Paul and I found the bar about 4PM. It was in an area often referred to as little Somalia, due to the high numb
er of Somalians that had settled there. The area of town seemed somewhat hip, off the beaten path, what could be described as up and coming. A couple of nice coffee shops, an East African grocery, a theatre, some friendly looking bars. Paul had a friend, Chris, that he had lived with in Seattle, but had relocated to Minneapolis a few years back. He met up with us for dinner before the show.Russ's girlfriend, Tiffany, was from a suburb of Minneapolis. She had been visiting her parents, so the minivan crew had headed there for a barbeque before the show. They met up with us later.
The bar had a good divey feel to it: Two pool tables, $2.50 for beers during happy hour. The stage was in a separate room, but it was the same size as the bar that could easily fit a hundred people. So the 20 or so patrons that cycled in and out during the show fit comfortably. This show had a sound guy, so the music sounded great throughout. The boys described it as the best sound they had ever had. We could even hear Tamara this time on Star Child!
Paul had put together the line up, three other bands from Minneapolis. The first band, Forest of Men, made up of the lead singer on his 6-string base, a drummer with a full kit, and then a second drummer with a smaller kit. They made it work. They added their own twist to covers such as TLC's Scrubs, White Stripe's Seven Nation Army, and the Pixies. They threw in a few of their own songs. They won us over with their witty sense of humor. The Fundament went second; good solid rock melodies. Constantly Burning Fire played after them and an untitled duo, known as Brent and Mitch, ended the night. Brent created his music through his mixer while Mitch played his six string base. They created unique melodies and sounds that pleased the ears and intrigued the spirit. They served as a great complement to CBF's electronic experimentations.
The show was great, the sound was great, CBF met up with the appreciative and surprised new fans. Despite the great stage and sound guys, the bar had a definite divide. The local bartender didn't charge everyone a cover. Despite the almost full bar, the bands were told they didn't bring in enough people to receive their split of the cover, which is standard practice, however there were more than t13 people there, as the bar claimed. Even with the three people allowed on each band's guest list. There were also no drink tickets. Other than the girls that were there to see the bands, there were not many other females at the establishment. This meant we were subjected to some unwelcome attention from the Somalian men that were there. Next time CBF plays Minneapolis, they will look for another venue.
Not ready to call it a night, but ready for a change of scenery, we head down the street to the Nomad, a comfy bar, completely empty inside, but their patio was full. There were a few hippies in the corner playing guitar and djembe drum while a girl sung. A couple more drinks with Tiffany's friends as well as Brent, then we all head back to Tiffany's parents' house, out in Victoria. They so generously allowed all seven of us to stay with them. We took over the basement. Tommy and Sara in the spare room on the air mattress, Paul and I on the air mattress in the main room of the basement, JR on the couch, Tamara on the loveseat.
So tired from the past few days: Friday, our feet in the Great Salt Lake, Saturday, partying in Nebraska, Sunday, partying in Minnesota. We could finally relax for a few days in Minneapolis.
The next day, Tiffany's mom made pancakes, cooked sausage and bacon and cut up melon for breakfast. Awesome, Angie! Thanks so much. Tiffany's family also offered up about as much Midwestern as anyone could ask for. They let us use their washer and dryer, their detergent. We just chilled at their house, played with their dog. They opened up their home to us.
Later that day, we said good bye to Russ, JR, and Tamara since they were driving back to Seattle. That also meant Tommy and Sara were once again without a ride. They bantered about the idea of a rental car, shipping all their stuff and taking Greyhound and Amtrak the rest of the way. Tommy was ready to just get to Massachusetts. He even contemplated skipping the in studio performance scheduled in Kalamazoo, MI for Thursday. Paul talked him out of it.
The final decision: we would all ship a bunch of stuff to Tommy's place in Massachusetts and Paul and I would take Tommy and Sara the rest of the way. We didn't need the camping equipment anymore. The radio show didn't need the costumes and props so those could go. We had about a week left on the road so we didn't need that much clothing. Mike, Tiffany's dad, had offered to ship the boxes from where he worked. Once again, we are so thankful for the ridiculous amount of help near strangers have been offering us.
We managed to make it work. That's Tommy and Sara in the back.
We piled in and headed to Chris's apartment in Minneapolis, where we were staying that night. The four of us took over Chris's living room. Once again, thank you so much. With still no plans for Tuesday, Tommy and Paul practiced for the in studio performance, I hung out in a cafe in downtown Minneapolis. Later that evening, Sara made a delicious supper of chicken and veggie alfredo. After dinner, we head down to the Mall of America to see the movie District 9. The largest mall in america, the Mall of America is as much fun as they all say! We had time to kill before the movie started, so we rode the roller coaster. Somewhat tame for a roller coaster, but impressive none the less. And indeed, it was inside of a mall. How much more American can you get? The movie was entertaining and worth seeing if it interests you at all. A fun relaxing evening with the group.
The next stop was Kalamazoo, MI. Janice, Tommy's sister, had spoken with a friend of hers in Chicago, who had offered us her apartment when we came through. Chicago was just a few hours from Kalamazoo, which would work out well, however we hadn't heard anything in a few weeks so we were still in limbo come Wednesday morning. We might be heading to Kalamazoo and getting a hotel, or Chicago. Just as we were packing up our stuff and loading it into the car, we got a car from Annie in Chicago. We were welcome in her home. She even wanted to make us dinner.
States visited: 9
Dogs met: 9
Cats met: 9
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