Milwaukee here we come!

In May of 2012 we took a little roadtrip.  Steve had several gigs the last one being in Milwaukee Wisconsin.  Now this was the time pre rv so we stayed in motels along the way.  What most people don’t know is that even if you play first, often you have to stay until after closing and the money gets counted to get paid-that being said it makes for very short nights when we are on the road.  Sometimes I become a little cranky from lack of sleep.  During that time I had been known to curl up in the corner booth or table with the merch  and sleep, even with all the noise, I think I can sleep almost anywhere if I am tired.  Some of that is learned behavior from working nights for a private ambulance company, we would post (sit in a parking lot somewhere and wait for calls) so I would curl up in the front of the ambulance and sleep-this behavior was not me being lazy, it was a matter of survival for a single mom working 2 jobs at the time.  Anyhow this trip Steve had his first show in Fort Wayne Indiana at a little place called The Friendly Fox It was in the afternoon and there was another show that evening at The Berlin Music Pub –There was metal fencing (like chicken wire) between the bar and the show area, this usually sends up red flags for me but everyone was very nice.  I have an awful lot of very interesting bar stories but that is for another time.   The Friendly Fox was great the food was fantastic and Steve literally sang for our supper!  From there we headed up to Milwaukee, after a few hours sleep at a local motel.   We stopped at Sweetwater music and spent a little cash on the way. 

Steve played a little battle of the bands with his friend Subourbon Son at Kochanskis-Concertina-Beer-Hall.  It was two –one man bands set up at either end of the bar and they took turns playing sets.  It was a very interesting night to say the least.  After yet another very short night we woke up early the next morning and I have to admit I was a little crabby and not too excited to see Milwaukee, but once we started driving around I eventually had to get excited about it!  What an interesting and beautiful city, I wish we could have spent more time there.  One stop was the Pabst Mansion it had incredible iron, wood, and stone work.  The craftsmanship was unbelievable, I was snapping images left and right!  This is someplace I would highly recommend visiting while in Milwaukee.  We also walked by the Pabst Theater.  We checked out the Pabst brewery of course.  With rockabilly music fans being such huge PBR drinkers how could we not swing by there.  We visited the gift shop but didn’t have time for the tour, we did grab some lunch however at a street vendor and set on a very old stoop to eat -talk about getting in the city spirit!  There is so much more to say about this trip but I have rambled long enough for now.  I haven’t even mentioned the Kenosha Pierhead Lighthouse.  This may be a two parter. 
Please enjoy the slide show below.