New Years Wish.....

Well the end of the year is here. It is a time to look back and remember the past 365 days. Through my eyes, I can say with confidence, what a year it has been! This past year I have had the opportunity to experience more, see more, taste more, and most importantly live more. For me to distinguish what the"best" was, is hard question to answer. I just remember that I enjoyed everything that I experienced and every experience was unique.

At last count I went to about 60 different performances ranging from local bands to professional dance companies. In addition to attended several major events ranging from family or friend gatherings to marathons to food tasting benefits. Oh and I can't forget all the different restaurants that were visited to taste their different foods...yum.

For me to look back...I feel that the underlining theme of 2007, is to live life well. I have learned that to enjoy life you just have to have the right attitude, relish in the small pleasures, and enjoy the people around you. This past year I didn't travel to the far ends of the earth or spend crazy amounts of money to attend lavish events. But what I did do was attend many activities that were cheap or free, with in a 100 mile radius of Saint Paul, and continued to build a better relationship with loved ones.

My plan for 2008 is to use the past year as a spring board and not a hammock. I want to continue do more, learn more, experience more, love more, and most importantly live more.

Until our paths cross, I wish everyone hope, health, and happiness. Make the upcoming year the best year of your life.

Holiday Weekend...

It was a great weekend! My parents came down to visit, as well as to attend the the musical, "Don't hug me on Christmas."
First things first....the logistics. My parents stayed in the Hilton in downtown Minneapolis (I always forget that there are nice motels here in town.) It was the typical upscale motel in a great location (with even a beautiful fitness center).
We went to Masa to eat dinner. This was my first time there...my thoughts were that it is a very beautiful, contemporary style restaurant that has great service with average food. (Would I go there again....yes). While we were eating we were able to watch portions of the holidazzle parade that was taking place outside.
Off to the musical..."Don't hug me on Christmas" was being performed in the Hennipen Stages Theater. This was a night of firsts because I had never been to this venue. It was very intimate setting with about 200 seats and a small stage in the front for the performers. The premise of the musical is this....it takes place in Bunyan Bay, Minnesota, on Christmas Eve. Cantankerous bar owner Gunner Johnson gets in an argument with his wife, Clara, tells her he's skipping Christmas, storms out, goes snowmobiling across the lake, falls through the ice on his skidoo and goes into a coma. He then comes back in his dream where he's visited by the folk legend, Sven Yorgensen, who plays the ghost of Christmas past, present, and future. Sven takes Gunner (Scrooge) on a journey similar to that in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.
It was a fun filled show with plenty of slapstick humor to put you in a good mood. If you haven't seen it I would recommend it, especially if you are not a fan of the traditional Christmas shows.

Triple Threat....

Well were to begin....there has been alot going on in the past few days. The activities began on Thursday, we went to the Taste of the Cultures sponsored by Cub Foods. It was held at the Crowne Plaza in downtown Saint Paul. The venue was a typical motel ballroom, with great views of Kellogg Park (very pretty with the x-mas lights on the trees). The room itself had the different food booths along the perimeter and in the center a stage were different cultural performances were taking place thru-out the evening.


The food samples being handed out, tasted good, and covered all the different continents. My favorite was a suprise....Russian.....prepared by the Moscow on the Hill restaurant. It was a chicken blini (ground chicken with spices wrapped in a crepe) served warm. Beautiful!!! I think I ate 4 of them. Of the rest of the food samples there was nothing out of the ordinary nor was there anything that made my palate remember it later on.


Friday night...Tracy's Holiday Party for work was held at the Varsity Club in Dinkytown. It was a great time! For starters the venue happened to be my favorite place to see a show and I was excited to see how it would be decorated and laid out for a non-musical event. After first glance, I wasn't disappointed, it was decorated with the typical holiday decor, but in a formal, quirky way (nice job!). They also had an old fashion photo booth that we were able to take several pictures in (see left). I thought that was an innovative way to remember the evening and event, I am sure that it was a crowd favorite.



The food options available were "heavy" appetizers that were catered by The Loring Pasta Bar (average). The entertainment was a cover band named Orange Whip, I was surprised by them. They had a nice sound and covered alot of different musical bases. All in all it was a fun time and it was nice to meet some of Tracy's co-workers. Thanks Weber Shandwick!

