On, snap! Wu is back by Second Supper

INSIDE: YOU'RE ALL INVITED TO COMMUNITY THANKSGIVING DINNER • PAGE 7

La Crosse's Free Press VOLUME 10, NO. 44 | NOVEMBER 18, 2010

Oh,Snap!

The Wu Is Back Page 5

ALSO...

PHOTO BY Mitch Luehring

Viterbo spells success with 'Putnam' production Page 8

Ryan Flannery making first visit to La Crosse Page 10

PLUS: ARTS REVIEW • PAGE 10 | MUSIC DIRECTORY • PAGE 11 | BEER REVIEW • PAGE 13 | ADVICE GODDESS • PAGE 15

2// November 18, 2010

Second Supper

Social Networking NAME AND AGE: Brian Goltz, 22

WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Right here in La Crosse

CURRENT JOB: Salesperson at Deaf Ear Records

DREAM JOB: Product tester for Burton Snowboards

LAST THING YOU GOOGLED: Dirt Bag Dan vs. Mac Lethal battle video

IF YOU COULD LIVE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, WHERE WOULD IT BE? I'll tell you once I've visited all the possible options

WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE: Go to college

WHAT IS YOUR BEVERAGE OF CHOICE? Whiskey

CELEBRITY CRUSH:

608-788-8899

Ballzer from Z93

325 West avenue nORtH

WHAT BOOK ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

lAcrosse • sun-thurs 10:30Am - 3Am, fri & sAt till 3:30Am

605 2nd ave. s., suite 150

we live here, too.

Act while you’re still hungry, becAuse this offer expires 01/23/11 And you’ll soon be full. one discount per order. look for other greAt deAls At toppers.com.

any myza SIzED HOUSE (Or 3-tOppIng) pIzza & SInglE OrDEr Of OrIgInal tOppErStIx™

TELL US A JOKE:

onAlAskA • open 10:30Am - 3Am every dAy

A $10 order gets the goods delivered.

any 6" grInDEr, SInglE OrDEr Of OrIgInal tOppErStIx™ & 20 Oz SODa

$ largE 2-tOppIng pIzza Try any large pizza as a

$1oo More

Makie it a 12" grinder for ONLY $2.

Add 2-20 OZ sodas for ONLY $2. Act while you’re still hungry, because this offer expires 01/23/11 and you’ll soon be full. One discount per order plus tax and delivery. Look for other great deals at Toppers.com.

$ largE 1-tOppIng pIzza & trIplE OrDEr Of OrIgInal tOppErStIx™ Try any large pizza as a

$1oo More

Act while you’re still hungry, because this offer expires 01/23/11 and you’ll soon be full. One discount per order plus tax and delivery. Look for other great deals at Toppers.com.

twO largE 1-tOppIng pIzzaS & SInglE OrDEr Of OrIgInal tOppErStIx™ Try any large pizza as a

$1oo More

Act while you’re still hungry, because this offer expires 01/23/11 and you’ll soon be full. One discount per order plus tax and delivery. Look for other great deals at Toppers.com.

any largE HOUSE (Or 3-tOppIng) pIzza & trIplE OrDEr Of OrIgInal tOppErStIx™ Try any large pizza as a

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST PET PEEVE? People who saw who call other people "bro." You're not my brother, so stfu!

608-779-7979

Make any Large pizza a taLL boy for $1oo

Darkly Dreaming Dexter

$1oo More

Act while you’re still hungry, because this offer expires 01/23/11 and you’ll soon be full. One discount per order plus tax and delivery. Look for other great deals at Toppers.com.

I like Second Supper now that they've cut the satire completely.

WHAT ONE PERSON ALIVE OR DEAD WOULD YOU WANT TO HAVE DINNER WITH? Chuck Palahniuk

WHAT'S THE LAST THING YOU BOUGHT? Every Time I Die — New Junk Aesthetic CD re-release with Sh*t Happens mini series DVD

WHAT'S IN YOUR POCKET RIGHT NOW?: Lighter, smokes, reminder to get a tattoo finished

IF A GENIE GRANTED YOU ONE WISH, WHAT WOULD YOU ASK FOR? The ability to destroy anyone in a freestyle rap battle

FIRST CONCERT YOU WENT TO: Something at the Warehouse

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF SECOND SUPPER? Music Directory

HOW DO YOU KNOW TRINITY (LAST WEEK'S INTERVIEW? We met at a KISS-themed movie night (Detroit Rock City/Role Models) — Compiled by Shuggypop Jackson

Second Supper

Things To Do Get the gear you'll need for winter

The Top Big Wu songs 1. Dancing with Lula 2. Red Sky 3. Ballad of Dan Toe 4. Shantytown 5. Two Person Chair 6. Silcanturnitova 7. House of Wu Other Big bands 1. Big Head Todd and the Monsters 2. Big Bad Voodoo Daddy 3. Reel Big Fish 4. Mr. Big 5. Big Country 6. Big Star 7. Big D and the Kids Table

November 18, 2010 // 3

FIRST THINGS FIRST

Community outdoor enthusiasts! Come see winter gear and equipment for the rest of the year at UW-La Crosse’s Outdoor Connection’s grand re-opening from 4 to 7 p.m. today, Nov. 18, at the Recreational Eagle Center. The event is open to the public and includes food, games and prizes, along with more information about Outdoor Connection. Discover what equipment is available, find out about trips, participate in trivia and games, and have a chance to win a free rental from Outdoor Connection or equipment from a local business. Equipment available to rent includes canoes, kayaks, mountain bikes, cruiser bikes, in-line skates, cross-country skis, snow shoes, air board inflatable snow sleds, tents, backpacks, headlamps and more. For more information on equipment and rates, visit www.uwlax.edu/recsports/OC_EquipmentRental. html.

Meet the author behind guidebooks

Take a dip into the great Mississip with Dean Klinkenberg at Pearl Street Books, 323 Pearl St., at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 18. Klinkenberg is the author of the Mississippi Valley Traveler guidebook and has traveled to over 30 countries. He is a graduate of UW-La Crosse and has driven 75,000 miles since 2007, researching history and chatting with locals in bars and diners to learn about river towns and how people pass the time when they’re not fishing. The resulting series of travel guides oﬀers comprehensive and entertaining coverage of the communities of the Mississippi River Valley. The newest volume is The Driftless Area: Along the Mississippi River from Hastings, Minnesota to Lansing, Iowa. the shores of Lake Pepin.

The event is free. For more information, call 608-782-3424. For more about Klinkenberg, visit www.TravelPassages.com or www.MississippiValleyTraveler.com.

Experience a Native American Thanksgiving feast The seventh annual Rethinking Thanksgiving Feast will take place this evening, Nov. 18, at 6 p.m. at the Hmong Community Center, 1815 Ward Ave. The meal will present primarily native traditional and organic modern foods grown in the Native American Student Association garden on the UW-L campus. Historical misrepresentations surrounding the Thanksgiving story will be discussed. The event is open to the public. For more information, contact Andi Cloud at 608-738-3943.

Enjoy an old-fashioned variety show

Do something unforgettable during Thanksgiving weekend: Go to The Pump House’s Old School Variety Show Nov. 26-27. Michael Scott and friends will present two evenings of storytelling, improvisation, comedy, music and more. Tickets are $15 for members, $18 for general public and $21 day of the show. For more information call 608-785-1434 or check out www.thepumphouse.org.

Start your holiday shopping at craft fair

4 5

‘Tis the season … to check out 130 crafters as the La Crosse Center hosts the 47th Annual Holiday Fair Nov. 18-21. The fair will run from noon to 9 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. From photo opportunities with Santa to appearances by Rudolph and door prizes galore, you can’t go wrong! Admission is $2 per person and kids 12 and under are free.

