VOLUME 10, NO. 38 | OCTOBER 7, 2010
Forging the arts Studio has new name, new home Page 5
ALSO ... Four Letter Lie visits Warehouse Page 11 PLUS: SOCIAL NETWORKING • PAGE 2 | THE MAJAK MIXTAPE • PAGE 10 | THE ADVICE GODDESS • PAGE 15
2// October 7, 2010
Second Supper
Social Networking NAME AND AGE: Jared Dennison, 22-ish +/- a few years WHERE WERE YOU BORN? La Crosse, WI CURRENT JOB: Snarky barista and sandwich courier via Root Note DREAM JOB: See above.
last thing you googled: No Age tour dates
if you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? A place that was perpetually in the fall season
what is Something you want to do before you die: Bicycle cross-country.
what is your beverage of choice? Orange Gatorade
celebrity crush: Karen O
what book are you currently reading? "God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything" by Christopher Hitchens
LARGE PIZZA & TRIPLE TOPPERSTIX™ $15
608-788-8899 • 325 WEST AVENUE NORTH LACROSSE • SUN-THURS 10:30AM - 3AM, FRI & SAT TILL 3:30AM
tell us your guiltiest pleasure: Being awesome
What is your biggest pet peeve? People who ride bicycles too fast on sidewalks
ANY LARGE 1-TOPPING PIZZA AND TRIPLE ORDER OF ORIGINAL TOPPERSTIX ™
608-779-7979 • 605 2ND AVE. S., SUITE 150 ONALASKA • OPEN 10:30AM - 3AM EVERY DAY
WE LIVE HERE, TOO. A $10 order gets the goods delivered.
ACT WHILE YOU’RE STILL HUNGRY, BECAUSE THIS OFFER EXPIRES 10/24/10 AND YOU’LL SOON BE FULL. ONE DISCOUNT PER ORDER. LOOK FOR OTHER GREAT DEALS AT TOPPERS.COM.
tell us a joke: The La Crosse music scene
What one person alive or dead would you want to have dinner with? David Bowie
$
10
$
10
$
ANY MEDIUM HOUSE OR 3-TOPPING PIZZA
ANY MYZA & SINGLE ORDER OF ORIGINAL TOPPERSTIX™
ANY TWO 6" GRINDERS & TWO 20 OZ SODAS
Add a Quesadilla for ONLY $5.
Add a Quesadilla for ONLY $5.
Add a Quesadilla for ONLY $5.
Act while you’re still hungry, because this offer expires 10/24/10 and you’ll soon be full. One discount per order plus tax and delivery. Look for other great deals at Toppers.com.
$
ANY MEDIUM 1-TOPPING PIZZA & SINGLE ORDER OF ORIGINAL TOPPERSTIX™
$
ANY 18" PARTYSIZED 3-TOPPING PIZZA Add a Quesadilla for ONLY $5.
Add a Quesadilla for ONLY $5. Act while you’re still hungry, because this offer expires 10/24/10 and you’ll soon be full. One discount per order plus tax and delivery. Look for other great deals at Toppers.com.
15
$
If a genie granted you one wish, what would you ask for?
20
ANY LARGE HOUSE OR 3-TOPPING PIZZA & TRIPLE ORIGINAL TOPPERSTIX™ Add a Quesadilla for ONLY $5.
Act while you’re still hungry, because this offer expires 10/24/10 and you’ll soon be full. One discount per order plus tax and delivery. Look for other great deals at Toppers.com.
what's in your pocket right now?: Nothin
Act while you’re still hungry, because this offer expires 10/24/10 and you’ll soon be full. One discount per order plus tax and delivery. Look for other great deals at Toppers.com.
Act while you’re still hungry, because this offer expires 10/24/10 and you’ll soon be full. One discount per order plus tax and delivery. Look for other great deals at Toppers.com.
12
12
what's the last thing you bought? A sandwich from Jimmy Johns
Act while you’re still hungry, because this offer expires 10/24/10 and you’ll soon be full. One discount per order plus tax and delivery. Look for other great deals at Toppers.com.
I'd wish that Kirk Hammet from Metallica, circa 1987, play the solo to Master of Puppets for me every birthday morning for the rest of my life.
FIRST CONCERT YOU WENT TO: Weird Al, with my Dad
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF SECOND SUPPER? The satirical fictitious articles
how do you know Connor (last week's interview)?
Former downstairs neighbor extraordinaire!
— Compiled by Shuggypop Jackson
Second Supper
Things To Do Experience downtown, the OG way
The Top Grade school art media 1. Finger paint 2. Macaroni 3. Play-Doh 4. Crayon 5. Yarn 6. Watercolors 7. Sand New Year’s Eve concerts, 2010 1. Jay-Z & Coldplay, Vegas 2. Phish, Madison Square Garden 3. Jane’s Addiction, Aspen 4. Yeasayer, The Metro (Chicago) 5. YMSB, The Pageant (St. Louis) 6. The Bad Plus, Village Vanguard 7. Girl Talk, The Rave
October 7, 2010 // 3
FIRST THINGS FIRST
Historic Downtown Day, sponsored by Downtown Mainstreet Inc., looks bigger and better than ever. With a schedule filled with activities throughout the day and evening Saturday, Oct. 9, there is literally something for everyone, with activities as varied as a Jammie Jam at Cutie Patootie, 417 Main St., a presentation by Shirazz the Grape Stomper at The Wine Guyz, 122 King St., and music by The Shufflin’ Duprees at Piggy’s, 501 Front St. Culinary highlights include the DARE Chili Cook-off at 11:30 a.m. at State Financial Bank and, our favorite, the apple pie contest (judging at noon) at People’s Food Co-op, 315 Fifth Ave. S. Other activities include guided architectural walking tours of downtown, rides on the La Crosse Queen, tours of art galleries, demonstrations of arts and crafts, antique sale and farmers market. For a complete schedule of events, scoot on over to www.lacrossedowntown.
1
Hear Kevin's story
Kevin Connolly, born 23 years ago without legs, will discuss his life at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 13, in Valhalla at the Cartwright Center on the UW-La Crosse campus. Connolly’s experiences include being swarmed by Japanese tourists at Epcot Center as a child, attending the X Games on his mono-ski as a teenager and traveling to 17 countries on his skateboard as a college student. He has taken more than 30,000 photographs of people staring at him during his travels. A free exhibit of Connolly’s pictures is on display in UW-L’s Murphy Library through Oct. 29. Admission to his talk is free for UW-L students, $3 for UW-L employees and $6 for others. For tickets or more information, contact the Cartwright Center Information Counter at (608) 785-8898 or visit www.uwlax.edu/cab.
2
Give your 2 cents on Wisconsin art
The public is invited to a town hall meeting about the role of the arts in the La Crosse region at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 8, at the Pump House Regional Arts Center, 119 King St. Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton, chair of the Wisconsin Arts Board, and George Tzougros, Wisconsin Arts Board executive director, will speak. Topics include ways in which the arts serve the La Crosse area and significantly contribute to our economy. The Wisconsin Arts Board will also unveil a draft of its plan for the next three years and invite input from the public. This is one of the eight town hall meetings the board will hold around the state this fall.
3
Head to the races
4 5
The Midwest’s largest racing event of the fall — featuring 20 divisions of racing, more than 500 cars and 800 laps of feature racing — will take place today, Oct. 7, through Sunday at at the La Crosse Speedway, W4985 County Road M, West Salem. Vendors, food, music and more will be part of this Oktoberfest Race Weekend. For more information, call (608) 786-1525 or visit www.oktoberfestraceweekend.com.
Celebrate indigenous people
The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Native American Student Association is recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ Day on Monday, Oct. 11, with canvassing, march, rally and lecture. The 5 p.m. march will start at the Hoeschler Clocktower at the center of the UW-L campus and end at the American Indian statue in Riverside Park with speakers and singing by Little Thunder. The day will close at 7 p.m. with a presentation by Winona LaDuke, the Green Party’s vice presidential candidate in 2000, at UW-L’s Valhalla Hall. LaDuke is an environmental justice and sustainability activist. For more information, contact A.J. Cloud at (608) 738-3943.
4// October 7, 2010
WisPolitics.com Report
STOCK REPORT
.........
..
.
..
.. . . . . . . .
......... . .
. ..
Second Supper
COMMENTARY
RISING Open enrollment A state appeals court deals a blow to those school districts looking to limit the number of students they lose through open enrollment. The court upheld the DPI superintendent’s decision to overrule the Stockbridge School District’s attempt to cap the number of students it can lose to other districts at 10 percent of its enrollment. The district also argued it should be able to stop students from transferring because of the financial hardship it causes the school system through lost state aid. But the court found state law only allowed a cap between 1998 and 2006 with none in place after the 200506 school year. The decision comes as districts like Madison complain about the aid they’re losing through open enrollment and mull lobbying the Legislature for a change to the law.
