INSIDE: CHECK OUT THE BEST FOOD AND DRINK SPECIALS IN TOWN • PAGE 13
La Crosse's Free Press VOLUME 10, NO. 8 | MARCH 4, 2010
get fit! and do it for the right reasons
ALSO ...
'Into the Woods' among season's best
Page 8
Punch Brothers score knockout
Page 10
PLUS: SOCIAL NETWORKING • PAGE 2 | STATE POLITICAL REPORT • PAGE 4 | THE ADVICE GODDESS • PAGE 7
PHOTO BY ASHLY CONRAD
Page 6
2// March 4, 2010
Second Supper
Social Networking
NAME AND AGE: Cassie Deacon, 22 WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Johnson City, Tenn. CURRENT JOB: Slinging drinks at Jules Coffee House and being an amazing assistant secretary at UW-L’s Psychology Department. DREAM JOB: Something that allows me to travel extensively. LAST THING YOU GOOGLED: Things to do in New York City. I’m visiting over spring break. IF YOU COULD LIVE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, WHERE WOULD IT BE? Just one country? I’m a citizen of the world! WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE? I would like go skydiving. I’m terrified of heights. IF A GENIE GRANTED YOU ONE WISH, WHAT WOULD YOU ASK FOR? The ability to teleport. CELEBRITY CRUSH: Eva Mendes and Robert Downing Jr. FIRST CONCERT YOU WENT TO: Bon Jovi (My mother’s doing.) WHAT IS YOUR BEVERAGE OF CHOICE? Spotted Cow, or pretty much any type of beer for that matter. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING? My Human Sexuality textbook. TELL US YOUR GUILTIEST PLEASURE: Oatmeal walnut chocolate chip cookies at Jules. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST PET PEEVE? People who cut in line. WAIT YOUR TURN! TELL US A JOKE: What does a fish say when it hits a cement wall? Dam. WHAT'S THE LAST THING YOU BOUGHT? Double Americano with Soy Milk WHAT'S IN YOUR POCKET RIGHT NOW?: Nothing, I don’t carry things in my pockets. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF SECOND SUPPER? Shuggypop’s article HOW DO YOU KNOW SHUGGYPOP (INTERVIEWER)? We were introduced by mutual friends over a flamboyant kitten valentine; it definitely made an impression.
Second Supper
Things To Do Take the plunge for Special Olympics
The Top
Workout fads 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Jazzercise Vibrating belts Stripper cardio Richard Simmons The Thigh Master Pilates Tae Bo
Rock critics' favorite Minnesota bands 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
H端sker D端 The Replacements Prince and the Revolution The Hold Steady The Jayhawks The Bad Plus Trip Shakespeare
March 4, 2010 // 3
FIRST THINGS FIRST
Just as we were adding the finishing touches to this week's edition, our favorite weather girl, Ashley Baylor, was predicting balmy temperatures in the lower 40s for Saturday. That's good news for the 2010 Coulee Region Polar Plunge at Pettibone Beach. The water temperature, of course, will still be cold enough to turn digits into midgets. On-site registration begins at 9 a.m., with the first plungers scheduled to hit the water at noon. The event benefits Wisconsin Special Olympics. Following the plunge, there will be a celebration from 5 to 8 p.m. at Baus Haus, 1920 Ward Ave., featuring free food and a cash bar. Plungers get in free; others pay $5. The party moves next door to Neuie's Varsity Club at 9, with music by Pat McCurdy. Admission is $5 for plungers, $10 for others. For information, contact Kerry Gloede at (608) 789-7596 or gloedek@cityoflacrosse.org.
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Learn and listen during author's visit
Award-winning author John McNally will read from his new novel, "After the Workshop," and give a lecture about writing Wednesday, March 10, on the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse campus. The fiction writing lecture begins at 5:30 p.m. in room 207 of Carl Wimberly Hall. The reading follows at 7 p.m. at 337 Cleary Center. Both events are free and open to the public. Author Kevin Canty describes "After the Workshop" as a "swift, wicked and very funny book." McNally, a native of Chicago, is an associate professor of English at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. His visit is sponsored by the UW-L English Department and Murphy Library. For more information, contact Matt Cashion at (608) 785-8297 or cashion.matt@uwlax.edu.
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Walk the red carpet for good cause
If you're among the many movie fans looking forward to the Oscars, here's a chance to enjoy the evening while supporting a local cause. The La Crescent Lions Club and the Marcus Theater roll out the red carpet Sunday, March 7, to raise funds for a shelter at the new Hickory Park on the north side of La Crescent. The Night at the Oscars will be held simultaneously with the Academy Awards Show. Dress as casually or formally as you wish for your red carpet stroll. Doors at the La Crescent High School Fine Arts Center open at 6:30 p.m., the event begins at 7 p.m. (the Academy Awards at 7:30). Admission is free, but there will be fees for games, raffles and other activities.
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Watch the Sirens kick some butt
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If you like your competition a little more physical than the celluloid variety pitting Meryl Streep against Helen Mirren, we suggest Blazin' Betty and Kraze K might be more suited to your tastes. The Skating Sirens roller derby team will present a scrimmage featuring Angry Angels vs. Sinister Sisters in a fan appreciation bout at 7 p.m. Sunday, March 7, at High Roller Skating Center, 3624 East Ave. Tickets are $5.
Lighten up and enjoy a good laugh
There's a message in Bernie McGrenahan's comedy. Despite its name, his Happy Hour Tour, which stops at Western Technical College on Monday, March 8, won't be a celebration of the drinking culture. This show is stand-up comedy first, followed by a powerful and inspirational message on how to achieve all your goals as a student. His performance at 12:25 p.m. in the Lunda Center, 400 Seventh St. N., is free. It is sponsored by the WTC Campus Events Committee. For information, call (608) 785-9200.
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4// March 4, 2010
Second Supper
COMMENTARY
The WisPolitics.com Stock Report
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RISING
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Paul Ryan
Scott Walker
House GOP leaders tap the Janesville Republican to attend the White House health care summit, and some conservatives say he stole the show. Fans praise his “devastating” critique of President Obama's health care plan and heap accolades on him for having his own plan. The higher profile has also opened Ryan up to more attacks from Dems, who dismiss his Roadmap for America as an attempt to dismantle Medicare and Social Security. And the political buzz surrounding Ryan continues despite Dem attempts to drag him down. He says in one national interview that he’d be open to running for the U.S. Senate in 2012, and while he has repeatedly said he won't be a presidential candidate in 2012, he didn’t close the door on a VP bid in another interview.
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Health insurance rates
The president seized on news that Anthem Blue Cross in California plans to increase premiums by up to 39 percent ___________ ________________ as evidence reform is needed. He'll soon have some numbers in Wisconsin to help make his case, too. A report by the Center for American Progress Action Fund finds Indianapolis-based Wellpoint Inc. and its Open bar access to: Anthem Blue Cross subsidiaries plan to hike insurance premium rates by double Domestic/Import Beer, digits later this year in at least 11 states. That includes a hike of 17.2 percent in Rail, Call Drinks Wisconsin. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue & Martinis Shield of Wisconsin has filed notice with the state of the planned increase, scheduled to take effect April 1. The filing says the increase will cost 13,406 Blue Cross and Blue Shield policyholders in the state about $8.3 million. Meanwhile, Dem legislators are moving through another, low-cost health insurance program for the uninsured.
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Job worries
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Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, in advance of its annual Business Day, announces a new statewide poll showing Wisconsin voters most concerned about jobs and the economy. The poll of 400 voters found that 38 percent were concerned with jobs and the economy and 31 percent were concerned with taxes and government spending — the largest two issues identified in the poll. The poll also found that 60 percent of voters said the state is on the wrong track — a danger sign for incumbents. The poll comes as WMC goes full bore against the Dems' energy bill. The group sends out a mailer that says “Higher Energy Prices. Fewer Jobs. Governor Doyle has a plan for you,” proclaiming the bill will mean “significantly higher energy costs” through “go-it-alone global warming regulations” that will hurt the state's economic competitiveness and kill jobs. WMC produces more than 3,000 signatures from business executives and opinion leaders opposing the bill.
The Milwaukee County exec has taken his knocks for failing to have a vision. He answers that bell this week with a promise to create 250,000 jobs during his first term as guv — but to an avalanche of ridicule and skepticism. Dems pounce on the announcement to suggest the numbers were pulled out of thin air, while GOP rival Mark Neumann says it’s “borderline ridiculous” for Walker to claim he now has a plan to bring jobs to Wisconsin considering he’s failed to do so during his eight years as county executive. It reminds some of Gov. Jim Doyle’s promise to eliminate 10,000 state jobs in eight years, a 2002 campaign pledge that never came close to fruition. Still, a check of the state’s employment projections shows Walker’s pledge may be neither crazy nor bold. State economists expect to gain back 165,000 jobs between the second quarter of 2010 and the end of 2012. Even with modest job growth in 2013 and 2014, the state should be in the neighborhood of 250,000 additional jobs — barring another setback for the national economy.
