the unequivocal notion

Another one bites the dust

On the heels of the Milky Way closing up shop in Downtown Boise this certainly isn't a welcome announcement in the foodie world.

Mortimer's in Downtown Boise is shuttering its doors.

KTVB:

Mortimer's closing; newspaper review forced decision

BOISE - A prominent downtown Boise restaurant is closing its doors – and the owner says a bad review in a local newspaper was the catalyst.

Mortimer’s in the Belgravia Building on Fifth Street will close Saturday June 21st .  It’s the second upscale restaurant to close this spring – after the Milky Way shut its doors in April.

“For those of you who wonder why we are closing after eight years, the answer is simple: Last month Jon (Mortimer, restaurant owner) received the worst review of his career by the Idaho Statesman’s restaurant critic Guy Hand,” a letter to customers of the restaurant read.

This leaves Jon Mortimer with Franco Latino in Eagle, but I'd really consider that a step down from Mortimer's. We went there a while ago and just weren't overly impressed. Although now that it has Chef Mortimer's full attention maybe it'll get that kick that it seemed to need.

Although Mortimer doesn't attribute economics to the closing, I can't help but wonder how much our current economy is hurting local restaurants. There gets to be a point where people stop going out to eat to make up the rising price of... well, everything.

Some additional thoughts...

I was thinking about this while I was just mowing my yard and listening to some Zepplin.

If the circumstances of the closing of Mortimer's are, as Mortimer says -- and I have no reason to doubt otherwise, then I'd think that this is quite the honorable thing to do. Perhaps with all of the other ventures that Mortimer is involved in he didn't realize that the kitchen at his flagship restaurant was starting to lack. Which is especially important because the food that comes out of a chef's kitchen is the most important aspect of their brand -- it is their brand.

There is a tendency for restaurant and bar owners to put their head in the sand when it comes to outside observation and critique. Maybe he could have just written it off and kept plugging away, as his brand becomes more and more diminished. I've known a bar or two along with a Nampa restaurant that have failed to listen to outsiders and they slowly diminished out of existence. But it seems that he wants to continue with his other ventures, radio & TV and limit his ownership to Franco Latino (and the reasons he cites for keeping Franco Latino over Mortimer's are quite valid).

While it may disappoint fans, it makes sense and seems the right thing to do.

Read Mortimer's letter.

Idaho beer festival updates

Sadly; Michael Deeds reported last week in the Idaho Statesman that the Old Boise Brewers Beer Festival has been canceled this year because "... a slow economy, too-few sponsors and the lack of a suitable location". Sad news indeed for Boise imbibers -- but all hope isn't lost for good, they are looking to put it on in '09. We had a great time last year, although last year we were pretty beat after visiting The Reef mid-festival and then heading to the Front Door to close it out.

Not that Boise doesn't have a second, smaller, if not more wacky option. New Belgium Brewery's Tour de Fat will be riding (literally) into town on August 23rd. Looks like you can pick yourself up your very own New Belgium Brewery Fat Tire bike for $500.

But of course, the granddaddy of the Idaho beer festivals, The Mountain Brewers' Beer Festival in Idaho Falls is of course a green light for next weekend the 7th of June. The biggest beer festival in Idaho, The Mountain Brewers' Beer Festival has hundreds of beers from over 80 breweries this year. We've always had a good time at this festival. And for those of you that like to hang around these 'tubes, you're bound to see some of the guys from 43rd State Blues. $20 bucks for all-you-can-drink northwest brews for 6 hours. It's a long trek from the Valley to Idaho Falls, but it's worth it.

And you can't forget, with all three of these festivals, not only do you get to have a good time drinking with your fellow brew lovers, but they are all benefits for various local charities.

Updated

Boise Weekly has a story about the Mountain Brewers Beer Festival in Idaho Falls this weekend.

100 best bars in America

Esquire Magazine picked the top 100 bars in America, only one from Idaho made the list; Boise's Pengilly's Saloon.

Of course, I think Pete's Tavern in Nampa should have made the list for the simple fact that they have a cave in the back.

"Real" farmer's markets

The Boise Guardian has a great idea -- one that seemingly shouldn't take a lot to get some serious traction.

Built to Spill back in Boise

Built To Spill w/ openers Helvetia and The Universal will be playing @ The Visual Arts Collective in Garden City on May 24th.

Tix: 15$, pre-sale only, no tix at the door. Buy here starting tomorrow.

(thanks km)

Video for Built To Spill's track "Conventional Wisdom" is down below.

More on the great chain debate

Rachael Daigle of the Boise Weekly has a great writeup this week on the debate between the local joints and the chain restaurants:

[...]

Was my position unwelcoming to chain restaurants looking to relocate downtown? Most certainly. If I had my way, the chains would be relegated to an existence on Eagle Road, where they are a safe distance from the restaurants that make Boise's culinary scene unique. Like it or not, Boise can only support so many restaurants. More restaurants means more choices, but it also means diners are spread more thinly. Take into account the rising price of food and the of tightening consumers' budgets due to a slowing economy and it means fewer butts in seats for everyone, chains and locals alike. The difference? Those with large corporate budgets can weather a string of slow months. The locals can't.

[...]