.........
MIXED Poverty levels While household incomes fell between 2008 and 2009, poverty rose, according to new figures. Milwaukee had the fourth highest poverty level in the U.S., another black eye for the state’s largest city — and a negative for Mayor Tom Barrett as he runs for guv. Wisconsin was one of 34 states that saw personal income decline. The state’s drop was 3.8 percent to $49,993. National, real median household income was down to $50,211 from $51,726. Meanwhile, the poverty level in Wisconsin went from 10.4 percent in 2008 to 12.4 percent in 2009.
FALLING
MyEaglesNest.NET
Ken Kratz Insiders say the Calumet County DA never stood a chance after allegations surfaced he had “sexted” a domestic abuse victim while prosecuting her attacker. Apparently, he finally figured out the same. At a scheduling hearing for a proceeding to determine whether he should be removed from office, Kratz’s attorney announces the DA will resign his post instead. The process continues until Kratz officially turns in his resignation. But insiders wonder why Kratz didn’t have the decency to step down sooner considering his behavior. What’s more, considering the allegations are months old — even if they just surfaced recently — Kratz should have had at least some kind of plan to deal with them. Rather, he refused to resign on a Friday, announced he was taking a medical leave the following Monday and then finally indicates he’ll resign a week later. Kratz should have lined up another job months ago and headed for the hills, some say.
THAT'S DEBATABLE
Editor's Note: WisOpinion.com has asked two veterans of Wisconsin policy and politics, Scot Ross of One Wisconsin Now and Brian Fraley of the John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy, to engage in weekly exchanges on a topic of their choosing. This week they debate President Obama's visit to Madison. Fraley: Congratulations, Scot, on the "progressives" scoring the big guy for an incredible sixth (or is it seventh?!) Wisconsin visit in the last 20 months.So, which is it? Are the Feingold and Barrett campaigns in such disarray that they need the constant hand holding, cheerleading and financial boosting, or is it that Milwaukee and Madison Wisconsin are among the few places where The One still has enough mojo to draw a crowd? Ross: Thank you. Certainly, progressives and independents who gave the president a more than 410,000-vote margin here are glad to see him return to energize voters. UW-Madison hasn’t had a sitting president visit since Harry Truman, so it was a historic day for the students and greater campus community. I guess the only reasons we haven't seen national Republicans come into the state are (1) The voters soundly rejected Republicans in the last two election cycles because they destroyed the American economy and (2) Who wants to hear someone yell “no” for a hour when we still have real problems to solve? Fraley: Wisconsin is one of the few remaining places where local candidates tolerate visits by the president. Then again, with recent polls showing both 18-year incumbent U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold down by double digits and Milwaukee's Mayor and Wisconsin's top polluter Tom Barrett almost as far back in his race for governor, I understand how beggars can't be choosers.
Ross: People are for sure unhappy with the inaction caused by the historic number of obstructionist filibusters by the Senate GOPers, but the idea of a Republican-controlled Congress is as unpopular as another Bush-TARP bailout. And what has the GOP offered? This retread "Pledge to Wreck America," which has even Young Gun Paul Ryan sulking? Well played, indeed. Fraley: In all seriousness, I'm not going to begrudge a political party in a downward spiral a pep rally. And he held it in the only county where he could. Thanks to steady, taxpayerfunded employment provided by the largest public university in the state, and the jobs directly and indirectly tied to state government, unemployment in Dane County is a mere 5.4 percent. Had he chosen to visit Rock (10.2), Kenosha (10.1), Milwaukee (9.6), Marinette (10.3), Rusk (10.0) or Marathon (8.2) counties there would have been plenty of people with free time to come fill the seats, but the crowd may not have been as friendly. Since Obama's inauguration, Wisconsin’s economy has actually lost more than 111,500 jobs. Ross: President Obama let the record speak for itself. The six months before he took office, the nation lost 4 million jobs and then lost over 2 million in the first three months of his administration, due exclusively to the failed Republican policies that caused the economic collapse. Despite Republicans offering nothing but obstructionism, the president and the Democratic policies have gotten us back where we’ve grown private sector jobs each of the last eight months. Last night showed in Madison there’s no enthusiasm gap for progressives, but for Republican electeds and their cheerleaders, there remains an honesty gap as wide as the mighty Mississip ... the old Miss, the old man ...
NEWS IN BRIEF Legislative candidates rake in record haul
Candidates for the state Legislature raised a record $1.9 million in July and August, according to a new report from the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. That's up from the previous record of $1.78 million raised in 2008, as well as the $1.6 million raised by legislative candidates during the last gubernatorial election season. The report also shows that legislative candidates had a combined $5.34 million cash on hand at the end of August, which fell short of the 2008 total but set a record for gubernatorial election years. The record fundraising was paced by three challengers in competitive seats. Tomah Republican Ed Thompson led the way with $41,340 raised during the period in the 31st Senate District. He was followed by Republican Dari McDonald in the open 75th Assembly District with $38,990 raised, while Kimberly Democrat Monk Elmer in the open 1st Senate District raised $37,229. Sen. Jeff Plale, a South Milwaukee Democrat who lost his primary to Milwaukee County Supervisor Chris Larson, was
the top incumbent fundraiser during the period with $35,470.
Kleefisch prognosis good after tumor removed
GOP lieutenant governor candidate Rebecca Kleefisch had surgery last month to remove a cancerous tumor from her colon that was the size of a grapefruit. Kleefisch, 35, told WISN-TV in Milwaukee, her former employer, that she had laparoscopic surgery Sept. 2 and her doctor has pronounced her cancer free. Her surgeon also said her prognosis is good. Kleefisch said she first started feeling sick in April, and a colonoscopy in August found the cancer. She said she struggled with whether to disclose her illness before the Sept. 14 primary, but decided to talk now. "I suppose I could have waited until Nov. 3, but there are enough people who know now. I do think it's important people know and they have that story of hope," Kleefisch said. "I do believe in miracles. I was very, very blessed. I got a really good gift in a really awful package."
Second Supper
COMMUNITY
New street, new studio, same mission
October 7, 2010 // 5
Sudoku
Answers on page 15
Take a peak inside Vitamin Studio, downtown's newest hub for the arts By Emily Faeth
emily.faeth@secondsupper.com For the past two and a half years, art lovers of all ages and walks of life have been able to call the Green Bay Street Studio home to their artistic endeavors. They were able, some for the first time, to hone their skills at figure drawing, or to try their hand at intaglio printmaking. But the studio on La Crosse's South Side is no more. That's because Jenn Bushman and Matt Duckett, co-founders of the Green Bay Street Studio, have relocated and reimagined their brainchild. The studio's new, spacious location at 129 S. Sixth St. in downtown La Crosse comes complete with a new name, Vitamin Studio, as well as a new philosophy. “Historically, artists are the people who come into the sub-par ... parts of towns, make art and are probably inspired by the circumstances,” Duckett says. They “come in, make a lot of art and make it kind of a hip place to be — this happened in New York, in San Francisco — and then comes the revitalization and gentrification” of the neighborhood. “And the thing that I like about this is that downtown is starting to boom, and we're sort of right on the outskirts of that. Coming from over on Green Bay Street, which was kind of like a little warehouse district — which was great, too ...” “We loved where we were,” Bushman interjects, “but when we saw this space, and we saw the traffic, and saw that people would actually be able to find us, that was a huge factor” in making the decision to relocate. The larger space and its proximity to the public will also alter what the studio has to offer. Says Duckett, “We're kind of at the point where we want to move up from being a place that's primarily a work space to a place in which we can predominantly interact with the public.” A spacious entryway will serve as a gallery area, so passersby will be able to view the fruits of the studio's labor, as well as the process of producing the art. In addition to being better able to interact with and serve the community, Bushman and Duckett hope Vitamin Studio will open eyes and minds to new possibilities. When the studio started out, it was really just a group of alumni from UW-L who wanted to continue the work they'd been doing in the school's art department. “But after you graduate, you don't have access to those resources anymore,” Duckett says. “So when people would ask, should I stay or should I go [in order to continue producing art], well, there wasn't really any reason to stay. And I'd feel guilty doing that. So we tried to form something that, on the one hand, young people could sort of orbit around or at least have a space to come and make art, just a creative
ABOVE: Vitamin Studio will open this week at its new address, 129 6th St. S. RIGHT: Founding artists Erich Boldt, Jenn Bushman and Matt Duckett discuss plans for the new studio, which was being remodeled this week. Vitamin Studio will offer figure drawing, painting classes and a space for artist to craft their wares. All photos, including the cover, by Jason Crider
place where people can hang out every now and then.” The educational programming for Vitamin Studio is still in the works, but the intaglio printmaking and figure drawing classes are certain to remain. Other offerings may include painting and drawing classes. Colleague Erich Boldt, an art educator whose mazes appear on the pages of this publication, will also be able to expand his afterschool youth tutoring program thanks to the larger studio space. The co-founders describe their decision-making process in regards to the studio's offerings as democratic; classes and instruction are based on public interest, and Bushman and Duckett appear eager for input from community members. Duckett, who sits on the City of La Crosse's Art Board, says, “It's great to know that at least once a month, people are talking and thinking about art down at City Hall.” Indeed, La Crosse did, at one time, have a thriving art scene — the Odin Gallery, the Open Air Players, The Satellite Gallery, Welcome to It, Recycle the Earth, and the Now Here Gallery all occupied space downtown for a time during the late '90s and early '00s. “But for some reason none of them stick. There isn't a lot you can do to establish yourself here; there isn't a lot of room to grow.” Perhaps the lack of breathing room for young art is due to a lack of understanding of it, muses Duckett. “I think some people
maybe just don't know how to interact with art or maybe aren't comfortable with contemporary art forms. We definitely have a pretty good art scene as far as what would be concerned with our surroundings. We have a beautiful, beautiful landscape, and there's a lot of art that celebrates that. But as far as contemporary art forms, we don't have a lot, and it's hard for people to appreciate or understand it. And that's what we're trying to do — it's the things that interest young artists, to push and drive the young artists and to help the more established set” understand contemporary art, as well.” It's in that spirit of unification and community outreach that Bushman and Duckett invite the community to an opening celebration tentatively scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 6. The official grand reopening will be held the first weekend of March, and while Vitamin Studio is still a work in progress, anyone is welcome to stop by to visit the new space now. Classes will be resuming within the week, Bushman says. Her enthusiasm is palpable. “It's still sinking in,” she says, gazing around the sunlit, red bricked room. “It's just so exciting.” For more information regarding Vitamin Studio's class offerings and events, visit artvitamin.org or visit the studio at 129 S. Sixth St., near the News Channel 8 headquarters.
