Milwaukee Specialty Food and Coffee

The Whiskeybelles

One really good thing that has happened to me in the last two months is becoming a fan of the Whiskeybelles. I can't explain exactly what happened--I guess it's just one of those things you have to enjoy and try not to overanalyze. In true Mike style, I arrived more than fashionably late to the party. Or, let's hope not! The Whiskeybelles have been performing since 2010 or so and somehow managed to escape my attention until last summer. As I recall, I visited their website while looking at acts performing at the summer concert series at nearby Pere Marquette Park. I walked by the late June gig and caught a couple songs, then made the mistake of filing it in my "Fun Things to Do Later" bin. Fortunately, it didn't stay there.

They played at Potawatomi about six weeks ago, and that's when the ball really got rolling. The first of two memorable scenarios unfolded. A group of twentysomethings walked in and just really proceeded to not only ignore the concert, but to talk loudly through the show, provoking hostile glances from people who were trying to enjoy the performance. I suppose the most authentic and sincere reaction was the one I was closest to carrying out. (Mind you, I was on about drink eight of the evening at this point.) I would--and probably should--have said: "Take fifteen minutes of your Millennial life and learn what a beautiful, sexy woman looks like." I ended up just sitting closer, but towards the end of the first set, one of the women in the group at the bar shouted out, "Go big or go home!" I don't remember what exactly went through my mind, but I'm pretty sure it was something along the lines of "How about you go home?" (The group's lyrics would have provided a much better comeback. Later, I'd learn that the group's signature tune features the line, "I'll take your woman in a barroom brawl.")

This probably sounds more hostile than it really should. I sincerely feel sorry for those people. I'm sure there's some more friendly way to communicate my enthusiasm, but in a context like that, it feels destined to be like trying to go ice fishing by scattering a few drops of hot water on the ice, when what you really need is an awl. And you could say that is my feeling about the Whiskeybelles. I feel like they should be more aggressive. On New Year's Eve, more memorable scenarios unfolded. Towards the end of an otherwise well-received gig, seemingly oblivious Cafe Centraal patrons went through the buffet line, just a few feet in front of the stage. I thought to myself, "This is NOT right!" Obviously, I don't get a vote. However, if only by coincidence, there are signs that they are moving in a better direction. 

A couple weeks ago, the group was one of the first to appear at this year's Local Coverage benefit at Turner Hall. By some weird constellation of events, the staging and lighting made the gig look arguably way more commercial than in the past. Though better videos have been made of the Whiskeybelles, I'm really pleased with the way that this one turned out. The opening song revealed multiple time signatures and other increasingly sophisticated touches, pointing out intriguing possibilities for an evolution of the band's sound.

Kickapoo Coffee

Perhaps the biggest testimony to Kickapoo Coffee's quality is the fact that I am staying indoors for a while to write this blog entry. I'd intended to get some walking in on this relatively warm day, and still do. But this visit confirms my impression of the shop's quality and service. Six weeks ago, I attended the grand opening. In addition to a couple of free coffee drinks, the free alcoholic beverages were flowing freely, resulting in my already being plenty lit when I walked from here to Potawatomi to see the Whiskeybelles, no doubt enhancing the experience.

I ran into a friend, TJ of Pendulum Coffee and the MKE Coffee Guild. It was great to see him after a few years, and we discussed possible future collaboration. 

I know this picture is showing up upside down, but I don't how to rotate it on my new tablet, and it turned out too well to discard it. Until I have a chance to fix it, just pretend it's the video for Lionel Richie's "Dancing on the Ceiling".

 

Stuff to do in Milwaukee after 10 p.m.

Over the centuries--not all of which I have personally witnessed, mind you--humankind has struggled with the great questions. These include the existence of God, the distribution of resources, and the quest for something to do in Milwaukee after 10 p.m.