When a city loses a local restaurant, the loss extends further than its menu. It means the erosion of region-specific cuisine; it means the disappearance of local cooking styles and flair; ultimately, it means less culinary diversity across the nation. Chew on this: What would Boise's culinary scene look like without Basque restaurants? Which chain restaurants would serve fingersteaks and fry sauce? It may seem like doomsday conspiracy theory to hypothesize that if trends continue at the current rate, locally owned restaurants will be a thing of the past in another half century. In reality, though, restaurants are one of the last surviving hold-outs from corporate America's takeover. We're not having this discussion about locally owned drugstores, are we? Or toy stores, or auto-parts retailers, or grocery stores, or gas stations ...

Make sure you read the whole thing, she makes some really good points.

On that note, BW also mentions that Ketchum Burritos in BoDo has also closed up shop.

Ben's Crow Inn

Alan from IdaBlue went to a place that we love around these parts.

Mmm, beer and clams.

The Invasion @ The Knitting Factory

Really a pretty good show. It's pretty nice to see a local band that has put not only a lot of thought into their music, but they've also put a lot of thought into their live show and their image (which like it or not kiddies, image is the front door in the music biz).

The guy on the right is Grammy award winner Art Hodge who helped produce the band's album and also helped out on stage last night for a few songs.

You can't help but compare this Nampa-based band to Muse, although they are a tad bit more pop"py" than Muse -- which isn't a bad thing at all. And for me this is a pretty good comparison because I happen to enjoy Muse quite a bit. The Invasion has great stage presence, they were extremely tight and Aaron Brown can belt out some pretty amazing vocals. I really wouldn't be surprised if you start hearing more of this band in the near future.

Check out the band's MySpace page here where you can listen to some tracks off of the new album. You can also check out the band's main website here.

Knitting Factory is now official

The Big Easy.

The change that has been rumbling for the last year is now finally official, The Big Easy has been bought out and renamed The Knitting Factory. From the sounds of it you won't notice anything different right now, but that'll be changing pretty quickly.

Idaho Press-Tribune has a story here.

Michael Deeds of the Idaho Statesman had this to say about The Bourbon Street Saloon:

The upstairs bar, Bourbon Street Saloon, also has a new name: the Alter Knit Lounge. (Get it? Alternate?) You can start calling it that now. No, go ahead, really. Unlike Bourbon Street, there will not be live bands in the Alter Knit Lounge. Just occasional DJs and "other programming." Food will continue to be served. I assume the New Orleans menu eventually will be tossed or, at least, tweaked. I hear they're bringing in the former chefs of the defunct MilkyWay.

This would be most excellent. Not only should (in theory) the Knitting Factory bring in more mid-level bands -- the food will get as they say... "kicked up a notch" (excuse the New Orleans/Big Easy irony in that).

Big Easy gets renewed

The Big Easy (Knitting Factory?) was able to strike a compromise with the Alcohol and Beverage Control board in order to maintain their liquor license -- and thus, remain in business.

KBCI:

Big Easy Gets Liquor License Renewed

BOISE- Nearly a year ago, Idaho State Police officers nabbed more than a half a dozen establishments around the Treasure Valley for violations including selling alcohol to underage kids and nudity, but on Monday night managers of one of Boise's largest concert venues says for them, it's business as usual.

Managers of the Big Easy Concert House say the Alcohol and Beverage Control questioned whether their venue should be considered a restaurant, after last years sting, which ultimately put their liquor license in jeopardy. But to help clear up any confusion, they say with their liquor licensed just renewed, they're not going anywhere.

The future of the Big Easy has been a little rocky for the past year after an undercover Idaho State Police sting targeted their business and seven others. The Big Easy was busted for allegedly selling alcohol to minors and simulating sex acts, during their Men of Las Vegas Show.

[...]

Hanson did say those under 21 could be excluded from certain concerts, and/or certain areas inside the venue. Hanson says the Big Easy has given A.B.C. a written plan, outlining things they need to have happen in order to continue business as usual, he says they are waiting to hear back from the Alcohol and Beverage Control on their plan.

I'm glad that they'll still be able to offer shows to the under-21 crowd as they shouldn't be punished from seeing great rock shows simply because of their age. You won't however, hear me complain if they are quarantined somewhere by themselves.

Speaking of the overzealous Idaho morality police -- there is a great piece in the Idaho Statesman about the 1910 Idaho Sunday-closing laws. One which banned sinful things such as "movie theaters", "pool halls", "merry-go-rounds", or "any such place of amusement". The old legislature -- same as the new legislature.

Chef Andrae Bopp on MilkyWay closing

One of Boise's premier chefs, Chef Andrae Bopp of Andrae's weighs in on the closing of Downtown Boise's MilkyWay.

Idaho Statesman:

"Yep, they're done. It's a sad state of affairs for Downtown," said Andrae Bopp, chef and owner of Andrae's.

Bopp bemoaned the lack of support for local restaurants, saying "Here we have Bonefish Grill opening up, and these guys who are working their butts off, closing. It's disturbing."

Indeed.

More often than not local restaurants buy local meats and produce and hire local staff thus keeping/expanding revenue in our area. If you think the profits that Olive Garden made from your crappy frozen shrimp linguine are staying in the state -- you're out of your mind.

Shop local. Eat local. Drink local.

Updated

Right on cue the Idaho Statesman's comment section turned into a giggling pit of mutant 3rd graders seeing who can lob the biggest clump of crap without using their thumbs. As to how the conversation turned from the MilkyWay closing to boobs -- well, I'll never know.