Second Supper 614 Main St., La Crosse, WI 54601 Phone: (608) 782-7001 Online: secondsupper.com Publisher: Roger Bartel roger.bartel@secondsupper.com Editor in Chief: Adam Bissen adam.bissen@secondsupper.com Student Editor: Emily Faeth emily.faeth@secondsupper.com Sales: Mike Keith mike.keith@secondsupper.com Sales: Ansel Ericksen ansel.ericksen@secondsupper.com Sales: Michael Butteris michael.butteris@secondsupper.com Regular Contributors: Amy Alkon, Erich Boldt, Nick Cabreza, Mary Catanese, Brett Emerson, Jake Groteuschen, Shuggypop Jackson, Jonathan Majak, Matt Jones, Carolyn Ryan, Julie Schneider, Anna Soldner, Nate Willer Ralph Winrich Second Supper is a weekly alternative newspaper published by Bartanese Enterprises LLC, 614 Main St., La Crosse, WI 54601
6// October 7, 2010
Second Supper
Second Supper
Oktoberfest: From the other side of the bar Coffee? Check. Basement full of booze? Check. Patience to deal with the madness? Well ... By Bri Rupel
briana.rupel@secondsupper.com I have this recurring dream about work, one that becomes inevitably more frequent as the days of September elapse. It’s closing time at the bar, and the place is packed with people who refuse to leave. In fact, some are defiantly climbing over the bar to serve their own drinks, and some more are still flooding in through infinitely tall glass doors that refuse to stay locked. I, of course, am helpless to stop any of it. I call this “The Bartender’s Nightmare." In one recent episode, the drunken masses are taking over as usual, but there’s music in the background. As I’m about to be plowed over yet again, the notes crescendo until they’re so loud I wake up. My eyes pop open. It’s 6:32 in the morning and someone is already playing tunes at the bar downstairs. I push the blinds to the side and peek down onto 3rd Street. The street lamps are still glowing; the sun has yet to rise. Already the streets echo with testosterone-laden shouts of “WOOO!” and “F*** YEAH! Oktoberfest!” I flop back down onto bed and pull the covers over my head. Most Oktoberfest revellers acknowledge the blasphemous hour of six a.m. on Friday as the official start of their cause for celebration. For bartenders, however, the fest begins long before the Tapping of the Golden Keg. Weeks prior, you’ll be given a shift schedule specific to the First Weekend, a color-coded addendum that looks more like it belongs in Mike McCarthy’s playbook than in your hands. If you even dared to ask off, even for a family member’s wedding, you surely didn’t get it. It’d be a surprise if you didn’t get laughed at. As the days go on, distributors haul in extra supplies, transforming your basement storage area into a complex labyrinth of cases of beer, bottles of booze and cans of tomato juice, stacked higher than the tallest employee’s head. Glasses are carefully stashed away, replaced with a whitewash of plastic cups. Bar stools are passed down a
October 7, 2010 // 7
COMMUNITY
make-shift assembly line, until they reach whatever space you’ve found leftover to store them in. And if you work where I do, you’ll cut 30 pounds of cheese into one-inch cubes, which will maybe get you through Sunday. After milking every last minute of precious sleep on Friday, I have a nice lunch, pour a gigantic thermos of coffee for myself, and make a steadfast, sober beeline through the already inebriated crowd to get to work. Bartenders each have their own way of warming up for an Oktoberfest shift. I know some to do a yoga session to get a good stretch in before 11 hours on their feet. I know many who sip an early beer to take the edge off. I even know one who refuses to eat a single morsel of food before work because he knows that if nature were to call, he wouldn’t be able to get out from behind the bar long enough to answer. Seriously. In the basement of my workplace, my cohorts resemble athletes preparing for a big game. One paces back and forth while his headphones blast heavy metal; one is kicked back with a Red Bull in hand, puffing on the last cigarette he’ll have for hours; and I am sipping coffee, trying to ease that nagging nervous anxiety that’s making my leg tap up and down. We’re all zoned out, in our own little worlds, for five uninterrupted minutes before we ascend the stairs and are thrown to the wolves. Being behind the bar during this first weekend is undoubtedly the closest I will ever come to knowing what a caged animal feels like. For too many festers, the concept of respect swirls down the toilet as easily as their last Gin & Tonic. Fists clutching money jut out at you from every angle. Flailing arms threaten to hit you in the chest as you speed past with drinks. People poke you repeatedly on the shoulder, or even clasp onto your arm while you’re at the cash register, in an intrusive attempt to get your attention. On one occasion I stood pounding out a round of five Bloody Marys while an anonymous face continuously tapped on my head with a giant inflatable hammer. They yell, throw ice and tug at your shirt thinking that this would
persuade you to jump joyfully at the chance to serve them next. That’s not to say everyone who righteously celebrates Oktoberfest in La Crosse is this barbaric. Considering the massive volume of people imbibing massive quantities of booze, the number of assailants is relatively small. The customers who make it a point to let you know you’re doing a good job are genuinely appreciated. Twenty cases of vodka and well over 1,500 Bloody Marys later and it’s Saturday night at bar close. My trusty pedometer tells me I’ve pounded through ten miles since Friday afternoon. The last of our customers have shuffled out, and the door has been successfully locked behind them. Though exhausted, the crew is ecstatic. We high five, give hugs and congratulate each other on each others’ hard work. We tip back a quick round of shots and start sharing our stories we’ve accumulated throughout the weekend. And while we clean and put everything back in its pre-Oktoberfest place, we acknowledge to each other that this kind of camaraderie is why we continue to jump back behind the bar, Fest after Fest. We go to war together, and that makes us family. I leave confident that all of us will sleep the night away, nightmare-free.
