Bad Boy on a Pipe Organ

Cameron Carpenter has been on my radar for over a year now. And I was just surprised to see him noted on my local concert calendar. So I may have to make a winter date to see him on Feb 22nd over at Norththrop.

I am guessing most of you don't have much knowledge of him either. But simply put, imagine the quirky cousin of Adam Lambert and Elton John playing classical music on a pipe organ in a large auditorium! With his glitter boots, spiked leather jackets and hair gel with tints - he cuts an image that makes him the Mozart of our time. But don't let that glitter sway you. This man is no bad Liberace wanna-be. He has incredible skills that tame the keys under his massive physical stroking. And this is just his playing and not even accounting for his arranging.

He is very loyal to his classical roots. He can exude an entire orchestra with the "hits" of Bach and Rachmaninoff. From there he can detour into the fringes of Piazzolla or Bernstein. Then again, it is not uncommon to find strange sidetracks into everything from Willy Wonka to Patsy Cline to Leonard Cohen.

 

His technical prowess certainly comes from the dexterity of his fingers on the keys. Meanwhile his feet are nearly dancing on the floorboard. But his true genius comes from the term of #registration, which on an organ is the setting of the myriad of stops that control the tonality of sounds coming from the pipes. He notes that this is the origin of the term "pulling out all the stops" as he flies from one instrumentation to another within the same phrase. 

Here is his take on the Overture from Candide:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winter in the Great Northern

During these dark days of winter and cold, I think it is important to Get Out. I am never one to say no to a crock pot with a jigsaw on a winter's night. But there is also something to be said for the blinding sun against the snow and breathing in that clear winter air. Anyone needing an excuse to lure you out the door, need only look at this upcoming calendar for the Great Northern Festival.

The Great Northern weblink

We have always had the Loppet, the Winter Carnival, the Pond Hockey Championships. But for some reason, no one had ever entertained the notion to put them all under the same umbrella for 10 incredible days of exploring options. There is nothing more tranquil than the Luminary along Lake of the Isles with bonfires on the ice. I have yet to take in the Skijoring races with the dogs in real time. The ice carvings at the Carnival are a joy. We have been a contender in the puzzle competition for 3 years now. We often take in the Hockey Championships although the rules are lost on me; but the spirit and sound of the blades on the ice is palpable. All of these are the big events.

But there are now great smaller events in a variety of areas. Totally inclusive. How about a walk in the lights @ Eagan out at the Viking Lakes facility? The Kite Festival at Lake Harriet along with the Art Shanties? Gallery visits on darkness and light photography at Praxis? How about a Star Party through telescopes being presented by the Bell Museum? I'm looking forward to the outdoor greenhouse in an alley in St Paul!. Hot Baths and Saunas. Anechoic chambers! Panel discussions on climate change at Breweries. Book readings, Church Dances and Film Screening. Concerts at the IceHouse. Waffles and Skiing at Wirth Park. 

It is such a Minnesota Vibe. Growing up out East, those winter blahs were a reason to hibernate for a 3 month stretch while passing time. Here in Minneapolis, it is met with determination and meeting the elements head on. My God, the options are endless. Get Out of the House and Jump in.

My Hair Looks Like #(&%

Now that we are in the throes of our winter Arctic freeze, it seemed about right to draw some attention to this feature.

It looks as if it is/was an annual tradition up North in the Yukon territory of Canada. Most recent photos date back to 2020, so I assume it has not been cancelled; just halted for the mean time. It is a #HairFreezing Contest sponsored by Takhini Hot Springs. I looked it up and it is WAY up North in a corner pocket of the mountains near Alaska. From what I can tell it is more of a campground escape for the locals and not a resort destination for the wealthy masses - but I may be wrong.

The concept is actually kinda slick. To enter you need to schedule a day visit to the Spa when the temperature drops to -20 °. Then it shows a 3 step guide to dunk your head, let nature do its magic and style it while allowing it to freeze and then ring a bell where staff comes and snaps a picture of your entry. Sounds easy and they also state that there is never any permanent damage to your hair! There is a Best Female, Best Male, Best Group and then also a People's Choice and Most Creative category.

Each winner receives $2000 in cash and a year long pass to the Springs! It is also sponsored by #NongshimNoodles and each entrant gets a bowl after their dip. Also sponsored by #TimHortonDonuts of course who ponies up a donation for each person who enters as well. I guess if we do our version of a Polar Plunges here in MN, this seems a bit more up my creative sleeve and a day at the hot springs is a better fit for my tired old body. Check out some of these amazing pics. And then a link to the contest if you feel like a LONG road trip up to the frozen tundra of the Yukon!

Takhini Hot Springs; Hair Freezing Contest!

The Pianoman at Christmas

Jamie Cullum is a joy to audiences and a gift to music. I have boasted about his #SongSociety where he encourages artists to live with their mistakes without apology as part of the creative process. He gives himself and musicians an hour to create a favorite cover track, and then record it live to share. It is genius what he comes up with.

