Welcome! To this highly exclusive online backwater.
Some may have wondered whether we're still breathing over here. Well, as of this post, you can set that minor concern to one side.
Yes. Life does go on! (Despite the efforts of Exxon and all the other like-mindless, greed-driven, world-killing corporate demons.) But the consensus trajectory says that could change, given the amount of shit currently passing through the proverbial fan, and how much more is certain to hit it in the uncomfortably near future.
Social Media tycoons are right up there with the worst of the worst offenders in the but-what-about-my-bottom-line department, and yes, they deserve the business ends of whatever pitchforks and torches we can muster, but even the most mindful of us users and consumers are complicit to some degree. Talkin' 'bout you. Talkin' 'bout me.
Is it possible to live without social media? Of course it is, Silly. We've managed since we were monkeys.
Is it possible to make music and still save the future for our children? Taylor?
Whether or no, Mr. McMusic is going to take a few more shots at it this summer.
The McMusical Calendar
Saturday, May 11
The Gentlemen reunite for an evening of Beatles songs plus a smattering of other hits from the era. The ensemble is anchored by three original members of the band that reigned as Wisconsin's preeminent purveyor of Brit-invasion hits circa '66 to '70. Get your kicks on route Cottage Grove Road at Chief's Bar & Grill (right across from Buck's Pizza). 7 to 10
Plus!
Mark your calendar! And make it quick!
One week from tonight, Wednesday November 22 (Thanksgiving Eve), The Birddog Blues Band will be bluesing and/or boozing it up at Doundrin's Distillery in Cottage Grove from 6 to 9 pm.
This may be your last chance to come out and dance (or just drink--your call) to the BBB in 2023. The schedule will be light during the darkness of the winter months. Check back for updates to the McMusical Calendar.
Yes. It's been awhile.
Sometimes doing virtually nothing is a time-consuming task. But here we are, now, so...
The McMusical Calendar
Saturday,
November 4
The Birddog Blues
Band plays Blues (what else?) at The Fharmacy in Lake Mills from
7 to 10 pm.
Yup. That's all for now.
But wait! Surely there must be some other pearls of wisdom, some tidbits of titillation to offer you.
Okay. How about this?
Year's end approacheth. Soon, November. And then December. And then... Damn! Another year gone by. And, leastways around these parts, that revelation dawns in a cold, gray light. Winter in Wisconsin. Some love it. More don't.
I see it as an opportunity to read some books, be it with the intent to entertain (myself) or to tackle the big, eternal questions, or to wrestle with the current sorry state of the world.
Take last year round about the turning of the calendar. I was on a quest. Music. This thing that I have bathed and showered in and raced after and swum in and floundered in for, how long? What is music? Why is it? How is it? How is it that I can play and sing some songs, tunes and ditties, but I can't answer the big mysterious musical questions with authoritative certainty?
So I turned to books
(bless you, public library system). Three of 'em:
This Is What It
Sounds Like: What the Music You Like Says About You, by Susan
Rogers; This Is Your Brain On Music: The Science of a Human
Obsession, by Daniel J. Levitin; and How Music Works, by
David Byrne.
Susan Rogers wants to explain why your favorite songs are your favorites. She got cred: before she became a very successful record producer, she was longtime sound engineer for Prince. And now she's a professor of cognitive neuroscience. She writes an easy read and offers good reasons to stop apologizing for your musical guilty pleasures, and to back off dissing music you don't like.
Daniel Levitin was a professional musician before he went all egghead PHD on us. He goes a lot deeper into the science of it all than Rogers, but even if some of his reference fly over your head, it's still a fascinating trip.
And, even if The Talking Heads aren't your cup of tea, David Byrne is a brilliant dude with a lot to say about music and his experiences listening to it, writing it, and performing it. Recommended.
Sometimes it seems like everybody's trying to sell you something. It's not their job to remind you that the best things in life are free, but we can take it upon ourselves to do that right here.
Fresh air. Sunshine. Cool, clear water. We should all be able to enjoy these beautiful basics without having to ante up.
