There are very few artists I will travel out of town to see, but Richard Thompson is definitely one of them. When I saw he was playing the very small Papa Charlie’s Tavern and Stage in Lutsen, I ordered my ticket and booked a room for Saturday night.

I’ve been to the Papa Charlie’s restaurant before, but had never seen a show there. The ticket said doors at 8pm and I arrived a little after 7:30. Walked right in without showing my ticket and couldn’t figure out how they were going to set up the place. I ended up talking to what I think was the venue manager and he had me turn in my ticket for a wristband and said the small area in front of the stage would be standing room only, with some bar stool chairs along the back wall.

Once I knew the lay of the land, I camped out on the edge of the stage (stage right, about four feet from the mic). The sunken area in front of the stage is barely big enough for a ping pong table (which was actually what was there when I first arrived). A crowd of between 350-400 (per the manager) filled in behind me and we were ready to go at 9pm, when the stage manager turned down the lights.

Unfortunately, they came back up a few minutes later and they announced the show would start at 9:30 instead. Once he took the stage, this is what we got to hear:

• Bathsheba Smiles
• Walking on a Wire
• Crawl Back (Under My Stone)
• Down Where the Drunkards Roll
• Dad’s Gonna Kill Me
• The Hots for the Smarts
• I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight
• Sunset Song
• 1952 Vincent Black Lightning
• How Will I Ever Be Simple Again
• Cooksferry Queen
• Persuasion
• I Feel So Good
• Genesis Hall
• Johnny’s Far Away
• Pharaoh
• Valerie

First Encore:

• Beeswing
• Wall of Death

Second Encore:

• I Misunderstood

I enjoyed the show a lot and just kept staring at his hands for most of the show. Just amazing finger work, with the highlight probably being the solo towards the end of Valerie that closed out the 90-minute main set. I was happy with the song selection–Bad Monkey from the new album being the only song he didn’t play that I would have liked to hear (maybe the next electric show?).

His between song banter was in the usual Richard Thompson style, with my favorite line being “I’ve never been this far away from civilization before.” I brought a paper notebook with to record the set list (”for those of you taking notes”) and got one good shot with my iPhone (see above). The crowd was very receptive the whole night–I’d guess it was about half “true” fans and half skiers looking for some apres-ski entertainment.

Fun, fun time. Thank you Mr. Thompson!

Last Friday I picked up a print we finally had framed after about twelve years in storage. We picked up this Frank Kozik print on one of our visits to London (I believe at the no-longer-open Vinyl Experience store off of Oxford Street). It’s a signed, limited edition (28 out of 75) print of the Kansas City band Season to Risk’s 1992 self-titled album cover.

Didn’t know that at the time–just thought it looked sweet…

Last week I decided to try the new DRM-free music download service from Amazon.com. It worked better than I expected, integrating nicely with iTunes on my Mac at prices that were really great. Click on that Amazon link above to check it out and I’ll get a commission if you buy something. Everybody wins!

Here was my find of the week:

My friend and former co-worker Hans Erickson (aka Hanz Erik) resurfaced a few weeks ago on iChat.

We had a nice discussion about his move to New York City and his current gig at an Internet start-up (Next2Friends). His official title is Content Marketing Director and you can reach him at Hans@Next2Friends.com or read his blog posts here.

Hans also gave me permission to post these unreleased tracks:

Hanz Erik - Kiss

Hanz Erik - Head Over Heals

Awesome covers from a great musician. If you don’t already own it, buy his latest album Copay online at CD Baby or at Cheapo Records in the Twin Cities. It’s a perfect Christmas present for any music lover too!

I really hope we get HSRA NY approved and opened soon so we can make Hans the NY Studio Director and get him back on a nice, fast Mac Pro…

Last night my wife and I attended the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra performance at the Ordway Center in downtown St. Paul. The concert featured violinist Joshua Bell, a favorite of ours. We were a little confused at first by the program, which was the last of their “Jazzed-Up” offerings for the season. After the intermission, you could choose between returning to the hall to hear Beethoven’s Trio in C Minor for Violin, Viola and Cello, Op. 9 No. 3 or stay in the lobby and listen to Chris Brown and Friends play Gershwin tunes from Porgy and Bess.

We thought Mr. Bell was coming back after intermission, so we couldn’t see how anyone would stay in the lobby. I was reading from the day’s earlier concert, however, so he was done after the first two pieces. Both were sensational:

• Mozart’s Symphony No. 38 in D, K.504, “Prague”
• Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 26

The second piece was my favorite. Mr. Bell was front and center, standing for all three movements. A teenage girl and her mother were sitting next to me and I was fascinated to watch the young girl follow along with the sheet music. I overheard another woman ask them if she played and she said it was a piece she has been practicing, but that it’s so hard to play. She was truly excited to hear it played by a virtuoso on a priceless instrument. That excitement was contagious.

After we figured out the Jazzed-Up options, we went into the lobby and listened to Chris Brown’s band. Prudence Johnson was the singer and we had fun listening while sampling some cheesecake. The lobby was full and my wife was tired of standing, so we decided to leave early.

When we went down the staircase, the lower level only had a dozen or so people standing around. I noticed someone sitting at a table by himself and it was Joshua Bell! The people standing were all in line to buy his CD and he was waiting to sign them after purchase. My wife bought his latest CD (again) and had it signed. I got a coveted “To DK” on my ticket (see above). A very exciting end to a fun evening…

Spring cleaning time and we are looking to get rid of a bunch of CDs. There will be two garage sales that friends are holding this week and next. The first sale is at 1635 Oakbrooke Drive in Eagan and runs Friday and Saturday from 8-4. I don’t have the location yet for the second one, but will update this post when I get it.

Lots of variety: promo singles, European imports, full albums, double albums. Mostly alternative stuff, but enough variety to find something for everyone. Around 600 CDs with most prices set at only $1 each…

It’s been crazy busy at work the past week, but we’ve managed to take in a few diversions. Last weekend my wife and I went to see Grindhouse at the local theater in Eagan. I’m a big fan of past Tarantino and Rodriguez movies like Pulp Fiction and El Mariachi, but this one just didn’t do it for me. It was way too long and I didn’t like the actors nearly as much as the other films. The distressed look got old after a while too. The car scenes were great, though, and I loved the ending. My favorite part of the whole thing was the opening trailer for the “mock” film, Machete. Danny Trejo rocks! I hope they really do make that movie.

Tonight I stopped at the local Best Buy and picked up the new Son Volt CD, The Search, and the new Tanya Donelly CD that I didn’t know about, This Hungry Life. It’s been a long time since I bought any new music, so I’m anxious to add these to my iPod.

Lastly, I’m a late convert to the show 24. Via Netflix, we started from the beginning and tonight I started disc five of season two. Some parts (and characters) are hokey, but overall it really draws you in and keeps you watching. Only 78 more hours to catch up to this season!