Boise's MilkyWay to shutter its doors

The MilkyWay the venerable Downtown Boise institution is closing its doors for the last time this weekend.

Boise Weekly:

The Milky Way to Close This Weekend

It's sad, but true. Boise will lose one its best-loved restaurants this weekend.

Saturday is your last chance to get a Ten Minute Martini and a plate of Jalapeño Shrimp Bites.

[...]

In an interview with BW today, Andrea Maricich, a co-owner of the restaurant with her husband Mitchell, A.K.A. "Milky," said the restaurant was struggling in today's economic climate.

"It's the combination of a bad economy and the rising price of food," Maricich said.

Make sure you read the whole post from BW; they are updating their story as they hear more.

Best known for their Jalapeño Shrimp Bites and award winning Ten Minute Martini The MilkyWay brought great food and wine to people for a very reasonable price. Easily one of the largest and definitely the most accessible wine list in the valley. It was almost the mecca of eateries in Boise -- someone from out of town asks you where they should go to while they are here; The MilkyWay.

Sad thing is -- if this is happening to such a popular dining establishment because of the economy, how are some of the other less popular (equally as good) dining locales faring?

Smokefree Boise website

Smokefree Boise, the group that is purposing an ordinance banning smoking in Boise bars now has a website. The title of the website does however suggest some broader ambitions.

Updated

Interesting FARK thread on the banning of smoking in bars -- and by "interesting" I mean full of name calling and random assumptions, but there are also some interesting observations.

Wilco coming to Boise?

Deeds damn near says it without saying it.

Clue uno:

As Statesman readers will find out in tomorrow's Scene column, there's a notable summer concert series planned at the Idaho Botanical Garden. I'm pleased about the series — not necessarily for the three acts booked so far, but for future potential. Boise simply does not have enough outdoor concerts. (And if you can guess the "NPR/Paste/North Ender" band that I refer to in that column, I salute you. I'll give you one more hint: It has five letters in its name.)

As our own Red State Rebel pointed out in the comments: W-I-L-C-O.

Clue dos:

If that lineup feels a little bit country, well, it is. But organizers are working on adding a couple more performers to the series. Mentioning specific acts is bad luck, so mum's the word. But a Chicago alt-rock band is close to confirming that would make NPR listeners/Paste magazine readers/North Enders roll naked in the roses like Mena Suvari in "American Beauty."

Wilco just happens to hail from Chicago.

Let's hope they can get this one booked. Wilco in Boise would be an amazing show, Jeff Tweedy is one of the best song writers of our time. That being said I hope they'd have it at the Egyptian Theatre in Downtown Boise. Call me crotchety, but if I have to deal with dancing hippies then I'd rather deal with them in air conditioning, cause there isn't much worse than sweaty, inconsiderate stinking hippies at a concert.

Wanna check out Wilco performing "Sky Blue Sky"? Yeah, I thought you did. It's down below.

Updated

Go here for information on buying tix.

Smokefree Boise meets today

Smokefree Boise, the group trying to get an ordinance passed to ban smoking in bars is having a rally today at First Thursday at The Grove in Boise.

I'll also note that if you want people to take you seriously, you need real website to distribute information to the people you're trying to convince. And MySpace is not a substitute for a real website.

Going smokeless in Boise bars?

I'm not quite sure how I feel about this.

KBCI:

Proposed smoking ban in Boise

BOISE - David Crawford, a smoker, knows that 20 years of lighting up have not been the best for his health.

"I've quit 100 times. Maybe one day it'll stick," Crawford said.

A group of health advocates, known as "Smokefree Boise," is proposing a ban on smoking in Boise bars.

"There's a trend towards going smoke-free nationwide. Of course, we're definitely not breaking new ground here. Other states have done it and have had huge successes," said Katie Whittier, a spokesperson for Smokefree Boise.

On one hand I love smoke-free establishments, but on the other hand, that's a choice I make, not a choice I want made for me. It's just a personal preference that I've developed in my elder years, but that is what it is, a preference.

I just don't think that forcing smokers to congregate at the entrance to places where you choose to be is necessarily the right thing to do.

More booze in the news -- The Big Easy denied

Whoever the Big Easy pissed off, they pissed them off really good.

Idaho Statesman:

Senators kill bill allowing alcohol at all-ages shows
Boise's Big Easy Concert House says the law was necessary for it to bring in entertainment

A popular Boise concert club is closer to losing its ability to sell alcohol at all-ages events.

A Senate committee on Monday rejected a bill that would have changed the state's liquor rules to help the club.

The bill was brought to the Senate State Affairs Committee by the owners of the Big Easy Concert House. It would have created a new class of establishments, called "events centers," which could serve liquor while minors are present. That would have put the Big Easy in the same league as sporting venues like Qwest and Taco Bell arenas.

"We have as a state tried to keep minors away from environments where the sale of liquor, including liquor by the drink, is readily available, and we continue to chip away at it," said Sen. Bart Davis, R-Idaho Falls, who voted against the bill.

The Big Easy, which opened in 2001, is allowed to serve liquor during all-ages events because it is recognized by the state as a restaurant, a designation the Idaho State Police is trying to revoke. State police have argued that the Big Easy functions more like a bar than a restaurant.

