Perfect Indoor Concert Venue: Red Herring Lounge
When it comes to picking the best indoor concert venue, there are a lot of things to consider — seating, acoustics, general vibe, etc. There might be plenty of room for argument on just about any criteria, but in one facet Duluth has a clear winner. It would be tough to dispute that any local concert hall, club or coffee house has consistently brought more high-caliber talent to its stage in the past two years than the Red Herring Lounge. Among the top four in PDD’s poll, the Herring pulled out a clean win with 35 percent of the vote. (more…)
The Alan Sparhawk Project
Ten year’s ago, Duluth musician Alan Sparhawk had his name dropped in this little comic (specifically panel three):
Questionable Content is an internet comic strip by Jeph Jacques of Halifax, Nova Scotia. It started in August 2003 and is still in production. The publish date of the comic above is not known, but it was first posted to PDD on Feb. 9, 2006.
Job openings at Hartley Nature Preschool
Are you looking for a job teaching young children outdoors in all seasons? Hartley Nature Preschool, a program of Hartley Nature Center, is expanding and hiring lead and assistant preschool teachers for full- and half-day preschool classes. A background in early childhood education and/or environmental education is preferred. Applications are due March 15. More information at hartleynaturepreschool.weebly.com/employment.
This Week: chocolate, rockets, orgasms, Buckwheat and more
Here’s a bit of what you’ll find on this week’s PDD Calendar:
Sample some chocolate from local chefs at Arc Northland’s Chocolate After Dark fundraiser, the Zinema is showing The Magic Flute live from Austria, folks can make bowls for the Empty Bowl fundraiser at the Duluth Art Institute, the Head of the Lakes Spring Job and Internship Fair is at UWS, there’s an adult Valentine-making party at Studio 15, Burrito Union is doing Rock and Roll Bingo and Renegade Theater Company opens The Rocket Man at Teatro Zuccone.
Music legend Buckwheat Zydeco performs at the Red Herring, the Minnesota Ballet holds its 10th annual Celebrity Dance Challenge, UMD is the place to learn about the female orgasm, Superior Public Library loves local artists, Dubh Linn is pairing Valentine’s Day with dinner and comedy and the latest Zenith City Cabaret show is at the Zeitgeist.
PDD Quiz: Are you ready for some football?
[This post originally contained an embedded quiz created on the platform Qzzr. It is no longer available at its source.]
Since next week is Valentine’s Day, our theme will be “Love, Duluthian Style,” whatever that means to you. Send your suggested quiz questions (and answers) to lawrence @ perfectduluthday.com by noon on Wednesday, Feb. 10.
Moving North
I left a good life in the City.
My husband and I had established careers and moved our young family out of our Minneapolis duplex and into our forever house in a first-ring suburb. An Atomic rambler with thick plaster walls, on a corner lot in an award-winning school district, it was lovely. Add in large, southern-exposed windows, a fireplace and a finished basement large enough to raise Shetland ponies, well, it was the “Beige Rambler of my Dreams.” Jason and I planned to watch our children grow up in their award-winning school district, as we grew old in the safety of one-floor living.
And though my husband had truly wanted this house and all its middle-class trappings, our suburban lifestyle had Jason on the verge of a boredom aneurysm.
That’s when a Duluth headhunter found him; a vulnerable adult constricted by a place where lawn maintenance was competitive sport. Given we lived on the boulevard (a term invoked with a disturbing reverence) there was pressure to perform to Olympic levels with chemical sprays, lawn services and street-long coordinated Christmas light displays. In contrast, curb appeal in the Northland is scarcely an intramural. (more…)
Selective Focus: Clean
Sharon Mollerus , “Crown Fountain, Chicago”
Clean is a construct; an aspiration more than an actuality, demanding as much scrutiny as that which we deem dirty. Each term requires criticality, and attempting to understand the world from broader contexts. Likewise, while we could use more rituals like the Roman’s annual Februa purification festival (from which I drew our theme) we could well abandon their plutocratic, militaristic ways. (more…)
John Mark Nelson & Kara Laudon – “That’s What You Do”
John Mark Nelson and Kara Laudon perform “That’s What You Do” for a Lutsen Mountains Gondola Session during the Gndwire Records’ Ski Party last weekend. Video by Brian Wegner.
Two Harbors: “Everything is so interesting.”
It looks like the postmark on this card to Emily Jackson of Albert Lea might be from the year 1909. The day is clearly July 26. (more…)
God Bless Young Love
[This post originally contained an embedded video that is no longer available at its source.]
Strange-but-cute little video by Shawn Donovan.
Blacklist brewery expanding to downtown Duluth
Jon Loss, Brian Schanzenbach and TJ Estabrook, the partners behind Blacklist Artisan Ales
One of the smaller Twin Ports breweries, Blacklist Artisan Ales, is earning big media attention this week after its announced expansion into the building that previously housed the infamous Last Place on Earth head shop. (more…)
Kraig James – “Teardrops and Elephants”
Kraig James & the Campfire Stars are releasing a new song each month in 2016 for a project called Campfire Americana: Volume 1.
Poll: What is the Duluth area’s best indoor concert venue?
Last summer a PDD poll determined Bayfront Festival Park is the region’s best outdoor concert venue. Now, in the dead of winter, it’s time to determine the best indoor concert venue. From large arenas to tiny little barrooms and coffee joints — what is the best place for live music in the Twin Ports?
