Sara surprised me on Valentine’s day with tickets to the Minneapolis stop of the Hotel Cafe Tour (to happen later, Monday March 31st). The concert was downtown at the Fine Line Music Cafe. Since it was general admission, we arrived when doors opened and secured a spot about 10 feet in front of the stage. We were most excited for Ingrid Michaelson (recent album: Boys and Girls) and Dan Wilson (recent album: Free Life), but were pleasantly surprised by the rest of the lineup as well: Cary Brothers, Joshua Radin, and Meiko. The concert was “untraditional” in that each performer would sing a few songs, then leave the stage, to be replaced by another performer in the lineup. Each artist would cycle through a couple times, and mix it up by backing each other up (for example Ingrid would sing backup for Dan). There was an emcee that announced each performer, and even played (with 2 others as well) as a support musician. The emcee had a great personality and lots of enthusiasm. The music was excellent, and all the artists were personable and friendly. Some of my favorite moments were Ingrid’s cover of Creep by Radiohead, and Dan Wilson’s performance of Closing Time from his previous band Semisonic. My pictures from the show are here.
For my birthday, Sara took me to dinner at Cafe Ena in Minneapolis. Dinner was excellent and we recommend the restaurant.
The bad: 2.5 hours from Fort Atkinson, WI to find Alpine Valley instead of 45 minutes (stayed at a crappy Super 8 hotel, terrible directions once off I-43), pouring rain for most of the afternoon leading up to the concert, one hour in stop-and-go traffic to get into the parking lot, parked in the mud with the drunken party people, car and clothes full of mud, walked in the rain about .5 mile from Green parking lot, got nailed by flying mud from people throwing it from the elevated lawn “seats” down to the pavilion (Sara got hit in the back of the head, not good), $8 beer, 2 hours to get back to the hotel after the concert (totally lost, got directions at a hotel near Burlington) driving with low visibility due to mist/rain, and very expensive tickets. Video from pre-concert mud sliding!
The good: absolutely, positively, the best concert I’ve ever been to, and probably will ever go to! It was concert euphoria, I couldn’t think of anything else I wanted from a performance by one of the favorite groups. People posted lots of video on YouTube from the show. This particular video of Testify (opening song) or this one of Killing in the Name captures some of the energy (crank this on your stereo, head banging is also required).
We moved from our already good pavilion seats to ones lower and better, where we had space on either side to jump around and rock out. Queens of the Stone Age opened on the dot at 8PM. I know and like two of their songs and was excited for more, but was underwhelmed by their performance and thought the lead singer was difficult to understand (due to bad audio). Queens didn’t really motivate the crowd to jump around, maybe they were too excited for Rage to take the stage like everyone else. There was about an hour between the performances, plenty of time for Alpine Valley to fill to its 35,000 person capacity. Rage opened with Testify and it was 100% energy for the entire show. There was a 2-3 minute speech from Zach towards the end of the show (during “Wake Up”), but we couldn’t really discern what he was saying. There was a short break before the encore where Rage played 2-3 more songs. The concert as a whole was at a maximum energy level, with tons of crowd participation (singing, mosh pit, body surfing). Super hits like Guerrilla Radio and Bulls on Parade were incredibly energetic and infectious, truly a once-in-a-lifetime performance, worth every penny, and worth all the bad stuff (which is completely overshadowed in hindsight).
Sara and I are driving down to Alpine Valley (Wisconsin venue) where the recently-reunited Rage Against the Machine will be performing, one of only four shows nationally (the “Rock the Bells” tour), and the only show in the Midwest. Ticket prices were twice what I expected, but seeing as this will be about 5 times better than any concert I’ve been to, it’s a bargain! Queens of the Stone Age will be opening. To raise excitement levels (even higher), we’re reviewing lyrics, watching YouTube music videos, and re-watching a couple Rage DVDs (Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium, The Battle of Mexico City) tonight. Top it all off with 7 hours of RATM on the car stereo during the ride down tomorrow, and my excitement level will be at a fever pitch.
June was filled with final tasks leading up to the settlement of my new home. Early in the month we spent a weekend with Sara’s brother, seeing comedians for a Saturday night show at Acme Comedy Club in Minneapolis. A group of coworkers got together for some dual-Xbox 360 gaming the next weekend, where Matt successfully hooked up two 360s with two copies of Call of Duty 3, on two televisions. We held our fourth tech group meeting, topics included Ruby on Rails introduction and Google Mapplets/Street View. The next weekend I eagerly awaited Ticketmaster sales of a recently announced Rage Against The Machine reunion concert at the Alpine Valley venue in Wisconsin, scheduled for August. As expected, tickets were expensive and hard to get, so I went to eBay for two tickets in the center of the reserved seating area (and spent way more money). Sara prepared for her final examinations to finish her first year of medical school. Congratulations to Sara on this major milestone. The next couple of weekends I spent time packing up and trimming down my personal property to move to my new place. On the Friday evening after Sara’s last exam, some friends of hers threw a barbecue deck party at their home in Northeast Minneapolis, where we attended along with about 40 other classmates, significant others, and friends. Finally my closing date arrived, and things went well in general. Sara and I picked up the rental moving truck, loaded up my personal items in Hugo, and drove South back to Minneapolis. A couple friends helped Sara and I move items into my new condo from the truck. The next few days we spent unpacking, purchasing new items from Ikea, and decorating my bathroom, working late into the night for several nights in a row.