This, like most else that comes out of Idaho's Legislature is just plain stupid. There is no place in the state that does more to ensure underage people don't drink than the Big Easy. You can't walk 10 feet without coming under the assuming glare of one of the many bouncers that they employ. When we were sitting at the bar before the Drive-By Truckers show last week the bartender checked every single person who came to the bar for their over-21 wristband. Every single one. No system is perfect, but that is exactly why place like Qwest, Taco Bell Arena and the Idaho Center shouldn't get special rules just for them.

Possibly gone now are shows like Bright Eyes, one of the most prolific bands of the last 10 years, one who attracted 16-year-olds to 66-year-olds last time they were in Boise. Of course, I guess I should know better than to think that these old curmudgeons care for what musical acts come to Boise.

I think what I find most infuriating about this is the blatant forcefulness that the Legislature is using to shove their narrow scope of morals onto everyone else. I'd argue that patrons, both under and above the age of 21 have a right to see acts such as Josh Ritter, The Drive-By Truckers, Modest Mouse or Built to Spill. Some of these artist's music is ageless -- it doesn't conform to typical musical stereotypes. People under the age of 21 have a right to see such acts, and people over the age of 21 have a right to enjoy an adult beverage while they are watching these acts -- it's really that simple.

After all the hoops that Idaho's Legislature goes through to allow Qwest and Tamarack to get special consideration for whatever they want, you'd think that the Big Easy's only problem is not having the right lobbyist. This even though the lobbyist's father Sen. Denton Darrington is on the Senate State Affairs committee (he abstained from the vote, which is appropriate). I'd love to make some guesses as to what religion members of the Senate State Affairs committee subscribe to by making broad generalizations of where they reside, but alas, the Senate membership page is down, for the 10th time this session. How appropriate. How useless.

Personally, I don't think Idaho's Legislature is just after the Big Easy, I would wager a guess that they are out to punish Boise, the Liberal bastion that doesn't vote red. I can't really say much for any other states, but if they are half as useless as Idaho's Legislature; then God have mercy on this country.

Also today the Idaho Statesman has a great "Our View" which goes after Gov. Otter's task force for, well, basically doing nothing so far. It's a good read if you're following the booze issues in Idaho.

Update

Clayton Cramer writes comments -- promptly tosses any sense of personal responsibility right out the window.

Bringing Naples to Boise in the form of pizza

I saw this in the Idaho Statesman this morning:

Food notes: Flatbread Community Oven gets props from Italy, expands to Oregon

Flatbread Community Oven (3139 S. Bown Way, Boise, 343-4177) recently was certified as an official Neapolitan pizzeria, making it one of 20 restaurants in the United States to hold the distinction.

The Bown Crossing restaurant received the certification from the U.S. delegate of the Italian Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana that regulates and protects the culinary tradition.

"Neapolitan-style" pizza is commonplace, but authentic Neapolitan pizza only can be found at 48 restaurants outside of Italy.

Flatbread Community Oven is one of them, and the only one in Idaho.

"(Pizza is) an incredibly crowded segment of the industry, and we wanted to create a point of distinction," said owner Robert Lumsden. "We're not doing the same thing as everyone else."

To be designated as authentic Neapolitan pizza, a pie must be baked in a wood-fired oven at 800-plus degrees and made fresh from scratch with ingredients like whole-milk mozzarella and San Marzano tomatoes.

Only four ingredients - type 00 Italian hand-milled flour, Mediterranean sea salt, yeast and water - can go into the crust, which is required to have a diameter of 13 inches and a certain thickness in the middle. Flatbread Community Oven has an Italian-made spiral mixer for the dough.

I have to say I haven't had their pizza yet, frankly, the only time I'm ever on that side of Boise is when the Idaho Shakespeare Festival is in season -- but I have to say that it looks pretty damn delish (in fact that whole Brown's Crossing area looks pretty nifty). Simple fresh pizza's are my favorites, the more that I cook pizza at home the more I realize that if the sauce is perfect then you only need to add one or maybe two toppings. I've also learned that pizza is a great way to experiment with flavor combinations, I kind of look at the dough like a blank canvas ready to be painted with fresh ingredients. What is nice about it, is that you can experiment with flavor combos, but you don't have to worry about plate presentation.

I like pizza of almost any style, although I'm not really a fan of deep dish Chicago style pizza I can deal with it every now and then. And I do love me some Flying Pie, their pizza is pretty outstanding, although personally I'd prefer a slice of Guidos New York style pizza (cheese and basil please). Flying Pie does win hands down though when it comes to the beers they offer, there is no doubt about that.

And yeah, we do order the cardboard chain pizzas every once in a while. I'll admit it. Granted we wouldn't if we had more options, but not a lot of places deliver at 1 a.m. in Nampa. Smokey Mountain Pizza has been a nice addition to Nampa, but they just aren't open that late. And I'm really just not a huge fan of Chicago Connection.

I definitely prefer to make my own; I really think I've got my red sauce down to perfection, yes, perfection -- and it has only taken a year or so. I now make batches of it and freeze portions so I can make pizza much more quickly than I have been able to in the past. My red sauce takes about 2 hours to prepare, but it freezes very well and lasts two to three months. I'll be posting the recipe here in a bit, probably next time I make a batch so that I can take some pics while I'm preparing it.

