime employee then came on stage to toast McGee and other longtime employees, some of whom came back into employment at Dibbo’s time and again.
A lot of people brought in their own beer, and even asked to be photographed with it, and this in the long run worked out just fine, as with the huge crowd the rations at Dibbo’s started running really low.
After a massive cleanup to this massive party in back, the current front bartenders have found things much slower as the days wind down to that final entrance-room step in the Dibbo’s closure process. First the beer taps had been shut down and removed, then most of the liquor bottles and glassware stowed away elsewhere, as in just a few days after the big party all of Dibbo’s would be just a memory.
Lana was back working behind the bar on those last days, with official closure taking place at the end of the month, and reprised her role of mixing art with advertising by using lots of multi-colored chalk on the sidewalk in front. Some of the messages, which have included quotes from the likes of Bob Marley, have covered 100 square feet.
Downtown Hudson had not seen the likes of this since over a decade ago, when a street artist placed well-drawn cartoon characters on the dike road in the dead of night. The big chalk figures drew the ire of some city officials, so considered them unwanted graffiti, but I thought they were pretty cool and profiled them in the local paper.
Jazz and country, around the county:
— The one-of-a-kind sounds of jazz group Quasimofo will play at North Hudson’s Season’s Tavern in a return engagement on Saturday, March 23. Keyboard player Chris Ashwood describes the band “as a power jazz trio, with a big band sound in a little combo. Our influences are rock, blues and R and B, with a little bit of punk rock attitude.” The group, which are Hudsonites and feature Ashwood’s dad, Paul, on the drums, will most likely play the jazz fest in St. Paul later in the year and they are getting a lot of gigs in the Twin Cities, Chris Ashwood said. Be sure to get to Seasons early, as music starts around 8 p.m.
— A multi-faceted Night of Country is being presented by St Croix Animal Friends on Saturday, March 23 at the Valley House, 1237 Highway 35, Hudson. Social hour starts at 5 p.m., dinner at 6, contests and activities at 7:30 and dancing at 9 to midnight. There will be raffles, a silent auction, contests and a photographer will make a record the evening’s activities for guests. Music will be by The Ricks, a local country western band who will also offer line dancing lessons. Tickets are available online at the website, www.scafshelter.org, or by calling Diana at (715) 386-4004 or the Valley House. All proceeds go towards building a new home for St Croix Animal Friends, a local organization that is making its first priority to build a much needed shelter for housing domestic animals.
— The Wolf River Band will bring their brand of country to the Willow River Inn in Burkhardt on Friday, March 22. The band has opened for stars like Loretta Lynn and George Jones, to name a couple, and has been nominated for Native American Music Awards and Wisconsin Area Music Industry Awards. They had a No. 1 hit in Europe for their rendition of Honky Tonkin’ by Hank Williams. The band members range in age from the early 20s to the mid 50s, and it shows in the diversity of their song mix, which includes mostly traditional country, fiddle music and ’50s and ’60s rock. The Wolf River Band does songs by Brooks & Dunn, Ernest Tubb, Willie Nelson, Box Car Willie and Elvis, to name a few.
— Then on Saturday night, it’s the idea of luck be a lady tonight, mixed with a bit of black leather to go with lace, as a beautiful and talented songstress with black locks leads the rock quartet Lady Luck when they play Willow River Inn. The versatile group plays a variety of tunes and tempos, but for the most part they really rock out ’80s style– as you might guess from their logo, an Ace of Spades that is set to the pattern of an actual playing card that’s handed out to patrons.
(Note: This web page to be updated on Thursday, complete with a review story on the Dibbo’s farewell party and a rundown on local April Fool’s Day pranks around the bar scene. I was occupied during the Easter holiday, but like the sign said for the Agave Kitchen: The Man has risen).
The end of an era in Hudson music will come on Saturday night, March 23, when Dibbo’s will hold a farewell party with the original members of Austin Healy taking the stage for the final time at the venerable nightclub. It has seen icons play everything from classic rock to metal, blues and country rock, to even hip hop, disco and ’80s pop.
The multi-story building is being purchased by a group of investors in the local Dabruzzi family, who plan to completely redo and convert it to a cafe in front, a banquet hall in back, and office space upstairs. However, it appears that live music at Dibbo’s has seen its last day.
Rumors of the change have been swirling for months, but manager Chuck McGee says that when they started becoming seriously considered in December and January, were still premature as nothing had been finalized. There were other considerations to be worked out, such as what if any contribution of funds the city of Hudson would make toward upgrading the old but historic building, and if the new owners would be required to create more parking spaces — a stipulation that in the past had stalled other expansion projects proposed by downtown nightclubs.
