If I could hang a banner from an overpass it would read "Thank You". I'd want to show appreciation to the tens of thousands of Harley riders who joined in the celebration of the 105th making it a huge success, and making many businesses in Waukesha very happy.

It's impossible, and probably unnecessary, to try to describe the crowds Downtown, especially Saturday night. Impossible, because I have trouble estimating things that get into the tens of thousands. And no photograph; by the time Montgomery Gentry started playing at 9:30 it was too dark, (wouldn't have mattered, can't squeeze that many people in a photo except from above, way above.) Unnecessary, because judging by the crowd you were probably there. Suffice to say I've never seen so many people in Downtown Waukesha.

Crowd control? You'd think with that many people and that much alcohol things could quickly get out of hand, but I never saw it or heard of it. The police were visible and did an excellent job keeping it under control. The crowds were the best kind: not too rowdy, spent money Downtown and, hopefully, return in five years (or sooner).

Spent several hours at Pewaukee Lake yesterday. With the no wake law still in force it's unusually quiet, and if my canoe didn't still have gaping holes in it... So we fish from shore. Very peaceful watching the regatta of around 50 sailboats. Later in the day was Taste of Lake Country and fireworks, but that's another story.

Making every cent of my weekend dollars count I went to Milwaukee today to do several things. I parked under the Hoan Bridge by the river, saving $10.00. I attended a very nice Lutheran service in the Marcus Amphitheater and was allowed into German Fest free, saving $13.00.

German Fest is one of the few festivals I missed last year, (Pride Fest will still have to wait) and I wanted to get there for the food and music. I haven't been to this one before. I wasn't into the music and dancing all that much, but the scents, tastes and sights were overwhelming. Got my first look at the new Harley Stage also. Very cool.

Wandered over to Discovery World next door to use the pass I obtained with the purchase of my Les Paul concert ticket, saving $17.00. I spent the next couple hours in my first tour of the Technology and Aquarium Buildings and the Les Paul House of Sound exhibit!  The Les Paul exhibit, indeed all of Discovery World, was way more than I could've imagined. I enjoyed handling everything, trying it out, playing with things, discovering at my own pace.

Discovery World has to be seen to be believed. When I thought nothing could possibly top the Les Paul exhibit, I had doubts while touring the rest of the building. The bed of nails was one very interesting interactive feature of the Technology Building. Fun to try. The Great Lakes are to scale in the Aquarium complete with interactive locks, rain and storms, and bluegills (not to scale). Also had fun touching the rays and lake sturgeon.

The schooner in the Aquarium Building is a fun play thing. Lots of things to touch, turn and see with many things identified with labels. I played with as many things as I could today and the best thing is I only got yelled at once - at the German Fest Splash Pad for not taking my shoes off!  

The theater was packed - even the $500.00 seats appeared to be sold out. The Pabst is absolutely beautiful and, even though it's older than Les, he'd never played there before Saturday. The stage had a relaxed and comfortable feel to it. Several people sat at pub tables and chairs around the perimeter giving the setting a jazz club atmosphere. The tuxedoed gentlemen falling off his stool just added to the realism of the bar scene.

Les played many decent tunes accompanied by three other men, but he could have played tiddlywinks and we would have applauded. The three hour program was kept interesting with new introductions every few songs, and with stories about him and by him. One of the first introductions was quite auspicious because he represented the future to Les' past. An eight year old boy played guitar beautifully with Les and even sang a blues tune. By our tickets, we were all contributing to the new "House of Sound" educational exhibit, and by this young man we knew we were doing the right thing. It didn't take much imagination to think of this boy as young Les as he played beside the 93 year old. Les was eight when he began playing an instrument.

It's harder to imagine what Waukesha was like 93 years ago when Les was born. It had been 80 years since the area was first settled, and 20 years after Waukesha became an incorporated city. He was born around the same time the health resorts were dying in a little house that used to be where the downtown Walgreens is now. He entertained at Waukesha Beach on Pewaukee Lake and his first concert was at Marquette University. 

