Two Big North Star Events, One Special Weekend -- The Carlton Room and the Summer of Love, Baby

There was a lot of synchronicity in the air last night where Pippi Ardennia with Glenn Swanson and Friends christened the new Carlton Room at the Big O. You could feel it and breathe it, taste it and see it. The Oldenburg House is officially opening its doors and windows to ring in a new chapter in this historic and fabled B&B on the edge of Paradise. Though tonight is the official Carlton Room Grand Opening, Glenn and Emily Swanson opened their hearts with a special evening of good vibes and music as a way of thanking everyone who helped make it possible... as in the electrician and the plumber, the painters and landscapers, the floor finishers and a few other select special people.

The newly refinished Carlton Room includes a stage perfectly sized to intimately showcase Pippi Ardennia and a jazz band extraordinaire. Having heard Pippi and friends here a couple years ago, it was impossible to not think we were in the presence of a modern Ella Fitzgerald as she exuded her own blend of love and soul.

Pippi and Billy: Still at the top of their game.

So tonight is the Grand Opening for a series of monthly dinner concerts with three course meals, complimentary beverages -- including "A Rose for Emily" Cocktail, 17-7 Pale Ale or Lemonade -- and an inimitable top-drawer accompaniment. That Rose for Emily Cocktail is not only an amusing tip of the hat to Glenn's wife Emily, but also to the Nobel Prize-winning author who penned this famous short story.

Tonight's Carlton Room dinner show is full, but upcoming dates for those who desire a most memorable experience can contact the Oldenburg House. Upcoming shows are slated for August 19 & 20 and September 29 & 30.

Now here's the uncanny part where the synchronicity began to kick in. Billy Peterson, for those who don't know, is the son of a Minneapolis jazz great Willard Peterson. His son is also a phenomenal musician (keyboards.) Kevin Odegard, a guitar player who co-wrote with Andy Gill the book A Simple Twist of Fate about the making of Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks (BOTT) album, introduces Billy into the story with this sentence: "A little way across town, Billy Peterson, Minneapolis' most talented and prolific bass player, was gigging six nights a week with the jazz group Natural Life at The Longhorn in the Lumber Exchange Building at Fourth and Hennepin."

Dave King with Dan Hansen

Billy Peterson, the bass player on BOTT, has played with some of the best in the business, continues to record with the likes of good friend Steven Tyler. As we talked he mentioned that the drummer that he performs with in Minneapolis is Dave King, who just happens to be the fave musician/artist in the world of my friend Dan Hansen who is an artist who did a digital art piece of Dave King.

For more Twilight Zone elements on all this, one of the songs Pippi sang was Stand By Me, the title of Dan's favorite Hollywood film, or at least a fave at one time and deeply meaningful to him. She did it in a form of sing-along style, so natch I was singing along.

Now while all this was going on, other members of those BOTT recording sessions that Kevin Odegard wrote about are performing this tonight at 6:00 p.m. in St. Louis Park for a free Summer of Love Concert in the Park on behalf of Guitars for Vets. The lineup includes Odegard, Peter Ostroushko, and a cast of some of the Twin Cities' best at the Wolfe Park Ampitheater, 3700 Monterrey Drive. It's a Magic Marc Production saluting the 50th Anniversary of the Summer of Love.

What I especially like is the tag line: Healing the Planet One Song at a Time. If you're anywhere near the Twin Cities tonight, make your way to this Free love-gift of music to any and all.

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One of the highlights of last night in Carlton was Glenn and Emily's tribute to Helen Swanson, whom everyone knows as Mama. A kind, cheerful, generous presence year-round. Everyone who comes to Oldenburg House has been gently touched by the sweet savor she brings to the atmosphere here.

The evening opened with Glenn and Emily jointly reading an Official Proclamation regarding the renovation, acknowledging the past (The Oldenburg House was built in 1894), foreshadowing the future, and thanking one by one all the partners and purveyors who participated in this new chapter in the Big O's multi-storied history.

Looking for a special place to get away? Place the Oldenburg House on your short list.

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Meantime, let the music move your soul.  And have a great weekend. Yeah.

A Dan Hansen Guest Post: Talkin' 'Bout The King

GUEST POST FRIDAY: DAN'S TURN

I've quite a few friends who are writers, one of them being Dan Hansen, a local artist I've been getting to know. This past winter we've been working on a couple collaborations that have gotten us jazzed.

Speaking of jazz, Dan has shared with me a couple of times about one of his personal "heroes"... a jazz drummer Dave King. Heroes perform a valuable function, inspiring us, modeling qualities to internalize, strive to exemplify and emulate. The following is a short essay Dan wrote about Dave. Dan also produced the illustration inspired by his encounters with this unusually gifted man.

I don't talk about things I love much. I love Zelda ll, the Adventures of Link. That's not inspiring or even coherent to anyone not born of the Nintendo era. Everyone has their music idols. I get that. I'm going to talk about my TRUE idol Dave King.

I saw this guy live for the first time in 2003 when he played at UMD with his band Happy Apple. What I remember is the most transcendental maniac fest of hysterical proportions I had ever experienced in my life... and this was jazz. Dave wasn't just a drummer, he was Chico Marx on brain serum. This was a big deal. Not only was this guy the best drummer I ever witnessed (what do I know about drumming?), but he was the funniest comedian I had ever experienced. His expressions alone while playing were brilliant madness, producing buckets worth of tears from laughter. Then he'd start talking... His monologues were the funniest thing I'd ever heard. He makes Bill Bur look like Rocky Balboa. I couldn't figure out why this guy was not famous like Carrot Top or Wayne Newton. 13 years later with 8 or 9 bands he plays with he's still not famous. It's a travesty he's not at the top of the charts. I guess it's jazz...

It's weird how what's truly great is not honored in society. Now this is going into a serious route Dave would condemn... showing vulnerability. According to Rational Funk with Dave King, this would be a cardinal rule you never break. It's easy to show vulnerability, it's not easy to show mastery.

This revelation made me feel extra useless as a disabled person... like I'm supposed to adopt a Tony Robbins approach? The Dave King approach would be to tell everyone they are living on an inferior surface of the earth, and only I knew the proper locations to thrive. Dave King would then hand out vouchers to save the necessary inhabitants of the brave new swill. They likely would be candidates I approved of whom I could build futures with. This would create growth in the economy, leading to absurd levels of personal fulfillment unprecedented in human history. All because Dave King saved the world by witnessing my spark. I can live with that.

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Do you have a fave artist, musician or writer who is pushing the envelope, but beneath the radar? Tell us more. You can learn more about Dave King at his website, DaveKing.net.

Whatever your gifts, explore them to the max. You only go around once in life. End of story.