Russ Feingold
The Dem senator has routinely opposed the use of reconciliation in the Senate unless the legislation’s primary aim is reducing the deficit. But Republicans pounce on him after he signals an openness to using the tactic — which requires a simple majority vote rather than the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster — to push through health care reform. Feingold indicates he’d be OK with the maneuver so long as the bill reduces the national debt, something the president says his latest plan would do. But Republicans accuse him of flip-flopping on the issue. Some insiders say one of Feingold’s greatest assets has been the perception among voters that he’s a straight shooter and a man of his word. Any signs of inconsistency can damage that reputation. Opponents release polls that show Feingold below 50 percent with the public, but Dems take those with a grain of salt at best. Meanwhile, the National Journal’s annual rankings label Feingold as the senator whose votes put him closest to the center in 2009. National Journal reporters cite his votes with fiscal hawks on the omnibus appropriations bill, his opposition to gun control, and his votes against TARP and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner as reasons for the ranking.
State financial institutions
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation says one quarter of state banks were unprofitable in the last quarter of 2009, up from one in six in the final quarter of 2008. And state regulators monitor several troubled banks. But state credit unions see their largest membership growth in a decade last year. The Wisconsin Bankers Association attributed the decline in bank earnings to unemployment and poor
economic conditions, but the group notes that total deposits grew and lending again outpaced the national average. The WBA also says the stats show that state banks are continuing to make good loans to qualified borrowers. Confidence in Wisconsin's credit unions and banks is strong, at a time when more consumers appear to be wary of larger financial institutions. And the Wisconsin Credit Union League says last year's 2.39 percent membership increase was nearly double their average rate of growth. A league spokesman suggests people are moving away from big banks to local institutions that provide better service on things like loans and credit cards.
FALLING Early release program
It’s too early to call the early release program passed by Dems in the budget a political liability, insiders say. But stories about the criminal histories of those who have been released and headlines about two already violating terms of their release aren’t a good sign, they add. The worst case scenario for Dems would be for someone released early to commit a heinous crime, election-watchers say. While these initial violations aren't the stuff of TV commercials, they should serve as a reminder of the political danger, insiders say. Republicans jump on the news with Rep. Scott Suder proposing legislation to end the program and Walker calling for an immediate end to the policy. They have the criticisms of the Milwaukee police chief to back them up.
Enviro-hunter coalition
The hook-and-bullet and environmental crowd out-hustled the state’s business community early in the debate over who should appoint the DNR secretary. But business groups — particularly WMC, the Realtors and the Builders — mount a big comeback as they get most Assembly Republicans and a few Dems to band together and uphold the guv’s veto of a bill that would take away his power to appoint the secretary and give it back to the Natural Resources Board. The Assembly ends up six votes shy of the needed margin as some enviros complain bitterly about falling short on one of their top priorities.
Film Wisconsin
The non-profit group promoting the state's film production industry eliminates the position of Scott Robbe, its longtime leader, as its budget plummets. Film Wisconsin was instrumental in the creation of the state's tax credits for film production in 2008, but those were vetoed out of the latest state budget by Gov. Jim Doyle. The president of the group's board says the group's remaining funds now total under $40,000, and Film Wisconsin has stopped shopping the state at film trade shows and other promotional events.
Second Supper
Dispatches from HQ Season of Art seeks artists for summer shows
Registration is open for the third annual Season of Art, a series of four outdoor art fairs at Brice Prairie, 7203 N. Shore Drive, County Road Z, in Onalaska. The event is sponsored by the La Crosse Society of Arts and Crafts. Registration is limited to 30 artists for each show. Applications will be accepted in the following categories: drawing, ceramics, fiber, art dolls, rug weaving, glass, jewelry, metalworks, mixed media, collage, painting, pastels, photography, sculpture and wood, including functional wares and furniture. A People's Choice Award will be presented at each show. The shows will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. the first Saturday of each month: June 5, July 3, Aug. 7 and Sept. 4. For more information, visit www. lacrosseartsandcrafts.com or contact Annie Gasper at (608) 857-3344 or at rainbowannie@centurytel.net.
Bicycling summit features Trek Bicycles executive The CEO of Trek Bicycles will be the guest speaker for the inaugural Western Wisconsin Bicycle Summit from 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesday, March 23, at the Radisson Center, 200 Harborview Plaza, La Crosse. The summit it sponsored by local individuals and groups and the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin. Its goal is to bring together the large regional bicycling community and government, business and planning entities to discuss how support for bicycling can increase tourism, expand job opportunities, improve the health of our citizens and alleviate traffic problems. John Burke, CEO of Trek Bicycles, founded and based in Wisconsin, has spoken around the world on the bicycle as a "simple solution to complex problems." The event includes open networking, with cash bar, from 5 to 6:30 p.m., presentations by Kevin Hardman, executive director of the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin, and Hansi Johnson, regional director of the International Mountain Bicycling Association; and, about 7 p.m., the keynote presentation. A speaker's reception will be held after Burke's talk. For more information, contact Marvin Wanders at (608) 317-4678 or marvin@ threesixty.bz, or Hardman at (608) 2514456 or kevin.hardman@bfw.org.
Local bicycle coalition invites public to its party The Driftless Region Bicycle Coalition will host a Join the Cause Party from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, March 20, at the Pearl Street Brewery, 1401 Saint Andrew St. The DRBC in a nonprofit organization started in the summer of 2009 by Tim Keneipp, Ed West and Larry Kirch as an advocacy and outreach group focused on a wide range of bicycling issues in the area. The dozen or so DRBC members are throwing this meet-and-greet party to introduce themselves and their mission to La Crosse, hoping to attract new members and
March 4, 2010 // 5
COMMUNITY supporters. This free event will include a cash bar and snacks. For more information, visit www.driftlessbicycle.org.
Downtown now has Chinese tea shop Xiaoli Deng recently opened the Cha Guan Tea Shop in Suite 102 of the Doerflinger Building, 400 Main St. Offering an authentic Chinese tea -drinking experience, the Cha Guan Tea Shop offers fine teas, baked goods and dim sum, which is the name for a southern Chinese cuisine that involves a wide range (meat, vegetable, seafood, fruit, dessert) of light dishes traditionally served alongside Chinese tea. Also available are tea samplings, tea ware and various Chinese gifts. For more information, call (608) 448-5378 or e-mail chaguan2010@hotmail.com.
Viterbo welcomes appeals court candidate Richland County Circuit Court Judge Ed Leineweber will speak on the topic "Leadership Experience and Values" at noon Friday, March 5, at Viterbo University in La Crosse. Leineweber faces Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard in the April 6 election for the 4th District Court of Appeals. The district includes La Crosse County. The public is invited to attend the one-hour program in the Reinhart Center Boardroom. "Friday's event is a good opportunity for citizens in the La Crosse area to hear why I am a candidate for this seat on the state's Court of Appeals," Leineweber stated. "Most people never have contact with the court, and they're interested to learn about its critical role in our system of justice." Leineweber's talk is sponsored by Viterbo University's Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership.
Kind plans telephone meeting on March 10 U.S. Rep. Ron Kind will hold a telephone town hall meeting with residents of the Third Congressional District from 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 10. Participants will have the opportunity to provide feedback and ask questions on current legislation, including the economy and health care reform, among other topics. At the start of the call on Wednesday, a random selection of households in the district will receive a call from Kind, inviting them to participate in the telephone town hall. Constituents will then have the option of staying on the line to hear comments by Kind followed by the opportunity to participate in a question-and-answer session. Interested constituents may also dial into the telephone town hall themselves by calling, toll-free, (877) 269-7289 and using the code 15311. Send your tips to editor@secondsupper.com.
be ill ril 8 w p s er ed A n n c Wi oun n an
Wat of o ch for d ur P oetr etails y Sl am
La Crosse poetry contest •1st place: $100 •Gift certificates •Other awards •Publication in Second Supper 1. Free verse (maximum 60 lines) 2. Haiku (three lines)
1. Enter no more than one poem per category. 2. Each entry must be original, not previously published. 3. Entry must include category, poet’s name, address, phone, e-mail. 4. Poet must be permanent, temporary or former resident of La Crosse, Onalaska or La Crescent. 5. All entries must be received by 5 p.m. March 18. 6. Entries must be typed or done on computer or word processor. Second Supper Poetry Contest 614 Main St., La Crosse, WI 54601 or via e-mail to editor@secondsupper.com Authors retain rights to poetry but agree to allow publication in Second Supper. Submissions will not be returned.