Several other friends performed with Les, mostly those he plays with Monday nights at the Iridium in New York. Besides the eight year old guitarist, a singer, a violinist, harmonica player and tap dancer all performed to much applause. Bob Reitman was the logical choice of MC as both gentlemen are legends.

After meeting Les last year and watching his biography I thought I knew him pretty well. I was pleasantly surprised last night that there is much, much more Les.

Happy birthday Les, and many more!

I had to attend UWW's String Ensemble and University Chorus Spring Concert Friday. The price was right, (free) it was easy to get to, and it's the last concert of this school year. Though the audience could have been larger for this great performance, those in attendence were appreciative and enthusiastic.

Spring was the theme among the twenty or so pieces, split between the violin trio and chorus, some going back 500 years. While many folks have difficulty just singing in English, this finely-tuned choir sang equally well in French, German and Italian, as well as English. With ten sopranos and only three altos the higher voices really carried the songs. Everyone seemed to enjoy being part of such an amazing and pure performance and there were plenty of smiles on display.

Though the String Ensemble was amazing, especially in their last piece - Pachelbel's Canon in D, I didn't much care for the one piece the men's chorus performed. Maybe it was the piece itself, but their version of Toller's A Red Red Rose seemed to lack enough feeling to match the lyrics of the song.

Having all year to practice together as a chorus really paid off. This was their finest performance of the year by far. I'm so glad the rest of the audience enjoyed it as much as I. We gave them a well-deserved standing ovation and called them back for a very fun encore of Passereau's Il es bel et bon.

Because director Brian McLinden chose to not have an intermission, I was back home less than two hours after I left. I seriously wasn't even missed. How unfair is that?

I have my ticket for today's Waukesha Choral Union production of Mozart's Requiem at St. Joe's. If I enjoy it half as much as UWW's concert it will be money well spent.

I was enjoying a quiet walk in the woods at Retzer Nature Center today. It felt good to slow down and notice things that were buried under snow not that long ago. So many shades of green... It would have been a lot quieter had it not been for the howling wind and squeeks of bending trees rubbing against one another. I had stopped to listen to all the sounds and moments later heard something unexpected. A dead pine tree came crashing down in the area I had just come from.

It was the Earth Day Extravaganza at Retzer, one of my very favorite times to be there. The weather had been nicer other years and it kept the crowd down, but plenty of people still enjoyed the day's free activities.

After lounging in the comfortable planetarium chairs for the "Journey to the Stars" show, I joined many others for Ken Lonnquist's concert. Ken is not only a good singer, songwriter and musician, but he also involves and interacts with the audience in a unique way. He had whale songs and earth songs. Recycling, ridiculous and rhyming songs. After he sang a song about photosynthesis, one of the kids, who happened to be dressed in a "caped crusader" outfit, became "Photosynthesis Boy" for the rest of the concert.    

Every performer has stage presence, but with Ken half the entertainment was watching him interact with the kids. He ad-libbed unique rhyming songs for the kids and not only made funny animal sounds but made us repeat them. Ken seemed to really be in his element -- comfortable around crowds and nature. I'd recommend seeing him if ever there's another chance.

Before stopping for a couple toasted marshmallows I wandered the woods. I guess I never realized that the headwaters of Brandy Brook is in Retzer. Brandy Brook runs to Pebble Creek which joins the Fox River. The Fox River begins near Menomonee Falls and joins the Illinois river before heading to the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico.

I also never realized what an odd feeling it is to look up at swaying 100 foot tall pines while stumbling forward through the woods. Try it sometime.       

I share this machine with two teenagers and a cat, so that could explain why I haven't been doing a lot of writing lately. Fortunately, Pepi just stays put where it's warm atop the monitor, or I'd still be waiting. Now that I have the time though, thought I'd talk about what I did last weekend.

Much of what I do on weekends I hear about first on WaukeshaNOW, and last week was no exception. I find that the site's community events description is a little more in depth and easier to access than the alternative.