Now my dough? Well, that is another story, I haven't been able to make a dough from scratch that I really dig yet. Right now I use the dough they make in-house at WinCo, which has worked out pretty good. But now that I have my red sauce down I'll probably start experimenting with doughs again.

According to the Statesman article Flatbread Community Oven is looking to expand into Downtown Boise, Eagle and Meridian, heres to hoping they give Downtown Nampa a look too. It sounds like they'd be a nice addition to our growing city.

Drive-By Truckers and The Felice Brothers

Last night @ the Big Easy, The Drive-By Truckers and The Felice Brothers (who will be returning to Boise to play The Bouquet Sunday, March 23rd).

An observation from standing at the bar -- nothing quite says "middle aged rocker dude" than a Jack and Diet Coke.

On a political note; the "Vote Cooley for President in 2008" camp was out in force last night at the show, when Mike saw this he said to make sure you change your vote from him to Obama.

Deeds:

Trading swigs from a bottle of Jack Daniel’s on stage, the Truckers were flawed yet they awed. They rocked loud and proud. You either got it or you didn’t.

Drive-By Truckers tonight @ Big Easy

Be there or be square -- should be a good show, I've been waiting for this since '02 when I first got into them.

...didn't see it

Google's Street View comes to the valley

Getting directions to that unfamiliar place just got a whole lot easier.

Google's Street View, where you can see a ground level image of any location has finally come to the valley. Not only does it help with directions, you can literally see what a building looks like before you get there, and you never know what Google's cameras caught.

Playing around with seems like some really slow moving pointless video game -- but pretty cool none the less. Sadly for us 2C folk, Google quit taking pictures right as they entered Nampa, but almost all of Meridian, Eagle, Boise and Kuna are available for your direction picture pleasure.

In the big city

A Seasonal Disguise

Flying Pie Pizza for some good drinks

Idaho caucus round-up

My experience? I went down to Nampa's Civic Center a little before 7 and was overwhelmed by the amount of people. The line stretched nearly all the way around the building and there was not a parking spot to be had in the area. Yeah, yeah, I know, maybe next time. I decided to to bag it seeing the amount of Obama supporters had already vastly outnumbered their opponents, which is what mattered to me anyway. I really wanted to check out what was going on across the rest of the state and moreover, across the country.

So it should also be noted that Obama won every single county in Idaho, except Lewis County which went to Hillary Clinton. Kudos to the Obama organization in Idaho, they've really done an impressive job of getting out the vote and getting people involved.

Which brings us to the round-up.

Here was the scene at the Civic Center as viewers saw it on KTVB Channel 7.

MEDIA: Eye on Boise (several dispatches), ID Quicktakes (multiple postings from Boise), Idaho Statesman, Idaho Press-Tribune (covering Canyon County), KTVB (w/ videos), two postings from the "cool kids" at the Boise Weekly, KBCI, Idaho State Journal, KTRV, New West Boise (also ran an open thread all evening w/ 141 comments, sheesh!), Dan Popkey on Obama and Idaho.

BLOGS: Ridenbaugh Press, The MountainGoat Report (Nampa), Red State Rebels w/ lot's 'o' pics from Qwest Arena in Boise, Fort Boise, Royal Mounted Valise (pics from Nampa), Left Side of the Moon (live blog), Gary O. Grimm (pics from Qwest), IdahoRocks (commentary from Boundary County caucus)

-- More as I find 'em.

And here is another clip of some Obama and Clinton supporters discussing their candidates (hey, who is that pretty young lady on the right? Seems like I know her...)

Most importantly, there was a huge showing across the state, Idaho Democrats came out in force to support their candidate -- and that is what matters above all else. There is a huge wave of momentum right now in Idaho, let's hope that the Idaho Democratic Party is going to be able to capitalize on it and add some balance to this drastically unbalanced state of ours in the coming years.

One case tossed on the wall of a random bathroom

One of the cases in the now infamous "Bikinigate" scandal has been tossed out of court.

KTVB:

Judge dismisses case against bartender accused of over-serving
BOISE -- A blow to the recent crackdown on Boise bars.

Late Thursday afternoon, a judge threw out a case against a Boise bartender charged with over-serving.

An undercover officer from the Alcohol Beverage Control cited Dirty Little Roddy’s bartender, Jennifer McKee,, after he claims she gave two patrons too much to drink.

But an Ada County judge dismissed the case, claiming the officer couldn't prove the bartender knew how much the men had been drinking.

So... If this case got tossed because the officer "couldn't prove" it; I'll be really interested to see what evidence the ISP has against the other establishments, if any.

If you didn't catch this segment on channel 7 then you should check out the clip on the KTVB.com website. It actually makes this whole thing a little more interesting to the parties paying attention to this episode. With input from parties that are going to be affected by the oncoming crackdowns.

And while, yes, I do agree that bartenders should not be serving drinks to patrons who are obviously severely intoxicated (hence the training) -- the judgment that someone is severely intoxicated is very subjective. And, there is a difference between serving someone who shouldn't be drinking any more if they are driving and a patron who has a designated driver.

Scary slippery sloppy slopes indeed.

A Seasonal Disguise

Can you think of a more appropriate band name for this time of the year?