4// November 18, 2010

Second Supper

COMMENTARY

WisPolitics.com Report NEWS IN BRIEF

Walker calls for Doyle to hold off new hires

Gov.-elect Scott Walker says he made an unprecedented request for Gov. Jim Doyle to hold off action on new hires and other projects over the final months of his term in reaction to an unprecedented budget deficit. Walker asked the Doyle administration to hold off on working to implement the federal health care overhaul, approving state employee contracts or filling any civil service posts before he takes office in January. He also wants the governor to stop work on converting the Charter Street power plant in downtown Madison to biofuel and refrain from promulgating any new administrative rules. “We're not picking a fight,” Walker contended during a news conference. Walker said he plans to only do routine business as Milwaukee County executive until he leaves the post in December, saying his approach parallels what he asked of Doyle. Department of Administration Secretary Dan Schooff noted in response to Walker the health care exchanges required under the new federal overhaul will need legislative action and would not go into effect until 2013 at the earliest, and the Charter Street Plant, where work has already begun, has natural gas capabilities. "I am aware that there are those who would attempt to pit incoming and outgoing administrations against each other," Schooff wrote. "As you know, Governor Doyle and this administration have worked hard to avoid this. We will continue to work with you and your team in an orderly and responsible manner."

Walker wants rail investments stopped

Gov.-elect Scott Walker has urged the federal government to halt all investments in new high-speed rail lines around the country and instead divert the money to state and local road projects. Walker has pledged to kill a high-speed rail line between Madison and Milwaukee and has urged the more than $800 million earmarked for the project to be used for road work in Wisconsin. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told Walker in a letter the money can only be used for high-speed rail and unless Walker changes his position, the feds will "wind down Wisconsin's project" and the money will go to high-speed rail work elsewhere. LaHood wrote that he believes connecting Wisconsin to Chicago and MinneapolisSt. Paul would create thousands of jobs and spur economic development. Walker responded with a letter of his own, detailing Wisconsin's pressing highway needs while dismissing rail projects as a relic of the past that will end up costing much more than originally projected. "All across the country, in states like Wisconsin, Ohio and Florida, the voters chose new governors who are opposed to diverting transportation funding to passenger rail,"

Walker wrote. "I believe it would be unwise for the Obama Administration to ignore the will of the voters." Gov. Jim Doyle has put the planned high-speed rail line between Madison and Milwaukee “on pause” and put the fate of the project in Walker’s hands.

Sheridan expresses shock at voting results

Outgoing Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan, D-Janesville and a surprise casualty of the GOP Election Day wave, told his former caucus members that he remains "in shock that we are where we're at." He thanked his colleagues for the opportunity to lead them, calling his remarks "one of the hardest things I've ever had to go through." He also urged defeated incumbents to keep 2012 in mind, predicting that "these seats are coming back our way." "I hope not one person hangs their head, because you accomplished a lot," Sheridan said a week after his Election Day loss. "Don't give up the fight. ... We're going to have another day to fight the good fight." Sheridan hailed the past majority's work on health care and jobs bills and said he was curious to see how the new GOP majority deals with combined reporting, in particular. "We're in a real crisis in this state, and everybody has to pony up and pay their fair share," said Sheridan.

Schools chief proposes changes to funding plan

Department of Public Instruction Superintendent Tony Evers says the school funding reform plan he unveiled will protect students and taxpayers and "ends the school funding shell game." The proposal, which sets a minimum aid level of $3,000 per student per year, would shift the school levy tax credit, the first dollar property tax credit and high poverty aid into the general aid formula. Evers said every district in the state would receive more money under the plan than the current budget. Evers the plan will keep property taxes steady by boosting the state contribution for K-12 funding by $420 million during the 2011-13 biennium, while at the same time maintaining revenue limits on local school districts. Evers said he is encouraged by the feedback he's gotten from GOP legislative leaders thus far. "Policy can trump a lot of things, and this is good public policy," he said. Still, state Rep. Robin Vos, the Rochester Republican who will co-chair the Joint Finance Committee, said the proposal contains "some interesting policy discussions," but the price tag may be a stumbling block. With the state facing a budget deficit of at least $2.7 billion in the next biennium, Vos said the $420 million cost, "makes it difficult to say, 'OK, Tony, we'll make it happen.'" See a district-by-district breakdown of funding under the plan: http://fairfundingforourfuture.org/pdf/estimates.pdf

STOCK REPORT

RISING Assembly conservatives

Leadership votes help confirm for some that the Assembly Republican caucus will tilt solidly to the right. Jeff Fitzgerald is elected speaker as expected, and Scott Suder of Abbotsford beats out Mark Gottlieb of Port Washington for majority leader, while Bill Kramer of Waukesha is elected speaker pro tempore over Joan Ballweg of Markesan. To some, that the candidate perceived to be more conservative winning out shouldn’t come as any surprise. The makeup of the Republican caucus with its influx of new members is a reflection of the conservative electorate that turned out at the polls this fall, unhappy over government spending. Some observers see the Senate GOP as the more moderate caucus of the two majority bodies, expecting the Assembly to be the house focusing on conservative agenda items. With 60 members, some say, conservatives can afford to lose 10 of their fellow Republicans and still muster a majority vote for controversial items. Moderate Republicans can be expected to be ignored on some core issues, some believe.

MIXED Cheap energy

Wisconsin once had some of the cheapest energy rates around. But a new report from the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance finds the state’s electricity prices rose 5.6 percent annually between 2000 and 2009, putting power costs in Wisconsin among the top 20 in the nation. That ranking is up from 36th in 2000 and 40th in 1990. The report chalks up the rising costs to higher coal prices, higher shipping and rail costs, and the building of new power plants and transmission capacity paid for by consumers. The rising costs underscore some of the challenges facing Walker and a new GOP majority as they try to improve Wisconsin’s business climate. The rising costs have hit manufacturers hard, particularly in energyintensive fields like paper making.

FALLING Tobacco sales to minors

Illegal tobacco sales to minors are down again. A state report shows that only 4.7 percent of retail outlets illegally sold to minors in 2010 -- down from 5.7 percent, according to random statewide compliance checks. It means Wisconsin continues to come in well under the fed target. The feds set a target rate of 20 percent with those states failing to hit the mark in jeopardy of losing federal block grants for substance abuse prevention and treatment.

Second Supper

November 18, 2010 // 5

COMMUNITY

Oh snap! The Wu is back!

By Adam Bissen adam.bissen@secondsupper.com

. ..

.........

.. . . . . .. .

.........

For a Midwestern fan of a certain age and disposition, no band will ever quite equal the pull of the Big Wu. Other groups will be more popular, write better songs and wear cooler clothing, but for a brief run in the late ‘90s and early 2000s, the Big Wu was our band. Eventually they would grow to play over 200 dates a year in some of the biggest music venues in the country, but here in the upper Midwest, Big Wu shows were family affairs, the likes of which I’ve never seen in another time or place. That’s why it’s such a huge deal to me and my fellow Wu-sters that the Big Wu is back on the road for the first time in a half decade. That they’re playing the Popcorn Tavern, of all places, on Nov. 27 gives me a feeling of almost unspeakable excitement. Given the chance to interview any member of the Big Wu, I’d pick Andy Miller, the grinning, beer-guzzling, Vikings-loving bass player who holds the honor of being the “goofy one” in a band named after a Joe Versus the Volcano reference. So I suppose I shouldn’t have been too surprised when he answered the phone and pretended to be keyboard player Al Oikari. “I just got out of jail,” he announced when I asked him how it was going. “I would have thought for my third arrest with the crack pipe that the cops would have gotten used to it and just let me off.” I could hear giggling in the background as band members killed time before performing a Friday night concert in Duluth. “Crack is kind of a bitch of a habit to break. But that isn’t actually the worst of my problems. It’s the child porn that’s really going to f*** me in the ass.” Thirty seconds into my long-awaited interview and I could already tell that the Wu is back. I asked Miller if he was sipping on Old Style, a beer that plays such an integral role in Big Wu lore that I figured it would have been written into their concert rider. No dice, Miller responded, and added one of the many family un-friendly expletives that would dot our 45-minute conversation. “They have PBR, which is kind of the poor man’s Old Style — and that’s saying something,” Miller deadpanned. “I take my beer seriously — but I do take it seriously cold. And I never cry when they bring it to me. That’s just bad form.” I relayed that I was actually calling from La Crosse, ancestral home of Old Style. Of course Miller knew that, and waxed poetic about the House of Heileman, the world’s largest six-pack and how La Crosse Lager is actually made from the same artesian water and original recipe of Old Style (which I have yet to confirm). La Crosse has another connection to the Big Wu. The band played here four times — the La Crosse Center in 2003, the Hollywood Theatre in 2004, and The Vibe (now Players) in 2005 and 2006.