I went to the UWW play God Willing: A Twology not because I'd heard it was good or even because I'd heard of it before. I checked it out because it promised to be different. Two avante-garde plays in one with seating on the stage for the audience. I won't try to describe it because I can't. I can't relate it to anything I've seen before. It was entertaining, serious and thought-provoking. It was intimate and dark, quiet and loud. I guess you could say it was a good play for the university because they tried something outside "normal" and it was a good experiment. 

Saturday morning I joined my confirmation group for a service project at Jeremy House, a homeless shelter for individuals with mental issues on Moreland Blvd. We prepared breakfast for the guests and learned more about the facility. It was a worthwhile experience for all of us, and fun too.

After mass last Sunday I interviewed candidates for confirmation to see if they had any thoughts, good or bad, on the whole process and to make sure they grew spiritually in this last year of preparation. Tomorrow is confirmation rehearsal.

Later Sunday I attended Waukesha Choral Union's production of Handel's Messiah while not realizing what I came to see and hear. I penciled the Carroll College event on my calendar because WaukeshaNOW made it sound good and, the best part, it was free. I arrived after the last of the programs had been handed out and, because I've never been to "Messiah" before, didn't recognize it. Bumping into a friend at intermission, I mentioned how religious all the pieces were. "Well, it is Messiah. The whole concert is related to the bible, starting with the Old Testament and ending with the New." She showed me the program and every aria, recitation and chorus was straight from a bible verse or psalm. Up to this point the one thing I knew about "Messiah" was the Hallelujah Chorus. Two and a half hours after the start of this concert I was much better informed. It's a monumental production with orchestra, pipe organ, soloists with community members joining the chorus. The concert was fully funded by donations from individuals and businesses. It was director Gregory Carpenter's last production of Messiah. His last production with the Choral Union will be in celebration of Mozart's 250th birthday: Mozart's Requiem at St. Joe's Church in Waukesha, May 4th, with orchestra and soloist. I'm going to pencil this one in too, and hope I don't forget why.  

By now Mrs. Lee is wondering if I'm seeing someone because of being gone so much last weekend. (The family is always invited, but my tastes often differ from theirs.) I later attended Vespers, or evening prayer, at St. William. It's something I've not done before and my family wouldn't have enjoyed either. It was an interesting mix of hymns, readings, reflection and incense. All the prayer without the hassle.

After Vespers I joined 80 to 90 others from my parish to learn about Judaism and Jewish traditions in a Seder meal, something I've wanted to try but never had the chance. I felt this Lent was a good time to understand the roots of my own faith and this was a wonderful way to do it. The nicest Jewish couple, Sherry and David, led us on this trip to the past. Seder, the Passover meal, is full of lessons and history, details, ancestors, special diet and ways of preparation. I'd have to say everything had meaning and relevance and the meal was history come to life. Everything was performed in order, involved the oldest to the youngest, was entertaining and lasted about 2-1/2 hours. The education we received and meeting Sherry and David was wonderful. This meal was far more involved than any other meal I've shared, and I would happily do it again.  

The theme of the weekend seemed to lean toward religion. Not a bad thing with Holy Week beginning tomorrow.

I thought The Wizard of Oz was required viewing for every American. Thought we all had to see it at least three times by the 8th grade. The person you'd think would have been one to have seen it most, the director and producer of Waukesha North's current production, Nathan Berish, hadn't seen it at all until he began work on this musical.

The older I get the more I enjoy the Wizard of Oz. We own it on video and I see something new every time I watch it. I enjoyed seeing all the press North's Wizard of Oz production received, especially the part about the flying. I was anxious to see their version of it and thrilled that we could see it last night, though I was worried we wouldn't get tickets. We didn't order them in advance, it was reserved seating, but we did get in OK and sat in the east wing. 

 I enjoyed the extra effort that went into Mr. Berish's first North musical. Clearing the hurdles of flight, a cairn terrier on the set, choreography of elementary school-age Munchkins, fire proofing everything... made me want to see it all the more. You know a lot of effort went into this $14,000 production.