8// October 7, 2010
Second Supper
ARTS
6Q
with Steven Marking, title character in Sweeny Todd, now playing at the Muse Theatre
By Jonathan Majak jonathan.majak@secondsupper.com The Muse Theatre is about to be giving out the closest shaves ever when Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street opens this Friday. We sat down with Steven Marking to discuss Sweeney, Sinatra and even a little Stephen King. Second Supper: For the few people out there who don't know about Sweeney Todd, could you explain your character for them? Steven Marking: Sweeney Todd is a barber that was unjustly accused and exiled from his native London, simply because the judge wanted his wife. He returns after 15 years with revenge on his mind, and after missing his chance to get back at the judge, he decides that everyone deserves to die, so he begins executing his customers while his counterpart, Lovett, bakes them into meat pies. SS: Musically, this is a very challenging show like most Sondheim shows. The lyrics are complicated, the rhythms are not necessarily standard. Has your background in opera helped with the rigors of the show? SM: Sondheim is to music theatre what Strauss is to opera. The last role I performed was Baron Ochs in Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier. After doing Baron Ochs, nothing in musical theater will scare me, but I would be lying if I said Sondheim was not a challenge. SS: The show is very dark in its content but within it has a very wicked sense of humor. How do you balance those sometimes very different emotions? SM: Being a bass-baritone I always play the bad guy or the father. I think other than the moment in which the character decides to murder innocents, most of the actual acts of murder are to be made light of. The simple music that he sings about his lost daughter Johanna while he kills his customers keeps the mood light and keeps the audience
6Q
from focusing solely on the murders. Also the relationship with Lovett brings Sweeney Todd out of his comfort zone, which makes for some very exposed humorous moments. SS: Recently, you performed your Sinatra tribute. Sinatra being such a distinct voice and persona, how do you bend those classics to fit you? SM: That is an easy one. The common factor is that I strive to make every word understood, just as Sinatra did. Sinatra bent the lyrics to fit the way he spoke, and the way he felt about the words themselves. I do the same with the timeless classics that he recorded, and on Saturday night at the Waterfront I did it My Way. SS: You grew up in the area, graduating from Holmen High School and Viterbo University. SM: In my junior year in high school Mrs. Charlotte Domke said, "We don't know what Shakespeare's songs sounded like, we only have the poem. So Paul (Leithold), you are going to compose the music and Steve is going to sing it." That was my first solo public performance, and so I looked Paul up when I moved back to the area and he has been my music director whenever I am fortunate to work with a band. Also, performing in Amahl and the Night Visitors at Viterbo provided memories that will last till I die. SS: Sweeny Todd is, in a lot of ways, a horror musical with the violence and bloodshed. There have been musicals about Dracula, Jekyll/Hyde, and even Carrie. What horror film would you like to see tried as a musical and why? SM: I think The Shining would be perfect because the cast is small and the set stays in the same place, and the leading role would have to be a big voiced baritone, which I would love to play. Can you imagine the song Redrum, almost like a nursery rhyme that grows into a screeching antiphon?
with Jeffery Stolz, costume designer for The Servant of Two Masters, opening Friday at Viterbo
By Jonathan Majak jonathan.majak@secondsupper.com They say it’s the man that makes the clothes, but sometimes it’s the costume that helps make a character. We recently sat down with Viterbo professor Jeffrey Stolz to talk about his costume designs for Viterbo’s production of The Servant of Two Masters, opening Friday, as well as the highs and lows of designing Klingons and raindrops, neither of which appears in The Servant of Two Masters we believe but were still awesome to discuss. Second Supper: How do you in general approach do costuming for a show? Jeffery Stolz: The design always starts with the script and finding something in it that is interesting to me and hopefully relevant to the audience. After initial discussions with the director and other members of the design team we determine a point of view about the script and what we hope to bring
to light from the text. When I design, I do not start with the time period in which the show was originally produced, or written. I consider the point of view and what we are trying to say with a piece and design costumes to support that. I think about color, shape and the line of the costumes that would best communicate this point of view to an audience. If this is done by placing the show in its original context, great. If not, move it, tweak it, change it up a bit, as long as you are supporting ideas within the text. I really hate it when productions become calcified retellings of the same old story. Theater should be engaging and thought provoking. Playwrights are enormously creative individuals whose work can often become trapped within the confines of the time in which it was written. Too bad.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 10
Second Supper
October 7, 2010 // 9
ARTS
The Arts Review Bizarro Masterpiece Theatre Medium: Film The Final Sacrifice (1990) Director: Tjardus Greidanus Cast: Christian Malcolm, Bruce J. Mitchell Writers: Tjardus Greidanus ROWSDOWER!!! That was the call that resonated through the hills and fields of Canada in 1990, when this film became the country’s greatest national treasure. This story of a washed up, mullet-sporting Denim Dan fighting the forces of evil is as inspiring as any tale since the dawn of man. The heroic Zap Rowsdower — and yes, that’s his real name — perpetually exists one breath away from a cholesterol and alcohol-induced heart attack. Yet he perseveres, and history is eternally in his debt! The Final Sacrifice chronicles the triumphant tale of Zap Rowsdower as he com-
bats an evil extraterrestrial cult led by Satoris, a Nazi-chic goofball with a popped collar and demonically dubbed voice. Rowsdower is pulled into the fracas by Troy, a terminal Nancy Boy whose father died investigating the cult. Undeterred by this radioactive sissy, brave Rowsdower takes young Troy under his wing, and the pair hit the road in a truck that’s even more close to death than our hero. Extreme heroism ensues, including bike versus car chases, chainsaw home invasions, flaming automotive repair, awkward nights of camping, and close-range shootouts in which nobody takes a bullet. At the end of this epic adventure, Rowsdower battles Satoris for the fate of the world in a grappling hook versus flaming torch deathmatch for the ages! I would be remiss if I neglected to mention the greatness of one more character in this tale of astonishment. While on the run through the vast Canadian wilderness, Troy and Rowsdower discover the residence of one Mike Pipper, an old associate of Troy’s father. This man is amazing! Life has turned this former archaeologist into a grizzled old hermit bearing the improbable combination of a sweet afro, a giant beard, and a voice scraped from Yosemite Sam’s raspy soul. Next to Rowsdower himself, Mr. Pipper rules this chronicle with squinty-eyed magnificence, and his sage advice and half-dead horse are essential to Rowsdower’s quest. All of these elements combine to form a legend that will live on for ages. Zap Rowsdower is both the reason why Canada will always play second fiddle to the United States
and the reason why those same United States will never succeed in annexing its northern neighbor. His story is an inspiration to us all!
— Brett Emerson
The Screening Room Medium: Film The Social Network (2010) Director: David Fincher Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake Writer: Aaron Sorkin, based on "The Accidental Billionaires" by Ben Mezrich I'm reluctant to jump on board the masterpiece-caliber acclaim train rumbling in response to David Fincher's new film, The Social Network. Glancing around Rotten Tomatoes, I see it repeatedly compared structurally and thematically to Citizen Kane. This is a bleak, very compelling story, yes, but its protagonist's journey is one of insolence and alienation, a retreat from normality rather than the pursuit of it. An enthralling dramatization about the interpersonal shortcomings of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg (Eisenberg), The Social Network focuses broadly on the evolution of how people connect with and relate to one another. It regularly juxtaposes privilege and exclusion, popularity and geekdom, antiquated and mod-
Jesse Eisenberg (left) stars in "The Social Network."
ern, and ambition and obsession to portray a society so disconnected that something like Facebook seems not only necessary but imminent. The film serves this immense purpose well, but the proceedings — told in flashbacks from Zuckerberg defending himself in two different lawsuits — mostly occur with neither a surefire trajectory nor gratifying payoff. The Social Network is never boring, but at times the crumbling relationship between Zuckerberg and ex-best friend and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin (Garfield) feels clunky, forced and overly dramatized. That's not to say the script isn't riveting. If David Fincher's sleek direction is the sweet lollipop outside, then Aaron Sorkin's dialogue is the chewy chocolaty inside. This is neither of their best work, though their interesting tandem of unique style and substance makes for a highly entertaining albeit often unbalanced picture. Overall, The Social Network is a lot like its antihero, hollow at times and excessive at others.
— Nick Cabreza
Show us where Altra has taken you and win a Flip Mino™ Send us a photo of you with your Altra Debit Card. Maybe it's a vacation, an unusual setting, or an everyday experience. Be creative! Each month through December, a team of Altra judges will pick our favorite photo and award that lucky Altra Debit Cardholder a Flip Mino™ camcorder to keep recording their adventures. Visit us online for complete details.
Chicago , r e w o T ) s r a e S ( Willis ekin, Altra member
ted by John Hest Winning Photo submit
Open 7 days a week inside Festival Foods, La Crosse
608.787.4500 • www.altra.org
Monthly prize will be awarded at the sole discretion of the judging team. Photos showing Altra members in a dangerous or illegal setting will not be considered, so don't even try it. Same goes for photos not rated G. Photos will not be retouched other than to obscure the number on the card if visible. By submitting a photo, you certify that you have the legal right to grant Altra unrestricted permission to publish the photo in any medium. Contest open to Altra members who are current Debit Card users. Sorry, Altra employees and their immediate family members are not eligible for prizes.
