Contact us
Back to All Posts

You can party like a rock star (or movie idol), as swashbuckling Captain Jack takes the reins and helps highlight the music at the 30th Hot Air Affair ballooning event

(See this web site’s Picks of the Week for, as far as ballooning and all sorts of other activities, the rest of the story):

A pirate-themed, old-time version of that genre meeting the new, soiree at Madison Avenue Wine & Spirits on Feb. 2, is the highlight of pirate nightlife for the Hot Air Affair, featuring an appearance during which “crew members” can meet “Captain Jack Sparrow,” and also hear the The Pan Handlers steel drum band. The music at this activity, as part of the “Pirates Fly’n The Croix-Ribbean” edition of the weekend Hudson Hot Air Affair, which is on a 30 year run, will be held from 7-10 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2. “We’ll also have Caribbean food throughout the weekend and Caribbean inspired new cocktails for the Hot Air Affair,” said Madison Avenue’s Kelly Yocom. “We’ll be bringing our cinnamon whiskey, spiced rum and red wine (for sampling and more).”
The activity highlights a broadly stated, music meeting art event, and a primer of the best of the rest of bands to play in conjunction with the Midwest’s biggest winter ballooning event, follows.
That lineup, mostly in the downtown, is as such: At Urban Olive and Vine on Friday with an early 6 p.m. start, (so they will work in tandem with the Torchlight Parade), is Jazz Savvy, and on Saturday night its Andy and Kathyrn Karg. At the new Ziggy’s venue, there’s a two-fer on Friday, starting at 8 p.m. and going well into the evening, with Capital Sons followed by Scary Numan, and then on Saturday night is the HeBeGB’s. Based on past experience, Smilin’ Moose is sure to be a crowd pleaser on Friday night with Shirts & Skins. Big Guys BBQ Roadhouse also gets in the act on Saturday night with the late-breaking news of an Uncle Chunk performance.
There also are numerous DJ and dance music options, mostly for a younger-crowd type of tunes, some on more than one night. Dick’s Bar and Grill obviously leads the list, on both Friday and Saturday nights, and Smilin’ Moose follows their Friday live music with a Saturday DJ. For those who enjoy being in the limelight, and not just on the dance floor, there is karaoke on both Friday and Saturday at the Hudson Bowling Center. And, of course, don’t forget the guitar and vocal expertise of Jeff Loven as the one-man-band to wrap things up with a Sunday night encore.
— Capital Sons describes in more than one place on-line that they play “heart on your sleeve” rock ‘n roll, experienced but adding a fresh new twist. They also boast lots of air play over several years from The Current radio station, and past endeavors have even included the sitar.
— A combo of bands on a given night is a Ziggy’s staple, and the second to go on Friday, Scary Numan, describes themselves as a “psycho retro” new wave dance band. Check them out to see for yourself just what that means.
— The He-Be-G-B’s need to describe their name, its origins as a plural noun, and which letters to capitalize in a way you’d expect to see in Webster’s Dictionary. The style of this long-time band is also diverse, “performing a variety of folk, country, bluegrass and contemporary music, featuring acoustic.” And you love to see a gig where even the sound guy checks in with backup vocals.
— Everything goes better with live music, but it doesn’t need to be making-your-ears-bleed volume. So noted by Jazz Savvy, a trio that provides, among other things, classical jazz: “Never intrusive or sonically aggressive, Jazz Savvy gives you and your guests a memorable listening experience that will make them smile (and allow conversation),” they say.
— Andy and Kathryn Karg are a vocal/guitar/piano duo that cover genres from the 50s on up, and as a 2010 Miss Minnesota, she is well versed in both recent and old school tunes. Andy reigns from Nashville and brings his guitar swinging chops to match Kathryn’s homegrown piano virtuosity and her mastery of tight and soaring harmonies.
— Skins & Shirts have put out several CDs, which have been critically acclaimed, on the strength of two female-led, rotating sets by the lead singers. And there’s more. Song choice is tailored to each individual singer, and is adjusted for each event, as each member of the band shares vocal duties. Also, they show their diversity by use of things like an electric fiddle.
— Uncle Chunk says their “fan base ranges from young children to very mature adults, those who are young and those who are young at heart.” They cite the choices in their song list and visual appearance.”Looking at our set list, you will find music from many different eras and genres. These are what we consider some of the best songs from their times.”