TUESDAYS at 8PM

Longtime Big Wu fan Mark Grundhoefer joined the band in August to replace founding guitarist Jason Fladager. Miller didn’t say if he remembered any of those shows, but he did share this anecdote that involved La Crosse, an overnight drive from Milwaukee in 1998, a “sometimes recovering alcoholic” roadie and the Minnesota ban on Sunday alcohol sales. “It was 7 o’clock [a.m.], and we almost crossed the river,” Miller began, noting that Kwik Trip wouldn’t sell him any beer until 8. “So we went back into the car and took a snooze in the parking lot until a cop was banging on my windshield with a flashlight asking ‘OK, you guys look a little bushwhacked.’” Miller hiccupped the response from inside the van. “’Excuse me, excuse me. I don’t mean to cut you off, but what time is it?’ He said ‘8:03,’ and we all just jumped out of the car. ‘We couldn’t be any better, sir, thanks for waking us up.’” Miller take pains to note that the driver was, in fact, sober. “It’s the kind of story that I bet happens in La Crosse a lot, and I don’t mind being a part of that particular tradition.” By this point Miller and I had been talking for 15 minutes, and I had yet to ask any of the questions I’d planned for the interview. So I inquired about life back on the road, and how it felt to be playing outside of Minnesota for the first time in nearly five years. “We’re all having fun because we’re doing it because we want to do it,” Miller responded. “Debts are gone. Problems are gone. We don’t ever have to play again unless we really want to. … And in this kind of Big Wu music, that’s a main ingredient. ‘Want’ is everything.” This leads to another component of the Big Wu story, the business gaffes and personal turmoil that would follow band for its entire career. The group released its first two studio albums on a jamband-centric New York label that filed for bankruptcy in 2001, tying up

all the group’s assets in court and preventing them from selling any albums until they bought back the rights to their own music. This put the Big Wu $130,000 in debt, and they toured the country (and even Japan) hard just to get their heads above water. In addition to playing practically every city in Wisconsin and Minnesota, the Big Wu also performed at classic venues in San Francisco, Colorado, Atlanta, and Washington DC, but their pinnacle may have been performing before 50,000 fans in the first ever set at the first ever Bonnaroo in 2002. “After about 2006 we tapped a lot of the band’s stride, creativity-wise, ambition-wise,” Miller admitted. “I mean, tour is hard. It’s a hard, hard, hard, hard way to live. It’s hard on the body. It’s hard on your relationships. It’s hard on everything.” The most notable casualty to the Big Wu’s life on the road was Jason Fladager, a founding guitarist who left the band in the middle of 2002 to spend more time with his family and to start the band God Johnson. The rest of the Big Wu soldiered on as a four-piece, never quite regaining their full sound or the creative spark that defined their formative years. Once the group fully paid off its debts in 2006, the Big Wu effectively dried up, playing only a couple shows per year in Minneapolis and Harmony Park. “The best thing we could have done is just got off the road and stopped it, because I don’t want people to go to Big Wu shows and think ‘They look like shit. They sound like shit. There’s nothing new,’” Miller confessed. “We built this by hand not to be a parody of ourselves. Number one, I can’t believe I just said that — I hope you don’t write that down — but it’s something that I don’t want it to ever come to. We did that as favor to ourselves.” Since then, the Big Wu have been largely

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

WEDNESDAYS from 4-11PM

○ NOT YOUR GRANDMA’S ○

MyEaglesNest.NET

6// November 18, 2010

COMMUNITY

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

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 Cover illustration by Tommy Orrico Second Supper is a weekly alternative newspaper published by Bartanese Enterprises LLC, 614 Main St., La Crosse, WI 54601

homebound. The 38-year-old Miller is about to have his fi rst child. Guitarist Chris Castino had his fi rst son in August, and drummer Terry VanDeWalker had his third child in September. Oikari lives in an isolated cabin about an hour northwest of Duluth. But recently the pace has picked back up in the Wu-niverse. Fladager joined the group for occasional reunion shows, most notably at last summer’s Big Wu Family Reunion X, but he wouldn’t commit to going back out on the road. So beginning in August and extending through several runs this fall, Down Lo guitarist Mark Grundhoefer has joined the band on stage to round out their original confi guration.

HAVE AN OPINION? Send your letters to the editor to Second Supper, 614 Main St., La Crosse, WI 54601 or by e-mail to editor@secondsupper.com. Letters should be signed and include phone number for verification purposes. Please limit letters to no more than 300 words. Second Supper reserves the right to edit letters for length, clarity and grammar. For more information, call (608) 782-7001.

Second Supper “He’s a superior kind of musician — meaning, very specifi cally, that his ears are better than his fi ngers,” Miller said about Grundhoefer. “Jason is very good at that too, so in a lot of ways having Mark play guitar isn’t that different from having Jason play guitar. Their styles aren’t incredibly dissimilar, but the fun of Big Wu music is that every individual musician is absolutely open and free to take it anywhere you want to go.” Grundhoefer, a long time Big Wu fan and head of MJG Productions, has learned most of the songs in the band’s catalogue, and refreshingly the band is even writing new music. “I’m not interested in just doing like the Golden Oldies tour,” Miller said. “In a way we did that when we were running out of material. Now people are inspired to write. People are inspired to listen for new writing to contribute to make it Happen. And that’s a capital-H Happen on stage.” Miller tells me how happy he is with the new songs, and of course he makes a bold prediction about the Packers/Vikings game “It’s going to be absolute revenge, and this time I can’t really imagine the refs spotting the Packers 14 points,” said Miller, predicting a 31-21 Vikings victory. Eventually our conversation wound down, we hung up the phones, I turned off my recorder, and Miller and the gang got ready to play another show. Ten minutes later I got a call back on my cell phone. It was Miller, letting me know that Grundhoefer did in fact secure cans of Old Style for the band. Once again, all was well in the House of Wu.

Second Supper

COMMUNITY

November 18, 2010 // 7

Community gathers for dinner By Jason Crider jason.crider@secondsupper.com No plans for Thanksgiving? Then head over to the La Crosse Center, 300 Harborview Plaza, on Nov. 25 for the La Crosse Thanksgiving Community Dinner for some food and a sense of community. The dinner is free, open to the public and will feature an enormous amount of food. “Our theme is ‘Come for the Community, Stay for the Food,’ ” says Dorie Bell, who is on the La Crosse Thanksgiving Community Dinner Inc. board of directors. Bell also has served as president last year and treasurer for the past 14 years for the organization, which is a nonprofit, tax-exempt group focused solely on the Thanksgiving event. “We really try to stress that this event is for the entire community; some people think this is only for people who cannot afford a meal, but that is not what we are about, although we do serve that purpose as well,” Bell said. The event begins at 10:30 a.m. with a short worship service. Food is served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. For those without a way of getting to the event, transportation and/or food deliveries can be arranged by calling (608) 782-1411. The dinner started in 1982, and over the years has grown into quite an undertaking. This year they have over 500 volun-

teers and are making preparations for 3,600 meals, about 100 more than last year. If you can’t make it to the event, but still feel like lending a hand, they are always grateful for donations. As of Nov. 15, they have raised just over $15,000 for the event but are still short of the $27,000 they hope to raise by Jan. 1. You can donate online at lacrossethanksgivingdinner.com or by mail to La Crosse Community Thanksgiving Dinner, P.O. Box 662, La Crosse, WI 54602-0662.