However, the handwriting was on the wall in January when the sound equipment was hauled out of the spacious back concert hall, which over the years had seen performances by the likes of 38 Special, Tommy Tutone, Blue Oyster Cult, Foghat, the instrumentalists of Twisted Sister, Firehouse, the Smithereens, Great White’s lead singer Jack Russell and even a quintet, with two drummers, of former band members who backed up heavy metal icons such as Ozzy Osbourne and the late Ronnie James Dio.
The volume churned out by that last crew was only topped by a four-band night of death metal, with surprising clarity and quality, that featured practitioners from the active New York scene and their counterparts who led an effort that was burgeoning in this region and often saw vigorous slam dancing.
And then, a few years back, came a night where fashion met blues, as professional models from the Twin Cities strutted down a catwalk that was brought in and positioned across the midst of the dance floor, followed by the music of up-and-coming guitarist Brandon Scott Sellner. The only thing was that amateur local models were invited to join in and stole the show from the pros as nearly 1,000 people watched.
But back to this Saturday, it’s Austin Healy, the reunited southern rock band that has played Dibbo’s many times over the years and now is the opening act for 38 Special. It’s the perfect act for the finale, and the song with which they will likely close, Freebird, is also a best choice, said McGee, who has been manager at Dibbo’s for about 25 years.
That other group, 38 Special, popped into Dibbo’s in downtown Hudson after playing a megaconcert with numerous bands in Somerset and heading home. The group that was performing that night is a name act in themselves, the Wetspots, and the Dibbo’s staff closed off the east balcony just for 38 Special and its crew. The idea was floated that members of 38 Special could get on stage and play a couple of songs, but the occasion was so long ago that no one could recall if they actually graced the stage or not.
Others have actually performed, some of them often. Tommy Tutone, who made the song “Jenny-867-5309” famous, would often stroll in with a guitar in hand, since he has parents who live in the Twin Cities and a musician friend, the late Jeff Johnson, who was a longtime Hudsonite and graced the national charts with the groups Supercell and Another Carnival.
When an annual festival he started was playing a park two blocks away and a thunderstorm hit, the two national bands that were scheduled to play made there way through the rain, gear in hand, and were invited to take the stage at Dibbo’s instead.
When Blue Oyster Cult played Dibbo’s, McGee closed down the front area afterwards and they just hung out and talked at length. “I have to admit this was the only time I’ve been starstruck by a band,” McGee said. “They are just iconic.”
Another band made their way to the stage after trekking here from Somerset, this time after playing OzzFest. The members of Twisted Sister joined the house band onstage, but it should be noted that their lead singer, Dee Snider, stayed in the tour bus outside and slept it off.
Before McGee’s time, when the drinking age was 21 in Minnesota and 18 here, there were the popular Tuesday Banana Nights, where a piece of the fruit would get you in for free. It helped that there was a grocery store just up the block, and the owner was a friend of the Dibbo’s management. The story goes that a local musician came up with the freebee idea.
In those days, on a slow night, there would be 500 patrons, but more typically up to 1,500 to listen to a deejay play music of that time. People disagree on the popular idea that the party often spilled out into the main street in front of the nightclub, some calling that an urban myth.
One thing everyone’s sure of, that the staff had to deal with, are the strange requests that some big name performers made for stuff to be waiting for them backstage. Most noteworthy among these contract “riders” were lots of sweat socks, stretchy ones, although beyond that the musicians didn’t specify what type.
“A lot of these requests were made by the staff, not the musicians,” McGee said, laughing. “I would negotiate with them, such as the number of pizzas they wanted us to bring in.”
One thing that was a certainty for at least one group to want was a specific kind of liquor, even if it meant running across town at the last minute, McGee recalls.
Contracts named specific types of food that were to be provided. “But a lot of times the bands didn’t even know what items were in the contracts, didn’t want to know and didn’t partake,” McGee said.
More difficult were the members of Firehouse and the different lineups of Foghat, who required folded beach towels, “nine of them not eight,” said McGee, again laughing.
Reality TV even hit Dibbo’s, when Henry Winkler and Tim Conway ended up playing some slot machines. Unfortunately, that part of the segment never aired.
Dibbo’s was made the most famous by the late Vic Fenner and his family, who bought it from Robert Means and added bands and a bigger stage to the mix of banquet hall offerings. It was at that time that the term “Dibbo’s” was coined, based on the way a nickname was mispronounced. Members of the family were traveling through the area from Superior, reputedly on their way through northwest Wisconsin to go to California although McGee discounts that, and legend has it landed in Hudson and decided to stay here.
