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October 06 ACL 2009 - In PicturesThe following is a pictorial summary of ACL Festival 2009 (photos by Kelli). Day 1 - Sunshine!  Day 2 - Rain. I spent the day looking like a hunch-back, dancing blueberry  Day 3 - Mud, Mud, Mud   Something about the music coming shortly. September 26 Running Earlier this summer, I decided it was way past time to start morphing my fat, out-of-shape self. I found a nice program called Couch to 5K that is really great for easing into running. I'm up to running 2 miles now. I know that doesn't sound like far to seasoned runners, but for someone that could not run to the mailbox prior to this program, it's quite a feat. I left the house a while ago intending to go for a run, since today is my designated running day. What I forgot as I left was that the pants I was wearing had lost their draw-string a long time ago. This isn’t a problem when I’m just lounging around the house or walking. When I stepped up into a jog, however, it became immediately obvious that my pants were much larger than they used to be and they definitely would not stay around my waist if I continued running. So, in an effort to spare the neighborhood a lovely view of my crack, I turned what was supposed to be a semi-short sweat-inducing run into a longer and more relaxing walk. September 15 Horses, Cattle, and SunburnsContinuing with the theme of posting photos from my summer travels (please click the heading for full-size shots). These two were taken in mid-August near Chimney Canyons in northeastern Colorado. Dad and I were on a mission looking for stray cattle mixed in where they didn't belong. The ride turned out to be a lot farther and (at times) a lot faster paced than we'd anticipated, but so it goes. On the ride out, I had time to stop for a couple shots of the scenery. Many of you may not call this scenic, but I consider it heaven on Earth (spoken like a true flatlander, huh?).
The sunburn portion of the title may not be visible, but was in progress as these photos were being taken. Thinking we we'd be out for and hour tops, and trying to rid myself of my obnoxious Minnesota tan, I neglected to wear sunscreen. 5 hours later, I was horridly, painfully baked. 
September 13 Summer Evenings As promised, I'll start sharing some of the photos I took this summer. This one is a rare beauty of Meg. Rare, because a) she's scared of cameras and b) she rarely holds still long enough to take a decent picture (see photo 2, taken back in March). This was taken one evening after dinner. The sun was just getting ready to go down and it was a beautifully cool, dry evening. Dad was on the tractor working the arena and mom and I took a walk to the barn to enjoy the air.  Photo 2:  September 04 Whoa! Where'd August Go? All this time without an update. My apologies poor, neglected blog. Truth is, I spent most of August in Colorado -- Home on the Range. My days were occupied with horses and cattle and dogs and family and Avett Brothers, which left little time internet shenanigans. As soon as I located some batteries for my camera, I'll try to upload some photographs. Truth told, I've found it much easier to post my day-to-day mini-thoughts over on my Tumblr. I save this spot for bigger thoughts (though still pretty small most of the time). August 01 Scallop Stir-fry I enjoyed my dinner tonight, so I thought I'd share the recipe with ya'll  Ingredients:
Whisk together the vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil and cornstarch. Set aside Heat veggie oil in a large skillet. Add red pepper, the white part of the green peppers, carrots, and ginger. Cook until carrots are slightly tender, but still have some crunch (about 4 minutes). Add scallops and green onion tops, cook until scallops are done (about 2 minutes). You'll have to stir this pretty constantly. Whisk the sauce again and then add it to the pan and cook until the sauce thickens to your liking. Serve over rice (I used brown rice and it was quite good). Slaid Cleaves - Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away I love this album a little more every day. In fact, it might be on its way to becoming my favorite of the year so far. Local Shopping Yet another reason that shopping at local stores is a great idea. Last week, I swung by our local independent book store here in my little town and bought several books. Today, I got a thank you note from them in the mail. How cool is that? July 23 Summer of 2009 Avett Brothers Extravaganza "Load the car and write a note Grab your bag and grab your coat Tell the ones that need to know We are headed North" The Avett Brothers - I and Love and You Precisely 28 days from now begins what will hopefully be the highlight of my summer. A 3 day pilgrimage to watch the Avett Brothers in Colorado. The first night is a free show in Steamboat, a gorgeous town and a favorite Winter-time hangout of mine. I've never been there during the summer, so I'm super stoked for this one. The next two nights are in Boulder and Denver, respectively, followed by a long drive back to The Ice Hole for work on Monday. I'll be one tired pup when I roll into the office, but it'll definitely be worth it. July 14 Ryan Bingham - Varsity Theater, Part 2. Now recovered from my post-show afterglow, I figured I should actually