By The Numbers

1,335

pounds of turkey served last year at community dinner

900 pounds of potatoes 920 pounds of dressing 127 gallons of gravy 450 pounds of coleslaw

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.

ago ic h C , r e w o T ) s r a Willis (Se member

stekin, Altra He hn Jo by d te it bm Winning Photo su

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.

Second Supper

8// November 18, 2010

Viterbo spells success with 'Putnam County' production By Jonathan Majak jonathan.majak@secondsupper.com In a lot of ways, Viterbo’s brilliant production of 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee plays like something John Hughes would’ve had a hand in. Think The Breakfast Club: Juice Box Edition. Like that 1980s classic, Putnam assembles a ragtag group of kids from various walks of life and confi nes them together for one day and follows the humorous highs and lows of being a kid. And while those teens were stuck in detention, the kids here are in a gym, smartly set-designed by Sadie Ward, competing for the glory that is winning the spelling bee. And what a spelling bee it is, as the show sharply uses the construct of a spelling bee to examine the various growing pains of being young. Under the direction of Dana McConnell, the musical is comedy at its fi nest, where laughs and character development aren’t mutually exclusive. There is a surprising amount of depth and pathos of proceedings as characters like Type A Marcy Park, smartly played by Laura Bien with single-minded determination, Lindsay Krautkramer as ultra liberal speller with a lisp Logainne Schwartzandgrubenniere (a name

that may have killed my spell check) and unfortunately hormonal Chip Tolentino, as played by Mark Sopchyk, all fi nd themselves having an existential crisis. The relationship between Logainne and her two dads, played adeptly without stereotyping by Joey Miller and Travis Paul, gives the show yet another moment of quiet intensity that counters the fl uff of it all, while Sophcyk as Chip is almost uncomfortably relatable as the character tries to survive the ravages of pubescence under the spotlight. Guiding the kids through their words and meltdowns is real estate agent extraordinaire/former spelling champ Rona Lisa Perretti, as played by Samantha Pauly, and Vice Principal Douglas Panch, played by Skyler Erickson. The duo have some of the funniest lines in the show as they offer uses of words in sentences and defi nitions, but at no point do they oversell the one-liners. They come off with tossed-off, almost blasé ease that only serves to amplify the hilarity of the ridiculousness of it all. Also helping is Offi cial Comfort Counselor/convict Mitch Mahoney, played by Malachi Durant in a role that is gleefully politically incorrect yet is not one-note in its writing or portrayal.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 9

LA CROSSE’S NEWEST & TRUEST PUB & EATERY WITHOUT THE FRANCHISE!

Monday: All U Can Eat Wings includes choice of potato, slaw and a frosted Pint. 4-9:30 $8.99 Tuesday: Wisconsin cheese steak sandwich with a frosted Pint. $8.99 Wednesday: Ladies Night, $1 Off All Drinks 4-Cl. Pint-Aritas $3.00 (lime or strawberry)

Thursday: All U Can Eat Wings includes choice of potato, slaw and a frosted Pint. 4-9:30 $8.99

Karaoke on Thursdays

Watch the Packers and Monday Night Football - 8 Plasma TV’s • Food & Drink Specials

e the We Have NFL Ticket! o Ask about our "Best Seat in the House" promotion

Win A 50 inch Plasma sTV, S and S Cycle, Custom Pub Table and Chairs

400 Lang Drive, La Crosse T HE F

Qualify to win a Game Jersey

and 2 Packer Tickets for Jan 2nd Bears vs. Packers 20222585jg

(Across From Menards) 784-2242

’S UB

$10 for 5 Coors and Coors Light Bottles During All Green Bay and Monday Night Games - Wing Specials - $4 Packer Backers - $1.50 Burgers - Every Quarter-Chance to Win T-Shirts and Hats,

Second Supper

ARTS

'Putnam County' CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8 While the cast of kids is universally strong in terms of writing and acting, my particular favorites were poor girl Olive Ostrovsky, played by Chelsea McManimonMoe, foot tapping William Barfee, played by Bryce Turgeon who also did the great costume design for the show, and spastic Leaf Coneybear, played by Cameron Meilicke. McManimon-Moe and Turgeon have a quirky chemistry that makes the crush action between Ostrovsky and Barfee cute without being cutesy. McManimon-Moe also delivers an emotional wallop of a number with the second act tune “The I Love You Song.” Turgeon makes Barfee’s show-long frustration over the mispronunciation of his name one of the best running jokes. Meilicke takes the character of Leaf Coneybear, who

could have been annoying in both his spastic ADD nature and earnestness, and makes him an endearing character you root for and are sort of proud of, especially in his “I’m Not That Smart (Reprise).” As a reviewer who has gone to a lot of shows, I have to note the thing that impressed me so much wasn’t just the set design or the acting or the direction, it was the fact that shows usually have to play a few weeks to achieve the level of ease and grace I watched on the stage last Saturday night. Minor quibbles about projecting issues and sound aside, Saturday night was one of those moments when, as a fan of theatre, you go, “They’ve really got it” and are happy to be witnessing it unfold in front of you. So go see The 25th Annual County Spelling. It’s pretty awesome. And that is the T-R-U-T-H, truth.

Vitamin Studio plans critique night Vitamin Studio, 129 S. Sixth St., is having its first critique night since moving into its new location from 7 to 11 p.m. Friday, Nov. 19. Previous critiques incldes teachers and professors as well as students and working artists. This is one in a series of critiques that the studio plans every few months. New

works and works in progress are critiqued. All media and disciplines are welcome. Participants are invited to bring a dish or beverage to share, in addition to the art, and can expect to enjoy a laid back evening of discussion and learning. For information, visit ArtVitamin.org online. Vitamin Studio was formerly the Green Bay Street Studio.

November 18, 2010 // 9

10// November 18, 2010

Second Supper

ARTS

The ArtS Review Bizarro Masterpiece Theatre Medium: Video Seth (1995) What follows is a tale of unearthed treasure. I’m not certain of all the details of how this gem returned to the world, but I do know that the video was found in the vaults of the

Warehouse, where it lay dormant for roughly 15 years. Once rediscovered, the video was quickly uploaded to YouTube by Bizarro enabler Ben Koch, who brought it to my attention. It promptly blew my brains out with its disturbing genius. Seth Mitchell, who with his sweet mustache and insatiable eroticism comes off as a gay Burt Reynolds, spends about six minutes leering at the camera, gyrating and writhing around in various states of undress. There are, in fact, moments where Seth is wearing nothing at all, and while most of the shots are no more explicit than any risqué photo shoot, there is that one scene in the shower where Seth’s balls, beneath his arched back and slutty pose, are clearly in view. Musically – and, oh yeah, I almost forgot there was music – Seth sounds like a cross between old timey industrial clanging and perhaps a lo-fi version of the repetitive anthems of Gary Glitter. Vocally Seth sounds a bit like Q Lazzarus, the wistful yet forceful vocalist

behind the tuck-it-back anthem “Goodbye Horses.” Though I’m not even certain of the song’s title, Seth repeats “Can you feel it?” enough times that I’m assuming this to be the title. Indeed, the song itself is essentially a hypnotic, droning mantra that serves little beyond providing music to accompany Seth’s striptease. What’s greatest about this long and overwhelmingly uncomfortable video clip is that it was sent to the Warehouse in hopes of setting up a gig. Originally, I felt as though I ought to compare this to someone sending self-made softcore pornography to a prospective employer – but then I realized that this is exactly what happened. Seth Mitchell sent softcore pornography of himself to a venue, looking for a gig. I applaud that sense of audacity. I wish that more people – especially in real life – had Seth’s (ahem) balls. This man is a champ! For those brave enough to watch this masterpiece, it is on YouTube under the profile “beatuplunch.” Warning: very not safe for work.