Friday we attended a speech and political rally by presidential candidate Barack Obama, at the International Market Square in Minneapolis (a great mixed-used building with residential lofts). We arrived shortly after 5PM, however Barack didn’t begin speaking to the packed house until nearly 7PM. Barack’s portion of the 20-30 minute presentation was about 15 minutes, and unfortunately due to just two undersized speakers, was somewhat inaudible from our vantage, although his personality and skill as a public speaker were impressive as I had been expecting. I enjoyed getting excited about political issues, seeing Barack in person, and observing the large crowd of supporters and Barack’s reactions to them. Following the rally we had dinner at Uptown Diner with some of Sara’s friends from school and her brother. Sara departed the next day for California, where she will be participating in a week-long education/internship program through her medical school at the Betty Ford Center. The remainder of my weekend was spent in Alexandria, Minnesota at a Lake Victoria cabin for a bachelor party. Highlights included: passing time on the dock because the boat was broken, (later in the night) shots of Jagermeister with live minnows in them (a disgusting/disturbing local tradition that I participated in), Go-Karts at a local recreation park, and dancing at Bug-A-Boo Bay, the best nightlife spot in Alexandria.
May was a busy month. [An April 2007 event] I attended the No Fluff Just Stuff Java and Open Source software symposium (the Spring sessions), held at a Bloomington hotel, just north of Ikea/Mall of America. I’m still hoping to explore some of the topics from the conference (JSF, Seam, GWT) in a separate post (two Mpls NFJS pics). Only one graduation to attend this “season:” my friend Josh at his home in Lakeville. Sara’s birthday was at the beginning of the month, and we planned a party at Dave and Buster’s in Maple Grove (the only one in Minnesota) to celebrate, with friends from medical school for sara, and work friends for me. (birthday party pictures)
My newsworthy item of the month was that I purchased a condo at the mixed-use Corridor Flats project in South Minneapolis. I’m planning to close towards the end of June, am really excited about buying real estate, having my own place, and helping/promoting my friends/family usage of the light-rail (the primary selling point of the project). Another asset very conveniently located to Corridor Flats is the Midtown Greenway, a bike/inline skate trail that connects “the lakes” (Lake Calhoun, Lake Harriet) to “the river” (the Mississippi). From the trail entrance about one block away, it takes 15 minutes by bike to reach Lake Calhoun, which in my opinion is *the best* “summertime spot” in the Twin Cities.
In the middle of May we visited our friends Erin and Kevin in Milwaukee (5.5 hours by car from Minneapolis). We saw comedians at a nearby comedy club, took a brewery tour and had the fish dinner at Lakefront Brewery, then spent Saturday strolling around (at a relaxed pace) the downtown/lakefront area. We left Milwaukee Sunday, but stopped in Rochester on the way back to surprise my mom with flowers for Mother’s Day (mission accomplished).
Sara won tickets to a May 15 Damien Rice concert at Northrop, which turned out to be a lot of fun. Later in the month I’ve spent most of my free time studying for the Sun Certified Java Programmer exam. Sara enjoyed a 1-week break between Spring and Summer semesters, and flew to San Diego for the American Psychiatry Association national convention (with 3 other med-school classmates). On Memorial Day weekend, Sara and I attended the reception for the wedding of Christine (neighborhood/childhood friend) and Nate, which was held at the Elements Cafe (on the top floor) of the Science Museum of Minnesota, a rentable space for formal events. The venue has a 300-person seating area, floor-to-ceiling windows, a large terrace overlooking the river, separate bar/tables area, dance floor, all the components of a great party venue. (wedding reception pictures)
Irish singer/songwriter Damien Rice toured through Minneapolis for a Tuesday night show at Northrop auditorium on the University of Minneapolis campus. Sara won 2 tickets to his Minneapolis show from a school drawing, for seats about 3/4 of the way back on the main floor, just about level with the stage. Damien opened at the piano with a beautiful song called “9 Crimes” from his new album titled “9.” The song was performed solo, sans Lisa Hannigan who sings with him in this video. Sara heard a rumor that Lisa was Damien’s girlfriend and they no longer work together, though I haven’t verified this.
According to the FAQ on Damien’s website, all band members are from Ireland (including Damien) except one. I think most Americans find the Irish accent charming, especially for someone like Damien who speaks in a maladroit way, very tentative in general, saying “sort of” quite often (I suspect this contributes to his popularity with women, since it fits with his image).