I've been browsing around the websites of a few Boise bands trying to get past that layer of "butt rock" that has gripped the area for the last 20 or so years. For reasons that I still for the life of me cannot figure out a lot of bands think that Yamaha guitars and multi-effect pedals are capable of creating good music. I have deep sympathy for people who never realized that good music, indeed historic music comes from the acoustic guitar -- only then when the melody is cemented do you toss in some electricity and add an effect or two. And frankly if you go beyond some fuzz, a DS-1 or a flanger you've lost me.

Anyway.

One of the bands that I've really been obsessing about the last week or so is A Seasonal Disguise, a band that appeared to be a one man show but has recently included the addition of a few more band members to round out the live show and it seems, the sound. Now, I'm not saying the music is flawless, but giving  more and more listens to the band's music I'm hard pressed to tell it apart from some of my favorite acts. Tunes like "Won't You Hibernate With Me" have me reeling with mental comparisons of one of my all time faves; The Eels. The acoustic and mostly solo "A Storm Cloud on a Cloudy Day" can't help but bring mild -- if not early comparisons to Jeff Buckley (for the love of all that is sacred and good, go to Buckley's page and listen to "Hallelujah", you'll be in tears) -- in both lyric, voice and song form... I'm dually impressed.

The song writing is strikingly mature and developed, sure there is a thing here or there that could be tweaked, there is with all music. But I'm pretty blow away that this is coming out of Boise -- by a guy who still has to have a day job. Most of the songs could benefit with an additional refrain or an extra chorus, but they aren't completely necessary, they will however give the listener more time to sink into the artists vision. Almost all of his songs have what you don't normally get from smaller-time acts; good melody and solid song structure, A Seasonal Disguise has both of these.

Check them out. Make sure you listen to all the tracks they have on their MySpace page and definitely pick up some of their music, there is good music coming out of the valley, who knew?

From their pics it looks like they've played the Flying M Coffeegarage -- heres to hoping they come back... soon.

A nice glass of Iron & Wine

You know sometimes you just have to make choices in life, those kind of big choices that will determine the outcome of your life and how they will impact the lives of those around you. Other times you just have to make decisions as to what concert you want to do on a Thursday night -- yesterday was one of those times.

Well, ok, it was not yesterday that we had to make that choice, we had already made the choice a month or two ago when I got a call "Hey, Iron & Wine is coming... want to go?". Our choices were either Flogging Molly (check out their live X-Session here -when they post it) , the Holiday Ale Tasting at the Market in Downtown Nampa, or Iron & Wine. And seeing how we just don't get a lot of acts on the level of Iron & Wine, it ended up being a no-brainer.

Last night was a hectic night in the capital city, the December First Thursday was in full swing, Christmas carolers were wandering the streets, shops were showing off the best of Boise art and area wineries pouring samples throughout the Downtown. I really hadn't seen Boise that buzzing on a weeknight in sometime, it was one of those times when you reflect on why exactly you love this state and moreover, the Treasure Valley so much.

Dinner; The Falcon Tavern which btw is turning into a rather delightful pre-concert destination. The grub is always good, fresh, cheap and the brews on tap are always just right. It's hard to go wrong when it's only 70 bucks for 4 people to eat dinner with a bottle of wine + two more glasses and 9 micros. The slow roasted leg of lamb sandwich w/ ginger soy au jus? Get it. Plus it really helps on these chilly December nights that it is just around the block from the Egyptian Theatre.

So, that brings us to Iron & Wine, well, to the opener anyway. I really quite enjoyed Arthur and Yu, they played a short 6 or 7 song set with a killer song to close it out. I wish I could tell you more about them, but frankly I hadn't ever heard of them before, but I'll be picking up their album in the very near future. Lot's of folkesque rock rife with the harmonies you get from having two singers.

Then it was time for Sam Beam with his full band in tow including his lovely sister Sarah to take the stage. Something I've been waiting to see ever since I heard my first Iron & Wine track some years ago. You do know don't you, that there are some concerts where there is a time and a place to just really get into it, but most times on a weeknight after working all day it can be hard. But there are bands like Iron & Wine that you just can't pass up, Sam Beam has to posses one of most beautiful voices out there today in modern music. Not to mention that he is firmly planted somewhere in my top-10 list of favorite lyricists...

Jesus the Mexican boy
Wearing a long desert trip on his tie
Lo and behold he was standing under the welcome sign
Naked the Judas in me
Fell by the tracks but he lifted me high
Kissing my head like a brother and never asking why

The concert was a great mix of new and old, combining tracks from his latest album The Shepard's Dog with tracks from his many earlier EPs. While "The Shepard's Dog" isn't my favorite Iron & Wine album it was nice to see how the songs have evolved since being recorded and see them live in person. And of course Sam didn't disappoint -- he played a couple of his older more well known tracks like "Naked As We Came" which he did solo for the single encore.

This being Sam's first visit to Boise he really seemed to enjoy himself with a very enthusiastic weeknight crowd, that and the show selling out with next to nil advertising really helped out I'm sure. Heres to hoping that we'll be seeing Iron & Wine the next time he departs on a trek across the country for his next tour -- I'm thinking that he'll be coming back.

North Mississippi Allstars a' comin' to Boise

Well, at this point in time I'd say that so far 2008 is adding up to be a good year for concerts in our fair capital city.

Deeds confirms that North Mississippi Allstars are coming to the Big Easy. Don't know about you; but I'll be there.

