Two (dollars) will get you one; it’s better in drink specials than in moving the football yardsticks.
— This is what’s said to be the best and most comprehensive local/regional slate of drink specials — except maybe if you’re in a college town — for when you’re taking in your NFL football. The Willow River Saloon in Burkhardt has $2 domestic beer and rail drinks on Sundays from noon until 6 p.m., which takes in both this Sunday’s noon start (Vikings vs. Lions) and the doubleheader game (Packers vs. Colts). This shout-out came originally from bartender Sue at the Village Inn in North Hudson, who has worked there for years, is broadly connected and also knows what’s going on about town and even a bit farther afield.
— The Some Shitty Cover Band blends pop, rock and alternative from the ’80s, ’90s and today, and will do so at the Smilin’ Moose on Friday, Nov. 4. You gotta love a group that pokes fun at itself, and the guys note that theirs is not just a name, it’s an insurance policy! Some Shitty Cover Band features members of successful groups such as Quietdrive, All The Right Moves, Take Cover and also self deprecating, The Usual Things. Influences include Jimmy Eat World, Blink 182, All American Rejects and since they’re playing in Wisconsin, Beer.
— Speaking of The Moose, Sweet Siren played a return engagement there last Friday, and the percussion was amped up loud enough that it could be heard in the parking behind the former Dibbo’s — someplace where you’d more certainly have expected it. As is the practice of bringing back old gems, you can expect The Siren back at The Moose sometime in the next few months.
— He could be the son of a preacherman — and yes he’s a guy — with another throwback band playing at Juniors in River Falls on Friday starting early at 8 p.m. Patty and The Buttons preach the gospel of hot rhythm and happy feet, they say. The band is similar to what you’d find in a dancehall, cafe or speakeasy between 1920 and 1940. The lead man and accordionist Patty spent the early part of his life playing on street corners around the world while learning tunes from the old masters of traditional music. His eclectic taste gives the band diverse influences including New Orleans traditional brass bands, early blues, Gypsy jazz and 1920s popular song. The core instrumentation of accordion, clarinet, guitar and bass is light and swift but also melancholic and lush when it needs to be. Patty’s lead vocals are inspired by the soulful old time hollers and croons from the dawn of recording.
— And as a last (dying) gasp of Halloween, the brew named Black-o-Lantern has been popping up around the area, complete with a higher alcohol content, which could conceivably lead to a blackout. (Insert some type of Black Sabbath reference here!) And I will myself add one more, again with a Halloween theme. The sign at Green Mill had a back side that featured all the candy falling out of the bottom of a trick-or-treaters bag but was ripe for recovery. (I think that would qualify as a trick). It’s like the late Ronnie James Dio so famously sang with Sabbath, “you get to keep the gold that falls,” Sugar as currency.