One Season Ends, Another Begins

August 31

As we move from summer music and theatre to fall high school events . . .

Nature has a myriad of weapons to combat human arrogance. ~ Wayne Gerard Trotman

Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.  ~  Mary Oliver

August 26

This was the last program of the season for Theatre L’Homme Dieu. I heard from several people it was the best season ever. I have no reason to contest those opinions . . .

Bluegrass is wonderful music. I’m glad I originated it. ~ Bill Monroe

It seems like bluegrass people have more great stories to tell than other musicians. ~ Dan Fogelberg

Members
Nate Sipe: Mandolin, Fiddle
Kevin Kniebel: Banjo
J Lenz: Acoustic Guitar
Justin Bruhn: Upright Bass
Matt Cartier: Clogs & Fiddle

Discography
2005 – Live: Just Outside of Sandstone
2007 – Up and Down The River
2008 – Needle & Thread
2009 – Out On A Spree
2011 – Paradise Hop
2013 – Ship of Fools 7”
2014 – The Hardest Part of Leaving
2016 – Discovery of Honey

I like this place and could willingly waste my time in it.  ~  William Shakespeare

[Early arrivers, the Super took our blue chairs out on the lawn to claim our usual in-theatre spots – row E, seats 1 & 2 . . . ]

All theatre, by virtue of its being a cultural construct and therefore ideologically inscribed, is political. ~ Mark S Weinberg

A hotel room all to myself is my idea of a good time. ~ Chelsea Handler

[The stage is being set . . . ]

[We ran into Robb Justice, a regular performer on the local music scene . . . ]

It’s music [bluegrass] that finds its way deep into your soul because it’s strings vibrating against wood and nothing else. ~ Alison Krauss

I think the singer/songwriter genre is going to be like bluegrass and jazz. You can make a living at it, but it’s not part of the musical mainstream anymore. ~ Steve Earle

[From behind the stage with the lodge and cabins in the background . . . ]

It can hardly be a coincidence that no language on earth has ever produced the expression, ‘As pretty as an airport’. ~ Douglas Adams

People like bluegrass. It’s had a following amongst a lot of hip and young people. A lot of college kids like bluegrass. ~ Dolly Parton

Because the blues is the basis of most American music in the 20th century. It’s a 12-bar form that’s played by jazz, bluegrass and country musicians. It has a rhythmic vocabulary that’s been used by rock n’ roll. It’s related to spirituals, and even the American fiddle tradition. ~ Wynton Marsalis

Bluegrass has a very, very strict musical form. Once you start to dilute it, it disappears. ~ Emmylou Harris (whom my brother once roadied for)

The grand old lady of bluegrass? Well, wouldn’t that be a wonderful title to have? I hope I do enough to earn it some day. ~ Alison Krauss

[A new theatre board member was caught slinking away after grabbing a couple stage front photo ops . . . ]

Bluegrass is in my blood and in my ears. ~ Charlie Haden

It was so much fun playing simple American bluegrass. I got to meet Doc Watson. ~ Dan Fogelberg

There’s Americana, there’s Bluegrass, there’s some rock, there’s some really George Jones-style stuff on it, slow-style Ray Price country elements, there’s some modern country, a little of this and a little of that. ~ Cody Johnson

Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world, and I’ll stand on Bob Dylan’s coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that. ~ Steve Earle

I wanted to use some kind of name so people would know where I was from. So I took the name “bluegrass.” There is not a prettier name in the whole world. ~ Bill Monroe

[The actual view from our seats . . . ]

Herb and I met each other forty years ago when we were both eighteen years old, playing bluegrass, and that’s what drew me into music, and I enjoyed every particular part of my career. ~ Chris Hillman

Although it was hard to tell, with bluegrass, wether or not they were supposed to sound like geese. ~ Sarah McCarry

. . . Or a group of bluegrass musicians who’d be playing the most raucous tunes imaginable, looking around at each other with bemused expressions that seemed to say where’s all that racket comin from? ~ Carolyn Jourdan