6// March 4, 2010
COMMUNITY
Second Supper
Get Fit! And do it for the right reasons
By Emily Faeth
emily.faeth@secondsupper.com
The last of the icicles finally crashed down outside my apartment windows, and the snow heap outside my door is washing away to reveal sparse, brown grass clotted with several months' worth of soggy cigarette butts. Indeed, spring is on its way, and soon we'll be shedding our parkas and long underwear in favor of flip-flops and tank tops. But before we do so, many of us may want to shed an additional layer — the accumulated pounds a winter of cowering inside our warm apartments has brought. The options for winter weight loss are many. For some, it may simply require some retooling of their diets. Did you know that the average “light” beer contains about 103 calories, while the average regular craft beer contains 156 calories? If you're a beer aficionado like myself and many of my friends, the caloric discrepancy won't make you switch from a Pearl Street brew to Miller Lite, but it is something to keep in mind when you're dining out. The difference may just be choosing the grilled chicken over the fried, and the house salad (with light dressing) over the Caesar salad (which can have caloric contents of 600 at some restaurants!) Now that it's warming up, how about leaving that car parked in favor of hopping on your bike to get to school or work? Sure, it takes a couple minutes longer to get to
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: Jenaveve Bell jenaveve.bell@secondsupper.com Sales: Ansel Ericksen ansel.ericksen@secondsupper.com Contributors: Amy Alkon, Erich Boldt, Nick Cabreza, Mary Catanese, Brett Emerson, Jake Groteuschen, Shuggypop Jackson, Matt Jones, Caroline More, Anna Soldner, Ralph Winrich Second Supper is a weekly alternative newspaper published by Bartanese Enterprises LLC, 614 Main St., La Crosse, WI 54601
PHOTO BY ASHLY CONRAD
Anne Formanek, also on the cover, leads a Zumba class at Shake N' Shed Fitness in Onalaska. Getting fit can be done with a group or on one's own. It just takes commitment. where you're going, but the feeling of zipping around the streets, taking in the sights and smells and sounds of the city while on a bicycle is far superior than the mundane experience of riding in a car. Plus, you can feel good about reducing your carbon footprint. The Coulee Region is also known for having absolutely superb outdoor recreation options. One of my personal favorite activities in the warmer months is traversing the trails in Hixon Forest. The trails alternate from leisurely to demanding, depending on your route, but the average woman can burn over 400 calories in an hour of non-cross country hiking. That should be enough to burn off a couple celebratory beers (kidding...sort of). While looking up the calories burned during various exercises, I was also intrigued to learn that for each minute of active sex,
anywhere from 4-6 calories are burned per minute. This may or may not be good news, though, depending on your partner's (or your) uh ... skill level. And after you and your partner have, ahem, exercised, you can do some spring cleaning together: an hour and a half of housecleaning burns approximately 864 calories. There are also various of fitness classes available around the La Crosse area. One such class that seems to be piquing much curiosity (at least around our office) is the Zumba fitness class offered at many fitness centers and community sites, including the West Salem High School dance studio at 490 Mark St. on Mondays at 6 p.m. Zumba, imported from Colombia in the '90s, incorporates Latin and hip-hop dance moves into an aerobic workout. The class is geared toward both beginners and those experienced with
Zumba and costs $4 to attend. Judging from the Zumba videos on YouTube, though, the $4 is a decent price to pay for all of the sweat and endorphins you'll be working up during the class. Of course, not everyone has transportation and/or funds to attend such classes. Or perhaps the thought of sharing a room with a bunch of sweaty strangers while you work yourself into a red-faced frenzy isn't quite your cup of tea. If that's the case, all you need is a library card, a television and a DVD player — plus a little motivation — and you've got yourself a decent workout. The La Crosse Public Library offers many, many instructional workout videos, and the only one giggling at your moves will be your kitty. Of course, if feeling awkward around strangers while working out is your only reason for missing out on these experiences, consider inviting a friend to join you for the evening. When my friends and I were in our Power Yoga phase awhile back, attending classes together was a surefire way to feel more comfortable in our surroundings. The most important part of figuring out a weight loss or fitness plan, though, is remembering that the number on the scale or the waistband of your jeans isn't the most important thing — it's your overall health that matters most. Women are often bombarded by the message that “thin is in”; the only goal worth striving toward is achieving that “perfect” size 4. But the fact is, we're not all built that way, and your “perfect” size may in fact be a 10 or a 14. So perhaps instead of thinking of any exercise or dietary changes you might make as strictly a matter of weight loss, you should think of it as the way to get to know a better, healthier you.
Second Supper
March 4, 2010 // 7
ADVICE — Voice Of Compassion
The Advice Goddess By Amy Alkon amy.alkon@secondsupper.com
Things that go plump in the night
I’m absolutely appalled by your response to “Fatty With A Dream,” the woman whose boyfriend hasn’t touched her in over a year because she gained 40 pounds. Contrary to what you wrote, it isn’t unrealistic to expect your boyfriend to be attracted to you after you’ve gained weight. Also, it was absolutely unnecessary to tell her that she has “put on the equivalent of a 5-yearold child” or that she has gone up “a tent size.” I think what needed to be said was this: “Dear FWAD, A woman’s sex appeal has more to do with her confidence than her waist size. A woman, no matter what her size, is infinitely more attractive if she truly loves herself and how she looks. If your boyfriend can’t appreciate you as you are, he’s not worth it. Many men find curves on a woman to be highly attractive and desirable. The more you love yourself, the more others will as well!
It sounds so higher consciousness to say inner beauty is what really matters, but in the real world, you don’t spot somebody at party and want to rip their clothes off because they look like the type to sweep an old lady’s walk or read to the blind. Because I give advice for the real world, I told this woman the truth: Male sexuality is highly visual, and male lust usually has a weight limit. At a certain point, “more of me to love” becomes “way too much of me to lust after.” Or, in the words of one of my blog commenters: “My sister once asked her husband, ‘Would you still love me if I weighed 400 pounds?’ He replied, ‘From a distance.’” Of course, it’s the height of political incorrectitude to advise a fat woman that she’d be more attractive if she lost weight, or even to call her fat. She’s just “differently weighted,” a “person of width!” And sure, those would be appropriate ways to refer to this woman if her fatness were a birth defect, or if she came down with conjunctive fatty-itis. But, like most people who are fat, she doesn’t have a thyroid condition or “metabolic issues”; she just neglected to close her mouth when her hands were full of Ho Hos. When a woman snacks herself up 40 pounds and her boyfriend’s refusing to touch her, about the last thing she needs to hear is “Confidence is sexy!” Trust me, her girlfriends are already reassuring her, “It’s
OK, you have a really pretty face” (while thinking that they’re having a little trouble finding her face in all that fat). It’s easier to say whatever makes somebody feel good in the moment, but that only prolongs their misery. It’s kinder to tell the truth, in stark terms — that the pot they see at the end of their rainbow is actually the kind that flushes. They can choose to change or accept the consequences, but at least they’re clear on the consequences; in this case, that keeping the weight probably means losing the boyfriend and having a really hard time landing another. Yes, there are many men who “find curves on a woman to be highly attractive and desirable,” but not a whole lot who feel the same way about folds.
Grime And punishment
My friends are slobs. They have huge, overflowing recycling piles, several-day-old plates of crusty food in various rooms, heaps of dirty laundry, random nails and screwdrivers across the floor from unfinished projects, and dirt and dead bugs behind small appliances in their kitchen. They also have a newborn baby. Aside from the mess, they’re excellent parents, but if Child Services ever showed up, I’m certain they’d take the kid. Should I say something? — Concerned Just because they’re slobs doesn’t mean they’ll let the kid crawl through a field of rusty nails (on his way to lick all the
My Reality?
outlets and get his little fist around Baby’s First Oxycodone). It is possible that their protective parent hard-wiring will fire up, and they’ll make their place more “shabby chic” than “recently ransacked.” In case they don’t, you and a few friends could offer your collective help to “babyproof” the home (“babyproof” being easier on the ego than “Why not just give the kid a nail gun to play with and be done with it?”) On the bright side, being too clean (I’m talking to you, Purell freaks) might negatively affect a child’s defenses against pathogens. According to behavioral ecologist Marlene Zuk, kids with pets, kids who go barefoot and kids living on farms get sick less and have a lower incidence of allergies and asthma. Unfortunately, researchers have yet to find evidence that snacking on wood glue or teething on a variety of Phillipshead screwdrivers bolsters the immune system. Got a problem? Write Amy Alkon, at AdviceAmy@aol.com or Second Supper, 614 Main St., La Crosse, WI 54601. (c) 2010, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved.
