Last Friday Colleen and I went to see Robert Cray at the Fitzgerald Theater in downtown St. Paul. After a short opening set by Paul Metsa and Sonny Earl, Mr. Cray and his band performed for about 90 minutes.

I didn’t write down the set list, but it was a nice mix. Colleen thought there were two new songs, but one of them sounded familiar to me (could have been a cover). Unfortunately, I don’t see any reviews online today, so I’ll have to go by vague memory (not in order):

• Phone Booth
• Twenty
• Smoking Gun
• Poor Johnny
• Bad Influence
• Time Makes Two
• 12 Year Old Boy
• Right Next Door (Because of Me)
• I’m Walking
• The One in the Middle

It was keyboardist Jim Pugh’s 54th birthday and he put on a Twins T-shirt that someone threw onstage for him as a birthday present. His Hammond organ solo was great, although I thought it wasn’t quite as energetic as the Minnesota Zoo concert a few years back.

Mr. Cray is an awesome guitarist. This was the closest we’ve sat for a concert and his facial expressions and finger work during solos were amazing. As I tweeted after the show, it would be incredible to see him jam with Richard Thompson sometime.

Also ran into Western Petroleum president Rick Neville in the lobby before the show. He was also at the Minnesota Zoo concert - small world…

The first part of our new equipment lease at HSRA Minnesota arrived yesterday on three large pallets. It’s always fun to un-box new computers, but the novelty wears off by about the fifth one and the rest just become a chore.

Should keep me out of trouble all week, though…

After nearly 17 years of not wearing a wedding ring, my wife decided this was the year she would give me one. I had a plain gold band when we got married, but that has long been too small for my finger and has resided in our safe all these years.

In general, I don’t like having anything on my hand or wrist, so I had some requests. I wanted to get something that was smaller, had smooth edges and would be compatible with my computer work and athletic hobbies. We needed a specialist.

Soren Priede is a wonderful custom jewelry designer from Saint Paul who has sold me items for Colleen in the past. We decided to work with him to custom design a new ring for me.

The process started in June with a request for all of the features mentioned above, plus a desire for a design that reflected the waves of the North Shore. The result, which we picked up yesterday, is pictured above.

I’ve very pleased and highly recommend Soren if you need custom jewelry.

Had a great time at the Minnesota State Fair again this year. The whole family went on the Sunday of the Milk Run and spent most of the day there. Colleen and I also went solo on Wednesday night to see Gnarls Barkley at the Grandstand. The concert was cut short because of rain, but it was fun anyway. And I can’t remember the last time I saw fireworks during a lightning storm.

As we were running to the parking lot in the rain, we decided to stop in at the beer garden to look for my friend and HSRA studio wizard Art Haynes. His band, Mojo Roots, has played the State Fair for the past few years and they totally tear it up every night. Check them out if you can.

We didn’t really try any new foods this year, but enjoyed all of the old favorites. One new twist was our discovery that the physical education teacher at Deerwood Elementary also helps run the corn roast booth. What a great gig!

I’m always sort of sad when the fair is over–it’s truly a Minnesota classic.

OK, so I’m like about 20 posts behind on all my sites right now, but I thought I’d write a quick one here just to let the Google crawlers know I’m still alive…

While visiting the north shore of Lake Superior this weekend, we ran into a high school (and college) friend of ours in Grand Marais. Twicks and his family were up for the weekend too and invited us to visit them at camp in Lutsen. Turns out his wife’s family has run the place for 40+ years.

It was great seeing them and we had a fun time swimming and touring the facilities.

More posts coming soon…