— Brett Emerson

The Screening Room Medium: Film Unstoppable (2010) Director: Tony Scott Cast: Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson Writer: Mark Bomback Unstoppable is the movie equivalent of a paperback thriller — consumed easily yet quickly forgotten. It plays by the rules and

La Crosse's Free Press 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: it's a big deal Denzel Washington in a scene from "Unstoppable."

gives audiences exactly what they pay to see. It may be conventional, but it’s never boring. This is guilt-free popcorn fare at its best, a summer blockbuster delivered at the onset of awards season, when hyper-stylized, heavymetal soundtrack explosion-fests usually come with a B-list cast and a director known either for mediocrity or nothing at all. Instead, Unstoppable casts megastar Denzel Washington and rising star Chris Pine as a veteran engineer and a rookie conductor, respectively, and offers them a chance to be heroes when an unmanned locomotive (carrying tons of dangerous chemicals, of course) comes hurtling their way. Unstoppable administers amazing control in taking an ordinary day and snowballing it into a shitstorm of panic and potential disaster. Even when it resorts to expository dialogue designed to guide the audience by hand through the chaos, the fi lm still has both feet solidly on the ground, and knows where it’s going and how to get there. But is Unstoppable a truly great thriller? Not really. It’s an exciting way to spend 100 minutes, but there’s really not much to talk about — like, say, after Inception — once the credits roll. Washington and Pine’s Average Joes meet only the minimum requirements for what can pass as characterization, and director Tony Scott often gets carried away with over-stylizing the proceedings (in particular, he exhibits a Homer Simpson star-wipe obsession with revolving camera shots, a la Michael Bay). Despite its many shortcomings, Unstoppable succeeds as enjoyable, pulse-pounding disaster fare, one that actually earns its Hollywood ending.

— Nick Cabreza

Second Supper

November 18, 2010 // 11

MUSIC MUSIC

music directory // November 19 to November 27 FRIDAY,

November 19

THURSDAY,

November 25

ALPINE INN // W5717 Bliss Rd. Pat McCurdy (entertainer) • 9 p.m.

NIGHTHAWKS TAP // 401 S. Third St. Dave Orr's Damn Jam • 10 p.m.

HOWIE'S // 1125 La Crosse St. Johnie Holm Band (rock) • 9 p.m.

POPCORN TAVERN // 308 S. Fourth St. Nick Shattuck (songwriter) • 10 p.m.

NIGHTHAWKS TAP // 401 S. Third St. Sam Crow Blues Band (blues) • 10 p.m.

THE BODEGA // 122 4th St. The Kokopellians (jam grass) • 10 p.m.

PEARL STREET BREWERY // 1401 St. Andrew St.

FRIDAY,

Guitar Logic (acoustic) • 5 p.m. PIGGY'S BLUES LOUNGE // 501 Front St. S. Queenie & the Blue Cats (blues) • 8 p.m. POPCORN TAVERN // 308 S. Fourth St. Steez (creepfunk) • 10 p.m. THE JOINT // 324 Jay St. The Adam Palm Band (rock) • 10 p.m. THE ROOT NOTE // 114 4th St. S. Ryan Flannery and the Night Owls (jazzy indie rock) • 8:30 p.m. THE WAREHOUSE // 324 Pearl St. The Fast Track, The Middle Leg, Of the Fact, Neon (pop rock) • 7p.m. THE WATERFRONT TAVERN // 328 Front St. Dan Sebranek (folk) • 8 p.m.

SATURDAY,

November 20

JB'SSPEAKEASY // 717 Rose St. The Trap Stars (hip-hop) • 10 p.m. There are a lot of reasons to love Steez, the Madison quintet playing the Popcorn Tavern Friday night. It could be the prominent role given to their alto sax, their innovative blending of jamband structure and nu-disco grooves, or the fact they coined their owned term "Creepfunk" to describe their sound. Yes, that’s all true and we love them for it, but our favorite part about Steez is their total commitment to moustaches. For five years running they've hosted a Last Day of Class Moustache Bash, but they don't need a special occasion to sport some lip fuzz. And neither should you, so shave off the rest of your stubble and catch them at 10 p.m.

POPCORN TAVERN // 308 S. Fourth St. Natty Nation (roots reggae) • 10 p.m. THE JOINT // 324 Jay St. Joe & Vicki Price, w/Cheech (country blues) • 10 p.m. THE ROOT NOTE // 114 4th St. S. The Blackberry Bushes (old-time, bluegrass) • 8:30 p.m. THE WAREHOUSE // 324 Pearl St. Vessels for our Ghost, Miss August, Our Judgement, Micawber, Calvodium (hard rock) • 6:30 p.m.

THE WATERFRONT TAVERN // 328 Front St. BOOT HILL PUB // 1501 St. Andrew St. Dan Sebranek (folk) • 8 p.m. Studebaker 7, The Executives, The Stingrays (oldies) • 7 p.m. FLIPSIDE PUB AND GRILL // 400 Lang Drive

Sellout (rock) • 8:30 p.m.

JB'SSPEAKEASY // 717 Rose St. Idle Ecstatic, Poney (rock) • 10 p.m. NIGHTHAWKS TAP // 401 S. Third St. Anarchy Blues Band (blues) • 10 p.m.

November 26

SUNDAY,

November 21

POPCORN TAVERN // 308 S. Fourth St. The Blend (rock) • 10 p.m.

MONDAY,

November 22

DEL’S BAR // 229 Third St. Open Jam • 10 p.m.

PIGGY'S BLUES LOUNGE // 501 Front St. S. Queenie & the Blue Cats (blues) • 8 p.m. POPCORN TAVERN // 308 S. Fourth St. Shawn's Open jam • 10 p.m.

TUESDAY,

November 23

POPCORN TAVERN // 308 S. Fourth St. Dave Orr (open jam) • 10 p.m. THE ROOT NOTE // 114 4th St. S. 3rd Relation Jazz Trio (jazz) • 8:30 p.m. THE WAREHOUSE // 324 Pearl St. Lions Lions, Kid Liberty (indie rock) • 6:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY,

NIGHTHAWKS TAP // 401 S. Third St. Julica Rose (blues rock) • 10 p.m. PEARL STREET BREWERY // 1401 St. Andrew St.

Rich Wooten (acoustic) • 5 p.m. POPCORN TAVERN // 308 S. Fourth St. NIcholas Mrozinski and the Feelin Band (global pop) • 10 p.m. THE JOINT // 324 Jay St. The Smokin’ Bandits (Jeff’s 50th birthday) • 10 p.m. THE ROOT NOTE // 114 4th St. S. Aaron Kaercher & His Crazy Neighbors (Americana) • 8:30 p.m.

November 24 SATURDAY, November 27

DEL’S BAR // 229 Third St. JB'SSPEAKEASY // 717 Rose St. Casey Barth & Stacy Hanson (of Red Idle Ecstatic, Poney (rock) • 10 p.m. Sky Warning) • 10 p.m. POPCORN TAVERN // 308 S. Fourth St. NIGHTHAWKS TAP // 401 S. Third St. The Big Wu (jamband) • 10 p.m. Howard Luedtke & the Blue Max • 10 p.m. THE BODEGA // 122 4th St. POPCORN TAVERN // 308 S. Fourth St. The Kokopellians, The SoapBox ProjSterus (face-melting) • 10 p.m. ect, Kin Pickin’, Honey Summer & Fall, Beuford Firebeard, Technicolor RECOVERY ROOM // 901 7th St. S. Pachyderm (HungerFest 2010) • 4 p.m. Kin Pickin' (open jam) • 10 p.m. THE JOINT // 324 Jay St. THE WAREHOUSE // 324 Pearl St. Houses in Motion (Talking Heads Cole Rua, Amelia Lindstrom, Nick tribute band) • 10 p.m. Matt (singer/songwriter) • 7 p.m.

