Were Back....

Hello…It has been some time since the last post. Since then we have been up to a few activities.

On Saturday the 19th we went the Current sponsored “Fakebook” with Chuck D at the Fitzgerald Theater in Saint Paul. To start off the night we went to the newly opened Supatra Thai Cuisine on west 7th in Saint Paul. At first sight of the place I was pretty excited but unfortunately, that is were the story ends. The food was pretty sub-par, the atmosphere was not very inviting and the service was not very good. So what all that means is that I won’t be back. Sorry…Supatra.
Off to the show. I was pretty excited to see Chuck D interviewed by the Current’s own, Marie Lucia. I remember seeing Chuck D. perform with Public Enemy in 1992 as an opening act for U2’s Zooropa tour at Camp Randall in Madison. If I close my eyes I can still see Chuck and Flavor Flav (clock necklace and all) jumping around on stage singing…”Bring the Noise!”
What I took from the interview was how friendly and genuine he was. In addition, it was interesting to hear his opinion on different topics. He stated how the hip hop scene has changed since he first started in the mid 80’s. He mentioned that 20 years ago many of performers of the day would leave the persona they portrayed on stage and live normal lives after the show. Unfortunately that isn’t the case today.
In addition to hearing Chuck D. speak there were several musical performances from Brother Ali and Slug from Atmosphere. I enjoyed both of them. It was a good night.

Thursday the 23rd we started off the night by supporting the Dining Out for Life benefit for AIDS and choosing a restaurant from the participating list. We picked Tam Tam’s African Restaurant on Riversides Avenue in Minneapolis for dinner. I enjoy African cuisine. First you get to eat with your hands, the food is bright in color and flavorful, and it is served on injera bread. Yum. If any of characteristics of African cuisine sound intriguing, go there you will like it.

After dinner is was off to the Southern Theater to see the 25th Anniversary performance of Zenon Dance Company. This is the fourth time I have seen the company perform, of the four this was the most interesting. During the show there were five different performances. To me they seemed to be very contemporary approach to portraying emotions and the way individuals handle them thru dance. It was fun to see one of the founding members, Christine Maginnis (we know her!) perform. She is a very talented individual and a great dancer. It was a fun night.

Saturday the 26th. We went to the Cloud Cult CD release party at First Avenue in downtown Minneapolis. What a great show! This is the first time I have seen them perform indoors and I am glad I went. Cloud Cult put on a wonderful show to a packed house at First Avenue. They had awesome stage presence, sounded great, created beautiful art work (it is painted on stage during the show), and visuals. They played songs from the past and present and they sounded much like they sound on the albums. If you are not a fan become one. I am sure that they will pull at the emotional string in your heart.

"Passing Thru"

When I was younger my Dad and I would go duck hunting. In the process of hunting there was a lot of time to identify other winged animals. Over the course of time, I was able to identify many different types of waterfowl and remember their migration patterns. This learned and appreciated knowledge is still with me, today.
I can tell when the time of change is in the air. Yesterday afternoon, I was running in the area of Lake Phalen and where the ice on the lake had melted. There were many different species of waterfowl, swimming about. I was able to identify: Loons, Mergansers, Grebes, Great Blue Herons, Buffleheads, and even Pelicans. It was awesome! The only way it could had been any better, is if I had my camera with me.
It was great to be an observer to see and hear all the different sites and sounds of the waterfowl. In addition, I was so excited because of the uniqueness of it all. As I have learned many of these waterfowl were just “passing thru” to their final destination in northern Canada or the Artic Circle. So this is a rare opportunity to see all these species in one place at one time.
Also on a similar note...I am pretty sure that it is an indication that Spring has officially begun. Enjoy!

Another year older...(and wiser?)

Thanks so much to everyone for the birthday wishes. I'm happy to say I rang in my 28th year in great company and really enjoyed the day. The celebrating started a day early on Friday when I met my parents for dinner at Spoonriver. Delicious! We enjoyed an appetizer of mussells and clams, and I then had some sort of Japanese-style seafood soup with wheat noodles, followed by a piece of almond flour cake. I'd recommend this restaurant.

Saturday I woke to cool temps and snow flurries -- a sharp contrast to other years that have been sunshine-filled and warm. Undeterred, however, Derek and I headed over to meet some friends for a run from the University of St. Thomas parking lot. I'm so happy to be healed enough to run again after my injury-filled past year. I've had a lot of ups and downs with running for a while now, but one of my short-term goals was always to be healthy enough by April 12 so I could run on my birthday. I'm still very much building back up and I'm nowhere near where I used to be in terms of running fitness, but it was a wonderful treat to myself to be able to get back down to the river, one of my favorite places to run.

I returned to my car after the run and had time to spare while waiting for Derek and another friend of ours to finish (they went 12 miles, as opposed to my 7). I tried to kill time by walking along the river, but it was a little too cold to be as enjoyable as a spring morning should be. Luckily, Derek runs much faster then I do and was back in no time, so we were back at home, warm, in no time.

Derek and I made a big breakfast after the run and sat around in sweats till about 1 or 2 p.m...beautiful! He gave me some great gifts, too, including some new sandals that will get plenty of use once it warms up, a wallet that will replace the tattered one I currently use and a coffee mug and stainless-steel thermos to replace the dented, leaky one I currently use (Thanks, D)! It really was the perfect morning.