The guitar is such an incredible instrument; it plays classical, flamenco, jazz, country, bluegrass, rock, acid, blues. You’ll never see a clarinet playing Black Sabbath. But you will see a guitar in a clarinet band playing rhythm. It is the most popular instrument in the world; it is the one everybody loves. ~ Randy Bachman

I was in a bluegrass band. I made two records with a band called the SteelDrivers. ~ Chris Stapleton

I love nature, I just don’t want to get any of it on me.  ~  Woody Allen

[As the daylight began to wither . . . ]

Terry Kennedy was in the house. Terry and I can jointly claim, before we knew each other and likely in the 80’s, we saw The Seldom Seen perform at the legendary Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia. ~ Me

Soon the Boov was in the ghost suit and Pig was in the car, which would be a good lyric for a bluegrass song, now that I think of it. ~ Adam Rex

[Time for a stroll around the venue . . . ]

I feel good about being able to take bluegrass on to television like ‘Letterman’ and ‘The View,’ and I’ve heard nice things about being able to do that. ~ Steve Martin

I had some good teachers. One of the greatest teachers I’ve had is bluegrass music: going back and listening to Bill Monroe’s music, the Stanley Brothers, Flatt & Scruggs. ~ Ricky Skaggs

It’s true that bluegrass is a virtuosic form and asks that of its performer. ~ Ketch Secor

[From behind the control booth . . . ]

The reason why you don’t eat Kentucky bluegrass or crabgrass is because it tastes sour and bitter. ~ Homaro Cantu

I got to sing with Placido Domingo … I got to sing with Aaron Neville, who is one of my favorites. Got to sing with Brian Wilson, one of the great high tenors. And Ricky Skaggs, a bluegrass tenor. I’m also proud of my musical friendship with Emmylou Harris. ~ Linda Ronstadt

By the time I made the bluegrass record … I’m more impressed with myself when I push the envelope musically than I am when I push it literality. ~ Steve Earle

The Irish came over with their fiddles in hand, and you can hear it in the bluegrass and rockabilly. I love it when music from different countries combine. ~ Imelda May

Nothing is more beautiful than the loveliness of the woods before sunrise.  ~  George Washington Carver

[The theatre campus . . . ]

Like, I do sort of an acoustic version of ‘Purple Haze’ that has some bluegrass licks in it. ~ Eugene Chadbourne

Once all the power goes out, there will still be human beings standing together around a campfire, playing acoustic guitars. ~ Jim James

[A couple of guys were dancing in the vicinity of the stage. One kicked out a power cord; the place scrambled for resolution. It was determined they were overcome by bluegrass . . . ]

Mike Compton knows more about Bill Monroe style mandolin than the Father of Bluegrass himself. ~ John Hartford

[It’s over . . . ]

I always loved bluegrass, but there was so much I didn’t know about American country music in respect to the origins of this country. It was interesting to see the evolution of it. ~ Clare Bowen

[Well, until the encores . . . ]

I just hope bluegrass entertainers take care of their music and take care of their fans. If you don’t practice, the man next door who is practicing will beat you. ~ Bill Monroe

[Good night, and thank you boys! Get down, get funky!]

[Kudos again to TLHD’s executive director, Nicole Mulder, and to the board’s president and first lady, Jim and Jan Pence (left background). See you all again next year!]

August 27

The setup: We haven’t attended many sporting events over the last couple years – something to do with COVID protocols and, if not, personal health protocols. Last year our football Cardinals made the state tournament, so I revisited (thanks to YouTube) our great section semifinal game against Moorhead. Our three main skill positions (aren’t they all skill positions?) – quarterback, running back, and wide receiver – were all seniors last year. That’s a lot to replace. When I arrived at the scrimmage it was like the good old days at the hockey arena where the “older” fans were the folks I called the “guys on the rail” who stood for the whole game above the seating area. Well, there was another group of football “guys at the rail” when I arrived, one of which attended freshmen games last year and liked the 6’6″ now-sophomore, likely the starting quarterback this year. So, we all kibitzed each other for the whole scrimmage . . .