12// November 18, 2010

MUSIC

Ryan Flannery & the Night Owls here for first visit By Julie Schneider Special to Second Supper This Friday, Nov. 19, scoot your tush right on over to the Root Note, 115 4th St. S., to hear Ryan Flannery & the Night Owls kick off their first show here in La Crosse. From their roots in Wausau roughly two years ago, the three-man band recently packed its bags and moved to the Twin Cities. The band features Flannery singing and playing piano, Tom Kallio playing guitar and John Burgess on drums. “We all come from different musical backgrounds, but try to mesh into one,” Flannery said. “Our sound is a blend of alternative rock with jazz mixed in.”

Medium: Album Stimulus: Jamiroquai — Rock Dust Light Star Anno: 2010 To call Rock Dust Light Star Jamiroquaiby-numbers by no means diminishes the funk brilliance that the album puts on display. For its latest effort, the band puts out a nice balance of swaggering R&B slow jams with rushing dance numbers, resulting in a well-rounded collection of New Disco. Yet will all due respect to the bluesy wah overload of “Hurtin’” and the slick Motown cool of “Two Completely Different Things,” perhaps it’s a bit too well-rounded. Jamiroquai is at its best when it turns up the tempo. The album’s best evidence of this is “White Knuckle Ride,” which is every bit as swift as the name suggests. Augmented by the hint of high end guitar funk, a few synth outbursts, and the presence of disco divas in the chorus, the beats and bass of this song create perfectly measured yet exhilarating dancefloor pop. The formula also works to the band’s advantage in “All Good in the Hood,” though this song is more balanced instrumentally and more focused on vocalist Jay Kay’s soul singing. The album’s great swerve comes on the final track, titled “Hey Floyd,” which comes off as a fully orchestrated, piano-led theme song to some ‘70s copsploitation film. The

HOLIDAY REMINDER: Because of Thanksgiving, there is no edition of Second Supper next week.

With their EP released last spring, the boys were able to add trumpet, saxophone and flute to a few songs, but for the live shows they are going with the drums, guitar

song takes an odd detour into a reggae phase at one point, but most of the song conjures images of cops in leisure suits chasing dirtbags through the urban decay. While “White Knuckle Ride” may be the album’s most exciting song, “Hey Floyd” is its most ambitious songwriting. Perhaps Rock Dust Light Star could have used a little more dance and a little less mellow, but on the whole it’s great fun.

Medium: Album Stimulus: Kristian Hoffman— Fop Anno: 2010

Kristian Hoffman’s senses of the grandiose and the absurd lend his music a wide, smart scope that often defies categorization. Knowing that Hoffman’s extensive musical career includes a collaboration with Pee-Wee Herman and that he was one of the main songwriters behind opera alien Klaus Nomi provides as solid a starting point as can be grasped. Fop’s largest constant, beyond clever lyricism, is its tracks’ tendency toward whimsical, almost childlike vaudeville stylings directed by piano. Yet even this isn’t set in stone, as there are plenty of Bowie-style guitar rockouts and soft-spoken balladry to be found on Fop as well. The best example of the latter is the opening track, the extravagant yet softspoken “Something New Is Born,” whereas the former is best represented by the sinister, string-accompanied “Mediocre Dream.” Yet with the wealth of tracks on Fop — 17 songs in total, with not one feeling like a placeholder — the listener has the freedom to go in whatever direction one chooses. Hoffman’s consistent inconsistency might have not worked out so well had he not possessed the witty technique to temper his offbeat sensibilities. Fortunately, he runs at full speed with both.

— Brett Emerson

and keys. “We are a three-man band and for the live shows we really try to fill up the sound and try and make it sound tight and good,” Flannery said.

The Majak Mixtape By Jonathan Majak jonathan.majak@secondsupper.com Oh former President George W. Bush, how are you doing? You must be tired from all the interviews for your book Decision Point. We truly believe here that you’ve conducted more interviews in the last two or three weeks than you did during the entirety of your second term as president. You were on CNN, which was lovely, Fox News, which was expected, and on Oprah, where you gave everybody in the audience a free waterboarding. KIDDING. Anyway, with your memoir comes the usual parsing of every word that is written as people all over the country quickly flipped not to the front page of the book but to the index in the back, like your book was a yearbook, to see what pages the various politico luminaries showed. The book has actually been receiving a fair amount of good reviews while creating some interesting scandals from the revelations, so we here at the mix celebrate your literary success with this week’s mix “The Mixtape of President George.” First up, because we’ve never met an on-the-nose/ridiculously obvious choice that we didn’t like, Elvis Costello and his song “Everyday I Write the Book.” Bush has been, for the most part, on the periphery in his time outside of the White House with Dick Cheney and others defending his legacy more than he does himself. Aside from joining Facebook (Not being on Facebook is an offense punishable by being imprisoned

Second Supper

In her review of the EP last spring, Trisha Hanudel of CWG Magazine said, "Ryan Flannery and the Night Owls’ self-titled EP features five tracks of bubbly alterna-pop goodness in the vein of a caffeinated John Mayer and a modern Billy Joel. ... While Flannery and crew put most of their efforts into a jazzy, easy-listening, Billy Joel Mach 2 sound, their stand out tracks, “Stop” and “A Whim and a Prayer,” are where they move into a more expressive territory and push their song composition into the experimental and unknown. Overall, a solid album with two exceptionally great tracks." The band's ultimate goal is to become rock stars, but playing shows, getting a bigger fan base and trying to get some attention from record labels are the main things currently on the boys’ minds. The show on Friday starts at 8:30 p.m. at the Root Note. There is a $2 cover charge. “People should expect to have a lot of fun at our show and we really feed off of the audience’s energy and hope that people really get into it,” Flannery said. “We are really hoping for a good turn out.”

with only Friendster available to communicate with folks.) and getting your George W. Bush Library slowly in order, you’ve been tinkering on your book. So far the biggest thing that has come out of the book is pretty much you throwing ally Senator McConnell, which leads us to our next song, “We Used to Be Friends” by the Dandy Warhols. As has been reported, Bush has asserted in his book that while McConnell was attacking Democrats for wanting to pull troops out of Iraq, he was simultaneously asking the president to cut the number of troops to help Republicans during 2006 midterm elections. Why Bush would seemingly throw a friend, a still-inoffice one no less, to the wolves is anybody’s guess, but we love watching it unfold since we always pegged Bush as more of a Gretchen Weiners or a Karen Smith. Turns out he’s got some Regina George in him. Four for you! Lastly we have Kanye West featuring Bon Iver on his tune “Lost in the World” off his upcoming My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy album. (Fun “fact“: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was originally the title Bush was going to use about the chapter on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq). You don’t think we could’ve gotten through a President Bush mixtape without Yeezy, do you? Especially after Bush declared West’s saying that Bush didn’t care about black people one of the worse things to happen to him in his presidency. Not even side eye in the world for that belief. Buy: The Pipettes new album Earth Vs. The Pipettes YouTube: Chromeo’s video “Hot Mess” Read: Hipster Runoff www.hipsterrunoff.com Want more of the Mixtape? Get more along with recaps of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, Glee, weekly round-ups of gossip and more at the Majak Kingdom blog www.majakkingdom. blogspot.com.

