#1 - Dubuque, IA

Last night, Frogs Gone Fishin' played The Busted Lift in Dubuque, IA. We arrived after driving about 6 hours from Minnetonka, MN (water, water, everywhere) where we were staying with some college buddies of one of my bandmates. The drive from MN to Dubuque, IA was long, straight, and surrounded with corn, lots of corn. Although the absence of buildings or towns may at first have you labeling this space as "open", there isn't an open acre in sight! There's food growing everywhere. So much food and so many hungry people in the world, it doesn't quite make sense to me.

Once we arrived in Dubuque we went straight downtown to the club, The Busted Lift, which is about 50 yards from the Mississippi river, complete with a river boat parked at it's banks. Dubuque is small, rustic, quiet. The vast majority of buildings downtown look like they were built around the turn of the century. It makes me feel nostalgic for some reason. I'm not really sure what I feel nostalgic about, but I like it. Lots of character and history here makes for a rich experience.

Everyone we met seemed to be kind and sincere; enthusiastic about seeing live music. Through all of my travels with the band, I've found that the people make the scene and the scene reflects the people. The Busted Lift was a nice spot to fall into. I give Dubuque, and The Busted Lift two thumbs up for my first visit.

After our show, we were taken by Sam DeGree to his brother, Jordan's warehouse space which is the home of Brick Oven Studio. Brick oven studio is a work space for artists, concert venue, art gallery, and of course (for us), late night hang spot. If you're interested, www.brickovenstudio.com can give you more info. Talking to some locals, I found that Dubuque has a burgeoning cultural scene. Enthusiasm for live music, visual arts, and good people make for a healthy creative environment. We look forward to our next opportunity to play Dubuque.

Just before dawn, we walked two blocks to the Mississippi to watch the sun rise. It was a clear, crisp morning. After a sluggish walk back to the warehouse, we found some spots to rest our heads and slept until the sun was high in the sky. Tonight we're guests at the DeGree's home about 10 miles outside of the city in a secluded hillside spot. I can smell the corn and burgers, so this is where I sign off. Ah, what a life.

Until next time...