Share the Post:

Related Posts

  • I’ll be brief and punchy with this headline notation, as we transition to giving you more and sometimes shorter choices. And you may notice some of that as you beckon forward. It’s circular. Like a flush. Be careful what you mix, heads vs. text, drinks vs. food, and all kinds of potions — that may go bump in the night. —– Punchy, potentially, but I digress or progress with a new patriotic addition.
My mom has told me not to be a potty mouth when I write, as she certainly would not appreciate hardly any of the standup humor on say, Comedy Central Radio. SNL maybe. But after 11:30 p.m. … But there comes a time where a man must make a stand. And for this jokester, it was now when he had to choose whether to pass on the opportunity that would otherwise bite him in the butt, for in front of and behind him is the Mother Lode. Or should I say load. Or “Mothers” of Invention. Heh heh, heh heh, Butthead, look...
Read More
  • This coulda been Vanna White’s next Big gig In The Sky, if the scaffolding was not so high. So this is how the project went, by the letters and numbers, of get Trump’s name erased from the Kennedy Center. The $250 bill might be tougher. Sad but true. So, What are there more of going on right now, wars or Trump pet construction projects?
So the wall is down. Of letters, that is. Not down by Mexico. Cemented into the concrete. Of the Kennedy Center. Where music has sat. (Near where a now defunct wrestling arena rusts in peace. Or a bloodied White House lawn. With leftover paper cups and plates, more likely bowls and small utensils, anyone?) Or more ornate than inside? A tarp the size of Pennsylvania, the predominant battle state, covers workers as they chip. So geez, how big are the letters? Four times 50 living workers high? But now none remain, or so we are told by flunkies. Or is...
Read More
  • Stressed out as a caregiver? She’s back at yah. This is a rare case of a husband and wife being joint caregivers — for each other — aided and abbetted by the fact that they have a lot of the same disabling conditions. So she shovels snow using a walker/scooter, while he cooks gingerly using a microwave and offers her a plate when she sits down, in an easy chair, in a reversal and new take on traditional roles. Whatever it takes. Necessity is the mother of invention. —– In a new add, Towns and the champion Knicks got kicked around but still got their kicks in the long run … As do Norwegian dancers.
A few years back, I wrote an article about Hudson Deacon Tom Kroll and how he did so many extra dutiful tasks, his living out the Gospels tirelessly, when his wife was ill, in addition to his regular job. I was inspired at the time to pen this, about my own lovely, disabled wife — we were separated briefly but now back together with our 40th anniversary this month, as wholehearted caregiving has many strains — and how an atypical view of standard roles, out of necessity, made things work, as far as our approach to work and home that’s...
Read More
  • He says, and goes fishing with the boys. She says, then goes to the middle of Texas, inviting her mates to a ranch/villa built for the ages. The bachelor and bachelorette parties were on the same night, but though very different, they had some things in common … like the snakes, at least three kinds, to avoid. (None with exotic dancer.) But while away, they did not avoid each other, completely. He made a phone call. —– Just added, last call included a Carolina cowpoke.
What do fishing, maybe in the dark, thus a Texas ranch, snakes of various types and do they come or stay out after dusk, eating either and only fine food or snacks, and a game of cards — likely just one each — have in common. And no strippers or Chippendales. And an only half or quarter, not full Monty. (Who is Monty anyway?) Or cowboy or cowgirl hats. Although there was some dress-up. More Barbie than boots on, I think. It’s an easy answer, connected and conflicting, but not in all or dirty ways, bachelor and bachelorette parties. One of each...
Read More
  • Full metal jacket? Hey, I wasn’t exactly to the point of going Rob Halford. But tastes aside, there must be some reason why after 26 years I was shunned, like going Bob Daisley by Ozzy at his reunion? OK, I know, my style may not have fit with the packed crowd. And the last couple of times for this, I tried to do too much with ad-libbing. So yeah, I get that this time around, I was the somewhat unusual choice to be the one left off the set list, with singers clamoring to get up there. But seriously, just being analytical of strengths and weaknesses as a singer here, no hard feelings. I’m not Dio. (Or Traveling Wilburys, a when jumping inside, inside joke.)
It was clear to me at the most recent Jeff Loven music show in Hudson, for Memorial Day weekend, that there has been a changing of the guard. The sword has been passed. New blood, like Yungblud, has been brought in. And, I must say, loyalty — amongst the devotees who travel frequently and all across the two-state area to virtually all of Jeff’s shows — has been rewarded. They are the royalty, in what just makes good business sense that I can appreciate. In a significant but not unprecedented altering of course, I was not one of those asked...
Read More
  • Songs by Napalm Death? A fire swept down my very street today, where the babies were burned. (But alas, a new A/C unit is on its way up the freeway.) The Stones did not leave these themes unturned, either, or should I say unrolled. Oh wait, this all was my cooker of an apartment, and we are not talking the kitchen. But all these matters will become more pressing, a pressure point, as the new normal especially in southern climes is temp well into the triple digits. It is these people, the third world, and their heat stroke not mine, that most concern me. (Another example of hellfire temps just added. Sin after Sin.)
Trial by fire. My broiling heart in my efficiency flat still beats a bit, in concern over those boiling over in worse apartments in a Chicago tenancy, or on an ocean island instantly-burn-your-feet beach or dessert, or forced to endure ice baths just to keep cool — or simply be offered no way to maintain an ice-dripping body other than also read a non-cookbook at the library, or select not a big steak you can’t afford but a 73/27 burger from a freezer and slap it on your forehead. Just not too hard. All these things are ones where you especially today either burn or...
Read More
Scroll to Top