10// October 7, 2010
MUSIC
The Majak Mixtape By Jonathan Majak jonathan.majak@secondsupper.com Oh Girls Gone Wild, or as we like to call it “Why You’ll Get Fired From That Teaching Job in Five Years,” apparently rolled through La Crosse this week. We assume Bret Michael’s has fired his tour manager for not having his recent visit through town not sync up with that. Thankfully for us it didn’t happen, because La Crosse would have imploded from all of that classiness in town at one time. In honor of girls of formerly mild natures, we honor them this week in our mix simply titled, “Where the Girls Gone Wild Are.” First up in our mix, it’s the band Morningwood and their lo-fi tune “Take Off Your Clothes.” For those not fans of Morningwood, it may come as a surprise that the lead singer is a woman who, in this song, exalts the virtues of stripping off one’s clothes. Girls Gone Wild has made a huge amount of money from this exact mentality while only having to pay participants with a T-shirt because who needs dignity when you have poly-
Stolz
Continued from Page 10
SS. With Servant, there is a lot of mask work as a part of the show. What's that like to incorporate into a show and a design? JS: A master mask maker in Italy with whom the director is acquainted made the masks that are used in our production. They are truly beautiful works of art in and of themselves. They are made of leather, which is a very traditional mask making material. The Commedia form of theatre is hundreds of years old and is traditionally done with certain characters wearing masks. Using the masks has been a great opportunity for our performers to gain experience and supplement their regular training with this unique skill. The use of the leather masks makes this training even more profound. Through heat and perspiration, the masks are able to form more readily to the performers’ face so that they can really quite literally become one with their character. SS. How long does it usually take from sketching to final fitting for things to come together? JS: This can really change from show to show. For A Servant of Two Masters, I spoke with the director over the summer, and had my sketches finished and fabric purchased when school began in August. We are completing some final fittings this week, and open on Friday. Typically at Viterbo we have a four- to five-week build period and the sketches and design meetings must be done before we start building the show.
Second Supper cotton blend. Next up is Sharon Van Etten and her song, which also doubles for the feelings many parents probably have about their daughter potentially being in one of those videos, “Don’t Do It.” The song itself is stunning, flawless, amazing, slaying your favorite ballad, etc. and even if you don’t succumb to its lazy charms, it’s a perfect fit on this mix because being in a Girls Gone Wild video is, in the words of one Emerson Cod, “the kind of idea that gives bad ideas the will to live.” Lastly, we’d be really remiss if we didn’t include Duran Duran’s song “Girls on Film.” Is it completely and totally hack writing on our part to do so? YES. And we’re owning that. We’re including it less for the song itself, as fabulous as it is, and more because if you’ve never watched the full video of the song, you’re pretty much missing some of the greatest bits of soft focus, softcore porn produced outside of Skinemax. And there is not greater testament to Simon LeBon’s brilliance than that really. Buy: For sheer randomness, purchase “How Many Roads: Black America Sings Bob Dylan” YouTube: Aloe Blacc’s cover of Velvet Underground’s “Femme Fatale” Read: Go Fug Yourself www.gofugyourself.com Want more of the Majak Mixtape? Get your daily, uncensored dose at the Majak Kingdom blog, www.majakkingdom.blogspot.com.
SS: Costume design is a lot more than putting people in clothing. What do you think people would be surprised about that goes into your job? JS: “Oh, you do the costumes, that must be fun!” I think that what most people find the most surprising about what I do is that, while it can be fun, it is a real job. It is a rigorous field of study with all of the stress that goes into any job that requires a person to be constantly creating good work by deadline and on budget. SS: Is there a dream show you'd like to do the costume design for someday? JS: There is not that one script that I am dying to do. Right now, I am also doing the costumes for A Klingon Christmas Carol with Commedia Beauregard in Chicago. Yep, and it really is performed in spoken Klingon with English subtitles. Determining where this particular group of Klingons is in the Star Trek time line has been an interesting experience. I have to create costumes that maintain the established look while at the same time not be in conflict with Klingon history. ... Sorry, my nerd is showing. SS: What are some of the oddest costumes you've had to come up with? JS: Years ago I had to make a two large foam costumes of water drops for the Dane County Lakes and Watershed Commission. An ad agency contacted me to do the work and asked if I had ever done anything like this before. “Sure.” I said. Lie. But they were pretty cool and turned out OK. They were worn by people who would go around to schools and teach kids about keeping our water clean.
Second Supper
MUSIC
Midwest screamo? That's no lie
Medium: Album Stimulus: Dirty Dancing — The Original Demos Anno: 2010 By Brett Emerson brett.emerson@secondsupper.com
Medium: Album Stimulus: Echo Revolution — Counterfeit Sunshine Anno: 2010
Minneapolis' Four Letter Lie will return to the Warehouse on Saturday, October 9.
By Jason Crider jason.crider@secondsupper.com Four Letter Lie is a melodic screamo/ post-hardcore act from Minneapolis that will play at the Warehouse on Saturday, Oct. 9, with Before We Fall, Blank Image, and Befriend and Betray. Four Letter Lie started gaining notoriety in Minneapolis in 2005 with the release of its first EP, Her Escape, followed by extensive touring, including dates on the Warped Tour and Taste of Chaos. They were noticed and signed by one of the most well-established labels of the genre, Victory Records, through which the band released its commercially successful debut album, Let Your Body Take Over, in late 2006. Since then the band has toured extensively with some of the biggest names in the genre and has released two more records, including 2009’s A New Day, which showcases the band’s heaviest music to date. The album features a more metalcore, raw sound that shows the band at its best. The guitars are angrier and more adventurous, the drums are more technical than on previous releases, and singer Brian Nagan displays some of the most visceral, angst-ridden vocals I’ve ever heard in the screamo/post-hardcore circuit. “We’ve been on the road pretty much constantly since 2004,” Nagan said. “[Lyricially] I write about real experiences that I’ve been through in my life and [hope that]
people can gravitate toward that and take something from it. We’re not just putting out music that doesn’t mean anything to us.” He also gave a preview of their next album, which has a tentative release date of spring 2011: “We’re taking the fall off and spending a lot of time just pretty much writing and recording this record,” he said. “We want it to be the best thing we’ve ever done, something we’re really proud of.” Nagan said he’s excited about the Oct. 9 show because La Crosse always shows great support. “It should be a lot of fun,” he said. “We put 110 percent into all of our shows. You can expect a good time. We always make it fun.” Nagan went on to describe their live show. “We move around a lot, there’s lots of guitar spins and jumping around,” he said. “We’re pretty much are never standing still.” With an abundance of screamo bands today relying on rehashed breakdowns and formulaic chord progression, Four Letter Lie shows that they have what it takes to stand out from the pack. To give these guys a chance, you can check out their new music video on youtube entitled “Daymaker,” off their latest record A New Day, or go to their MySpace page to listen to some singles. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the door, online at WHrocks.com or at Deaf Ear Records downtown. Doors open at 6:45.
Harvest Fest Concert OCTOBER 9 • Noon - 6 p.m.
featuring
Charlie Parr Fayme Rochelle & the Waxwings Galynne with Markondrums Christine Costanzo www.echovalleyhope.org
Echo Valley Farm, E 14604 County Road F, Ontario, WI 54651
October 7, 2010 // 11
This throaty, powerful and well-orchestrated pop album is the product of a band that thinks big and follows through on its thoughts. “High Road” is the most obvious champion of the tracks, with saloon piano triumphantly leading the charge through rushing bluesy hooks. “Open Your Eyes” is cut from the same cloth, with its skittering hi-hats exploding into a full rock chorus. Yet the show-stealer on Counterfeit Sunshine is a neat bit of bass and piano funk with the veneer of an only child. “Mt. Washington” is the prime exhibit of the band’s softer minutes, with an acoustic guitar and faint backing vocals weaving space spanning horizons. Even in its most guarded moments, there’s an optimism to Counterfeit Sunshine that seems neither forced nor false, and thus it’s contagious.
In the course of writing reviews, I love getting strange artifacts that I’d never find myself, and this is one of the strangest things sent to me. To commemorate the passing of Patrick Swayze a year ago, the producers of the Dirty Dancing soundtrack released a four-track collection of early versions of its huge hits. Yes, “(I’ve Had) The Time of my Life” is here – actually, twice! “Hungry Eyes” is as well. While I always suspect the motives behind any artistic release provoked by a person’s death (and this is no exception), this collection of prototypes is pretty great. The big differences between these demos and their final versions are that, in the latter, the songs are more orchestrated and the singing is more dynamic. Bill Medley’s Tom Jones impression on “Time of my Life” is replaced by a higher-pitched guy who occasionally crosses the border between soulful and tearful. Furthermore, stock keyboard sounds fill in most of the songs’ blanks, which automatically renders these cuts lesser, though they’re far from horrible. But my main question is: on a release designed to honor Patrick Swayze’s passing, why wouldn’t you include “She’s like the Wind,” Swayze’s song on the soundtrack? This is a neat little artifact, but it could have been a lot better.