I enjoyed the whole play, especially Dorothy's acting and singing, expertly performed by the current 'Waukesha Teen Idol," Ellen Jenders. Even Toto did a good job, making appearances in the hall to sign autographs (Got a picture for Sir Fido. Toto is a real "Lady")

Next weekend is the last for this production. If you'd like to see it call 970-3649 or visit North's web site.

So what is a Winkie anyway?

My parish, St. Williams, 440 N. Moreland, will be the place to be this Saturday, and I won't be there.

In the morning will be the largest toy distribution I've ever seen. For the fourth or fifth year St. William is hosting the Waukesha County Christmas Clearing Council. The gym starts filling Thursday, and by Saturday there are thousands of toys waiting for needy families to come and shop. By 5:00 p.m. Saturday it will all be cleaned up and gone. It's a good thing that's incredible to see and help with.

The Jubilate Chorale will be performing a beautiful Christmas concert at St. William also this Saturday the 15th. The concert will feature the world premiere of new work as well as familiar carols in new arrangements. It sounds too good to be true. The more I read and hear about it, the more I want to be there. My only hope is to catch it in Oconomowoc on Sunday as I'll be out of town Saturday. The concert is at 7:30 p.m. and is $12.00.  This is the one! If you have time for just one concert this holiday season make it this one. Click on the above links to hear the chorale or to read Laurel Walker's 12/9 column.

I hope that if I don't see you at this concert it's because I'm out of town, and not because you didn't go. I need someone to tell me about it when I get back.

Within the last week and a half I walked, drove, rode a bike and chased a hot air balloon to the University of Wisconsin Waukesha.

A week ago Saturday was the last time I crewed, possibly for the season. All three balloons that took off together from a park on County K in Pewaukee landed together on the north parking lot of the university. Distance of travel; about five miles. It was fun landing in my own neighborhood for once.

This last Friday I attended the free Fall Instrumental Concert featuring the UW-Waukesha Handbell Choir and the Symphonic Band. Really impressed by the music and little stories behind the music. This was the first year of playing for five of the six handbell choristers and they did a fantastic job. The Symphonic Band took on more than one challenging piece and played extremely well also.

Sunday the university offered free hot chocolate and fireworks after the parade. Friendly volunteers had tables set up to do craft activities with the many children there. It was the second day of the second annual Festival of Trees, a fundraiser for the UW-Waukesha Foundation, a group that supports and promotes students and programs at the university.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of visiting the current photo exhibit in the Fine Arts Center on the south end of the campus. The gallery, open just 10:30 to 1:30 M-F, is currently showing 20 or so large, beautifully mounted and arranged photos by Janica Yoder.

Today I enjoyed even more meeting photo artist Janica Yoder during a Visions and Expressions lecture at the university. We saw many slides of her work and she commented on every one. She told us what camera she used, where her models were from, what she was feeling, where she took the photos, how she created certain effects... I found several of the things she said very interesting. First, she loves to photograph at Paradise Springs, the same place I was taking pictures at Thursday. Also, she always uses film, not digital cameras and she exclusively uses natural light for all her photos. We all enjoyed learning how her photos were created as much as seeing the slides themselves. But one of the nicest things of the afternoon was viewing the exhibit once again after learning how the photos were done. Janica's talk gave a lot of substance to the exhibit and I appreciated even more.

Milwaukee's Holiday Parade had a lot more bands, TV and radio personalities, and "New York style" helium balloons but it didn't have the UW Marching Band.

Without knowing the details I assumed, correctly, that the entire UW band wouldn't be present. I also knew that they were talking about UW Madison's band and not somewhere like Whitewater. The contingent for the Waukesha parade yesterday consisted of about 25 trumpet players, one tuba player and two drummers. The active group of red-jacketed marchers were more Mardi Gras than precise in their steps. They shouted, danced, teased, high stepped and of course played loud and proud.

Each time UW played a snippet of "On Wisconsin" the applause was overwhelming, especially at the five points where a lot of people were concentrated. They brought a smile to everyone's face with their energy and antics. They were constantly moving so I didn't get any decent pictures. That, and it was so dark by the time they passed by.