[Up at the crack of dawn the next day for the first high school football scrimmage of the season. Our Cardinals (red pants) were hosting, to the best of our knowledge, Fergus Falls, Albany, and Big Lake. Each team would rotate to scrimmage each other team . . . ]

I got the shakes that’ll make you quake. I got the fries that’ll cross your eyes. I got the burgers that’ll…I just got burgers. ~ Cheeseburger Eddie, The Longest Yard (2005)

[Our first look at the new, hypersonic scoreboard . . . ]

Football is an incredible game. Sometimes it’s so incredible, it’s unbelievable. ~ Tom Landry

[Big Lake on offense against our defense . . . ]

I’m the football coach around here and don’t you remember it. ~ Bill Peterson

[Our first look at 6’6″ sophomore quarterback, Chase Thompson . . . ]

Having two weeks off gives family, friends, and the media more time to get on your nerves. ~ Deion Sanders

[It’s a handoff . . . ]

It’s ridiculous for a country to get all worked up about a game—except the Super Bowl, of course. Now that’s important. ~ Andy Rooney

[And now a rollout pass . . . ]

The next MVP of the Super Bowl is just as likely to have been a full-time grocery store bagger last year as a Heisman Trophy winner. ~ Hunter S. Thompson

It’s an unprecedented precedent. ~ Clark Carlisle

[It’s another handoff . . . ]

Cancel the Super Bowl? That’s like canceling Christmas! ~ Thomas Harris

[Into the hole . . . ]

In life, as in football, you won’t go far unless you know where the goalposts are. ~ Arnold H. Glasow

[This, and remaining photos, are all shot on “burst,” a/k/a continuous shooting. Those displayed herein are at about 5-photo intervals . . . ]

When I played at Minnesota, Green Bay, those northern cities, Buffalo, they wanted to have those championship games at home. It was going to be an advantage to be there with their fans and the cold weather and all that. ~ Tony Dungy

[The running back is in the scrum somewhere. Absent programs for this, we couldn’t identify individual players . . . ]

This helicopter flies overhead, probably taking pictures, and McMahon just moons it. He mooned the helicopter from the field. ~ William “The Refrigerator” Perry

[And he pops out the other side . . . ]

Cheerleading isn’t easy if it was more guys would be in it. ~ Tucky, Brownsville, TX, USA

Not every girl can be a cheerleader, it takes a special kind. Cheerleaders are full of life and a little bit out of their mind. ~ Jennifer, Tennessee, USA

Now I lay me down to sleep, megaphone and pom poms at my feet! ~ Mo, The Sunshine State

[Young Mr. Thompson showed off some nice skills. I think people at the next level will have an eye on him . . . ]

All Grange can do is run. And all Caruso can do is sing. ~ Bob Zuppke

The shoulder surgery was a success. The lobotomy failed. ~ Mike Ditka

He couldn’t spell cat if you spotted him the C and the T. ~ Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson

I don’t know whether I prefer Astroturf to grass. I never smoked Astroturf. ~ Joe Namath

I’ve been big ever since I was little. ~ William “The Refrigerator” Perry

I resigned as the Broncos coach because of illness and fatigue. The fans were sick and tired of me. ~ John Ralston

If cheerleading was any easier it would be called football. ~ Kim, Bristol, Maine, USA

You got one guy going boom, one guy going whack, and one guy not getting in the endzone. ~ John Madden

I’m a light eater. As soon as it’s light, I start to eat. ~ Art Donovan

When it’s third and ten, you can take the milk drinkers and I’ll take the whiskey drinkers every time. ~ Max McGee

I always used to put my right boot on first, and then obviously my right sock. ~ Barry Venison

In high school, when I played football I got no respect. I shared a locker with a mop. ~ Rodney Dangerfield

Up Next: Cardinal football hosts Hutchinson, the defending state champions, on Friday. The Cardinal girls soccer team is already 3 – 0 by a combined score of 17 – 0!