Irish all around the region
— Paddy Ryan’s Irish Pub, at 709 Rodeo Circle in the town of Hudson, will do many things on St. Patrick’s Day in a way they only feature on this occasion, involving reasonably priced food and song, Irish whiskey and seating arrangements.
A corned beef and cabbage dinner will be offered all day on Sunday, with potatos and carrots included and of course, plenty of cabbage, all for only $12.
Shots of Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey will go for $3 to make that dinner more festive.
The O’Brien’s, a vocal group from Hudson, will perform from 1:30-4 p.m., and likely give their sets an Irish twist.
The day has a limited menu, which is tweaked for the holiday, said Mike Fassino, who is co-owner with his wife, Connie. “We’ll have everything that’s good in Irish food,” Mike said.
This is the only day of the year where they don’t take reservations, he said.
— In the name of Paint the Town Black, as in Guinness draught, the North Hudson Pub Crawl will start at noon on St. Patrick’s Day. There will be $3 tall taps and corn beef and cabbage all day long, at one of the featured stops, as patrons won’t have to choose which place to visit if on a limited schedule — they can hit them all! Word has it that the appeal of this pub crawl comes from getting that chance to go places you might not typically patronize, and pick up some new friends along the way, as sponsors such as Kozy Korner say that the event might start with 40 people, then balloon to 50 or more as the stops being made continue.
— Guv’s Place in Houlton is having of all things a doubles dart tournament for St. Patrick’s Day, on Saturday actually, with signup at 2 p.m., shooting starting at 3, and a “luck of the draw” format; is that anything like “luck of the Irish?” There will be $500 added cash, which is kind of like the pot at the end of the rainbow. Entry fee is $15 per person. Dozens of green hats are hung from the ceiling, some traditional but also even baseball hats. I asked bartender Patty if she has pulled this shift, since it would seem to be her holiday? She initially just shrugged at my attempt at humor.
Green themes, and green shoes …
— As a prelude to St. Patrick’s Day in Bayport, bartender Ginger led the the green theme with a great big shamrock
medallion at the end of her necklace. Reminds of the largest silver cross I’ve ever seen, the size of a songbird, at the
end of some bling on a homeboy on a weekend at Dick’s Bar and Grill. Much like you’d see on the recent Fat Tuesday.
— As told by Green Mill bartender “Sketchy,” who also goes by other aliases: On the last St. Patrick’s Day it was in
the 80s — that’s temps not the decade — and he and his wife went sunbathing on Beer Car Island. He got a real good
burn, and that’s not from the kind of shots he dispenses.
— It also was the time of year for the Oscars, and two actresses wore virtually the exact same red glowing gown on the
Red Carpet, a similarity that was featured on daytime talk shows the following afternoon. Much like when guitarists Jeff
Loven and Geno wore the exact same green, Converse-style tennis shows one Sunday night. I asked Jeff later on the night
of the Oscars if he was nominated for anything, and he answered “not this year.”
— One of my favorite local pubs was out of the beer, Farmer’s Daughter, which happens to have a square top on top of
its tap. That meant there could be no signature plastic glass placed over the top to show it was unavailable; that would
be putting a square peg in a round hole, so to speak, so a small paper sign had to be made. Likewise when PBR went out,
and prompted me to blog a while back that those signature letters marked an attempt to put it in a different container,
hence Pabst Box Rendition. Or at this later time near bar time, maybe they actually stand for Personal Beer Rejection.
— St. Patrick’s Day started early at Green Mill, Wednesday to be exact, with specialty drinks extending through Sunday
such as the Kinky Wolfman, Candied Carmel Apple, Candy Bar Bulldog and Oatmeal Cookie. A party with deejay Dug E Fresh
was to follow on Sunday. One other creative drink name, Bob’s Little Leprechaun at Hefty’s in Bayport, makes one sigh at
the obnoxiousness of the Minnesota Department of Transportation (or is that Public Safety) and its anti-drunken driving
PSAs where a leprechaun gets pulled over for having a wee bit too much. Granted, we all want to keep drunks off the
road, but arresting one of the little people — except for possibly being underage or underheight — is really uncool.
— At Pudge’s Bar, the first place over the St. Croix River for off-sale liquor, bulk specials are being featured for all kinds of Irish fare including dark beer, as the Minnesotans they cater to will be suffering from the implications of the Gopher State being an off-sale dry state on St. Patrick’s Day, which is a Sunday.
— In the recent karaoke competition at the Bungelow Inn in Lakeland, one of the prime competitors afterward slow danced
his sweetie — all while singing Sinatra with a microphone positioned between their throats.