I had a chance to check out the new Whitewater Music Hall on Saturday night and it was very impressive. Sisters Leslie Patterson and Kelly Ballard have put together a very interesting set-up that is a nice addition to a burgeoning downtown music scene. They have re-purposed the old Masonic Lodge Building on River Drive across from the mall. You've driven by it many times but I'll bet you've never been inside. I believe it was built sometime in the 1970's when the Lodge was a very busy place. They couldnt support such a large building after their numbers dwindled and it closed and sat empty for quite awhile. The sisters have renovated the upstairs portion of the building into a bar/coffee area with new floor to ceiling windows that give quite a view of Rib Mountain. Tables ,chairs and couches give you various areas to sit and relax with your favorite craft brew, wine or Ruby Coffee Roasters. The halls are festooned with cool artwork from local artists which leads to the music room. It's the old Masonic ceremonial hall which still holds murals and trimwork of that time. Theater seating along the sides of the room and tables in the center with plenty of open area for dancing if you are so inclined. The High 48's, a great bluegrass band from Minneapolis headlined Saturday night to an appreciative crowd that appeared to be a nice cross section of the local population. One nice difference for this old man was the fact that the music started earlier than most places! Even on a Saturday night I appreciated that. There is no food service but they hope to have a permanant food truck set up outside at some point. You can bring food in to enjoy with your favorite beverage. While the initial musical offering are tending toward bluegrass/Americana (I'm on board with that) they do plan to expand the musical palette in the future. The downtown live music scene has livened up in the past few years with Malarkeys, Dalys, Limericks and Intermission all booking bands or solo acts on a regular basis, not to mention, of course all of the offerings on the 400 block and the annual Bull Falls Blues Fest on Fern Island, It's all great giving local music fans lots of choices. I hope thay all make it and it's up to you to make sure that happens. Get out and enjoy some live music when you get a chance. It's good for your soul.
Did you see that the Prince estate has released an interesting album of tunes that the Purple One wrote for other people. His versions make for some cool listening if you are familiar with the originals.
Trivia Question- Earlier this season the Arizona Diamondbacks hit eight homers in a game vs Philly including the first three hitters in the top of the first inning. Believe it or not that had only happened one other time in baseball history and it was the Brewers that did it back in 2007. Can you name the three Brewer hitters that did it? Answer at the bottom of this blog.
Speaking of home runs…Jayson Stark looks at the home run madness going on in MLB right now. Is it a cause for concern? Can there be too many home runs? There were more home runs hit in Apri (1010) than any April in history. There were more home runs in May (1135) than any calender month in history. At this rate we will see 6,591 home runs this season which would be the most in MLB history and 1000 more than last year! No team has ever hit more than 267 homers in a season. The Twins, Mariners and Brewers are all on pace to break that record with three other teams (Yankees, Astros and Cubs) not far behind. 13 different teams are on pace to break their all-time fanchise record plus four others are close. As Stark notes “it wouldnt be shocking if more than half the teams in baseball hit more home runs this season than they've ever hit”. Is too many homers as concerning as too many strikeouts? (which are also way up) Is it cheapening the meaning of what is a home run hitter or, like the PED era, do we just lap up all the long balls like so much catnip? You can bet that the honchos of MLB are pondering that question.
Perseverance Alert….Wilkin Castillio, who caught for the Marlins over the weekend, last played in the majors 10 years ago. June 20, 2009.
Former Badger star Ethan Happ will play for the Chicago Bulls Summer League team in Vegas. He went undrafted last week. Questions about his shooting are the problem. Can he score at the next level like he did at Wisconsin?
Legion baseball tonight…weather permitting….DC Everest at Wausau (7pm at Athletic Park), Wisconsin Rapids at Plover, Antigo at Merrill,
Quotes of The Day
“Corporations need to stop freeloading off government handouts all while evading billions in taxes. It's shrinking the middle class and actively killing the American Dream.”-David Hogg
“We run a system of concentration camps for children. No longer in question. The question on America's table is what are we going to do about it?”-Ricardo de Anda
“If these children were prisoners of war, our treatment towards them would violate several standards of international Humanitarian law.”-Matt Fuller
“You come home from work or the store or whatever. See a cage in your neighbors yard. 3 kids in it. Toddlers. Crying. Terrified. Screaming for help. One not moving. Dying. What do you do? You do what's right. You help them.So why are we not helping the kids at the border? Why?-Bryce Tache
“Do all lives still matter? Asking for a kid in a cage”-Taj Smith
“The corporate wing of the party thinks we are an “existential threat” because we want to: Make health care a right….break up big banks….save the planet…make college tuition-free….end endless wars…make the wealthy pay their fair share. If that makes us a “threat”, so be it.”-Bernie Sanders
“Imagine your husband trying to murder you. Then you turn in his firearms to police while he's in jail because youre fearful for your life, and the police arrest you for stealing his guns”-Sarah Rogers
“Textbook Trump: Generate crisis…Heighten conflict…Back off at last minute…Take credit on Twitter…Repeat. Only this time his antics could lead to war, thousands of lives lost, and billions of dollars down the drain” -Robert Reich on possible Iran attack
“I predict that President Obama will at some point attack Iran to save face.”….”Now that Obama's numbers are in a tailspin-watch for him to launch a strike in Libya or Iran. He is desperate”….”In order to get re-elected Barack Obama will start a war with Iran”.-all Tweets from Donald Trump
Songs of The Day
(I have probably heard the song Thunder Road 200 times in my life. But outside of the original, I don't think I have ever heard a better version than this.)
Here's one that I hadnt heard for awhile but played it alot on WWSP 90fm back in the day. Irish guitarist Rory Gallagher rips it up on a song called Moonchild from his LP “Calling Card” in 1976.
Trivia answer- Rickie Weeks, JJ Hardy and Prince Fielder