write something of substance about the show. So, we'll give this
another go. Jesse Dayton opened the show. He's a great guitar player, has an incredible classic-country voice, and has a great band complete with upright bass and pedal steel. I'd seen him a couple of times back in Texas and it was always a really good time, so I was anxious to see how the show would go since The Varsity Theater isn't necessarily the type of venue I picture him in (Lee's Liquor Lounge, where he'll be playing on the 30th of this month would be a much better fit). To be fair, it wasn't the typical Varsity audience last night either and I'm not the only one who noticed. Jesse did a lot of chatting up the crowd during his set and at one point he looked out into the audience and said (paraphrasing), "I can tell a lot of you aren't from Minneapolis....you're from little shit-towns just like me." Which was likely true, and I'm guessing some of those "little shit towns" were quite a distance away (I say this judging by the crease in the black felt cowboy hats of the guys across the way from me....they definitely were not local). Of course, this observation went a long way toward endearing him to the crowd. Overall, the set was good and well received by the audience who by the end were on their feet to give the band hearty and genuine appreciation. Just as Dayton's set ended, my friend Kirsten arrived and the first thing out of her mouth was, "Wow, this is an interesting audience." Ha. Yes indeed. Pretty much completely lacking in the pretentious scenesters that normally flock to be seen the shows of the latest up-and-comers. Bingham's set started with Day is Done, the opening track off of the latest record. After which he looked out into the crowd with that classic Bingham grin and said, "Wow! We weren't expecting this many folks to be here." By the time all was said and done both Mescalito (his previous album) and Roadhouse Sun (the latest one) were pretty well covered...it would have been next to impossible to leave without hearing your favorite song. About midway through the set, Jesse Dayton came out and joined the band on guitar for the remainder of the show. Highlights from the night for me were South Side of Heaven (from Mescalito), Tell My Mother I Miss Her So, Country Roads, and Rollin' Highway Blues from the new one. Hard Times (also from Mescalito) is always a crowd fav at Bingham shows and last night was no exception, though judging by the response hard times are pretty real for many. More than once, Ryan mentioned that very fact and thanked the crowd genuinely for showing up and spending their money to hear him play. By the time the first set ended, only a couple of older ladies in the audience were seated, everybody else was on their feet; even the two older gentlemen behind me were dancing like a couple of youngsters. The band came out for about a 4 song encore and ended the night with a gorgeous version of Bluebird. I strolled out of the theater high on life and music, a high so high that it kept me up most of the night and sent me crashing into a ridiculous funk today. If this circus rolls to your town (or within a days drive), you'd be a fool to miss it. Ryan Bingham and Jesse Dayton -- Varsity Theater, Minneapolis Fresh back from the
show and there's so much I want to say about home (wherever that is
now), and small town folks, and travelers, and things that are good for your soul. About
reallness and genuineosity (and other words I could make up regarding
utter lack of pretense). About the difference between coming to be
seen and coming to see (and hear and feel), about those unique points
in time when all is right with the world (or at it feels that way). But, I'm afraid to even attempt to
write all of that right now, because I don't think I have words to do
any of it justice...check back tomorrow for a real review of the show. Oh yeah, Ryan Bingham played tonight. Jesse Dayton opened. I danced my ass off along with a couple hundred other people who heard something real, took it in, and let it fill us up to over-flowing. July 12 The Jayhawks - Basilica Block Party, Minnepaolis I'm an unrepentant Americana/Alt. Country junkie. Even so, there's so many really important bands and artists from the genre that I never got the opportunity to see live. No Townes, no Gram, no Whiskeytown, no Uncle Tupelo. But, Friday night I did get to see the Jayhawks. The night started off with a what might be my favorite Minneapolis band, Romantica. Their set included several new songs from a (hopefully) soon-to-be released album, one of which is a rollicking good-time tribute to Gram Parsons that I absolutely can't wait to get my hands on. Since my mom was intow for the evening, next it was off to find a place to sit for a while. We found just such a place on grassy spot, under