The Bowling King Dethroned

Say it isn't so! First the breweries left town, now it looks like the United States Bowling Congress is threatening to leave Milwaukee and move it's headquarters to Texas.
That's just not right. Of course, that doesn't mean folks will stop bowling (or drinking beer) in Milwaukee, but it is another chink in the grand history of this great midwest blue collar town. Who knows when the next pin will drop? Perhaps only The Bowling King! Whatever happens, we can rest assured that there will always be Koz's Mini Bowl to fall back on!

End of an Era: Art Altenburg Leaves Concertina Bar

Looks like Milwaukee treasure Art Altenburg finally found a buyer for his truly wonderful Concertina Bar.

That's bittersweet news -- I know Art has been trying to sell the place for a few years, so I'm happy for him. But I'll miss his 100-watt hospitality, his bar-top concertina riffs, his cheerful "beer time!" I'll even miss the broiled cheese curds. But I'm sure it's a good thing for Art, who says he will move to his family farm, take care of his mother and "probably go chasing women."

The possible silver lining is that "the new owner, Andy Kochanski, intends to keep the tradition of Art's alive, but minus Art," according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. What's more, "Andy plans to allow accordions. Art is such an aficionado of concertinas that he would never allow their keyboarded cousins in the bar," the paper says (although Art always gave us the warmest of welcomes).

Good luck, Art, and good luck, Andy!

Bronze Fonz for Milwaukee?

TDA stalwart Bill from Milwaukee sends along a quick note about a bronze statue of Henry "the Fonz" Winkler that tourism booster Visit Milwaukee wants to erect in Beer City. The group might think it is capitalizing on the success of Happy Days, but Bill says, "I would give this thing about a week before it's vandalized."

The big question: Would the vandals be listening to TDA's cover of "Making Our Dreams Come True (Theme From 'Laverne and Shirley')"?

First Bratwurst Haiku of Summer

Just in time for the Memorial Day weekend barbecue blitz, Bill from Milwaukee sends a link (it would be a link) to the Journal Sentinel's story about its first-ever "bratku" contest.

What's a "bratku" you ask? That would be a competition in which sausage-smitten people pen haiku about bratwurst (with the top five winners picking up $25 gift certificates from the ever-fabulous Usinger's Famous Sausage).

My personal fave is by Linda Hassel of Oshkosh:

A blossom of fire
Sweet juices fall on hot coals
As the bratwurst sings

That's a nice line -- "as the bratwurst sings." I can almost hear 'em sizzling and singing and then squirting just a smidgen of that precious bratwurst juice onto the coals before being pulled off onto a waiting bun. It's a song I hope to hear often this summer.

P.S. "Looking forward to my first bratwurst of summer this weekend," Bill says. Might have to do that myself ...

Waterfest: One of Wisconsin's Best Bets

If you're in the Fox Valley, Thursday nights at Oshkosh's Waterfest are your No. 1 way to get your music on, according to the article "101 Things to Do This Summer" in the Appleton Post-Crescent. TDA will be there Aug. 16 with Tower of Power and David Sanborn, and Paul Sanchez & The NOLA Allstars (according to the Waterfest site) or with Paul Sanchez & The Beatin Path (if you believe the Post-Crescent). I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of that before long.

If you haven't been to Waterfest for a while and you're anywhere in the area, you should check it out. The concert series has always been a good time, but a couple of years ago the facilities got a major upgrade from the old "trailer stage" setup. Now the venue is a fantastic little amphitheater with awesome sound and great people working the stage (and the beer stands). And the lineups are great -- we've had the honor of playing with folks like David Lee Roth, Todd Rundgren and other living legends.