Here's the deal:

• I am paying a premium to live near Downtown Milwaukee--$820 a month (including parking) for a large studio, albeit one I'm very happy with. And I'm "grandfathered in". If I moved, they'd charge the new tenant $885 plus parking. Not so much happy with the neighborhood right now. Other than proximity to work (which is great) and the ability to go car-free for long periods (which is awesome), how do I justify the expense to myself? I can't get laid here--not that I could anywhere--and most nights, there's nothing to do after work. And such logistical problems arguably add up to feeling crappy enough every couple years to seek therapy. 
• If there aren't 10,000 people on this side of town in the exact same situation, I will eat my shorts. I feel like these subjects should not be off limits for local websites. How incredible and empowering would it be to have a website--at least occasionally--be your virtual "wingman" or "wingwoman"?
• I am 42 going on 43 years old. I need to go out more than two or three nights a week. Until I meet someone, I can't just put socializing on hold for 2/3 of the week, especially not when I am at or near the top of my game, physically and mentally. Ain't no one getting any younger, least of all me.
• I feel that local websites are long on arty-farty writing and short on actionable intel and original insights. We have a surplus of humanities students (myself included) and it seems to me that someone just needs to say to these sites, "We get it!" I don't check local websites to be astounded by cleverness. I check them to find shit to do. I believe content accessed with relatively costly mobile connectivity should add more value to people's lives than a free newspaper, and should not be written from the same hidebound and uncommercial viewpoint.

Anodyne Coffee in Walker's Point

I can contribute to the "happy days" wave sweeping the Internet. Thirty-plus years ago, a bleary Sunday afternoon would (on those not spent at my Grandma's) mean packing into the car and being driven out to Northridge or Mill Road (remember that?) for a movie. Today, I walked from my apartment just north of Downtown Milwaukee, tablet in hand, to a coffeehouse a mile or two away. There, '80s music plays at a pleasingly loud volume. About  two and a half years after its opening, the Walker's Point cafe has gained solid traction and is home to a nicely diverse crowd. The couple at the other end of the long table is on a personal ads date. I don't always find myself inwardly rooting for the guy in such situations, but today I am. As always, the coffee drinks are solid, but no product in particular stands out this time.

Because they're playing DETROIT f'in' ROCK CITY!!

County Clare

I've been to County Clare twice this week, and last night ran up a substantial bar tab. But there were extenuating circumstances, you see. I met a couple guys from Germany, had a chance to practice my German and was encouraged to participate in local German-language groups. I like County Clare because Milwaukee seems uncomfortably similar to Potterville sometimes. County Clare is different, especially on weekends. It's refreshingly free of "bro" and alpha male-ish characteristics, and equally refreshingly nearly free of TV screens! 

A New Blog Vision: Advocate, Educate, Illuminate

As a moonlight hobby, I am thinking of launching (perhaps more accurately, reviving) a local website that will provide coverage of local events from a perspective that I would want to read. Here are some considerations that have led to this aspiration.

• The Shepherd Express and Milwaukee Record are written from the same general point of view, share the same basic worldview, and after reading the Shepherd for twenty years, I feel it has been recycling mostly the same product for that entire time. There is no local media outlet that attracts my interest any more.
• OnMilwaukee.com has never really been satisfactory in my view either, though I am greatly indebted to them for providing early coverage of Milwaukee Specialty Coffee. I believe a media outlet ought primarily to uplift, regardless of financial success or lack thereof. That is a hard sell. To pursue that goal takes someone pretty extraordinary, with some unique talents and a certain set of strengths and weaknesses. For better or worse, I believe that person is me.
• Pursuing a media venture for profit alone is a slippery slope, particularly when it comes to being "all about the clicks". A recent interview with the senior writer of a local online media outlet gave me pause when she said something that I (probably incorrectly) interpreted to be disparaging to people over thirty. She described pressure to write about twentysomethings, "because after all, they attract all the clicks." (Or words to that effect.) Unless we're talking about a porn site, that seems shortsighted.  Will that continue to be as true as the Millenial generation approaches middle age?
• The existing media enforce their preferences in everything from food to music to body type. Though a certain amount of enforcing is inevitable in any editorial environment, I will try to grow beyond just enforcing to an iteration of myself in which I advocate, educate, and illuminate. That vision of myself will be the inspiration for my entire life and for my writing in particular.

Blog Reboot

I decided that there was enough coffee-related news to justify a blog reboot. There are two notable cafe openings in the near future. Fiddleheads is opening a location at Bayshore Town Center, and a still-to-be-named cafe is to open in the Flatiron Building on N. Water St. in Milwaukee. The first is about a block from my parents' house, and the second is about three blocks from where I work. I also have a few anecdotes to share, one being that I was in Canada on vacation in August and had a lot of great coffee there. They have a fantastic chain called Second Cup, with many locations even open 24 hours. I had a couple great coffees at 1 a.m.