This poll is now closed. The results were:
Red Herring Lounge – 35 percent
Sacred Heart Music Center – 26 percent
Clyde Iron Works – 21 percent
R.T. Quinlan’s – 18 percent
A visit with Gaelynn Lea
While meeting Gaelynn Lea I was challenged in many ways. For two weeks now I’ve been trying to wrap my mind around it! She is an amazing musician, and a remarkable human being. My piece here barely scratches a tremendously fascinating surface, but trundle on over to Ed’s Big Adventure to learn more of her story, struggles, and music. This is the story of a great big soul in a tiny package. She isn’t trapped or helpless, either, but is a tremendously enriching member within our community. A model for all, frankly.
This Week: The Bad Plus, Cloud Cult, Hippo Campus and other things that aren’t bands
Here’s a bit of what you’ll find on this week’s PDD Calendar:
There’s a community forum on racism at the Superior Public Library, newbies to clay can make bowls for Empty Bowl 2016, Harbor City International School becomes a German village, the DAI is teaching the fundamentals of watercolor, folks can make their own wine goblets at Lake Superior Art Glass and Twin Cities-spawned jazz masters The Bad Plus land at the Red Herring.
The Duluth Transportation Center has its grand opening, Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well opens at Marshall Performing Arts Center, Minnesota buzz band Hippo Campus plays Clyde Iron, Cloud Cult travels to Papa Charlie’s for a gig, it’s Hockey Day in Minnesota and local band Space Carpet hooks up with the DSSO for some Amore! at the DECC
The Cellar Door – “Save Me”
The Cellar Door is a band based in Grand Forks, but it has a couple Duluth members. The group released this video last fall, shot in the old railroad tunnel at Ely’s Peak in Duluth.
As far as the knowledge base at PDD’s World Headquarters can figure, the first music video at Ely’s Peak was Sarah Krueger’s “Grace” for the North Shore Sessions. And then it seems like there might be another one we can’t remember.
PDD Quiz: January 2016
[This post originally contained an embedded quiz created on the platform Qzzr. It is no longer available at its source.]
Since next week is the Super Bowl, our theme will be football in Duluth, so expect some Duluth Eskimo trivia.
Louie Anderson KDLH Interview from 1996
The subject of The Louie Show, Louie Anderson’s 1996 TV situation comedy set in Duluth, was covered fairly in-depth on PDD two years ago, but we mark the 20th anniversary of the airing of the first episode with a few updates. Particularly, there’s the discovery of the Louie Anderson interview above, conducted by KDLH-TV’s Joe Thornton, which aired during the 10 p.m. newscast following episode #2. (more…)
Spirit Mountain Winter Downhill Fatbiking
Last weekend Spirit Mountain became (as far as we know) the first ski resort in North America to offer lift access fat-tire biking. Break out the fatbikes this Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and come ride with us!
Video by Max Fierek.
Mon Historie d’Amour avec Mon Estomac (My Romance with My Stomach)
I’m a Minnesotan in Paris. And I’m alone.
It’s not romantic. Paris with the one you love is romantic. Paris while you navigate the rain, the metro transit system, and a creative-writing residency class-load and its homework, is challenging and more than a little lonely. I’m one of the new kids here, and while I’ve made friends, it’s hard to step up to a circle and demand to know what we’re all doing tonight. I’m not built that way. I’m built for books and Netflix. I’m built for empty movie theaters and empty seats next to me on planes. I’m built for my wife. She is my co-conspirator and without her every experience feels drenched in a demi-glace of melancholy that mingles with the January mist and chills my bones.
JESUS. Chill out, Bennett. Someone’s been spending too much time talking imagery and not enough time eating.
And, since I’m in Paris, eating is a must. So I’m taking my stomach on a date. Instead of flowers, I will buy my stomach flour. We will take a long walk in the rain to a restaurant void of tourists, and the wine will flow. And, after a date like this, my stomach will totally put out.
Okay, I may have extended that metaphor too far. But, you know, that’s why I’m in school. To learn how to not make it sound like I expect my stomach to have sex with me. (more…)
Video Archive: President Coolidge visits Hibbing in 1928
This film footage from 1928 shows U.S. President Calvin Coolidge arriving in Hibbing on the Duluth, Missabe, and Northern Railroad to view mining operations and see the highly acclaimed Hibbing High School. Modern-day aerial footage of the school concludes the video.
Bent Paddle Double Black 750s will hit liquor stores soon
Bent Paddle Brewing announced Wednesday its Barrel-Aged Double Shot Double Black Ale will be released in 750-milliliter bottles “in a couple weeks.” The beer is a stronger version of the brewery’s Cold Press Black Ale, “aged in bourbon oak for nearly 15 months … with a ‘double shot’ of cold-press coffee and whole-bean Madagascar vanilla.”
Selective Focus: Portrait
Aaron Reichow, untitled
I thought this week’s theme would be simple, though it did raise some discussion as to what exactly constitutes a portrait. My belief is that a portrait is anything which somehow conveys a being or beings- even non-sentient ones; though sentience itself is a contestable construct (doesn’t our region’s Spirit Tree seem capable of feeling, and perception?). I will leave any thoughts more esoteric than that to you, and the comments section below. (more…)