Tori Amos and truths

Today the Idaho Statesman printed an interview with Tori Amos who is performing tonight at the Morrison Center in Boise. This was an interesting question followed up by a nice answer from Tori.

Chad Dryden:

The album's first single, "Big Wheel," was met with resistance by radio stations that objected to the "M-I-L-F" in the refrain - was that a surprise to you?

Tori Amos:

You can say "Smack My Bitch Up," right, or you can say "Maneater," which is completely graphic - I mean, I can see the whole thing - and yet, "M-I-L-F" was a threat because it is not acceptable in the Christian faith that the Magdalene and the Mother Mary unify within one woman.

You cannot be a nurturing mother and erotic at the same time - not according to the right wing, and they rule the airwaves.

It just went to show you that these stereotypes of women, they're ingrained. And when you start messing with them, then that's how you war with the patriarchy, and they don't like it very much.

If you like Tori Amos and politics make sure you read the rest of the interview it is pretty good. It should also be a good concert, that we'll find out this evening.

Update

You can see a unofficial video of the song in question here.

My wife loved the concert last night at the Morrison Center -- and well, we'll just leave it at that. No, I did enjoy it -- it was my first time seeing Tori live and having listened to Tori Amos because of my wife for the last 10 years it was interesting. I think I didn't get as much pleasure out of the show because I'm not as well versed in Tori's catalog, there were only a few songs that I could recognize, and I did really enjoy those.

Even with the Morrison Center being awash in estrogen and excitement the show just never seemed to climax, which lead to a lot of the songs to just start to blend into each other. I will however say that I really do enjoy Tori's more quite solo songs. I enjoy them on her albums and I enjoyed them last night live.

almost-Urban farming in the Valley

New West has a great article up on some of the problems farmers are facing in the west and what some are doing to mitigate those problems, like Meadowlark Farms in Nampa.

It is really worth a read if you're into such things.

Canyon County -- 'cause it's safer

-- And we's won't kill ya'.

Ya know, us small town folk in Canyon County have been taking our ribbings for quite a few years from them sophisticated-types in Ada County over the level of violence in our beloved county. Well, turns out this year them there intellectuals in the big city have been killin' themselves at a higher level than us be doin'.

Well, not to make jokes out of a serious matter you guys did kill more of yourselves than we did this year. So we'll take our victories whenever or however we can get our hands on them. Granted the good news is that Idaho in general is still a very safe place to live; which bodes well for everyone.

I was actually thinking of writing about this a week or two ago, just because it has seemed this year that there were more murders in Boise than in Canyon County. However I couldn't find the data and was destined to wait until the new year until I could dig into this topic. That being said; a real newspaper beat me to the punch. The Idaho Press-Tribune had a story today on nationwide crime statistics and how Idaho was effected. It did mention that there have been 10 murders in Boise (so far) this year and only 10 in Canyon County.

Good news for all of us is that most violence in the Valley is normally domestic or gang related, violence of any type is bad, but random violence has a certain scary tone to it. As of now we are still able to wander our beloved downtowns relatively unharmed, unscathed and mildly inebriated without fear of being murdered for our wallets or purses. Maybe our statistics have improved because of the "Everyone Wear Rainbow Colors" campaign that was started last year by the County Commissioners in partnership with the Nampa and Caldwell police chiefs. Who knows? 'Cause it seems that even gang violence in Canyon County has dropped over the last year or two.

Overall we still have a predisposition to not killing each other here in Idaho and that is a good thing indeed. Although I fully expect our murder rates to raise as more and more rural Idahoans and Montanans move into the valley. They come here wanting low home prices, take our jerbs and bring their damned rusty 4x4's and think they own the place.

The nerve.

Hey, the good thing we in the Treasure Valley can take from this is that the Nampa-Boise Metro is .09% safer (pdf) than those crazy folk holed up in Idaho Falls. Hmm, now I understand why our friends at 43rd State Blues are always shaking nervously and shouting "who is that!" when they hear random noises.

You can have Dane Cook

I'll take George Carlin over Dane Cook any day.

Carlin is coming to the Morrison Center January 18th, tickets are 42 bucks.

Speaking of Dane Cook coming to Boise -- people pay 102 bucks to watch a semi-funnyman who steals jokes? Wow. I'm beside myself.

Josh Ritter -- Amazing.

If you missed it then you missed something that you'll probably never have the chance to see again in your lifetime. Idaho's own Josh Ritter returned to Boise last Saturday night for his second time -- this time at the Egyptian Theatre in Downtown Boise.

To be honest with you, I don't have too much to say, this show really falls into the "you had to be there to believe it". Easily this was probably one of the best shows I've ever seen, the music, the venue and ambiance -- everything melded together to make for a truly memorable evening. We saw Josh Ritter last year when he came solo along with opening acts Jim Bianco and Gary Jules at the Big Easy for an intimate acoustic show. That show was deeply personal and moving all in its own right; but this time Josh returned with his full band in tow and blew the crowd away. This time Ritter opened up the flood gates rocking to "Mind's Eye" and never once let up. I've heard a couple recordings of Ritter with his full band, but seeing them live was immensely exciting. 