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8// March 4, 2010
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'Into the Woods' among season's best By Jonathan Majak jonathan.majak@secondsupper.com
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O
nce upon a Stephen Sondheim, UW-La Crosse staged a vibrant production of the gleefully twisty take on fairy tales that is Into the Woods. The show, which opened Feb. 26 and runs March 4-7 at the Toland Theatre at UW-L’s Center for the Arts, is a colorful musical filled with the famed characters of fairy tales of old told in new, fractured sort of ways. It’s the kind of musical where Cinderella can be ambivalent toward the advances of a slightly dubious Prince Charming, Little Red Ridinghood happily wields a knife, and where “Ever After” is only half of the story. Smartly directed by associate professor Walter Elder, the show is a cleverly imagined trip through a fairy tale world populated with royalty, witches, giants, and even a narrator. With the aid of sumptuous costumes and brilliantly put together sets and equally effectively light and sound design, the audience is easily transported into another world. With such great set and costume design, lesser actors/actresses could easily be overwhelmed and get lost in the shuffle of spectacle, but this cast more than rises to the occasions and meets the difficult task of making these fairy tale characters into fully realized people. Anchoring the production are Nick Bailey and Christine Walth, playing a baker and his wife who go off to the woods to collect a series of items to help cure a curse that has kept them from having children. Bailey and Walth work exceptionally well
6Q
At A Glance WHAT: Into the Woods WHERE: Toland Theatre, Center for the Arts, UW-La Crosse campus WHEN: 7:30 p.m. March 4-6; 2 p.m. March 7 FYI: Ticket prices: $14 adults; $12 seniors/non UW-L students; $5 UW-L students and have an easy chemistry that makes them characters you can root for even if they do less than good things. Their number “It Takes Two” in Act One is of particular note because it exemplifies how right the casting of these two was as their interaction makes the number, an ode to the couple's bond, a highlight. Along the way they meet a variety of characters. I will attempt — in quick, Sondheim-esque succession — to highlight a few: there is Cinderella played by Sarah Shervey, who successfully strikes the challenging balance of cutesy and gutsy; Jack of the Beanstalk fame played Zachary Keenan, who makes Jack more than a mere simpleton but an endearingly dim-witted fellow to root for; big bad wolf as played by Alex Brick, who sinks his teeth into both the humor and the horror of the beast; two Prince Charmings in the form of Justin Cooke and Colin Thelen, who expertly use their good looks and comedic timing to send-up conventions of the dashing prince trope from fairy tales; and the prince’s steward played
Andrew Kelly, who has a fantastically expressive comedic face and a restrained Nathan Lane quality to him. Kevin Fanshaw, who does double duty in the show as both the Narrator and the Mysterious Man who periodically pops into the action, has a great comedic gift, one that anybody that saw Fanshaw as Bob Cratchit in UW-L’s A Christmas Carol would know already. The lanky Fanshaw brings a goofy charm to his narrator role that helps lighten the show in its darker moments. Two actresses who are intricately a part of said darker moments are also shining examples of talent happening at UW-L. Elizabeth Metz as Little Red Ridinghood is a comedic star in the making, particularly in her number “I Know Things Now” as she adeptly hits all the right acting notes, detailing the confusion caused by her interactions with the ravenous wolf and finding the right line between her character’s childish gentleness and her more vicious aspects. If all of my effusive words still haven’t convinced you to go to this show, Lindsay Van Norman’s performance as the Witch is my last plea. Her performance alone is worth the price of the ticket as she tackles the difficult witch character first played by the Broadway diva Bernadette Peters. Van Norman, like Alex Brick, succeeds in not being buried under her fantastic costuming/makeup and making the Witch a complex, fully developed character. I’ve gone to a lot of productions this theatre season and I can confidently say Van Norman’s performance is easily in the top five. So there you have it: a great musical with intriguing performances. And they all lived, and sang, happily ever after.
Six Questions ... with Peter Bosgraff Musical director of Muse Theatre's production of "Spitfire Grill"
By Jonathan Majak jonathan.majak@secondsupper.com Starting this Friday, the Muse Theatre will stage the Wisconsin-set Spitfire Grill. The musical, based upon the film of the same name, details the various happenings in a Midwest town when a woman comes to it after being released from prison and tries to start a new life for herself. Second Supper recently spoke with Peter Bosgraaf, the production’s musical director and a vocal/music theatre teacher at Aquinas High School, to discuss the trials, tribulations and the occasional triumphs of the theatre life. Second Supper: Doing the music direction for a show, what tasks does that encompass? Peter Bosgraaf: Rehearsing with the cast all of the vocal music and also putting together the pit orchestra and rehearsing with them so that we can put singers and instrumentalist together with the greatest of ease! SS: What are some of the main differences between doing a show at the Muse and the
productions with your Aquinas students? PB: More rehearsal time and planning is needed when you work with high school students. At Aquinas I direct, music direct, set and costume design, and market the shows. At the Muse I can just be the music director and concentrate on that. SS: What was your first experience with theatre? PB: The first show that I was in was a high school production of Cole Porter's Anything Goes. But I had seen a number of shows with my grandmother when I was younger so theater has always been part of my life. SS: What are the best parts of the music direction job? And what are the things that can give you an ulcer? PB: The best part of being a music director is when the actors and the instruments come together to create the show you knew existed. It is a moment that no one forgets. The worst part of the job can be the long and tedious rehearsals and trying to find all of the instrumentation for the pit orchestra.
SS: Since you're a vocal teacher, you've probably heard a large spectrum from the good to the god-awful. What are some of your biggest pet peeves when it comes to vocal tics people have? PB: My biggest pet peeves are people who have a lazy work ethic and refuse to take direction or criticism. Other than that, I love all the varieties of voices that exist out there. And as long as singers want to better themselves, I am willing to put the time in to work with them! SS: Lastly, if you were in a theatre and death wasn't an option, which one of these proposed or in-production musicals would you sit through: a Mamma Mia style take on the music of the Spice Girls, Spiderman: The Musical, or the current West End production of Sister Act? And why PB: I would have to say Spiderman: The Musical. How bad can it be with music by Bono and the Edge and Julie Taymor directing? I hope that I don’t eat my words on that one!
"My biggest pet peeves are people who have a lazy work ethic and refuse to take direction or criticism."
Second Supper
March 4, 2010 // 9
ARTS paradox when the pimp and Trekkie end up fighting each other. Finally, SHATNER. Fanboys took ages to come out, but it was worth the wait. It’s worth even more to see that the original vision was left largely intact. Geeks win!
315 fifth avenue south • over the co-op www.pfc.coop
— Brett Emerson
The Screening Room
The Arts Review Bizarro Masterpiece Theatre Medium: Film ''Fanboys" (2009) Director: Kyle Newman Stars: Sam Huntington, Jay Baruchel, Kristen Bell Writers: Ernest Cline, Dan Pulick, Adam F. Goldberg This ode to the goodness and purity of Star Wars shines as a triumph of, well, fanboys over the typical Hollywood tendency to warp creativity into bland accessibility. Fanboys was originally meant to come out in 2007, but an attempt by the higher-ups to crap all over what makes this film unique knocked the release date back two years. In the time between, a new director was brought in, fans revolted, the new director made an ass of himself, and the end result wasn’t much different from the original cut anyway. Hooray for goddamn Hollywood. The plot of the original and final movie runs like this: a group of Star Wars fanatics go on a road trip to break into George Lucas’s Skywalker Ranch in the late '90s, with the goal of watching Episode One: The Phantom Menace before anybody else. While this has been a fantasy of these friends since childhood, the idea becomes more urgent because one of the guys has a terminal illness and won’t live to see the film in theaters. During the mission, the one guy who grew up and got a real job attempts to reconnect with his alienated, dying friend. All this creates urgency, sympathy and, most of all, a point to the film. This obviously won’t do. Where things go awry is when Steven Brill, the guy who directed Little Nicky, gets brought into the project. By all accounts, some reshoots take place, the dying friend subplot is entirely removed, and Fanboys becomes little more than a Star Wars themed version of Road Trip or American Pie. When the geeks find out about this flimflam, they go nuts. Then Brill makes things worse by going on e-mail tirades against fans of Kyle Newman’s version of the movie. The studio, looking to save face, screens both versions of the film and decides to go with the original version. Was that so hard? The end result is a delightful celebration of nerdery. The four friends are fully fleshed characters, each representing a distinct type of fanboy. Kristen Bell is wonderful as their badass fifth wheel, in essence serving as every geek’s fantasy girl. Seth Rogen briefly steals the show as both the leader of the antagonist Trekkies and a mustachioed pimp with a sweet Jar Jar/ Little Anakin back tattoo, and he causes