— Brett Emerson
12// October 7, 2010
Second Supper
MUSIC
music directory // October 8 to October 14 fridaY, .
October 8
Winona
moose lodge // 1932 Ward Ave. Russ Guyer Band (dance) • 6 p.m.
population
THE Big Wu // OCT. 29 Jefferson Center • $10
Pearl Street Brewery // 1401 St. Andrew St.
Jason Sebranek (acoustic) • 5 p.m.
Nick and The Feelin' Band // NOV. 6 Ed's Bar • FREE
piggy's blues lounge // 501 Front St. S. Shufflin' Duprees (rock, rhythm & blues) • 8 p.m.
The Joint // 324 Jay St. Howard Luedtke (with Deb, Cheech and Mahlum) • 10 p.m. The Root Note // 114 4th St. S. The Art Brothas (improvisational paint & percussion) • 8:30 p.m. the waterfront tavern // 328 Front St. The New Jazz Infidels (jazz originals and standards) • 8 p.m.
saturdaY,
October 9
echo valley // E14606 Hwy. E (Ontario) Charlie Parr, Fayme Rochelle and the Waxwings, Christine Costanzo, Galynne & MarkOnDrums (Harvest Fest Concert, folk Americana) • Noon Flipside Pub and Grill // 400 Lang Drive Corey Koehler Band ("Stress Relief Party") • 8:30 p.m. JB'sSpeakeasy // 717 Rose St. U.G.C. & friends (hip-hop) • 9:30 p.m.
27,069
Shoeless Revolution // OCT. 14 Jefferson Center • $5
Nighthawks Tap // 401 S. Third St. E-Rock Wailin (blues rock) • 10 p.m.
Popcorn Tavern // 308 S. Fourth St. Moon Boot Posse (psychedelic) • 10 p.m.
just a roadie away
Michelle Lynn // NOV. 12 Ed's Bar • FREE If you're itching to take a country drive this weekend to check out some fall foliage, may we recommend the scenic, 45-minute trip to the Echo Valley Farm outside Ontario? On Saturday the farm, which stresses sustainable living and the beauty of nature, will host a Harvest Festival from noon to 6:30 p.m. The music starts at 1 p.m. with Christine Costanzo, followed by Galynne & MarkOnDrums. Beloved local string band Fayme Rochelle & The Waxwings is scheduled to perform at 3 p.m., while the one-ofa-kind Charlie Parr (pictured) will close the day with a set beginning at 4:30 p.m. Parr's old-timey mix of folk and Americana has earned him a cult following in the Midwest and around the world, and we couldn't think of a finer setting to connect to our roots.
Trampled By Turtles // DEC. 3 Winona Masonic Temple • $15
Popcorn Tavern // 308 S. Fourth St. Natty Nation (dub, reggae) • 10 p.m.
Popcorn Tavern // 308 S. Fourth St. Jazz Liver (jazz) • 10 p.m.
Popcorn Tavern // 308 S. Fourth St. Shawn's Open jam • 10 p.m.
Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank // DEC. 4 Ed's Bar • FREE
recovery room // 901 7th St. S. The Joint // 324 Jay St. The Warehouse // 324 Pearl St. Moon Boot Posse, the Electroholics Her Demise My Rise, Volumes, King- Kin Pickin' (open jam) • 10 p.m. (rock, psychedelic) • 10 p.m. dom of Giants, Release The Hounds, The Warehouse // 324 Pearl St. Elle Woods (hardcore) • 5:45 p.m. Her Demise My Rise, Volumes, KingThe Root Note // 114 4th St. S. dom of Giants, Release The Hounds, Down the Line (acoustic pop) • 8:30 p.m. Elle Woods (hardcore) • 5:45 p.m. tuesdaY, The Warehouse // 324 Pearl St. viterbo fine arts center // 929 Jackson St. Four Letter Lie, Before We Fall, Blank Nighthawks Tap // 401 S. Third St. Oklahoma! (musical) • 7:30 p.m. Image, Befriend and Betray, A Break Look Out (blues rock) • 10 p.m. In The Storm (hardcore, indie) • 6:45 p.m. Popcorn Tavern // 308 S. Fourth St. the waterfront tavern // 328 Front St. Dave Orr's Open Jam • 10 p.m. thursday, The New Jazz Infidels (jazz originals and standards) • 8 p.m. The Root Note // 114 4th St. S. Cartwright Center // 1725 State St. 3rd Relation Jazz Trio (jazz & open Liza Day (country/rock) • 7 p.m. jam) • 8:30 p.m. sundaY, Del’s Bar // 229 Third St. T.U.G.G. (acoustic) • 10 p.m. wednesdaY, French slough // 1311 La Crescent St. Kin Pickin’ (jam grass) • 3 p.m. Nighthawks Tap // 401 S. Third St. Del’s Bar // 229 Third St. Casey Barth & Stacy Hanson (folk, The Laughing Bones (Colorado bluePopcorn Tavern // 308 S. Fourth St. grass/honky tonk) • 10 p.m. bluegrass, acoustic) • 10 p.m. The Blend (fusion) • 10 p.m.
October 12
October 14
October 10
piggy's blues lounge // 501 Front St. S. Shufflin' Duprees (rock, rhythm & blues) • 8 p.m.
mondaY,
Nighthawks Tap // 401 S. Third St. The Blues Dogs (blues) • 10 p.m.
Del’s Bar // 229 Third St. Open Jam • 10 p.m.
October 11
October 13
Flipside Pub and Grill // 400 Lang Drive
Dan Berger's Songwriters Corner • 8:30 p.m.
Popcorn Tavern // 308 S. Fourth St. Fuzzy HD (experimental rock) • 10 p.m.
Nighthawks Tap // 401 S. Third St. The Bad Axe Jam (gear provided)• 10 p.m.
The Starlite Lounge // 222 Pearl St. Kies and Kompanie (jazz) • 5 p.m.
Second Supper
October 7, 2010 // 13
YOUR GUIDE TO CONSUMPTION
The Beer Review Coconut Mango IPA Town Hall Brewery Minneapolis, Minnesota Friends, I have been to beer heaven, and beer heaven is glorious. Its name is the Autumn Beer Review, and it was held last Saturday outside the historic Grain Belt Brewery in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (I know, I also expected beer heaven to be in Wisconsin, but Minnesotans do make fine hosts, and you really shouldn’t quibble about heaven.) A record 76 breweries set up booths for ABR’s 10-year anniversary, and more than any other tasting I’d ever attended, all of them brought the goods — from classics to buzz beers, limited releases, experimental recipes, Imperial everythings
and a whole heap of cask-conditioned ales. There was also music and food and tours and lectures, but the best part of beer heaven is wandering around on a sunny afternoon and serendipitously grabbing some of the finest beers in America. I could literally write a year’s worth of reviews based on everything I tried this weekend, but these take a lot of work and I didn’t want to spend my entire day jotting down notes like the kid everyone hated in physics class. But I did give the full treatment to one incredible beer I sampled early in the afternoon, when my palette was still sharp. The Town Hall Brewery’s Coconut Mango IPA may not have been the absolute best beer I found at the fest, but it certainly was the most original. Purchase: Autumn Beer Review featuring
around 300 brews, including this Coconut Mango IPA, $30 Style: Fruit beer Strength: 6.2 percent ABV Packaging: I didn’t see any packaging, but a handwritten sign advertised “It’s amazing. That’s all you need to know.” Appearance: This is the first peach-colored beer I’d ever encountered, with a fuzzy opaque body beneath a grey head. Aroma: With a heavy jolt of coconut on top of mango undertones, this IPA smells like yesterday’s curry pulled from the refrigerator. I suppose there are some malts and a twinge hops in there but really, this one is all about the coconut and mango. Taste: Like most fruit beers, this IPA hits the tongue sweetly, but the recipe is never played as a gimmick. A woody coconut flavor arises after a second, and it’s a testa-
The Best Food & Drink Specials in Town
ment to the brewmaster that the tastes stay so balanced even as banana mixes with mango to evoke something like sticky rice. Mouthfeel: It has a medium-to-thick body that is a little chewy while still leaving a dry finish on the inside of the cheeks. Drinkability: I drank two 2-ounce glasses, and that was just about enough for one afternoon. I’m not sure if a full pint would be too much, but I would take a growler if just to share with my friends. Reviews: Since the ABR, three people reviewed the Coconut Mango IPA on RateBeer.com, and scored it an average of 17 out of 20. It was certainly one of my favorite beers in heaven, and I’d recommend it to anyone that gets up there. — Adam Bissen
LOCATION
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
ARENA
Text "Arena" to 83361 for Specials
Texas Hold 'Em Poker
Pool and dart leagues
Wyld Wednesday: $2 jumbo UV mixers, $2 Coronas
Ladies Night: $5 Long island pitchers
$1 Cherry Bombs, $1 Keystone Light silos
$1 Cherry Bombs, $1 Keystone Light silos
$2 BBQ Pork Sliders
2-Fers, Buy any regularly priced food item and get one of equal or lesser value for free
$2.50 Coors vs. Keystone pitchers. All specials 9 p.m. to close
AUC2D: $5, domestic taps, rail mix- 10-cent wings, $1 Miller High Life ers, Long Islands. All specials 9 p.m. bottles, $1.50 rail mixers; $2.50 call to close drinks. All specials 9 p.m. to close.