Once I got around to getting dressed, we headed out for some shopping (thanks to Derek for coming along). I hit up one of my favorite local stores, Karma on Grand. This boutique has some of the best clothes around, and I have to plan wisely when I pay the store a visit because, without fail, I'll leave with several items if I don't go in with any specific ideas. I'm proud to say I left with only a pair of jeans, and they weren't even that expensive.

The evening was really a culmination of the day...and the perfect way to end it. We started with a sushi dinner at Sakura in St. Paul -- amazingly good as always -- and followed it up with a concert at the Fitzgerald Theater, the Red House Records 25th Anniversary show. The show's two acts -- Lucy Kaplansky and Storyhill -- were great. Both are folk acts and the show was just so soothing -- that's really the only way I can describe it. I'm a bit of a softie sometimes and Lucy Kaplansky's voice and lyrics kind of made me teary at points. To me, that's a sign of great music -- If I enjoy it enough and am that touched by it, I'm definitely going to remember it. The two-man act of Storyhill was equally great, as always...I've seen them four or so times within the past year, and this was one of the best. Their harmonies were crystal-clear and so pure-sounding. All in all, it was a great show, and I really enjoyed the change of pace from the other shows we've seen recently. I love a great show at First Ave., where the floor shakes with the rhythm of the music, but I also enjoy concerts where I can actually sit and see! The Fitzgerald is quickly becoming one of my favorite venues.

After the concert at the Fitz, we closed the night with some drinks with great friends at Dixie's on Grand, where Big Trouble was playing. Big Trouble's made up of some friends from my high school days at St. Paul Central. They provided the perfect soundtrack to some lively conversations with some great company. Thanks Derek, Alex, Dan, Kristi, Ande!

I realized I had about an hour left of my birthday and still hadn't had cake for the day, so I ordered a piece of delicious lemon butter cream cake, which the server graciously topped with a candle, and I was able to enjoy the birthday thing a little bit longer. It was truly a FANTASTIC evening and I had a wonderful time. Thanks to those who were able to celebrate with me and thanks to those who left me wonderful voicemails and sent emails -- you made my day and I can't wait to connect with you all!

One more thing: I was mad at myself for forgetting my camera so I didn't get to document the night as I would have liked. Luckily, Kristi has an iPhone (coolest thing I've seen in a long time) and snapped a few shots, including this one -- which is my favorite and makes me laugh out loud. Contrary to our expressions, which show looks of horror in response to something Alex was talking about, we really did enjoy ourselves. It doesn't matter what the conversation was about at this point...Anyone care to add a caption?

Tapes n’ Tapes

After battling a spring time snow storm, Tracy and I made it to First Avenue on Thursday. Collectively, we spent hours (not kidding) in the car and were excited to be at our destination to watch Tapes n’ Tapes perform a show. They were kicking off a nation wide tour in support of their new album, Walk it off.

The opening bands, The Birthday Suites and White Denim were average at best. I enjoyed White Denim much more then the Suites. White Denim reminded me of a seventies band that had a few good songs and guitar rifts. That was more then I could say for the Birthday Suites. They were loud, obnoxious, and hard to listen to. I was glad that we didn’t see their full act.

Now for the main act….Tapes n’ Tapes. It was a good show. Many of the new songs were full of energy and urgency. The band still had the fast, faster, go faster approach to their music. The main change from the Loon, was that they seem to have more electronics and guitar rifts on their new songs. They appeared to be happy to be performing and excited about their new album. I am glad that I went.

On another note not related to music. Today is Tracy’s Birthday!!!! YEAH!

Winter 2008...a pictoral adios!

Winter is officially over, but the memories are still fresh (this dreary weather we're having helps preserve them), including those of the fun times we had at this year's Winter Carnival and during our visit to Chicago...

The Hotel Cafe Tour.

If you haven’t gone to the Fine Line Café in Minneapolis to see a show, I suggest that you go. Here is what you need to do. Fine a band you would like to see in an intimate setting, arrive early so you can get a spot close to the stage, and enjoy.

That is exactly what Tracy and I did on Monday night. Even with the snow fall it didn’t deter people who the packed house to see Dan Wilson, Ingrid Michaelson, Joshua Radin, Cary Brothers, and Meiko. They were in support of the Hotel Café tour.

The way the show played out was that all the musicians played 3 songs each and then would switch. Each of the musicians played 2 sets with some overlap of sharing the stage for a song or two. All the musicians were great, but in my opinion Dan Wilson stole the show. He sang songs from his new “Free Life” album, Semisonic and even a cover from John Denver (Annie’s Song). The other musicians were good, but many of the songs I had never heard them before. Regardless of not hearing many of the songs I enjoy all the music. Here is what I thought of the different artists:

I was impressed by Ingrid Michaelson range in her voice, sweet sounding lyrics and her witty humor. Joshua Radin had a relaxing, smooth, sensible sounding voice that would be perfect for any Sunday morning. The Cary Brothers for their jamming, rocking out style and stick to your guns attitude. Meiko had an interesting sounding voice, good guitar skills but seemed a little nervous in front of a large crowd.

Take it or leave it that is what I thought….

And let's not forget...

Last night's show was great...more about that later. I'm on my way out the door to go to work but had to mention that Derek's birthday is April 30. Somehow he neglected to mention that when running down the list of events taking place this month...