Second Supper

November 18, 2010 // 13

YOUR GUIDE TO CONSUMPTION

The Beer Review Local Acre Lager Lakefront Brewery Milwaukee, Wisconsin There are a lot of things we celebrate with Thanksgiving — family, football, gluttony, genocide — but my favorite is the autumn harvest. Thanksgiving honors those Pilgrims who survived the long ocean voyage, harvested their first crops, and shared their bounty in a feast before the onslaught of winter. At least that’s the romantic, Norman Rockwell-ized version of the first Thanksgiving, but as 17th century agrarian Europeans, the Pilgrims also drank beer, or so I assume. With that spirit in mind, I attended a Harvest Beer tasting this week at the Root

Note. It contained everything from apple ales, to a pumpkin porter to a plethora of IPAs, but this week I’ll review the Lakefront Local Acre, the only “harvest” lager I’ve ever seen and a truly local beer whose ingredients were all harvested within 100 miles of Milwaukee. That production gives an earthy, onlyin-Wisconsin flavor to what is essentially a light pale lager. That style is a staple of American beer — from Milwaukee in particular — but the Local Acre employs a series of, frankly, 17th century brewing techniques to give this an intriguing harvest quality. It’s unfiltered, so it doesn’t look anything like a MGD. But more than, it uses local Cascade hops, which have more subdued flavors than their Pacific Northwest brethren, and it “wet hops” them, meaning the ingredients go straight from the farm fields to the beer

kettle. In that way, the Local Acre tastes like Wisconsin, and that’s something we all can celebrate. Purchase: Harvest Beer Tasting at the Root Note with 11 beers and palette cleansers, $20 Style: Local Acre is a uniquely brewed American pale lager, though some Web sites refer to it as an Imperial Pilsner. Strength: 7 percent ABV Packaging: I’ve only seen Local Acre in 22-oz. bottles. It has a pretty cool logo of Wisconsin filled with beer, stamped with a hop and painted on a worn wooden fence. Appearance: The beer pours an unfiltered gold with a grey-to-white bubbly head with decent lacing. Aroma: Local Acre has a sharper aroma than your everyday lager, with wafts of apple cider, vinegar or other fermented fruit.

The Best Food & Drink Specials in Town

There are notes of grain husks, but the green hops are low in the mix and quite distinct from their usual dried aromas. Taste: The tasting attendees were divided on this one. “It reminds me of being a homebrewer,” said one, intending it as an insult. Really, the Local Acre does have a muddled flavor with a sour start and some metallic notes. But the fresh hops stand out in interesting ways, giving this lager lemony highlights and a dry finish. Mouthfeel: Thin, with little aftertaste Drinkability: Probably limited to one 22-oz. bottle, shared with a friend. Ratings: BeerAdvocate gives this a B, while RateBeer scores it a 93 for the style. I’ve seen this beer available at Woodman’s, so don’t worry if you missed the tasting. You can harvest Local Acre for your own feasts. — Adam Bissen

LOCATION

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

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: Ladies drink free 9-11 $1 Cherry Bombs, $1 Keystone Light p.m. or all night with $5 wristband, silos including all UV Vodkas & XXX; $5 Long island pitchers

$1 Cherry Bombs, $1 Keystone Light silos

BROTHERS

Cllosed

$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.

Wristband Night (Open at 7 p.m. on Thanksgiving)

Catch a Cougar Weekend Nov. 19-20, Kill the Kegs free beer 9 p.m.-?, Ladies Late Night, ladies drink free 1 a.m. to close.

COCONUT JOE'S

Closed

$2 Select Appetizers, $1 coors light Wings! $1.50 for 1 pound of wings. pints/rails, $2 u – call –it’s $1.50 Miller Lite

Wristband Night

$3 jumbo Captain/Bacardi drinks all night

$3 jumbo Captain and Bacardi drinks all night

EAGLES NEST

$5 domestic pitchers

$1.50 domestic taps and rail drinks, 4 p.m. to close

Bird Brain Trivia 8 p.m.; $1.50 do- Wing Night - 25-cent wings (dine- $1.50 domestic bottles and rail mestic bottles and rails 4 p.m. to in only); $1 Miller High Life silos and drinks, $2 craft bottles, 4 p.m. to close PBR silos; $1.50 taps and rail drinks; close $2 craft taps. All specials 4 to close.

Happy Hour: 2 for 1 domestic bottles and rail drinks, 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Karaoke 9 p.m. to close

Taco buffet 11-2; $1 Pabst bottles and $1 bowling after 9

All you care to eat pizza buffet, 11-2

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

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 $5 AUC2D wristbands: domestic taps, rail mixers, Long Islands, 9 p.m. to close; karaoke 9 p.m. to close

107 3rd St. S. 782-1883, www.arenalax.com

306 Pearl St. 784-0522

128 3rd St. 782-9192

1914 Campbell Road 782-7764

FEATURES

W3923 State Highway 16 786-9000

FLIPSIDE PUB & GRILL 400 Lang Drive 784-2242

IMPULSE

$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

JB’S SPEAKEASY

$1.75 domestic bottles, $1.75 Dom bottles and rails, $2.50 Bombs

Monday Madness: $1.75 domestics Tuesday Boozeday $1 off all liquor Happy Hour 5 to 7 p.m. and rails, $2.50 Bombs, $1 off all top drinks and 50 cents off all shots, $2 shelf and specialty beers Bombs

$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

214 Main St. 782-6010

717 Rose St. 796-1161

SCHMIDTY’S 3119 State Road 788-5110

SLOOPY'S ALMA MATER

$5 wristband happy hour, 5 to 9 p.m; live DJ, dancing 9 p.m. to close

Happy Hour 5 to 7 p.m.

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 Wristband night, $2 cherry bombs, and rails bottles; $3 Double call drinks 50¢ shots (3 flavors) Closed on Thanksgiving

TOP SHOTS

SATURDAY

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

163 Copeland Ave. 785-0245 123 3rd St. 784-8020

14-inch pizza, $2 off; Wings Happy Hour 2 to 6 p.m.

FRIDAY

Happy Hour 5 to 7 p.m.

Breakfast 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.; lunch buffet 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., $6.99

Ladies night, 2 for 1 drinks (6-close), Happy Hour 2 to 6 p.m. Happy Hour 2 to 6 p.m. $2 U Call Its 7 p.m. to close

Tacos: $11 buckets during pro and college football games. $2 U Call Its 7 p.m. to close

$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 16oz Old Style & Lost Lake cans 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 Grain Belt $2.50 Captain Mixers

$2 16oz Old Style & Lost Lake cans $2 16oz Old Style & Lost Lake cans 2.50 Captain Mixers $2 Coors and Coors Light Bottles and $2.50 Skyy Mixers

$2 16oz Old Style & Lost Lake cans

WHISKEY RIVER SALOON

Closed

Comedy Night

Mechanical Bull Riding, $2 Miller Lite and $2 Shots of Dr.

Live Band and DJ, $3 Bacardi and Captain Drinks 7-10pm

WHO'S ON THIRD

$2.00 Domestic taps/ $2.00 rails

$1.50 tap of PBR/ $1.50 rails

$3.00 call doubles/ $2.00 Bud products

$2.00 all tap beer/ $3.00 Jack/Captain doubles

$8.50 Fishbowls/ $2.00 Miller products

$2.00 Domestic taps/ $2.00 Three $2.00 Bartenders choice mixer Olive products

137 4th St. 782-6622 308 4th St. S. 782-9069

223 Pearl St. 784-2337

126 3rd St. N. 782-9467

14// November 18, 2010

Maze Efflux

Second Supper

DIVERSIONS

"Drug agent" The further adventures of Agent 00-420

By Erich Boldt By Matt Jones

Sodoku

ACROSS 1 Uplift 6 Janitor's tool 9 "I ___ a Putty Tat" (1947 animated short) 12 "When I Take My Sugar ___" (Frank Sinatra song) 13 "It's ___-brainer" 14 "___ the Killer" (2001 Japanese film) 16 Moral system 17 Who the USO entertains 18 "A League of Their Own" star Davis 20 Stoner's 2002 spy movie? 23 Boggy marsh 24 Stoner's 1965 spy movie? 25 Leadup to L 26 Late comedian Kinison 27 Story line's path

28 Gp. that often funds PBS 29 Civil rights figure Parks 31 Wolfed down 33 Classic line from Agent 00-420? 39 "Eww!" 40 Tara of tabloids 42 The Bayou Bengals sch. 45 Noah's vessel 46 Music items in cases 49 ___-Magnon man 50 Girl pursued by Agent 00-420? 53 Airline to Amsterdam 54 Star of "On Her Majesty's Secret Stash?" 56 Chilean pianist Claudio 57 Crew team's item 58 Travels freely 60 Lowlifes 61 Hesitant syllables