That said, there's plenty of goods and services out there worth the asking price. Use your purchasing power wisely, but don't deny yourself a slice of the finer things.
And what could be finer than music that moves you or makes you want to move. For examples of where to find such, see below.
The McMusical Calendar
Saturday,
August 19
The
Birddog
Blues
Band
plays
a private party somewhere. Why are we telling you if you're not
invited? Because you, or someone you know, may be planning a party
and now you know who to call for entertainment.
Saturday,
August 26
The
Birddog
Blues
Band
plays
another private party! Why are we telling you? See above.
Friday,
September
1
Once
again, The
Birddog
Blues
Band
returns
to
Edgerton and
the Lake
House Inn
(1612
E. Hotel Drive).
6
to 9? or 7
to 10 pm?
Saturday,
September 2
Faux
Fawn
opens up The
Dig In!,
a curated line-up of independent, original Wisconsin acts at
the Eastside Club
at 2 pm. Catch their
set and stay for Redshift
Headlights,
The
Present Age,
Jane
Hobson,
and Free
Dirt
(featuring Robby Schiller). $10 admission. Rain or shine.
(Did
we
mention the
spacious lawn and panoramic
views,
Tiki Bar and food?)
Sunday,
September 3
The
Birddog
Blues
Band
plays
the back yard at Toffler's
in New Glarus. Afternoon! 3 to 6 pm.
Monday
(Labor Day), September 4
The
Birddog
Blues
Band
whoop
up the holiday on the patio at Club
La Mark,
just off the intersection of Hwy 51 and East Washington Avenue.
Afternoon.
Saturday,
September 16
The
Dave
Potter
Blues Band
(supported
by members of The Birddog Blues Band) plays
highwire
blues in Baraboo at the Ringling
Mansion.
(Check
back for details.)
Friday,
September
22
Birddog
Blues Band
be back at the Lake
House Inn
in Edgerton. 6 to 9 pm.
Saturday, September 30
Birddog Blues Band plays the Capitol Square in Madison midday. Check back for details.
Friday,
October 6
The
Birddog
Blues
Band
returns
to the Hop Garden backyard in picturesque
Paoli.
5 to 8 pm.
Sometimes all Hell breaks loose. Or it just feels like. Either way, the forecast is for unseasonably hot weather. Too hot for the fragile constitutions of Big Wes Turner's Trio. (see cancellation notice below)
Wednesday,
July 26
The
Birddog
Blues
Band
entertains
at Swan
Park Bandshell
in Beaver
Dam
from
7 to 8:30
pm.
Thursday,
July 27 CANCELLED
The return of Big
Wes Turner's Trio . The musical chameleons will NOT be displaying their eclectic and eccentric musical ware at Vintage
Brewing
in Sauk City.
Still a great place to stop for food and drink, though.
Friday,
August 11
The
Birddog
Blues
Band
back
at the shack out back of the Hop Haus Brew Pub and Shops in Paoli.
5 to 8 pm.
Friday,
September
1
Once
again, The
Birddog
Blues
Band
returns
to
Edgerton and
the Lake
House Inn
(1612
E. Hotel Drive).
7 to 10 pm
Saturday,
September 2
Faux
Fawn
opens up for Free
Dirt
at the Eastside
Club.
Did we mention the
spacious lawn and panoramic
views.
Evening set, but full day event.
Sunday,
September 3
The
Birddog
Blues
Band
plays
the back yard at Toffler's
in New Glarus. Afternoon! 3 to 6 pm.
Monday
(Labor Day), September 4
The
Birddog
Blues
Band
whoop
up the holiday on the patio at Club
La Mark,
just off the intersection of Hwy 51 and East Washington Avenue.
Afternoon.
Saturday,
September 16
The
Birddog Blues Band
plays
the blues in Baraboo at the Ringling
Mansion.
(Check
back for details.)
Friday,
September
22
Birddog
Blues Band
be back at the Lake
House Inn
in Edgerton. 6 to 9 pm.
Friday,
October 6
The
Birddog
Blues
Band
returns
to the Hop Garden backyard in picturesque
Paoli.
5 to 8 pm.
