New Year

Happy New Year Everyone! 

It was warm, and then it was cold, and then freezing!!!  I did the whole weekend, thanks to Cedar Rapids Nite Out.  That’s where I found all this snazzy, jazzy info about what was shak'n in the tri-town area!!!  You know, Marion, Hiawatha and Cedar Rapids.  Not quite cities but a wee bigger than villages.

There were no dodging bullets that night, at least not where we were. We had plenty of cash for cabs, drinks and cover charges.  The awesome thing was we didn’t find one cover charge all night.

We went out for dinner at La Cantina early on New Year’s Eve.  I had chips, salsa, a burrito and of course a margarita. What a great setting! Located in a historic downtown building, with the smells of delicious food all around, it is a great setting and atmosphere to start the evening off.

Then off to watch at least the first 2 periods of the Roughrider game!  These young kids have had one heck of a season thus far!  Coming off a great win against Waterloo on the 29th, the stable was packed on New Year’s Eve.  After 2 periods with the Roughriders leading 3-0 at the end of the second period, I was ready to head out for some live music!

Called the cab and onto Tailgator’s!  When we got there, guess what?  NO COVER!  This place was packed.  Shoulder to should up by the stage. Black the Sun was rock'n this place!  Loud music and Miller Lite tallboys to start the New Year in style.  Of course, I probably spilled more beer than I drank as I was jumping around dancing and screaming to the music.  BLACK THE SUN ROCKS!

I had to get back downtown to Teeghan’s well before midnight for the balloon drop.  Last year at midnight all the balloons falling at the end of the count down with music, lights and all!  It was AWESOME!  I wasn't going to miss it again.  We arrived downtown. Teeghan's was packed and there was NO COVER! The bass of the club music banging, Boom, Boom, BOOM!  All the balloons rigged in a fallout out system, ready to fall at midnight.  The lights and smoke meshing to the music!  It was GREAT! 

The prizes in the balloons were announced right at midnight, most of the prizes were cash. The countdown started and just a tad early and all the balloons fell.  It was a crazy, mad grab for balloons.  Right away everyone jumped, everyone but me. One guy came down with two balloons and right in front of me popped the first one.  A heavy little piece of confetti flew out right at me and hit my collar and fell in the front pocket of my shirt.  When I looked into the pocket I noticed this was no ordinary piece of confetti, this had a little green man on it.  After further investigation the little green man turned out to be Andrew Jackson.  That’s right, I had $20 jump into my pocket.  Which is kind of a strange feeling!

After a few bottles of champagne and the wee hours of the night approaching, it was time to call it a night!  That way I could do it again the next day.  I wish every year we had a two day New Year's Eve party!

La Cantina,

“Over 21 varieties of tequila?  You’ve got to be kidding me!  Why so many different kinds?”  I asked Bartender Seth Lee of La Cantina, the new Mexican bar and grill located in downtown Cedar Rapids.  “Options!”  Seth told me “La Cantina offers you a lot of options.  Our menu features authentic Mexican entrees as well as some American comfort food choices.  With a casual atmosphere, friendly employees and a great location La Cantina is your place for a great lunch, dinner with family, beers after work or a cold margarita with some friends.”
What do you serve the most of?  I asked Seth.  “Margaritas!  “Not just anyone can make a good Marg.”  With our special recipe and a wide variety of Tequila we have the best margaritas in town!  Whether you like it on the rocks with salt or a blended with sugar, you will fall in love with our Margs!”
“What else do you recommend?”  I asked.  “Everything is excellent!  Our Mole, which is pulled chicken smothered in Mole sauce, is very popular.  My favorite is the Burrito Camaron which is a shrimp filled burrito.  After one of these you will have a new favorite as well!
Anything else?
“Yea, buy me a shot and I’ll eat the worm!”

Between Monsters

Between Monsters?  What the hell does that mean? 
"Well,"  says lead singer Kelli Pence,
"The band sports a female lead singer, ME!  Between three M-O-N-S-T-E-R rockers Daren Barker - Guitar, Vocals, Layne Goldsberry - Bass, Vocals and Jeff Nelson - Drums, Vocals
The foursome brings a lot of experience, energy and crowd interaction to the stage!"

So what Type of music do they play?
Between Monsters is mainly an alternative rock cover band, but dabble in country, pop and classic rock.  You can check them out in and around the Cedar Rapids area.  Their next gigs are:

The Red Baron
Friday, November 12 at 9:00pm
Cedar River Landing Bar & Grill
Friday, November 26 at 9:00pm
The Red Baron
Friday, December 31 at 9:00pm

Guy on the Couch

Have you ever had a friend that needs a place to stay?  “No problem,” you tell them.  “Come on over, stay on my couch. Just make sure you pick up after yourself.”   But then after 18 months they are still there, they still do not have a job and they still have no place to go.

You can’t even bring a date home out of fear of the crumbs and cockroaches.   Something has to be done, right?  How do you get rid of them?

What if they have been a great roommate?  They picked up after themselves, were hardly ever there, and brought their own food.  Would you still want to get rid of them?  Some people learn that after the “guy on the couch” phase, they just need to be alone.

After the flood of 08’, Penguins Comedy Club needed a place to stay.  Their home in Downtown Cedar Rapids was flooded and wiped out.  Quickly their friends at Clarion Hotel in Southwest Cedar Rapids invited them to come on over and sleep on the couch. 

The couch at the Clarion hotel was a small room on the back side of the hotel that held about 65 people.  It had a tiny office and a tiny bar.  The room was the size of a double wide trailer. The conditions were a lot different than what Penguins was used to, but they adapted. 

In the beginning everything was great.  Comedians were funny, audiences were good, sales were doing well and it looked like a great relationship had formed.   Then 24 months later the Clarion decided they just wanted to be alone. 

Clarion began to get jealous of all the good looking dates that Penguins was bringing home and decided they need to make a clean break.  “No problem,” Penguins told Clarion.  “I totally understand.”  “I was going to tell you that things are getting really serious with my girlfriend and I was going to move to her place.” “Which one?” asked the Clarion.  “The Piano Lounge.” 

The Piano Lounge and Penguins Comedy Club team up to bring first class entertainment to Cedar Rapids.  Comedy shows will be held every Friday and Saturday at 7pm with dueling pianos to start at 9:30.  The first show in the new location is this Friday at 7pm with Comedian Tim Cavanaugh.

Hockey Season is under way!

The Cedar Rapids Roughriders began their season on the road last Saturday with a win over Waterloo.  Their first home game at the Stable is October 9th against Fargo.  Break out the green Roughrider gear and cowbells and get down to the stable to make some noise and cheer on your Roughriders.  The season open features specials like $1.50 beers, soda, and popcorn so get out and take advantage of a great deal. 

Even better The Hawkeyes have a bye week and you have nothing better to do!

Ever since January of 2000 the Roughriders have been bringing hard hitting, board slamming, action packed entertainment to Cedar Rapids.  Come out to the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena for some food, drinks and a great game.   Tickets to the game are as little as $10.  For a closer view of the action you can get tickets right on the glass or in a private suite.  Get into the action with 4 huge HD projection screens and a 10,000 watt Bose sound system. 
This year the Roughriders are offering single game tickets, Flex 10 packs, Season tickets, Suite rentals, and a Party Deck rental.  The new 80 person party deck is perfect for your reunion, holiday party, or family gathering.

Learn more about the Roughriders, Click here