107 3rd St. S. 782-1883, www.arenalax.com
BODEGA BREW PUB 122 4th St. 782-0677
BROTHERS
Closed
306 Pearl St. 784-0522
Fish Tacos: 1 / $2.50, 2 / $5.00, 3 / $6.50. AUC2D, $5 domestic taps, rail mixers and Long Islands. Wristband Night: $2.50 SoCo & Jack. 50-cent shots (two flavors). All specials 9 to close.
$3 3 Olive mixers, $3 Mojitos, $2 $3 Bacardi mixers, $3 Mojitos, $2 Cherry Bombs, $1 Bazooka Joes. FAC: Cherry Bobms, $1 Bazooka Joes. $3 domestic pitchers, micro/import All specials 9 p.m. to close. taps, anything that pours. 4-9 p.m.
All you care to eat fish fry 4-10; unlimited Glow-N-Bowl $9.99
Prime rib dinner 4-10; unlimited Glow-N-Bowl $9.99
9 p.m. to close: $2 Captain mixers, $2 bottles/cans, $3 Jager bombs
9 p.m. to close: $2 Bacardi mixers, $2 domestic pints, $1.50 shots blackberry brandy
EAGLES NEST
Bird Brain Trivia 8 p.m.; $1.50 do- Wing Night - 25-cent wings (dinemestic bottles and rails 4 p.m. to in only); $1 Miller High Life silos and close PBR silos; $1.50 taps and rail drinks; $2 craft taps. All specials 4 to close.
FEATURES
Taco buffet 11-2; $1 Pabst bottles and $1 bowling after 9
All you care to eat pizza buffet, 11-2
All you can eat wings, includes a Wisconsin cheese steak sandwich choice of potatoe, slaw and a frosted with a pint of beer, $8.99 pint, 4-9:30 p.m., $8.99
Ladies Night, $1 off all drinks, 4 to All you can eat boneless wings, inclose; Pint-Aritas $3 (lime or straw- cludes a choice of potatoe, slaw and berry) a frosted pint, 4-9:30 p.m., $8.99
1914 Campbell Road 782-7764
W3923 State Highway 16 786-9000
FLIPSIDE PUB & GRILL 400 Lang Drive 784-2242
HOWIE’S
Happy hour 4 to 9 p.m.; 9 p.m. to 9 p.m. to close: $3.50 domestic 9 p.m. to close: $1 rails, $2.50 pitch- $5 all you can drink close: Night Before Class - $3 pitch- pitchers ers, beer pong ers of the beast
9 p.m. to close: $1.25 rails, $1.75 bottles/cans
IMPULSE
214 Main St. 782-6010
$5 AUC2D wristbands: domestic taps, rail mixers, Long Islands, 9 p.m. to close; live DJ, dancing 9 p.m. to close
Alcohol-free night, 7 p.m. to 2 a.m., $5 AUC2D wristbands: domestic for ages 25 and younger; live DJ, taps, rail mixers, Long Islands, 9 p.m. dancing, giveaways, AUC2D soda, to close; karaoke 9 p.m. to close $10 cover
$5 AUC2D wristbands: domestic taps, rail mixers, Long Islands, 9 p.m. to close; karaoke 9 p.m. to close
Free Wing Night (while supplies last); $5 wristband happy hour, 5 to 9 p.m; $5 AUC2D wristbands: domestic taps, live DJ, dancing 9 p.m. to close rail mixers, Long Islands, 9 p.m. to close; live DJ, dancing 9 p.m. to close
$5 wristband happy hour, 5 to 9 p.m; live DJ, dancing 9 p.m. to close
JB’S SPEAKEASY
$1.75 domestic bottles
SIN Night
Happy Hour 5 to 7 p.m.
Happy Hour 5 to 7 p.m.
Happy Hour 5 to 7 p.m.
$1.79 burger (after 8 p.m.) Breakfast 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Hat Night: Buy 1 drink, get 1 free w/ Rail drinks $2 (4:30 to close); Buckets of beer $10, Boston Bobby's Margaritas $4 (Straw, rasp, mango, hat (4:30 to close); $1.50 chili dogs After 8 p.m. specials: $5 skewer of drummies 10 for $2 (4:30 to close), peach and reg); After 8 p.m. specials: (after 8 p.m.) shrimp,l $1.79 burger, $1.50 chili dogs $1.79 burger (after 8 p.m.) $5 skewer of shrimp, $1.79 burger
1125 La Crosse St. 784-7400
$1.75 domestic bottles
Happy Hour 5 to 7 p.m.
717 Rose St. 796-1161
SCHMIDTY’S 3119 State Road 788-5110
SLOOPY'S ALMA MATER 163 Copeland Ave. 785-0245
Tacos: $11 buckets during pro and Tacos: $11 buckets during pro and college football games. college football games. Happy Hour 2 to 6 p.m.
12-inch pizza $8.99 Happy Hour 2 to 6 p.m.
THE LIBRARY
Wristband Night
Half price tequilla, $1 domestic taps Karaoke, $2 Double rails and all Beer Pong Tourney and $3 Bacardi mixers, $3 Jumbo Long and rails bottles; $3 Double call drinks wristband night, $2 cherry bombs, Island Iced Teas 50¢ shots (3 flavors)
123 3rd St. 784-8020
TOP SHOTS
14-inch pizza, $2 off; Wings Happy Hour 2 to 6 p.m.
Ladies night, 2 for 1 drinks (6-close), Happy Hour 2 to 6 p.m.
Breakfast 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.; lunch buffet 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., $6.99 Happy Hour 2 to 6 p.m.
Tacos: $11 buckets during pro and college football games. $3 Jumbo Long Island Iced Teas, $3 3 Olive mixers
$5 Pitchers/$2 bottles of Miller prod- $1.75 Miller/Bud Light Taps, $2.25 $1.75 Rails, $1.50 Domestic Taps, $2 domestic bottles, $2.50 Skyy/ ucts (11-4pm) $2 Corona Bottles, $2 MIcro/Craft Taps, $2.50 Cherry Bombs $3.50 Jager Bombs Absolut mixers, $2 Dr. shots (7-1 Kilo Kai Mixers , $3 Bloodys (7-1 a.m.) (7-1 a.m.) (7-1 a.m.) a.m.)
5 Domestic Bottles for $10, $5 $2 Captain Mixers, $2. Long Island Micro/Import Bottles $11.50, $7 Mixers, $3 Effen Vodka Mixers (7-1 Micro/Craft Pitchers (7-1 a.m.) a.m.)
$5 Miller/Bud Light Pitchers, $2.25 Leinies Bottles (7-1 a.m.)
POPCORN TAVERN
$2.50 Captain mixers $2 16oz Old Style & Lost Lake cans
$1.75 PBR Bottles $2.50 Captain mixers $2 16oz Old Style & Lost Lake cans
$2.50 Captain mixers $2 16oz Old Style & Lost Lake cans
$2.50 Captain mixers $2 Grain Belt
$2 Coors & Coors Light Bottles, $2.50 $2 16oz Old Style & Lost Lake cans Skyy mixers, $2.50 Captain mixers $2 16oz Old Style & Lost Lake cans
$2 16oz Old Style & Lost Lake cans
WHO'S ON THIRD
Happy Hour until 10 p.m. $1.50 domestic taps, $2 rails from 10 to close
$1 taps of PBR, $1 rails
$3 call doubles, $2 Bud products
Ladies' Night: $2 top shelf, $1 Pink $8.50 Fish Bowls, $2 Miller products $1 off Three Olives, $2 domestic taps Tacos; Everyone: $2.50 bombs, $2 taps, $3 Jack/Captain doubles
137 4th St. 782-6622 308 4th St. S. 782-9069
126 3rd St. N. 782-9467
14// October 7, 2010
Maze Efflux
Second Supper
DIVERSIONS "It's the pits" Prove to me that you don't stink
By Erich Boldt By Matt Jones
Reminds you to support the retailers, restaurants, taverns and bands that support us. We are funded solely by advertising so if you want to support us, support them!