If you're reading this and have seen Ritter before than this isn't news to you, but the guy loves to put on a show. And I don't mean, that he just likes to play his music, he loves to put on a show. Rarely do you see an artist that is truly happy to be playing in Boise; while a lot of acts may profess their love for Boise, you know a considerable amount are just checking it off the itinerary. But not Ritter, the guy loves to play, rarely do you ever see an artist so full of excitement to just be here, to just live his music in front of a packed theater of dedicated fans.

From start to finish this was an amazing show. It just never ceased to be what it was, one of the best performances I've ever seen.

While Michael Deeds opened up his review talking about the fans moving up to the front of the stage so that they could "feel good", I'll go ahead and argue that point. Yeah, it might have looked cool to the people up on the second level, or the people in the middle of the theater, it wasn't too cool for those of us on the side aisles. We were in the 4th row on the left side of the stage, butted up to the center aisle, so mid way through we were forced to endure the gyrating backsides of a very selfish and annoying group of people. Now some were considerate and realized that they were blocking the view of a considerable amount of people and moved, others just looked behind them and could care less.

Hey, I'm all for having a good time and showing your love for a particular artist, but please don't do it at the expense of other fans. Just because you know the lyrics to every Josh Ritter song doesn't mean that everyone around you want to hear you sing them -- please, save it for the shower or your car.

There were several people around us who had words with the aisle dwellers which proved to be entertaining within itself; "Hey, I didn't pay for these seats to look at your back" was a refrain heard from a couple rows back. Things were so bad on the other side of the theater that one person from our party was compelled to leave about 45 minutes early to avoid strangling the person next to him. While this was certainly rash, I do understand. Although this was particularly bad, because that last 45 minutes was truly mind blowing.

Next time, if you want to be upfront then log off your damn myspace account and order your tickets when they go on sale.

Oy, I guess it wouldn't be right if I didn't complain about something... right?

One of the things that you really have to see for yourself when you talk about a Josh Ritter show is when he goes mic-less. One of the most beautiful things I've seen in a performance was then Ritter performed "Idaho" (from the Big Easy show) with no mic, just his acoustic guitar and minimal lighting. This time around Ritter didn't disappoint, he upped the ante. Not only did he sing Springsteen's "The River" with no amplification, he treated everyone to a completely a capella song with nothing more than a water bottle in hand to close the show out. 

Deeds has more, and Idaho's own original Red State Rebel was also at the show.

Updated.

Rachel Daigle of the Boise Weekly (one of the few good columnist left at BW IMHO) was also present at the Josh Ritter show, front and center.

Who says?

Who says you can't go from the Idaho Shakespeare Festival one night to the new season of Survivor on CBS the next night?

Let me just iterate that I really can't stand most all "reality tv" programming, namely because there is nothing "real" about it. That being said, my wife and I have always watched Survivor, we've watched it ever since the final episodes of the first season. It's really the only show we record and make a point to watch whenever it is on. Call me partial, but it also seems to be one of the only "reality shows" on tv that still have a tinge of "reality" to it.

Anyway season 15 took off tonight and so we are once again glued for the next couple of weeks until the 16 contestants are narrowed down to just one. Of course, the opening episodes always kind of suck as the fat is trimmed away from the core who will prove to make it towards the end. This season is taking place in China; opening scene -- a welcoming ceremony in a Buddhist temple. And because it'd just be too much to have a touch of class some contestants showed their true colors, upfront and extremely quickly. Courtney; the waitress from New York City (did I mention she was from NYC? Cause she did, like 16 times) who couldn't be bothered with the simple ceremony. And then there was Leslie; the Christian Radio Host who claimed to "not be very religious" who walked out of the Buddhist welcoming ceremony. Oy, I guess some people have never heard the whole saying about every American being an "ambassador" while traveling abroad.

As for the Shakespeare Festival -- we went and watched "Little Shop of Horrors" last night and it was great. Great music, great acting and great singers. It wasn't by far the best show we've ever seen at the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, but being products of the 1980's we of course loved watching this classic.

Speaking of the Shakespeare Festival and in turn, wine; I took along a bottle of Indian Creek Winery's 2006 Pinot Noir that was just released to market this past Monday. I'm not completely sure yet, but as of now I'm leaning towards this being Indian Creek's best Pinot yet. Much more full bodied and complex than its predecessors (God, I loved that 2003 though!), and to find a good full bodied Pinot always makes me just a tad bit happy inside.

We did go out to Indian Creeks Pinot release party this past Sunday to enjoy some good wines and one of the few remaining sunny weekends with some friends. I'll also note that we saw Chef Dustan Bristol of Brick 29 Bistro out there enjoying the wines with his family and gathering some "wine intel". I asked him about adding Indian Creek's Pinot to his menu, I said if he carries it I'll at least buy it. And I'm sure that once more people have tried this phenomenal Idaho wine; they'll be buying it in bulk as well. I'd love to see it added to Brick 29's wine menu sometime in the near future, I'll be able to have it with that insanely good King Salmon w/ blackberry compote he has on his menu.

Boise's Record Exchange in Rolling Stone

I got a pleasant surprise today when I scanned through my new issue of Rolling Stone that came in the mail today (issue 1035). I was doing my typical once-over that I do with every new issue of any of the many magazines that I subscribe to and found the Record Exchange on the last page.

At the back of every issue of Rolling Stone there is some different music charts; Billboard's Top 40 albums, Rhapsody's Top