With the persistent troublesome economic climate marked by especially by rising food prices, I think the need for clear thinking about arguments for and against large chains in the service industry is greater than ever. A local coffeehouse that I frequent in the far northern suburbs is plagued by supply chain problems and other issues; last Saturday, I wasn't able to order food at 5 p.m. That doesn't concern me for my own sake, but seems like a waste of opportunity for the coffeehouse—and a bit unfortunate for consumers who are, I feel, sometimes hectored into patronizing pricey local food and drink establishments. I wonder if these coffeehouses are using the local business associations to share best practices and all of the innovations that have become commonplace in the wider business world. 

This One's for all the Dads

This is by far my favorite season of the year in Wisconsin. The air is just brimming with life. I made the mistake of parking my car underneath some trees and bushes, after just having it washed yesterday evening. Everything that accumulated on its windows overnight is now being washed off by a vigorous downpour. I was caught in the storm briefly before reaching the shelter of my car. The air is intoxicating to breathe. It's one of those days that makes me feel that however long I live, it won't be nearly long enough to soak up all that life offers.

This gift is one from my father and indeed the spirit of dads and grandpas everywhere. I've visited the graves of both of my grandfathers in the last couple weeks. I never knew my paternal grandfather, so I have to hope that will be among the joys of Heaven. I didn't know my maternal grandfather as much as I'd like to, partly because of old-fashioned male reticence, but also because I had a hard time with a lot of the things he did say. Only when I became a young man, around the time he died, did I slowly start to gain the ability to see past that.

Men who are fathers are changed by that experience. Maybe men who aren't are changed by lacking that experience. While I seem to spend a great deal of time trying to feel like a teenager again, I hope it's not altogether too long before fatherhood happens for me. Though I believe even those without kids of their own can be "moms" and "dads" in a sense to certain areas of their life, obviously nothing compares to the full experience.

May 15, 2013

For our society. "Where do we go from here" is a more valid question than ever. I remain convinced that the North American society we know is a brilliant venture of history. I have deep faith in the goodness of its people, though they are a people too often led astray--perhaps precisely because they are so good and trusting. The way forward is not always clear when there is so much, when everybody has so much stuff and it is all the same. The answer might be something fairly unexciting and unmarketable as data-driven common sense. A return to common sense would dictate that most people ought to have a basic car, at least for some purposes, and that a person ought to have enough supplies in the refrigerator to make a sandwich. And some money in the bank. The data-driven part is what gets us there if, like me, we do not always meet these standards.

Here's to You

In times that are tough for so many, it's sometimes hard for me to feel good. It occurred to me that maybe I should stop trying so hard to feel good and be content with feeling equipped. Equipped to care, equipped to listen, equipped to lend a helping hand. Like so many people, I feel overwhelmed by the flood of bad national and world news on top of a busy life and feel helpless to prevent painful personal stories around me. I don't feel in any way special enough to have anything to contribute by simply being me. Yet so often, that is exactly what is needed most. Good people need to come out of the woodwork and fully inhabit their roles as workers, friends and contributors to the global conversation.

An elementary school teacher once wrote in capital letters on my report card: "Mike's progress has been tremendous!" And it's hard to imagine a more precious gift. I recently had to look him up on Facebook in order to thank him. Here's to you, indeed! At age 40, I feel like efforts to progress are more necessary than ever. During hard economic times, it's easy for the national conversation in venues like Facebook to turn into snipping and indeed sniping. There is so little gratitude for the tough voices in our lives and indeed for the tough events in our lives. I feel that the toughest voices in mine have been some of the most valuable.

I was a fat kid, and gym class was always my least favorite. Gym teachers weren't looking for much from me in the way of athletic prowess, but were certainly looking at how I responded to my lack of physical achievement. Would I simply give up, or would I take the opportunity to turn a terrible time on a distance run into a not-so-terrible one? Such challenges are encountered again and again throughout our lives, though perhaps for a smaller audience. Few of us are the super-popular kid or the fastest runner. But being the most improved is often within our reach.

Our society of entitlement and consumerism conditions us to view everyone as a little Santa Claus. We expect society to be the lever that will give us much for comparatively little effort. I'm not saying that all of our problems would be solved by doing the opposite, but will say that doing basically the opposite has worked for me, and continues to. We need to be more willing to accept that a life of subtle recognition and reward means that we are doing something deeply right. We need to accept that close observers will offer pointed comments and not always what we want to hear.