It was 5:30 by the time the UW band passed by, too dark to see who sponsored their visit. Main Street isn't real well lit though it is better than some. It was dark but at least we didn't have to miss the Packer game!

So who did sponsor UW Marching Band's visit? The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

It's time to think about the 10th Annual Kettle Moraine Jazz Festival coming to Riverside Park in West Bend September 7th and 8th. Just 40 or so miles northeast of the City of Waukesha, West Bend resembles Waukesha in that it too has a river running through a delightful downtown. Be sure to get your tickets in advance because the gate prices are $125.00 for both days or $75.00 for one.

Or you could travel just a few blocks to the Les Paul Performance Center in Cutler Park any Wednesday in August for free jazz. The music starts at 7:00. I was one of many enjoying the warm weather, beautiful park and surprisingly good tunes last night . . . and really got my money's worth!

Resting on an Indian mound, bare feet on soft grass, I watched a young girl beg and plead with her grandma to not make her leave the concert early. I know how she must have felt. When the weather is right and everything is fine I sometimes get the kind of feeling that I don't want to see end either.

I don't consider myself a jazz fan but I appreciate good music. Does that make sense? The lineup for August is: Aug. 8th - Mestura Fina. Aug. 15th - Rhythm Voyage. Aug. 22nd - Robin Pluer. and Aug. 29th - Nabori Salsa.

Thanks Andy

Brien and Les

"Thank you, God, for Les Paul, a child of the universe."

"Most people can't go a day without seeing or hearing something played, said or invented by Les Paul."

I was one of many hundreds enjoying the world premier of "Les Paul -- Chasing Sound," a profound documentary interesting for more than just a couple good quotes. Les has been around for 91 years and I never had the pleasure of meeting him... until now.

Just getting to the theater was a trick. Two showings but I could only make it to the second. Was told Les wasn't appearing at the second. Few hours after being told that, read in Journal Sentinel that he was appearing. I called back and was told it was sold out. Left name on waiting list. Was called back. Insert smile here.

Well, I made it to the Downer Theater from my Waukesha home in half an hour - a neat trick even if I knew where it was. Needn't have hurried, everyone was still queued on the sidewalk at the 9:30 start time. Les made a brief appearance before the film and, with the late start, it probably lasted till 11:30 p.m.

I saw a great movie and met a legend. It's 11:30 on a weeknight. Time to go home? I'd heard earlier that Les was putting in an appearance at the Milwaukee Athletic Club. Surely he'd be long gone by the time I got there? The customized Gibson coach out front told me Les was close but the front desk told me he was close to leaving. I took the first elevator to the third floor and found the nice man in the upper right surrounded by autograph seekers and photographers.

Mr. Paul tirelessly signed hundreds of guitars and straps, booklets, albums, posters, a purse, and one blog page about himself titled "I came this close to meeting Les Paul."

It was midnight when the last autograph was signed. If 91 year old Les Paul can still socialize and work till midnight then I expect we haven't seen the last of him. He'll be back. He has to.

July 11th. Please, please try to see "Les Paul -- Chasing Sound" when it comes to Channel 10 on July 11th. You'll understand my facination.

The free Friday Night Live concerts in Downtown Waukesha don't start for another month, June 1st, but it was hard to tell on a recent Friday that it hasn't already begun. A week ago Friday evening, when the weather was nice and doors were open, I found myself downtown with about an hour to spare so I explored. I was pleasantly surprised by the many musical offerings at bars, a coffee shop and bookstore. I stopped by Martha Merrell's Books and Norm told me there's going to be a new stage near Rochester Deli this summer with the added possibility of live radio remote broadcasts by The Fish. Norm is a big promoter of the Friday concerts and doesn't quit when summer's over. Martha Merrell's continues to host groups on Friday nights and has already scheduled Mike and Kathy of G-Man Music, Bill and Lin O'Connor, Tom and Barb Webber, and Spring City Grass for Fridays in May.