The concert had unexpected departures from traditional concert aspects, since crowd members were involved at various points in the show, and things didn’t always go perfectly. There was a “rap-off,” where he pulled a few girls and a guy on stage for impromptu rapping (though none of which was very good), then in the encore portion of the show, he spent about 15 minutes setting up a re-enactment/visualization of the scene of a song, by pulling a woman from the audience (possibly planted, as she didn’t appear nervous) to sit on stage with him, as they enjoyed several glasses of wine and cigarettes on stage (as smoke billowed around them). Eventually he sang to the crowd and to the woman, accompanied by pre-recorded music.
During the encore, Damien sang “The Blower’s Daughter” or the–”can’t take my eyes off of you”–song, as I call it. This song was popularized for me by the movie “Closer,” where it was the “exit music” when credits rolled from the official soundtrack (video with movie clips here). The final song of the concert was completely “unplugged,” an individual performance from Damien and his rhythm guitar–no amps, no lights, no band members, just his voice and his guitar filling Northrop auditorium with sound.
Ruth finished her diploma program and became a stylist. My Aunt Jackie passed away after fighting cancer for several years. Andy graduated from the University of Minnesota with two bachelor’s degrees and began working as a Software Engineer. Sara started Medical School in August.
Music and Movies
- Thom Yorke solo debut album “The Eraser”, The Fray “How to Save a Life” (album released 2005, saw live at Basilica Block Party 2006), Muse album “Black Holes and Revelations” (saw Muse at State Theater), Minnesota Music Cafe and Mayslack’s Bar were cool (small) local venues
- Sin City, Rent, Born Into Brothels, Hable con ella, An Inconvenient Truth, The Squid and the Whale, Pursuit of Happyness
Vacations and Places
- Asia, Yellowstone, fun with Sara picking strawberries and inline skating in Duluth, got my geek on at inaugural Twin Cities Code Camp, Body Worlds exhibit, backup softball player in work league
- Chino Latino for Sara’s birthday, Legends Cafe, Kafe 421, Ol’ Mexico Restaurante & Cantina and Acapulco, Pannekoeken and Keys Cafe for breakfast, Pracna for Ruth graduation
Gadgets and Games
Minnesota Music Cafe is a medium sized bar and music venue just outside downtown St. Paul, where local artists play blues and jazz. We saw Willie Walker, an older group that played soul and stirring blues. Willie Walker attracted a diverse middle-aged crowd on that particular evening (regulars?). Some couples danced to the more up-tempo songs while most remained at their tables. Minnesota Music Cafe is a great place to go if you are looking for a relaxed, inexpensive bar with good music.
Wailing guitars and heavy synthesizer sounds blasted through the State Theater in downtown Minneapolis last night courtesy of UK rock group “Muse.” We purchased tickets the day they went on sale, but the best seats we found were 13 rows back from the stage (which still offered excellent visibility and put us right in front of some friends). The opening group was “The Cloud Room” from NYC. Unfortunately the clarity of the lead singer was poor and the balance of his microphone compared with the other instruments and singers was too low, which made it difficult to understand his lyrics (the microphone situation improved for Muse). The band had a full rock sound though (complete with piano), and the lead singer was energetic while mixing in some self-deprecating humor.
Muse opened with the first track on their new album Black Holes and Revelations titled “Take a Bow.” The group is listed as a “rock trio” but a fourth man (dressed with shirt and tie color opposite those of the bassist) ran synthesizers and perhaps played a keyboard (a keyboard and microphone were positioned in front of him although I never saw him use the keyboard). Muse moved between tracks from Black Holes and Revelations and their preceding album “Absolution” for most of the show (likely catering to the US audience). According to internet sources, US listeners discovered Muse after their release of “Absolution” but the group was popular for several albums worth of time prior to that in their homeland UK. The State Theater had the group’s volume turned way up (perhaps a little too high) and for the first time as a concertgoer I considered earplugs. Muse played a set full of music (the dummer saying only “Thank you Minneapolis!” twice), but it was a rather short set (with 1 or 2 songs in the encore). I didn’t have a clock to check the actual time, but my guess is their entire performance was an hour and 10-20 minutes, short for a group with five major albums currently released. Despite the short performance however, their full sound, complete with piano, electric and acoustic guitar, synthesizer and tambourine, was very enjoyable (and priced well). I recommend Muse (but prefer “Absolution”) and the State Theater as a concert venue.
To celebrate Sara’s last day of work we went to Mayslack’s in Northeast Minneapolis Friday night. Mayslack’s is an older bar known for hosting local bands. The Root City Band performed on this particular night and I was impressed with their talent. The band successfully mixed rock, jazz, and even beatbox rhythm into their set. One of the lead singers, called “Heatbox,” produced impressive vinyl scratching and rhythm sounds.