Medium: Film "Shutter Island" (2010) Director: Martin Scorsese Stars: Leonardo DiCario, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley Writers: Laeta Kalogridis, based on the novel by Dennis Lehane Shutter Island opens with a seasick Leonardo DiCaprio barfing in the john aboard a ferry en route to Shutter Island, where mystery awaits. Contrast DiCaprio — shaky, sweaty and pale — with fellow U.S. Marshal Mark Ruffalo — calm, erect and pristine — and you have in a nutshell not only each character's psyche, but also the film's love affair with introductory-level symbolism and metaphor (e.g., do you think an insane asylum on a remote island is just a cool setting for a psychological thriller, or does it represent something?). However rudimentary, the juxtaposition works, and we have in the first two minutes a complete profile of each protagonist. Such is the case with Shutter Island as a whole: getting the job done by way of elementary techniques. Martin Scorsese's adaptation of Dennis Lehane's novel arrives thoroughly soaked in a dark, threatening atmosphere that dwarfs in its shadow the film's more hackneyed plot elements. The movie builds just as much tension with its thundering, uneasy score and eerie set designs as with the series of nightmarish episodes that plunge high-strung DiCaprio and levelheadedRuffalo deeper into despair. They're summoned to Shutter Island to solve the disappearance of a patient who miraculously escaped from her locked cell. When their investigation branches out into a series of other mysteries, the only real challenge they face is discovering if there even is a mystery to begin with. In the process, the venomous island becomes as much a character as the cast of crazies (including Maxvon Sydow, Elias Koteas, Patricia Clarkson and Jackie Earle Haley, Hollywood's go-to guy for demented lunatic roles) that inhabit it. Because he plays to the environment's strengths, Scorsese builds a world in which virtually any thriller story could succeed. But a psychological thriller such as this will more likely than not be measured almost entirely by its solution, and Shutter Island slams the brakes on a two-hour-long buildup of tension with a denouement both aggravating yet oddly satisfactory. The well-executed final scene is something special on its own, not least of all a prime example of how to conclude a labyrinthine thriller and when exactly to cut to black. Standard, overblown thriller though it may be, Shutter Island succeeds because of its restraint, its atmosphere and its careful presentation of reality and truth. It's as simple or as complex as the viewer wants it to be. — Nick Cabreza
serving lunch & dinner every day weekend brunch Saturday & Sunday
10// March 4, 2010
Second Supper
MUSIC
Punch Brothers score knockout By Adam Bisssen
adam.bissen@secondsupper.com Heading into Tuesday night’s concert at the Viterbo Fine Arts Center, the Punch Brothers were billed as a bluegrass band like no other. And sure, their three-piece suits, chamber arrangements and bowed bass playing did set them apart from other contemporary picking groups. But it wasn’t until they blew out an amp covering the Strokes’ “Heart in a Cage” that the Punch Brothers went from string band supergroup to bluegrass supernova. Too bad we couldn’t handle all their power. It all started out so good, fantastic even, when the quintet strode on stage and busted into the night’s first number, the instrumental “Watch ‘at Breakdown.” Over Noam Pickelny’s banjo bounce and Paul Kowert’s somber bass, de facto frontman Chris Thile strummed his mandolin fast and slow, alternately swinging the song between bluegrass and classical. “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground,” a White Stripes song and the first of many covers, followed. While these ironic numbers may have been employed to hook an audience unfamiliar with the Punch Brothers’ catalog, they were actually some of the weakest renditions of the evening and made the band’s original songwriting look that much better. This was especially true after hearing “You Are,” a rather dirty (like sexual-dirty) bluegrass-pop song that will be the lead track on the forthcoming album, Antifogmatic. “Rye Whiskey” was another tune from that album, and when this blearyeyed drinking anthem drops in late May, it could be — among certain circles — the
song of the summer. About a third of the way through the concert, the Punch Brothers were eliciting plenty of “wows” from the audience, and after some particularly nimble group interplay, Thile would grin like a kindergartner with a popsicle. The third movement of his “Blind Leading the Blind” suite was literally awe-inspiring. After hearing the intricate piece at the center of the Punch Brothers’ debut album, seeing it live gave an extra testament to the band’s prowess and to Thile’s visionary songwriting. Things were going swimmingly. This was the best sit-down show I’d seen in La Crosse since I-don’t-know-when. And then the band thundered into the aforementioned Strokes cover, something popped, and the giant speakers at the side of the stage went out. We could still hear the music through the band’s monitors, an overhead speaker, and the acoustic instruments themselves, but the full effect just wasn’t there. It was like hearing a concert while underwater or popping an 8-track into a Trans-Am with blown speakers. Consummate pros, the band played on. They segued into some slower originals, the fourth movement of the “Blind” suite, and even a Stanley Brothers bluegrass classic, but the band couldn ’t regain the momentum they had earned so easily. Still, their standing ovation was well-earned. For an encore, the band returned with a dazzling cover of Radiohead’s “Kid A,” with the glitchy noodling uncannily recreated on strings. This was a musical highlight from a show that was crammed full of them — just not as rich as they could have been.
Hip-hop, done the Wright way By Adam Bisssen
adam.bissen@secondsupper.com Toki Wright is bigger than hip-hop. Yes, the Minneapolis-based MC has been rapping professionally for over a decade, released his debut album last year forRhymesayers Entertainment and is currently on his first headlining tour, but music is only a portion of his life. Wright is also a dedicated community activist, though he doesn't care for that label. He organized the nationally recognized YO! The Movement, planned the last seven Twin Cities Celebration of Hip-Hop Festivals and speaks at conferences across the country. On top of that, he runs the nation's first fully accredited Hip-Hop Studies program at theMcNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul and is a prolific poet. "In my full spectrum, I'm a human first. I'm an educator. I'm a teacher. ... I'm a community member," said Wright, who will perform Thursday, March 4, at the Warehouse. "I'm not always big on the 'activist' label. I think everyone is active in something, but I'm a member of my community and if I see
Toki Wright is in town tonight.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 12
Second Supper
March 4, 2010 // 11
MUSIC
music directory // March 5 to March 11 FRIDAY,
March 5
Minneapolis
JB'SSPEAKEASY // 717 Rose St. Sterus (rock!) • 10 p.m.
population
DEL MCCOURY BAND // March 18 Cedar Cultural Center • $40-$50
PEARL STREET BREWERY // 1401 St. Andrew St.
ALICE IN CHAINS //March 21 Roy Wilkins Auditorium • $38
Fayme Rochelle and the Waxwings (bluegrass) • 5 p.m.
POPCORN TAVERN // 308 S. Fourth St. The Hue (prog) • 10 p.m. STONEY CREEK INN // 3060 S. Kinney Coulee Road String Ties (bluegrass) • 7:30 p.m. THE JOINT // 324 Jay St. Joe and Vicki Price (blues) w/ Gregg 'Cheech' Hall and Nick 'The Feelin' Mronzinski (pop) • 10 p.m. THE ROOT NOTE // 114 4th St. S. Songwriters Showcase (open sign up) • 8:30 p.m.
VAMPIRE WEEKEND // March 22 First Avenue • $26.25 This Friday night, the Popcorn Tavern will be rocked with the new sound of Chicago: prog! The Hue will be making its La Crosse debut, and judging from the songs on the band's MySpace page, it could be a jaw-dropper. Fans of Umphrey's McGee will find plenty to love in the shifting time signatures and racing arpeggios. But the Hue has also received plenty of love from the Chicago jazz community, and the first four "influences" on their Web page are Yes, Phish, Wilco and Opeth. The Hue has only been together for three years, but it sounds like these guys could be going places. And wouldn't you like to tell your friends that you saw them way back when at the little ol' Popcorn?
March 7
Good Tymes (classic rock & roll) • 8 SUNDAY, p.m. PIGGY'S BLUES LOUNGE // 501 Front St. S. Mudcat and the Bottomfeeders DAN’S PLACE // 411 Third St. S. Chasing Tales (acoustic duo) • 8 p.m. (blues) • 8 p.m. POPCORN TAVERN // 308 S. Fourth St. POPCORN TAVERN // 308 S. Fourth St. Shoeless Revolution w/ My Dear Dis- Som’n Jazz (jazz) • 7 p.m. co (party!) • 10 p.m.
March 8
THE WAREHOUSE // 324 Pearl St. Joel Tock, Mechanical Kids, Cadence, Waking Grace, Rogue the Wolf (pop) • 6 p.m.
THE BODEGA // 122 4th St. MONDAY, Adam Palm and Joe Gantzer (acoustic) • 9 p.m. POPCORN TAVERN // 308 S. Fourth St. Shawn Wooden (open jam) • 10 p.m. THE JOINT // 324 Jay St. Dox Phonic (electric grass) • 10 p.m.
THE WATERFRONT TAVERN // 328 Front St. Greg Balfany's LaX Jazz4tet (jazz) • 8 p.m.
THE ROOT NOTE // 114 4th St. S. Nick Shattuck (CD release show), w/ Alex Toast • 8:30 p.m.
SATURDAY,
March 6
DEWEY'S SIDE STREET SALOON // 621 St. Paul St. Blackwater (soul) • 8 p.m JBS SPEAKEASY // 717 Rose St. Sterus (Paulie's return) • 10 p.m. MY SECOND HOME // 2104 George St.
387,970
GOD JOHNSON, THE HISTRONIC// March 13 Fine Line Music Cafe • $10
ONALASKA AMERICAN LEGION // 731 Sand Lake Road Texxas (country) • 7 p.m.