Sunday....British Commercials....Thanks to Tracy's parents they invited us to the Walker Art Center to watch the commercials. My take on the commercials were that they were not all that funny, as I first thought before the showing. (Of course there were a few, but nothing different then watching the half time show during the superbowl. ) But I thought that the majority of the commercials were more serious in nature. The type that may cause a smile or chuckle now and then. I was also surprised by the length. Many of the commercials were more of a short film about a product they were advertising. Very well directed and performed.
My final though was that I enjoyed how brutally honest they were. In particular, one about anorexia, or driving a gas guzzler vehicle or another about the repercussions of drunk driving and the people it effects. They leave nothing for the imagination. Well done.

Zenon...

Last Saturday night Tracy and I went to the Zenon Dance Company's fall show, which was held at the Guthrie. Before I give my thoughts about the show, if you haven't gone to the new Guthrie yet, you need to put it on your list of things to do. Pretty Cool.

Back to Zenon. This is going to be quick and easy....it was great. They performed 5 pieces, of the 5, I really enjoyed 3 of them. They were very artistically done, professionally choreographed, and beautifully performed. The 2 that I didn't enjoy were pieces, in my opinion, done for the masses. They would be something that you might have seen on TV...Pretty forgettable.

None the less. It was a great performance. I was able to see some good friends and enjoy the Guthrie Theater.

First Snow!!!!

...."It has arrived," she said. I agreed with the woman I crossed paths with this morning, while on a walk. As I walked in the opposite direction, I chucked to myself about the "it has arrived" comment. It is almost as if the apocalypse had started or that chicken little was right and the sky did fall. No matter how you look at it. The first snow fall of the year is here.

I enjoy the snow and everything it brings. The holidays, skiing, colder weather, ice fishing and maybe the most important a reminder to slow down. It is a time of the year to reflect, take stock of the good things in your life, and to live in the moment.

This morning after coming back from the walk. I took my winter clothes off, warmed up, ate a warm piece of banana bread (thanks to Tracy!), looked out the window and thought of nothing. This is exactly what I should be doing.

It's been awhile....

Hello....It has been awhile since the last post. We have been kind of in between events, but no fear we have attended two events the last couple of days. The first being the Baniff Mountain Film Festival held in conjunction with the Midwest Mountaineering Expo. The second being Tu Dance held at the O'Shaughnessy, on the St. Kate's campus.

My impression of both events was that they were good, but not great. Maybe it is that I have had more exposure to independent films and dance performances then in the past, which has made my expectations to get higher.

Lets start with the Baniff Mountain Film Festival...I enjoy everything wild that planet earth has to offer. I have spent countless hours exploring and experiencing what it has to offer. I equally enjoy hearing about other people's experiences, travels, and rites of passage. But what I don't like is a human highlight film with the best thing being the music and possibly the scenery. This was the case of 3 of the 5 films, I saw on Friday night.

I have seen enough films that show a few individuals who have the economical background or have solicited a major sponsor to endorse a fun filled trip. Many of these individuals have shrugged off human responsibility and have followed their dreams. Good for them. Keep doing what you are doing, in fact call me I would love to join you.

But, when it comes to documenting your trip. Create a film by introducing a storyline, instead of having highlight shots of an epic ski run down a mountain face or an interview of a trip member saying, "You need to respect the mountain...." or "...that was crazy sick...." It has all been done before.

Of the two films I liked, they both had a storyline. They had the human element. The first one was about a female BASE jumper who was addicted to the sport and couldn't stop until she crashed landed into a tree breaking both her legs. Even after multiple surgeries and several years after the accident, she still can barely walk. The entire film had a sick uneasy feeling that something bad was going to happen. It was like watching a slow motion train wreck.

The second film was the shortest. It was about a band, the Black Eyed Snakes, who traveled from Duluth to Colorado for a music tour and Nordic skied along the way. It was simple, non pretentious, showed the enjoyment of the sport, and was entertaining to watch.

Saturday.......Off to dance. Tu Dance is a great company. I have heard about them from Tracy and I know she really enjoys seeing them perform. As well as respects the athletic and artistic talent that the dancers have. After seeing them, I agree they are very gifted individuals and I enjoyed seeing their show. Of the five pieces, my favorite was a very contemporary, abstract piece that had a woman bound by elastic bands who was being pulled in and out of the spotlight by her fellow dancers. Beautiful....


My take on the entire show. I would have enjoyed it even more if the other pieces performed were more of the abstract bazaar style of dance rather then the traditional style. I am aware that there were a lot of technical dance moves being performed. But, I personally enjoy more stimulus from the overall production of the dancing and not the technical side. But that is just my opinion.

The New Rockstar Persona: Mr. Nice Guy, parts I and II

If I were a rockstar, I'd want to be Craig Finn (small scale) or Bruce Springsteen (world-domination scale).