Last year he came out with an incredible Holiday disc. The Pianoman at Christmas. All original tunes. The biggest track that made headway was the infectious Hang Your Lights. Because he is English and somewhere in the world where jazz and pop collide, most people are not aware of his work. Similar to Ed Sheeran, he is a cute elf-type that looks like something out of the Hobbit empire. As to new holiday classics, I have been noticing this to be a trend in Holiday music from a younger generation of artists. Instead of relying on old chestnuts which are great, but can only be reinvented a limited number of ways, I applaud them all and have found around 50% of them to be pretty darn good. But this holiday LP has not a clinker in the bunch.

What I found really revealing is this 18 minute #makingofvideo that he released. Here he takes time to show his process, the great musicians he collaborated with... But like a true storyteller, he lets us know the Why of each song. How it spoke to him and what he wants to share in the telling. So many layers and such great music. Please, if this guy is not on your radar look him up. And check out both these videos for some true Christmas Spirit!

The Muttcracker

Yes this is a real thing! And also one of the most heartwarming holiday tales you may read. Everyone who knows me, understands how much I put value on rescue animals and underdogs. Also, how much of my professional past was spent dancing. So, the melding of these two worlds in a holiday setting is fantastic to me.

Kelly Pratt and Ian Kreidich are professional photogs who began a relationship shooting the dancers of St Louis Ballet back in 2014. They are also husband and wife. In 2017 Kelly had a concept of bringing her love of dogs into a gentle collision with the dancers. The work has gone viral with a small but devoted following quite soon after. They admit that it takes more than a good eye & a quick shutter speed. Most of the dogs used come from Stray Rescue also in St Louis, so they are not working with trained animals. Some shoots require patience and some good responses from the dancers to capture just the right moment.

 

This season marks the 5th round of Muttcracker photographs (minus a year for the pandemic.) The idea is to feature a different dog up for Adoption during the countdown to the actual Nutcracker performances. Not to be preferential, they are now also including cute kittens as well. The couple has now also a coffee table book called Dancers and Dogs. And one can get a full glimpse of their catalog via their Instagram feed. Here they show a wide ranges of dancers from other companies. The dancers are beautiful and the pets eager & adorable.

Everyone should get a puppy for Christmas!

Dancers and Dogs Instagram page: 

 

Fashion Santa

In the holiday season, Santa Claus is a fixture. We have opened up our culture and are aware of how the folk tale plays out in other countries. St Nick, Klaus, Sinterklaas. Sometimes he leaves a lump of coal, other times treats in shoes, down a chimney..... many versions of the story.

But this is a new one for me. Instead of a jolly, chubby man with a bag; here is a hunky fashionista that looks like an Anderson Cooper daddy on Grindr. Paul Mason is a handsome devil that has taken a career as a male model and found a lane that was wide open as a knock-out Santa who peddles high end products. Gotta give the guy credit, he knows how to market himself well.

His main access is his Instagram feed with over 68K followers. Somehow, I am just stumbling on to him now. He has had campaigns for #Hyundai, #GrandMarnier, #AmericanCrew, bathtubs, grooming products and of course an array of clothes designers. He is even doing an East Coast tour for #RitzCarlton hotels. It looks his fan base now has called for his own line of sexy greeting cards! Paul is from Canada and appears to have a lovely wife around his age who also is a model. What a dashing couple.

Here are a handful of my favorite pics. But you really need to click on his Insta page link to see the full volume of his work. A great holiday diversion for us adults that still believe in Santa.

FashionSanta insta:

Daytons Holiday Shows of Yore

One of the holiday traditions that brought so many of us joy were the annual Holiday and Flower shows in the 8th floor auditorium of Dayton's. They were massive, opulent and rivaled the displays of Macy's, Gimble's and Barney's. They were not a simple Holiday tree with Santa waiting at the end with a lollipop. They were works of art and craftsmanship set up in a labyrinth maze of panoramas that were animated beyond belief. By adding lighting, sound and even a musical score composed each year - they were fantasy wonder worlds.

For all that waited in lines, it was not a distraction along the way, but an event that propelled the whole trip to downtown Minneapolis during the season. Adding in the Holidazzle parades of the 90s, it became a festive Day trip. Who can forget the majestic Skyroom with booths of white and the grand piano serenading as you grabbed your holiday buffet or the Oak Grill if you wanted upscale and hot pop overs? Hot cocoa and fresh crepes on the sidewalk as you waited in the cold outside for the nightly parade to start. Or if you were lucky enough to nab one of the few spots in the skyways overhead. There was also skating on the ice at Peavey Plaza with holiday concerts - although the ice was never prime because of the endless hordes of people using it - but you could get skates sharpened easily there. So many things to do. These must have been the glory days of Holidays in downtown Minneapolis.

Here are just a few snapshots that take me back. I do know that our traditions change, disappear or adjust as time moves us forward. I do love the new Holidazzle in Loring Park with the skating rink, the beverage hall and board games and of course the giant Yeti! I also love the European Market & holiday movie nights over at Union Depot. With the opening of the revived Dayton's marketplace, perhaps it will return in some form. At least we have SantaBears in the windows which is something that had been missing for years now. Support local.

Mill City blog post; Dayton Holiday show

Attached is a link to a recent Mill City Times blog post by Michael Rainville Jr that lists some of its history as well as a detailed list for each years theme from the beginning in 1963 until the final closure. 

Cinderella 1989

Dicken's Village 1967

Harry Potter 2000

The Polar Express 1988

Pinocchio 1991 - floor model