PIGGY'S BLUES LOUNGE // 501 Front St. S. Mudcat and the Bottomfeeders (blues) • 8 p.m.
just a roadie away
TUESDAY,
THE WAREHOUSE // 324 Pearl St. Ari Herstand, Readygoes (pop) • 7:30 p.m. THE WATERFRONT TAVERN // 328 Front St. Greg Balfany's LaX Jazz4tet (jazz) • 8 p.m. TREMPEALEAU HOTEL // 150 Main St. Jamin Barth (covers) • 7 p.m.
March 9
BONE THUGS N HARMONY // March 24 First Avenue • $20.75 MICHAEL BUBLE // March 28 Xcel Energy Center • $49.50-$89.50
FLIPSIDE PUB AND GRILL // 400 Lang Drive
Songwriters Corner (30+ artists) • 6 p.m.
THE MIRAGE // 4329 Mormon Coulee Road Dave Kerska (oldies) • 5:30 p.m. NIGHTHAWKS TAP // 401 S. Third St. Bad Axe Jam (open jam) • 10 p.m. POPCORN TAVERN // 308 S. Fourth St. Mitch’s (open jam) • 10 p.m. RECOVERY ROOM // 901 7th St. S. Dox Phonic (open jam) • 10 p.m.
THURSDAY,
March 11
POPCORN TAVERN // 308 S. Fourth St. Fayme Rochelle and the Waxwings (bluegrass jam) • 8 p.m.
DEL’S BAR // 229 Third St. Andy (from T.U.G.G.) •10 p.m.
THE JOINT // 324 Jay St. SOMA (open jam) • 9 p.m.
DEWEY'S SALOON // 621 St. Paul St. Randy's Corner (acoustic PA) • 5 p.m
THE ROOT NOTE // 114 Fourth St. S. Jazz jam • 8:30 p.m.
NIGHTHAWKS TAP // 401 S. Third St. Dave Orr's Damn Jam • 10 p.m.
WEDNESDAY,
March 10
DEL’S BAR // 229 Third St. EROCK (acoustic) • 10 p.m.
POPCORN TAVERN // 308 S. Fourth St. Rick Weeth (songwriter) • 10 p.m. THE ROOT NOTE // 114 4th St. S. Open Mic • 8 p.m.
12// March 4, 2010
Oh hi, right now I'm listening to my neighbor crank some Lady Gaga, which he has been doing multiple times a day for the past couple of months. Seriously, I'm about to take a bounty out on this guy's stereo. I miss the good old days when the only time I was aware of his presence across the hall was when he would yell at his TV like a giant d-bag during Vikings games. Now I'm being woken up to rah-rah-ah-ah-ah-ah romaroma-mamaa ga-ga-ooh-la-la while he is no doubt prancing around his apartment in his man panties. Whatever works for you, brah. As much as I'd love to write an entire column trying to understand this whole Lady Gaga fetish, when it comes down to it, that's not important right now. Instead I'm going to talk about a series of albums known as Ethiopiques, of which there are currently 23 volumes. These albums collect music from Ethiopia's vibrant music scene in the late '60s and early '70s. If the music on these albums doesn't put a smile on your face and a bounce in your step, then there is something wrong with you. Musicians in this series include Mahmoud Ahmed, Alemayehu Eshete, Asnaketch Worku, Tilahun Gessesse and my personal favorite, Mulatu Astatke, who was featured heavily on the soundtrack to the Jim Jarmusch film Broken Flowers that starred Bill Murray. Mulatu plays instrumental Ethio-jazz that reminds me of groove
Second Supper
MUSIC jazz organist Jimmy Smith (if that name doesn't ring a bell, just know the Beastie Boys sampled the pants off of him). As funky as the music on these discs is, the story behind Ethiopia's music scene is equally as interesting. Emperor Haile Selassie, the guy who is worshiped by Jamaican Rastafarians as their Jesus, imported brass instruments to his country for military band purposes. These instruments slowly began to filter their way down into the nightclubs, where they mixed with traditional Ethiopian music, as well as American soul and jazz influences that found their way to Africa. By the late '60s, the nightlife was hopping, which is what these Ethiopiques albums capture. Then along came the Communist military junta in 1974 that kicked Selassie out of power and thus began the 17-year Marxist dictatorship of Mengistu Haile Mariam that lasted until he fled to Zimbabwe as a war criminal in 1991. During his reign, there was a brutal ongoing civil war, the Red Terror of 1977, a whole ton of genocide and a severe famine during the '80s brought to our attention by the "We Are the World" single and those Sally Struthers' commercials with emaciated Ethiopian children who had flies landing on their eyeballs. Mengistu also put a curfew in effect that put a stop to the nightlife and effectively killed the Ethiopian music scene, which as the releases in this series indicate, was bangin. What a bummer. If only Mengistu would end the Lady Gaga private dance parties across the hall from me, too.
— Shuggypop Jackson
Medium: Performance Stimulus: Ari Herstand – Live At the Pause Anno: 2010 There’s a bit of unintentional humor amidst the filming of Ari Herstand’s concert video. While he played through the audience participation number “Float on By,” the many cameras on his payroll filmed the crowd singing along and rapt in attention. In a perfect moment of wrong angle and wrong timing, the camera over Herstand’s shoulder peered out into the crowd and filmed a woman strolling up the auditorium’s ramp and out of the room. Whether she was going out for a bathroom break, a cigarette or to run screaming into the night is anyone’s guess, but to leave in a shot of an audience member leaving is sort of a goof. Yet for the rest of this concert, the eyes — electronic and human — face the right direction. Live at the Pause was released as a CD/ DVD package, but as the show features Herstand playing solo and often heavily looped, it’s meant to be watched as well as listened to. Aside from a few low-fi shots from the crowd, the video really conveys all the intricacies of Herstand’s one-man songs in a way that gives a greater respect to his process and
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Answers below
talent. What comes through most in watching the show is how that process never gets in the way of the music. While the majority of the songs on the setlist are constructed of beatboxing, acoustic guitar, trumpet, piano and the occasional tambourine, Herstand never allows a song to feel like a mere series of loops. Instead, the samples cut in and out as he brings lyrics and additional unlooped instrumentation into the mix, creating progression in defiance of prejudice. The only time where looping might not have worked out to plan occurs on Herstand’s cover of “Wonderwall.” It runs largely to Herstand specs and is as interesting a cover of the Oasis song as one is likely to find, but there’s one chorus where the timing of his beatboxing sounds as though it ran slightly off the rails. In contrast to this minor glitch, “Wrinkled Skin” is Herstand in full power, leaping from instrument to instrument and creating a work of bouncing blues. This is the concert’s most full-bodied and triumphant performance, its greatest display of both process and musicianship. What becomes obvious through watching all this is how much control Ari Herstand has over his performance. Sampling and looping may get flak for being simplistic, but creating the samples live creates a new level of risk. Normally, if one blows a chord, it’s done with, but if one blows a loop, it comes back to haunt. That never happens during this concert. Ari Herstand has come to the level where his music is both exact art and science. If you’re curious about what all this sounds like, see him yourself. He’ll be playing at the Warehouse on Saturday, March 6, and his whole band will be there.
— Brett Emerson
Wright CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10
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something that isn't right I will speak on it and make whatever changes are necessary." Like many of his fellow Twin Cities (and Rhymesayers) artists, Wright eschews the greed, violence and misogyny found on many contemporary rap records. His latest release BlackMale, a digital EP found on the Rhymesayers Web site, is an interpretation of African-American manhood, released to coincide with Black History Month. It is available for free download or with an optional donation for a Haitian relief mission. "I'd say the music that I make is honest music," Wright said. "The honest me has concerns with my community. The honest me has concerns with hip-hop. And the honest me also likes to dance and enjoy myself and have fun with my friends." Thursday night's show is one of the final stops on the 10-date Black Belt Tour, Wright's first as a national headliner. For support, he brings fellow Minneapolis MCOmaur Bliss and Atlanta rapper Haziq Ali, as well as the Twin Cities' resident mixmaster, DJ Fundamentalist. Local rappers Enable Mind and Hyphon & Efftup will open the show, which starts at 7 p.m. They will all perform solo sets, although there may be a freestyle session at the end.