Part I
In a world where we have musicians known for bad behavior and ungracious performances, Finn was downright giddy with appreciation during the Hold Steady concert at the State Theater on Thursday, Nov. 4. He personifies "nice guy," offering a new take on what it means to be a rockstar. The whole rockstar persona is given new meaning with Finn and the rest of the Hold Steady. The band consists of five guys -- four of whom I understand are Minneapolis-area natives -- who seem to be bound together by a simple love of fun times and head-bobbing music. Their latest release, Boys and Girls in America, is one of my favorite CDs, so seeing them live was a thrill, and they didn't disappoint.

The show? Bone-shakingly awesome. The music was solid and fun in that clap-your-hands and sing-along-at-the-top-of-your-lungs sort of way. Or was it just Finn? Hard to separate the two...he is the heart and soul of the band. From the get-go, when the show started with "Party Pit," Finn was high energy, running around and clapping his hands in a maniacal but lovable sort of way. Minnesota loves him, and he wasn't shy about showing his love for us. Every round of applause and cheers evoked true appreciation from Finn, evident in his hands covering his mouth, clasped in fists under his chin, or his fast-forward dance moves. He even said, at one point, how much joy and love he felt. Could this guy be any nicer? I'd almost expect to receive a thank-you note for coming to the show.

The guy's a true poet, setting years of his life and a multitude of experience to music that exudes tales of a fun, carefreeyouth. I could almost taste the keg beer and feel the crowded house party around me while listening to the bar-band songs. That's just the way of the Hold Steady: Guilty pleasures and irresponsibilities of the past have never sounded like so much fun. And while we may have grown up from our, say, irresponsible college days (for some of us), or entire decades of haze ("The 80s almost killed me," Finn sang at one point), that's just what they are -- memories of the past, safe for revisiting in song.

Part II
And now we move on to Bruce Springsteen, also Mr. Nice Guy and Brilliant Poet -- THE ORIGINAL. I'll admit that I don't know many Springsteen songs beyond the classic 80s standards (Born in the USA, I'm on Fire, Born to Run, etc.) or his movie soundtrack songs (Streets of Philadelphia, Secret Garden [from Jerry Maguire]). But when my dad called Friday afternoon offered Derek and I free tickets he came upon through a friends -- well, I would have felt like quite a prominent schmuck in musical history for turning them down. Luckily Derek felt the same! Add to the fact that they were first row and, well, I was very spoiled in my first Springsteen experience.

I probably can't ever see another show of his again, for fear that it will never live up to this one. His opening line -- "Is anyone alive out there?" or something like that (I know, Springsteen lovers everywhere are cringing at my ignorance) -- was enough to jolt the GINORMOUS crowd into collective cheers and screams, and from there it never stopped or let up for the entirety of the show. For a bunch of guys pushing 60 (some might even be there), Springsteen and the E Street Band wore me out with their power rock but won me over with their cohesiveness and infectious music. Add to that Springsteen's thoughtful lyrics -- apparent both when he was shaking the arena with his thunderous vocals or soothing the crowd with his more lyrical, acoustic songs -- and the show was a lesson from Rockstar Performance 101. Some of Springsteen's songs took a political tilt (it's no secret that he's no fan of the Bush administration), but he always countered with a hard-rocking, soul-shaking song that had the crowd singing in unison -- an unbelievable sound in itself. It's clear why New Jersey's favorite son has become a timeless piece of American culture.

The crowd in itself was a sight to behold. I would have fit in with a) 80s bangs b) a jean miniskirt and stilletos c) Tony Danza hair and a muscle shirt (if I were a guy) or d) a polo shirt and khakis. Springsteen attracted an eclectic crowd filled with fashion throwbacks to decades past, harley lovers, regular middle-aged business men and people such as yourself. You know you're in the presence of rock royalty when a diverse crowd like this can come together and sing and dance in unison to your musci for 2+ hours, demanding encore after encore.

I've never been to an arena concert like this before, and I'm not sure if I will again...I tend to favor more intimate venues (and let's be honest -- I ain't rich, so cheaper shows are more my style). But like the Hold Steady's Craig Finn during Thursday's show, Springsteen's sincerity, love for what he does and genuine appreciation for his fans transcended space and venue. The result? Another excellent show that felt more like an event, which will forever be etched in my memory as one of the best shows I've experienced. I may not know most of his songs, and I don't own any of his albums, but Springsteen is a true superstar, and I'm glad to have experienced a show from such a legend.