Downtown Waukesha isn't the only place to find good music on a Friday at no cost. I thought about going to UWW's Spring Concert this last Friday because I live a couple blocks away, because it was free, and because the Handbell Choir was performing. I love handbells. I forgot about the concert, though, when I read on WaukeshaNOW.com about the "Gathering of Cultures," another event at UWW. It sounded pretty good - free ethnic food, a band, a jazz and blues singer, Latin dancers, a pinata and more. I expected a couple small samples of food but got a plateload, probably my only chance to taste food from Speen Queen BBQ and Mardi Gras. Not bad.

It looked like the blues singer was going to be a no-show so, after the pinata but before leaving, I wandered the hallways and came across the ad for the Spring Concert, which had already started. I walked fast to the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in time to hear and see the Handbell Choir perform, a stroke of luck. At concert intermission I wandered back to the Commons to see how the setting up of the band was coming, then back to the Theatre for the Symphonic Band. The Symphonic Band is unique because it consists of students from UWW and other schools plus members of the community. I had a few minutes before the symphony took the stage so viewed some fantastic student art in the gallery outside the theatre.

After the final bow, it was probably around 9:00, the Reggae band, Mountain Lions International, had started. The crowd had thinned because of the no-show jazz singer, which is too bad because this band rocked. The remaining 25 or 30 of us, some dancing, had the time of our lives. The band truly enjoyed singing and dancing, drumming and strumming till past midnight. I was amazed by the songs, none of which were offensive, and I loved the upbeat tempo, too.

Mountain Lions International have an interesting story to tell, and not just through their music. The Lions got their start in 1997 when two students from Sierra Leone, West Africa, met at UW Whitewater and discovered they had similar tastes in music and a flair for song writing. They later formed the makings of a band with bass guitarist Jon, lead guitarist Chris, both from Wisconsin, and drummer Juan, from Mexico.

I'm fortunate to be able to partake in many local events and try to keep expenses to a minimum. These two free UWW events were among the best I've been to and it shows how well WaukeshaNOW.com works. I saw it there first.

We were the ones with the accent after heading yonder 570 miles in twelve hours Tuesday. We were visiting my in-laws, Bob and Donna, in Central City, KY, birthplace of the Everly Brothers. Bob and Donna live in Muhlenberg County which is traversed by the Green River. They have a friend who's a coal train engineer for CSX, has never heard of Mr. Peabody, and tells me you can't steer a train like in Polar Express.

We had our choice of two routes to KY, both of which took us around Chicago and through Indiana, so we chose the third route. Even though the route we learned about two days before our trip was 400 miles of Illinois driving, we paid only one toll, avoided Chicago, the speed limit was 70 and traffic wasn't bad.

Bob and Donna's home in Western KY is a charming three bed, two bath, double-wide with lots of yard and a large garage. Their house has plenty of room for visitors, though our youngest had to share his room with SpongeBob and the oldest with Harley Davidson. Tam and I stayed in a former office the size of a one car garage next to the house. Our room had a fridge, coffee pot, videos and games, heat and A/C, but no windows. It was cozy.

Thursday, while the boys kept themselves entertained with the friendly outdoor cats and trying to injure themselves with airsoft guns, Tam and I drove to Nashville where we toured the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

After a delicious and authentic Southern meal at a small mom and pop and a roasted-marshmallow fire in the yard Thursday night, we packed up the car. We left for home at midnight and arrived in Waukesha nine hours later Friday morning.

We put 1500 miles on our rented Taurus in four days and the least expensive fuel was $2.10 / gallon. Almost all the roads were in perfect condition, though we really didn't care much for the too-narrow secondary roads in KY. We paid a total of $2.00 in Illinois tolls even though we travelled 800 miles in the state. And the worst pavement was right here in good old Wisconsin on I-43 between Beloit and home.

I was pleasantly surprised by everything; the beauty, the friendliness and hospitality, the ease of getting around. We were fortunate to have nice weather the entire time of our trip. I'd go again.

**********************************************

Paradise
©John Prine

Chorus:
And daddy won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County
Down by the Green River where Paradise lay
Well, I'm sorry my son, but you're too late in asking
Mister Peabody's coal train has hauled it away