Second Supper
March 4, 2010 // 13
YOUR GUIDE TO CONSUMPTION
The Beer Review Murphy’s Draft Style Stout Murphy Brewery Ireland, Ltd. Cork, Ireland It is now the first week of March, and as a beer reviewer I feel it is my professional obligation to get you prepared for
St. Patrick’s Day. Seemingly it’s my beer can, this “Irish” Stout was an easy task — wear something Appearance: 10 supervised by Murphy Brewery Iregreen and drink something land, Ltd., brewed and canned by Irish — but in this era of global Aroma: 7 Scottish and Newcastle UK, Ltd., beer conglomerates, the devil and imported by Star Brands in is in the details. According to Taste: 7 White Plains, N.Y. That makes this corporate legend, James J. Murstout not very Irish at all, but come phy and his brothers founded Mouthfeel: 9 St. Patrick’s Day, you can sure their namesake brewery in 1854 drink a lot of it. at a former hospital in Cork, Drinkability: 10 The Murphy’s stout pours an Ireland. The creamy stout that opaque ink-black color with such a flowed out was a local treasure, beautiful tan, frothy and nitrogenliquid Blarney, and it stayed that ized head that I’d hang a poster of Total: 43 way for over a century while the it on my bedroom wall. The aroma more pedestrian Guinness was is rich with roasted malts, milk shipped to markets around the globe. chocolate, some sweet peat or peanut butBut in the 1980s, Heineken came calling, ter and hardly any hops. Lifting my pint, bought the brand and gave it the whole the creamy stout slides effortlessly across horizontal integration treatment, so it can the tongue and soaks into the taste buds now be found in 70 nations. According to like Nestlé Quik. It’s dry roasted with
some evocative coffee flavors, but even compared to Guinness — which is hardly hoppy at all — the Murphy’s Stout has no bitterness. The mouthfeel is perfect for this style of beer: rich and creamy. And while some people equate dark brews with a high alcohol content, the Murphy’s clocks in at 4 percent alcohol by volume, which is somewhere below Miller Lite. All of this makes Murphy’s Draft Style Stout the perfect beer for a long morning/afternoon/evening of St. Patrick’s Day reverie. Because by the time the celebrating is through — when you’re slumped somewhere in green beads, an embarrassing T-shirt and fingerless gloves — you probably won’t even care where your beer came from. — Adam Bissen
The Best Food & Drink Specials in Town LOCATION
MONDAY
TUESDAY
BODEGA BREW PUB 122 4th St. 782-0677
$2 BBQ Pork Sliders
2-Fers, Buy any regularly priced food item and get one of equal or lesser value for free
BROTHERS 306 Pearl St. 784-0522
$2.50 Blatz vs. Old Style pitchers
Wristband night
FEATURES W3923 State Highway 16 786-9000
Free beer 5:30-6:30; Free wings Taco buffet 11-2; 7:30-8:30, Free bowling after 9 $1 Pabst bottles and $1 bowling after 9
HOWIE’S 1125 La Crosse St. 784-7400
SUNDAY
WEDNESDAY
JB’S SPEAKEASY 717 Rose St. 796-1161
$1.75 domestic bottles
SCHMIDTY’S 3119 State Road 788-5110
$6.95 lunch buffet BBQ sandwich $9.95 breakfast buffet 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
SIN Night
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
Fish Tacos: 1 / $2.50, 2 / $5.00, 3 / $6.50. 10-cent wings 9 p.m.-close, $1 $5 domestic taps, wells and 4-9 p.m.: $3 domestic pitchers, $3 Bacardi mixers, Miller High Life bottles, $1.50 Long Islands. $1 shots with $3 micro and import taps, $3 $3.50 Bacardi Hurricanes rail mixers; new - $2.50 call wristband anything that pours drinks All you care to eat pizza buffet, All you care to eat fish fry 4-10; Prime rib dinner 4-10; 11-2 unlimited Glow-N-Bowl $9.99 unlimited Glow-N-Bowl $9.99
Happy hour 4 to 9 p.m.; 9 p.m. 9 p.m. to close: $3.50 domestic 9 p.m. to close: $1 rails, $2.50 $5 all you can drink to close: Night Before Class - $3 pitchers pitchers, beer pong pitchers of the beast
IMPULSE 214 Main St. 782-6010
THURSDAY
9 p.m. to close: $1.25 rails, $1.75 bottles/cans
9 p.m. to close: $2 Captain mixers, $2 bottles/cans, $3 Jager bombs
Karaoke 9 p.m.-Close
Wine & martini night
18+ night (1st and 3rd Thursday of each month)
$25 open bar (incl. martinis, calls/rails, imports/domestic) 9-Close
$1.75 domestic bottles
Happy Hour 5 to 7 p.m.
Happy Hour 5 to 7 p.m.
Happy Hour 5 to 7 p.m.
Tacos
Chili dogs
Tacos
Fish sandwich
9 p.m. to close: $2 Bacardi mixers, $2 domestic pints, $1.50 shots blackberry brandy
Happy Hour 5 to 7 p.m.
SLOOPY'S ALMA MATER 163 Copeland Ave. 785-0245
$2 can beer (2-6 p.m.) $11 buckets of beers (6-close)
$2 can beer (2-6 p.m.) 12" pizza: $8.99 up to 5 toppings (4-close)
Wings, Wings, Wings... $2 off Ladies night, 2 for 1 drinks Friday Fish, $2 can beer (2-6) 14: pizza, $2 can beer (2-6 p.m.) (6-close), $2 can beer (2-6 p.m.)
2 for 1 pints/pitches w/ student ID over 21
SPORTS NUT 801 Rose St. 784-1811
Buck Burgers
Tacos $1.25
15-cent wings
$8.99 12-ounce T-bone
15-cent wings
$1.50 taps 6 to 8 p.m.
All Mojitos $5
THE CAVALIER LOUNGE 114 5th Ave. N. 782-2111 THE LIBRARY 123 3rd St. 784-8020
Sunday Fun Day - Wristband Night
TOP SHOTS 137 4th St. 782-6622
$5 Pitchers/$2 bottles of Miller $1.75 Miller/Bud Light Taps, $1.75 Rails, $1.50 Domestic $2 domestic bottles, $2.50 products (11-4pm) $2.25 MIcro/Craft Taps, $2.50 Taps, $3.50 Jager Bombs Skyy/Absolut mixers, $2 Dr. $2 Corona Bottles, $2 Kilo Kai Cherry Bombs (7-1AM) (7-1AM) shots (7-1am) Mixers , $3 Bloodys (7-1AM)
5 Domestic Bottles for $10, $5 $2 Captain Mixers, $2. Long $5 Miller/Bud Light Pitchers, Micro/Import Bottles $11.50, Island Mixers, $3 Effen Vodka $2.25 Leinies Bottles (7-1AM) $7 Micro/Craft Pitchers (7-1AM) Mixers (7-1AM)
TRAIN STATION BBQ 601 St. Andrew St. 781-0005
Ask for great eats
11 a.m. to 3 p.m., extra side with Special varies sandwich; 4 to 9 p.m., $1 off rib dinner
11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Barn burner 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Chicken on One-half chicken three bones $7.95; 4 to 9 p.m., Hobo dinner fire $7.95; 4 to 9 p.m., Bones $12.95 (serves two) $30.95 and briskets $13.95
WHO'S ON THIRD 126 3rd St. N. 782-9467
Happy Hour until 10 p.m. $1 taps of PBR, $1 rails $1.50 domestic taps, $2 rails from 10 to close
Wristband night, includes rails and domestic taps, 8 p.m.-1 a.m. $3 call doubles, $2 Bud products
Half price tequilla, $1 domestic Karaoke, $2 double rails & all Beer Pong Tourney and taps and rails bottles wristband night
$3 Bacardi mixers, $3.50 Bacardi $3 Jumbo Long Island Iced Hurricanes Teas, $3 3 Olives mixers
Ladies' Night: $2 top shelf, $1 $8.50 Fish Bowls, $2 Miller $1 off Three Olives, $2 domestic Pink Tacos products taps Everyone: $2.50 bombs, $2 taps, $3 Jack/Captain doubles
Editor's Note: For information about advertising your food and drink specials, call Second Supper at (608) 782-7001 or e-mail us at advertising@secondsupper.com..
14// March 4, 2010
Maze Efflux
Second Supper
DIVERSIONS 'The future is now' And they got it wrong
By Erich Boldt By Matt Jones
The Gamer Game: New Super Mario Bros. System: Nintendo Wii Price: Mario is perhaps the number one name in gaming. With the release of Super Mario Bros. in 1985, Nintendo transformed gaming and video games as we know it. So it only seems right to kick off the Second Supper’s brand new video game column with a review of New Super Mario Bros. Wii. New Super Mario Bros. Wii is an excellent throwback to the Mario games of yesteryear and is just as much fun to play as the original. The side-scrolling graphics are what you would expect out of a Mario game. The colors are bright and vivid with imaginative backgrounds, levels and baddies. While the Mario games have always been very cartoonlike, this game does not feel childish. Graphics certainly are not New Super Mario Bros. Wii’s magic mushroom, but the game more than makes up for its graphic shortcomings in playability and enjoyment.