a tree, right in the shade of the Basilica -- lots of good people watching and taking in a gorgeous evening (if only I could count on such desireable weather for my ACL festival adventure in October). Finally show-time rolled around and we went in-search of a spot to take in the music. Though it wasn't close to the stage, just such a spot was found on the surprisingly uncrowded steps of the huge (and beautiful) Basilica, surrounded by some of the most considerate and friendly concert-goers that I've encountered in a long, long time. Admittedly, from my vantage point enough of the stage was covered that Gary Louris looked like a tree with legs and a guitar, but I was really just happy to be there finally hearing a long-time admired band. So, the first half of the show was spent happily taking in that glorious, unmistakeable Jayhawks sound. From where I stood, I could look back up Hennepin and the free-way toward the Walker Art Center and I couldn't help but chuckle about how perfect it was to be taking in my first Jayhawks show on the steps of a church. Midway through the set it started to rain and our once-uncrowded location became inundated with chatty, pushy people trying to escape the shower. Determined not to let them ruin my night, I made sure Mom was happy chatting with her new friends and made my way out down toward the stage. I found a really great spot just stage right to finish out the night. As I stood there in the rain, everyone around me singing along, glad to have "their band" back together, if only briefly, it occurred to me that being baptized directly from the heavens above was damned near perfect ending to a pretty spiritual evening. Mom on break.  The Basilica  Yes, I had one of those corn dogs 
June 28 The Avett Brothers - Minneapolis ZooSo, The Avett Brothers. Last night. Minneapolis Zoo as part of their summer concert series. What and amazing, amazing show. Had I money unlimited, this is one band I would follow around the world. Last night's show kicked off with Left on Laura, Left on Lisa, a song that I'd been You Tubing just a few hours before. I wish I'd have thought to jot down the set list, but I was too busy shakin' my ass. From what a recall, a few of the highlights were At the Beach and Salvation Song from Mignonette, 16 in July from Four Thieves Gone, Murder in the City (done solo by Scott) from the Second Gleam EP, Salina from Emotionalism, and I and Love and You from their upcoming album of the same title. As the show was part of a summer concert series, many people that wouldn't necessarily go to another venue to see live music buy season tickets as their big dose of culture for the year. With that in mind, there was the potential for a pretty luke-warm reception. Not to be. As always seems to be the case with The Avett's, the energy from the band wound up permeating the whole crowd, until there wasn't a seated attendee by night's end. Couple that with just down-right amazing music and it all adds up do a damned near religious experience. Please forgive the non-pro photos. This is the best I could do with what I've got.    June 20 The Friday Night Hootenanny Does it Again I’ve talked about the Madripple Hootenanny previously here, here, and probably other places too. Last night was a special affair celebrating the opening of Tony Nelson's photography exhibit chronicling these little musical gatherings. In true, never-know-who-will-show-up spirit of The Hoot, tonight we were graced by none other than Jon Auer of the Posies. June 17 Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson - Fitzgerald Theater I've been a fan of Kasey Chambers since I first heard her album The Captain when I was in college. Up until tonight, I'd never been able to hear her live. Tonight was not so much about Kasey as it was a family affair with she and her husband Shane Nicholson sharing the singing duties almost equally and Kasey's dad, playing along and throwing in a couple of numbers too. The set drew fairly heavily from Kasey and Shane's Rattlin' Bones record that they released together earlier this year, there were also numbers from Kasey's and Shane's solo records, and a few well-chosen covers (Gram Parsons, The Carter Family, and Tom Waits come to mind). While Kasey's voice definitely has that old country twang quality, Shane's is crystal clear and smooth (several times reminding me of Neal Casal), nonetheless, they sounded wonderful together. The always wonderful Justin Townes Earle opened. In summary, great night of music, super respectful crowd, and I came away with a new fan of Shane Nicholson....gah, more music to buy. Effin' Good JambalayaMore really good stuff came from my kitchen last night, so I thought I'd share. This makes a BOATLOAD of food. My 4.5 quart dutch oven is completely full.
June 16 Observations from the RoadI think Nebraska must have laid off a large portion of their highway crew due to the economy. I've never seen so many dead animals on a road before....some bloated, some smashed, all lining I-80. |
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