Answers to Nov. 11 puzzle If deer took over U.S. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Not even headlights could stop them

62 Old lab heaters 63 Mag big shots 64 ___-bo (gym fad) 65 "___ I warn you?" DOWN 1 Summer, in Paris 2 Fulfill all requirements 3 "Maybe, but possibly not..." 4 "Freaks and Geeks" creator and "The Office" director Paul 5 Marina vehicles 6 Tom Selleck title role 7 T. Herman Zweibel's paper, with "The" 8 Put 12/31/2020 on checks, say 9 It gets its stripes early 10 Tart-tasting 11 "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" creator Joss 15 Flabbergasted 19 "Clan of the Cave Bear" heroine 21 "I'm onto you now!" 22 "___ Johnny!" 23 Cone-bearing tree 30 "Eat Drink Man Woman" director Lee 31 Pro-___ (mixed tournaments) 32 "Un momento, ___ favor"

34 Drab-colored Australian trees 35 Argentine author ___ Luis Borges 36 Inquire on 37 Ascot or cravat 38 Anyone effeminate, to The Governator 41 Burt Reynolds costar DeLuise 42 Annika Sorenstam's org. 43 Plaintiffs 44 Nintendo product on many "worst game controllers of all time" lists 46 Like sandpaper 47 "Ask ___" (Chrysler ad campaign featuring chairman Dieter Zetsche) 48 Get fuming mad 51 Identity theft, e.g. 52 Spitting four-footer 55 Cop-out in the "Chicken Little" story 59 Ultra-fast jet For answers, call (900) 226-2800, 99 cents per minute. Or to bill to a credit card, call (800) 655-6549. Reference puzzle #0492.

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

November 18, 2010 // 15

THE LAST WORD

The ADviCe GODDeSS By Amy Alkon amy.alkon@secondsupper.com Plain and suffering

Guys pay a lot of attention to my drop-dead gorgeous friend when we go out. So, what can you do if you’re her not-as-pretty sidekick? I can honestly say I’m cute, especially when I’m all dressed up. I’m told I have a great personality, but I know I lack a certain confidence many women have, and maybe that’s making things harder when we’re in bars and clubs. — Pretty Unsure Of Myself In a 37-country study on mate preferences by evolutionary psychologist David Buss, kindness was the most desired trait in a partner for both women and men, but no man runs his car off the road turning to look at a woman because she volunteers at a children’s hospital. Likewise, a bar or nightclub is no place to be trying to win an inner beauty contest. “Beautiful on the inside” isn’t what gets guys sending free drinks across the room. Even

if a guy comes over, that great personality of yours probably can’t help but crawl under a barstool when the guy’s talking to you but his eyeballs are on a walking tour of your modelicious friend. If a guy does pay attention to you - a bright spot! - there’s a good chance he’ll eventually mention his wife and kids. That’s when you realize he’s yet another married wingman, which makes you, yet again, the girl the guy has to get out of the way to get to the girl. Your friend is probably one of those women for whom being beautiful involves rolling out of bed and existing. For the rest of us, being a thing of beauty isn’t so much a joy forever as a job forever. We can either accept the effort involved to look our best or accept the opportunity costs of going ungroomed. We could also take a lesson from French women, who don’t let not being classically pretty get in the way of feeling beautiful. The French have this concept, “jolie laide,” which roughly translates to “ugly-pretty.” It describes women who aren’t conventionally beautiful but manage to be alluring nonetheless; for example, a woman with a big hook nose who, instead of trying to draw attention away from it, wears bright lipstick, pulls her hair back, and walks proud. Big honking beak and all, somehow, the sum total of her look is beauty, and a good bit of it comes from within. Unfortunately, embracing ugly-pretty will take you only so far. The truth is, beauty is often relative. Take America Ferrera, who plays Ugly Betty on TV. She’s actually only

Hollywood-ugly, which means she looks, well, mortal when standing next to Angelina Jolie. In Greeley, Colo., she’s stunningly beautiful. Accordingly, you’re a cute girl when you go out boyhunting with other merely cute girls. Sure, you “should” be able to go out with any friend you have, but in the cold light of how things work in the real world, if you’re a 6, you’ll probably do much better if you’re fl anked by a couple of 4s. This doesn’t mean that you dump your friend because she’s too pretty. Work on boosting your confi dence, and until you do, try to do things together that won’t have you competing with her for male attention - say, dinner and movie … at your place … after you tent it for termites, board up the windows, and pull down all the blinds.

20 minutes most likely isn’t expressing love but something emotionally lacking within them. (“I love you! I love you!” is a better sales tool than “Don’t leave me! Don’t leave me!”) Chances are, it isn’t the relationship the guy needs to get more comfortable in, but his own skin. If so, no amount of reassurance from you is going to cure him, although you might get him to loosen his grip by warning him that he’s about to “love” you right out of his life. (Ideally, if two people are inseparable, it isn’t because the fi remen had a burning house to tend to before they could get over to pry them apart with the Jaws of Life.)

Till grip do us part

My boyfriend of three months is independent and capable in his career, but is becoming increasingly clingy. He says he loves me at least once every 20 minutes and wants to snuggle constantly and have these endless phone conversations. Some things we can talk out. I explained that I’m not a big phone person, and he was fine with it, but the general clinginess remains. Will he get better as he feels more secure in our relationship? — Chafing Love is a beautiful thing — when expressed sparingly. In your case, well, you’ll always remember that time he turned to you and said those rare and magical words, “You know, I think your left front tire needs more air.” Somebody who chirps “I love you” every

Downtown La Crosse, above Fayzes - 782-6622

top shots joke of the week What did the mama turkey say to her disobedient children? If your papa could see you now, he'd turn over in his gravy! 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)

$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// November 18, 2010

Second Supper

It’s time you gave yourself points for being a good customer. Introducing The Belief Project from U.S. Cellular and the industry’s first rewards program with points you can use for everything from Overage Forgiveness to Faster Phone Upgrades. SM

Sign up for a Belief Plan and start earning points just for paying your bill, adding a line, referring a friend and more. Visit uscellular.com/project to learn more.

Take advantage of this special offer on a cool Android -powered phone: TM

SAMSUNG ACCLAIM

get one free when you buy one for $7999

After $80 mail-in rebates that come as Visa debit cards. Require Belief Plans with Data Plus and/or new 2-yr. agmts. Applicable Data Plans required. $30 act. fees may apply. ®

Learn more by visiting uscellular.com/project or calling 1-888-BUY-USCC. Things we want you to know: An agreement with a two-year initial term (subject to early termination fee) and credit approval required for all new customers and for existing customers not on an eligible Belief Plan. Existing customers may change to an eligible Belief Plan without signing a new agreement. Use of service constitutes acceptance of the terms of our Customer Service Agreement. Those terms apply for as long as you are a customer. A $30 activation fee may apply. Regulatory Cost Recovery Fee applies; this is not a tax or government-required charge. Additional fees, taxes, terms, conditions and coverage areas apply and may vary by plan, service and equipment. Promotional Phone subject to change. U.S. Cellular Visa Debit Card issued by MetaBank pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. Allow 10–12 weeks for processing. Card does not have cash access and can be used at any merchant location that accepts Visa debit cards. Card valid for 120 days after issued. Belief Plans with Data Plus start at $89.99 per month. Smartphone Plans not part of the Belief Project start at $30 per month. Application and data network usage charges may apply when accessing applications. BOGO: Buy one handset and get a second handset for free. Mail-in rebate and activation required on each handset. See uscellular.com/project for Belief Rewards terms and conditions. See store for details or visit uscellular.com. Limited-time offer. Android, Android Market, Gmail and Google Maps are all trademarks of Google, Inc. Trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners. ©2010 U.S. Cellular.