The controls are similar to the Mario games of old; however, they have been vastly updated for the Wii and are easy to learn and master. Anyone can pick up the controller and play with ease. The difficulty varies from level to level, much like the older Mario games, but with an infinite number of continues and plenty of green 1-Up mushrooms hidden throughout the game, even your parents will have fun playing — even if they die a few times. Even with the myriad 1-Ups the game is still a challenge to get through, so even the most hardcore gamers will be able appreciate their new, old friend. They story has the same basic premise as its predecessors, meaning that the Princess is always in another castle. All of your favorite characters are back: Yoshi, Luigi, Toad, Koopa and Mario. There are also new power-ups to help up your game. The creators have added a penguin suit as well as a propeller mushroom that allows you to soar to new heights. Another new feature is the multiplayer mode. New Super Mario Bros. Wii allows up to four players to play at the same time. It adds an extremely fun element because you can pick each other up, throw each other around, steal items and work together to finish levels. New Super Mario Bros. Wii is an excellent addition to the Wii’s large library of family friendly games. You would be wise to get your hands on a copy, grab a friend and save the princess. … Right after you finish reading this paper.
— Nate Willer
ACROSS 1 What writer Malcolm Peltu predicted could "cross a busy highway without being hit" by 2010 6 Heavy falling sound 10 Green living prefix 13 Verdugo of "Marcus Welby, M.D." 14 Bar mitzvah dance 15 Fetal position? 17 Guilty pleasures 18 Phil of poker 19 Daredevil Knievel 20 Acronym used a lot by Rachael Ray 21 Malaria-carrying fly 23 Peyton Manning's brother 24 2016 Olympics site 25 With "The," country that's already a U.S. state by 2010, in the 1968 novel "Stand on Zanzibar"
27 Panama currency named for an explorer 29 Impressionist painter Mary 30 Classical architecture style 32 Chips to play 33 Manned space mission that gets carried out in the 1984 movie "2010" 39 Actress Turner 40 "I won't ___ guy who doesn't own a toolbox" (Kristy Swanson quote) 41 Electronic device 45 Villain's evil laugh 49 Online world where people live and pay taxes in 2010, according to Tom Clancy's "Net Force" series 51 On the ___ (fleeing) 52 Silent ___ (presidential nickname)
Answers to Feb. 25 puzzle "It's a tough job — but you totally get used to it"
53 Visually finds 54 Sitcom with a famous Turkey Drop episode 55 Director Reitman 57 "___ be easy" 58 Ex-UN SecretaryGeneral Boutros Boutros-___ 59 Drowsy 60 Fox comedy with Jane Lynch 61 Sedan named for an Italian city 62 Badminton divider 63 The "Big Board," on Wall Street 64 Its cause is what rocket scientist Robert Truax predicted would be found and corrected by 2010 DOWN 1 Studio feedback 2 Singer Newton-John 3 "Just chill, OK?" 4 "___'Clock Jump" (Count Basie song) 5 Prof's helpers 6 Aptly-titled 2009 Michael Jackson documentary 7 Run-down abode 8 Pertaining to pee 9 Place for a manicure and seaweed wrap 10 Lamb's mom 11 Written agreement 12 Brunch dish
16 Sore from walking 21 Ex-UN SecretaryGeneral U ___ 22 They're shorter than LPs 25 Eeyore's pal 26 Biblical prophet 28 Clumsy oaf 31 Fish and chips fish 33 Limp 34 Winston Churchill's niece (and no, she never went door-to-door) 35 On fire 36 Curtis of "A Fish Called Wanda" 37 Spy planes of the '60s 38 Euro follower? 42 Three in Torino 43 Naval officer 44 In a wholly absorbed way 46 Blue litmus indicator 47 "Spider Kiss" author Ellison 48 Energizing, with "up" 50 Mah-jongg pieces 54 Old party 56 Crossword editor Will Shortz's paper, for short 58 Chris Cuomo's former show, for short For answers, call (900) 226-2800, 99 cents per minute. Or to bill to a credit card, call (800) 655-6548. Reference puzzle #0457.
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Second Supper
March 4, 2010 // 15
THE LAST WORD
Tea Bagged By Jonathan Majak jonathan.majak@secondsupper.com "Of all the silly nonsense, this is the stupidest tea party I've ever been to in all my life. " — Alice, Alice in Wonderland Many moons ago, before the tea partiers were gathering in Nashville for a national convention, before Scott Brown surprised a lot of Washington insiders with his handy defeat of Martha Coakley, before Levi Johnston was baring his Alaska hockey pucks in Playgirl, I found myself, not unlike Alice, going through the looking glass to this other world known as the tea party movement. If we're being perfectly honest, and why shouldn't you and I be since we are obviously so close as writer and reader, freelance reporting is like the prostitution of journalism. No, seriously, it is. As a freelance writer I'm always out on the metaphorical stroll, trying to get the next story, trying to pick up another newspaper. It's like Pretty Woman except with memo notepads.
And like a hooker, you have to be somewhat discerning of what you get involved with. A few stories were bandied about for me to try as my first assignment: cover the speedway (Too Days of Thunder), cover a local gun show (too Michael Moore) or attend a tea party (just right). So there I was, on a very pleasant Labor Day weekend with my little leather messenger bag in hand, searching for this tea party amongst the other people lounging about under the warm sun. I surmised I was in the right place when I saw a large Black Hummer with a pink "Don't Blame Me, I Voted for McCain" across the back. A young man in his probably late 20s was working the propaganda T-shirt/chicken-cue station, discussing the art, the Zen if you will, of putting together a table for the event. "Originally when I was putting everything together this shirt here," he said, holding up a T-shirt, "was in the center. But then I decided to rethink that because I didn't want to anchor the table with a Gerald Ford quote." While lingering around, waiting for people to show up for this tea party, an older gentleman in a wheelchair and oxygen mask came rolling toward me. As "Pomp and Circumstance" inexplicably played in the background, he asked me about myself in a friendly yet accusatory fashion that I would soon learn was the modus operandi of the tea party. "So where are you from?" "Here."
His eyes narrowed more than just a bit. "Originally?" "Yes." "How old are you?" "26." A long pause while looking me up and down. "I thought I knew everybody. I remember when there was only one colored in this town." He said it in such a casual manner, like the way I used to say, "I remember when we didn't have an Old Navy," that all I could respond with was a slightly brusque, "And there it is" before his wife wheeled him away. At a neighboring table there was a girl, most likely in her late teens, selling T-shirts with her parents. Through her pronounced braces, she gleefully detailed the various "Americans Fed-up" products that one could purchase, including drink cozies and bumperstickers and T-shirts with such pithy phrases as, "Democrats only believe in the second amendment for people with criminal records, everyone else is screwed!!!" The black "Americans Fed-Up" baseball caps, she noted, had sold out but they had plenty in a popular camouflage style. "How adorable!" squealed a woman as she picked up a button. She wore a shirt that said, "Christian, American, Heteroseuxal, Conservative, Any Questions?" One has to wonder how the American Revolution had gone if both sides had had message T-shirts at their disposal. Before the singing of the National Anthem, there had been what I could only
describe as an audio version of Behind the Music as they played a dramatic reading of how Francis Scott Key came to write the tune of great patriotism. After the tape, a young blond woman in a red shirt and a jean skirt came up and did a proficient rendition of the anthem. She was then followed by a short, Danny Devito-esque man who apparently was the host of an Internet radio program called Halls of Valhalla, which is sort of entertaining on multiple levels. It seemed so on-thenose appropriate that soldiers in the culture war would have their campfire chats of sorts to a program named after Norse mythology of a place where people go when they died in combat. As he told the enthusiastic crowd, the event was being broadcast that very moment on his Internet show, proving that even though the revolution may not be televised, it will at the very least be live-streamed. And there I stood, seated at the Mad Hatter's tea party as the discussion was centered on what happened in the Soviet Union — think Yakov Smirnoff but not funny, which I suppose isn’t all that different than regular Yakov Smirnoff — with their health care, and people drifted about with their plates of chicken and green beans and their Rush Limbaugh "Ditto Heads" T-shirts. On the sunny day, I would’ve never imagined the movement gaining as much ground as it has, but that is the magic of politics. It’s always shifting, always changing, and unlike the gathering I attended, it’s never a picnic.
Downtown La Crosse, above Fayzes - 782-6622
top shots joke of the week How do you hide money from a hippie? Check out our new Beers on Tap!
Put it under the soap. Good People, Good Drinks, Good Times
SUNDAY
$2.00 - 1 Player, $3.00 - 2 Players 50 Cents Off Drinks, $1 Off Pitchers
MONDAY TUESDAY $1.75 Rails
$1.75 - Miller/Bud Taps $5 Pitchers $2 Bottles of Miller Products (11-4 pm) $2.25 Micro/Craft Taps $2.50 Cherry Bombs $2 Corona Bottles (7-1am) $2 Kilo Kai Mixers $3 Bloody’s (7-1am)
$1.50 Domestic Taps $3.50 Jager Bombs (7-1am)
Saturday
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 $2.25 Leinies Bottles (7-1am)
$2 Captain Mixers $2 Long Islands $3 Effen Vodka Mixers (7-1am)
16// March 4, 2010
Second Supper