CONSCIENTIOUS COMMERCE:
hAPPY tREES
ACROSS 1 Degrees for CEOs 5 Smooth and superficial 9 Football commentator Rashad 14 All there 15 Horror actor Lugosi 16 ___ little backbone 17 Jazz singer Simone 18 Automatic alternative 20 Put up 22 George of "Star Trek" 23 One of the "Golden Girls" actresses 24 Totally understandable 27 One of the Ws in "www" 28 Prefix meaning "bone" 29 "Heroes" actress Larter 32 Middle of a "Flintstones" exclamation
35 Wyatt of the Old West 39 Featured player in a 1980s music show 43 Spoon 44 Feliciano and Carreras 45 Happy Meal prize 46 "Man ___ Mancha" 49 Wanted poster abbr. 51 Refrain from a 1941 Woody Guthrie song 58 Brain scan, for short 59 Should, with "to" 60 Birthstone in a shell 61 Pain reliever option 64 Elite Eight gp. 65 007, e.g. 66 "Able was I ___ saw Elba" 67 Mob bosses 68 Actors Bruce and Laura 69 Really formal letter opening 70 Hissy fit
Answers to September 30 puzzle Over the hill — Start adding on the years
DOWN 1 Five-letter news channel 2 Figure skater Oksana 3 Photographer Leibovitz 4 It covers maritime court cases 5 "Pygmalion" monogram 6 Native Latvians 7 Related to a pelvic bone 8 Scenic routes 9 Help out 10 VP under LBJ 11 "One Tree Hill" actress ___ Kelly 12 Horrific 13 See socially 19 Most important steps 21 Judge played by Sylvester Stallone 25 Bed in ___ 26 "Aqua ___ Hunger Force" 29 "The Evil Dead" protagonist Williams 30 Restroom, to a Brit 31 Unable to work, perhaps 33 Dancer Bill Robinson's nickname 34 Rain-___ (bubble
gum brand) 36 Play the part 37 ___ Speedwagon 38 Be nosy 40 Randy Jackson's show, casually 41 Cope (with) 42 Invite over, maybe 47 Walks on water? 48 ___-garou (werewolf) 50 They're made when making up 51 Kelly Ripa co-host, to fans 52 Staring person 53 Pet name given by Pierre 54 Weasel relative 55 Food so good they wrap other food in it 56 Tabriz resident 57 As ___ resort 58 Posh word of surprise 62 Anderson Cooper's employer 63 Bro's relative For answers, call (900) 226-2800, 99 cents per minute. Or to bill to a credit card, call (800) 655-6549. Reference puzzle #0486.
Writers Wanted Second Supper is looking to add freelance writers to write community features. Send letter of introduction, topic ideas and 500-word sample(s) to editor@secondsupper.com.
Second Supper
October 7, 2010 // 15
THE LAST WORD
The ADviCe GODDess By Amy Alkon amy.alkon@secondsupper.com Putting spark plugs in the relationship
Five years ago, My Love and I shared our fi rst kiss. Since then, we’ve been seeing each other three times a week for an hour. We spend this hour in his truck being intimate. We love each other. We talk about getting married, how we’ll spend our retirement years, where we’ll live, what our lives will be like. Unbidden, he promised that last year’s Christmas would be the last we’d spend apart, that our life together would begin this year. I’ve been ready for this step for three years. But, as the months fl y by, he speaks less of this, and I’m increasingly despondent that we’ve wasted another year. We’re both married to other people. Neither of us has children. I know our lives are complicated, but doesn’t it come down to knowing what you want? Should I wait to see if he will be true to his promise? — Waiting For My Love Men sometimes make extravagant gestures for love. Heathcliff wandered the
moors calling Cathy’s name until he froze to death. King Edward VIII ditched the throne to marry Wallis Simpson. Emperor Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal as an “elegy in marble” to his late wife. And then there’s your guy, who has yet to spring for sheets, pillowcases and a headboard. Sorry, but you don’t have a relationship; you have sex in a guy’s truck. You can call the guy “My Love,” but he’s given you no reason to believe he’ll make good on his promise to take your relationship to the next level (the sidewalk?) by Christmas 2010 — or Groundhog Day 2020. You know very well that this is one of the oldest stories in the world. Yeah, sure, he’ll leave his wife for you. Eventually. When the time is right. When the moon is in the seventh house, and dogs fl y and pigs read aloud from the encyclopedia. Your guy has the wheels; the thing that’s stopping him from speeding to a divorce lawyer is probably the same thing that always has: any need whatsoever to do it. Five years in, you have yet to demand (or even ask) that he leave his wife — let alone hop out of the truck and take you to Denny’s. And sorry to say it, but other women walk away with $50 for the service you’re providing. What do you go home with, more pretty talk about how you’ll spend your retirement years? (Lemme guess: feeding the meter?) Not surprisingly, you spin this in the way that protects your ego: This is your great love, not pretty good sex in a Walmart parking lot. The truth is, you don’t even know the guy outside the confi nes of the truck cab. Clinging to your fantasy future with him allows you to duck the looming questions in your present:
What do you have with your husband, and should you try to repair your marriage or get out? Be honest about your situation and what you need to do. That’s how you might someday have a Love who makes good on his promises — and not just the easy ones, like moving a little to the side so you won’t go back to the offi ce with “Built Ford Tough” pressed into your left calf.
Sloshed In translation
I’m a man who was deeply disturbed by your advice for “Not A Player” to “get some drinks in a girl” as a way to make moves on her. For my job, I took a class on preventing sexual assault, and learned that most sexual assaults include alcohol use by the assailant or victim. Your advice normalized the calculated use of alcohol in dating. I’m hoping you’ll rethink this and run a correction.
need for prosecutor involvement. They do exactly what this guy needs to do: Have a couple beers with a girl so he’ll have the guts to kiss her, and so she’ll be relaxed enough to be kissed (and by “relaxed” I mean so she’s giggly, not so she’s unconscious).
Sudoku
— Frustrated Reader I wrote, “Get some drinks in a girl, then casually touch her arm a few times,” not “casually rape her in the alley.” The guy signed himself “Not A Player” because he has all the mojo of a lost kitten. My worry wasn’t that he’d date rape the girl, but that he’d end the evening by giving her a little wave and running away. Yes, alcohol is often involved in sexual assaults. A knife can be used to cut an apple or mug your granny. People don’t do bad things because they have access to a particular substance or implement, but because they’re people who do bad things. I didn’t invent the use of alcohol in dating, and I don’t write as if people reading me are stupid. Countless people drink on dates every day without any
ENJOY YOUR sUppER ONliNE AT www.secondsupper.com
Downtown La Crosse, above Fayzes - 782-6622
top shots joke of the week What do you call a midget clairvoyant running from the police?
A small medium at large Check out our new Beers on Tap!
Good People, Good Drinks, Good Times
SUNDAY
$5 Pitchers $2 Bottles of Miller Products (11-4 pm) $2 Corona Bottles $2 Kilo Kai Mixers $3 Bloody’s (7-1am)
MONDAY TUESDAY
$1.75 - Miller/Bud Taps $2.25 Micro/Craft Taps $2.50 Cherry Bombs (7-1am)
$1.75 Rails $1.50 Domestic Taps $3.50 Jager Bombs (7-1am)
from page 5
$2.00 - 1 Player, $3.00 - 2 Players 50 Cents Off Drinks, $1 Off Pitchers
WEDNESDAY $2 Domestic Bottles $2.50 Skyy/Absolute Mixers $2 Dr. Shots (7-1am)
THURSDAY FRIDAY 5 Domestic Bottles 4 $10 $5 Micro/Import Bottles $11.50, $7 Micro/Craft Pitchers (7-1am)
$5 Miller Lite/Bud Light Pitchers
SATURDAY $2.25 Leinies Bottles (7-1am)
$2 Captain Mixers $2 Long Islands $3 Effen Vodka Mixers (7-1am)
16// October 7, 2010
Second Supper
T HE F
!