Rockfest Birthday 2016

Last year was my first experience with the four-day Rock Fest outdoor concert experience in Cadott, WI. I went a couple of days, and had some fun. This year, with my busy schedule, I could only fit one day into my plans, so I decided to attend yesterday. Besides, Alice in Chains was playing on my birthday-how could I pass that up?

After a nice birthday meal with the folks, I got to the venue after 4 pm, just in time to see Saint Asonia for the second time this year. After their set, I wandered over to the memory wall. I decided to make my mark.

I took a breather on one of the side stages and took a lunch break. I'd noticed after leaving the main stage area that one of the radio station booths nearby was offering chances to win a meet & greet with Breaking Benjamin. I'd never met the band, but I saw them live three times in three different states last year. While I didn't win the VIP meet & greet (only 2 were given out), I did get the chance to get a photo with their frontman Ben Burnley after he wished me a Happy Birthday!

Shortly after that, I wandered to the What's Next stage at the top of the hill, anticipating my first 10 Years set this year. The band took the stage for a quick 45-minute set. They never disappoint-even when the PA system failed twice, the band and audience kept on going strong. I was disappointed that none of the band members gathered at the merch table after the show, but I was glad to get to see them again and hear frontman Jesse Hasek launch into an impromptu version of "So Long, Goodbye" to satisfy the crowd after their alloted time onstage was up. 

I wandered over to the main stage for a bit to see Breaking Benjamin's set, then went back into the What's Next tent to charge my phone. There, I met a couple of my friends from the Twin Cities and caught up with them as we watched part of the show from former Creed frontman Scott Stapp and his solo band.

Before long, I was hungry again, so I wandered to one of the feed stands to satisfy my cravings before seeing Alice in Chains. One of the biggest bands of the Nineties, they were one band on my bucket list. They went through a fast 75-minute set full of classic hits and songs from their last two albums.

No one could ever replace their late singer Layne Staley, but current frontman William Duvall does a good job of entertaining the crowd and plays a nifty guitar, too! Lead guitarist Jerry Cantrell has long been one of my music icons, and I was glad to finally get to see him play on my birthday. The band closed with a 2 song encore of "No Excuses" (my favorite AIC song) and "Would?" before calling it a night.

Not ready to go home just yet, I wandered over to a side stage to hear my friends in 3 Pill Morning play for the diehards. I stayed for a while and then caught my friends in the Twin Cities band Vaudeville for a few songs before finally heading home.

It was a great birthday-looking forward to more great music next month! Until then, have a great weekend, everyone!

Goodbye, Best Buy

I hate to bad-mouth any business, especially one that's based in my home state. However, I had my last buying experience with local electronics giant Best Buy last week. Today was the final straw.

The other day, my Sony MP3 player fizzled out while I was recharging it during a torrential rainstorm. My fault for keeping it plugged in, I figured a power surge or sudden lack of power probably caused the "white screen of death."

I searched Best Buy online for a comparable MP3 player as a replacement, since I was not able to revive the one I have now. I decided to search the local store after work today to see if I could find one that I wanted.

To my dismay, I couldn't find a single MP3 player anywhere of ANY brand. Not a big surprise, I told myself. After all, I was unable to find Nonpoint's latest CD there a few days earlier, after it was in their Sunday ad. I couldn't find a single Nonpoint CD anywhere the last two visits to this particular store.

This was the last disappointment for me by Best Buy. I started shopping with them in the late '80's, when I bought my first rock music cassettes. I could always count on them in the past to have the latest music by my favorite bands every Tuesday. Sadly, this is no longer the case, and it's the only real music option I have in town, ever since the local independent record store closed its doors. In recent years, it's been harder and harder to find the music I like at any local stores.

I just purchased the MP3 player I wanted online from a reputable merchandiser, for a lower cost than Best Buy was advertising it online. I won't have it in time for my birthday, but at least I'll have a product from a company that offers the products and services I want when I want them.

I hate to end a 20+ year customer history, but if I must, I must.

Goodbye, Best Buy.

A Return to Blogging with the Return of Flipp!

Hello everyone!

Took a break from blogging and social media for a while, but decided to get back into the swing of things and start a new month with the return of one of my favorite local bands on Friday, as local legends Flipp had their first reunion show at First Avenue in downtown Minneapolis.

My friends in VIA started the show with a ton of great energy. They were looking forward to playing the legendary venue for the first time ever, and I couldn't be happier for them. I only wished more people had showed up in time for their set.

Next up were the decidedly different band Enemy Planes. It was unusual to see a rock group with a pair of keyboardists/vocalists (and a couple of drummers who shared stage time pretty evenly), but the growing crowd really got into their set.

About 10:30 pm, a "welcome back" montage played on the overhead screen, and as the screen slowly rose, Flipp launched into their hit "Clone Me." I used to see them play at the Red Carpet nightclub in St. Cloud back in the day, and it seemed like they never missed a beat. Frontman Brynn Arens, multi-instrumentalist Chia Karaoke and drummer Kilo Bale hit all the right notes at the right times, much to the delight of the packed house. It was also good to see original bassist Cherry Forever onstage jamming at the show.

I was all smiles when the next song was my favorite Flipp track "I Still Love Rock n' Roll." I missed their music and their antics, like Chia's launching Flipp cereal into the crowd and Brynn playing both guitar and drums at one point during their set. Even though it had been more than a decade since these guys rocked a stage, they never missed a beat!

I was jostled around a bit being in the front row as usual, but didn't mind it so much this time. After the show, I wandered over to the merch booth to buy my first Flipp T-shirt and chat with a couple of friends. I also got to catch up with Brynn and Chia. I was surprised that Chia remembered seeing me at shows and adding some of my stcloudmn.com and Muse magazine articles about the band to their website back in the day!

Sadly, I won't be able to attend their next reunion show at the Red Carpet on July 15th-got other birthday concert plans that day, stay tuned! If you are able to go to this show, I highly recommend it-I guarantee you won't be bored!

That's all for now-have a great holiday weekend!