Hey Midwesterners!

[frankie big face]

After SongFight: Love and Haight, I'm flying to Minneapolis and driving to Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland and Pittsburgh on a ballpark tour. I have a limited amount of time in each town, but seeing as it is unlikely I will be returning to many of these places (and their surrounding areas), I want to make sure I see the highlights. So.....what are they? I know about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Cleveland) and the Walker Art Museum (Minneapolis) and I've already been to Chicago, so tell me about that awesome sight outside of Milwaukee I just shouldn't miss or that really awesome restaurant in Detroit or whatever. Thanks!

[frankie big face]

So apparently there are no Midwestern SongFighters?

Here's another challenge. The drive from Minneapolis to Milwaukee is pretty long--any cools stops along the way?

[Lunkhead]

I lived in Cleveland, but I wasn't sure if you wanted recommendations from there since you'd already been there. If you care for rollercoasters at all and you'll be driving to Cleveland from the West, there is of course Cedar Point in northwest OH, with the best rollercoasters in the world. The Great Lakes Science Center, next to the R'n'R Hall of Fame, may be fun for one visit. I went to school at Case Western which is in the University Circle area, where there is actually some decent cultural activity.

http://www.universitycircle.org/

I enjoyed the art museum, the natural history museum, the botanical gardens, and the Western Reserve Historical Society. Sadly I never made it to the Cleveland Symphony, which was pretty dumb in hindsight. We used to hang out in a neighborhood nearby called "Coventry" not far from the school, near Cleveland/University Heights. There are some good restaurants there, though I mostly remember stuff that's more college student oriented. Grum's has awesome sub sandwiches, and everything at Tommy's is good. For nicer dining a couple places I remember are Sergio's and That Place On Bellflower, both in University Circle, though apparently That Place closed and in its place is a new-ish restaurant called L'Albatros. There's also Nighttown, a restaurant that also has some good jazz shows. The Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque always showed loads of great movies. The Barking Spider is a really awesome little shack where you can get some good cheap beer, sit outside, and listen to whatever free live music they have that night. That was probably my favorite place, and the one I miss the most. There's also Little Italy nearby, where you can get some great Italian food and pastries.

[frankie big face]

Thanks Sam! I actually have never been to Cleveland and am looking forward to it. This helps a lot.

[Lunkhead]

Ah, I misinterprted "already know about the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame" to mean that you'd already been there. Anyway, it's actually a nice city in some ways, especially in seasons other than winter. Just don't drive too far east out of downtown past University Circle as it gets really sketchy. Have a fun trip!

[HeuristicsInc]

best steak i ever had was here: Schwarz's in the middle of nowhere in St. Anna Wisconsin. You may or may not be driving that way.
Trying to remember what fun things we did in Pitt. But maybe you don't need help there.
-bill

[frankie big face]

best steak i ever had was here: Schwarz's in the middle of nowhere in St. Anna Wisconsin. You may or may not be driving that way.
Trying to remember what fun things we did in Pitt. But maybe you don't need help there.
-bill

Thanks Bill. No, I've been to Pittsburgh a million times (Pirates fan) and I'm actually only dropping the car off there and flying home. I'll check out the steak joint!

[HeuristicsInc]

My wife's brother lived in WI for a while (he took us to Sch.) and he has some other suggestions:
Milwaukee:
1. On a Friday, Serb Hall for fish fry at dinnertime.
2. If you like beer, Sprecher brewery has tours and tasting. Or carbonated beverages too.
3. If you do not like beer, Miller also has tours
4. There are many festivals and it's worth checking the calendar.
-bill

[roymond]

The Andy Warhol museum is in Pittsburgh. And I had dinner in a beautiful restaurant on the hill overlooking one of the rivers there. I can't remember the name or exactly where but it was pretty impressive.

[LMNOP]

If I may turn the tables, please report back on anything great you find in Milwaukee or Detroit. We let ballparks pull us around on summer vacations (got back two hours ago from DC - caught Royals @ Nationals on Tuesday and Marlins @ Orioles on Thursday) and we haven't done Milwaukee or Detroit yet.

[frankie big face]

If I may turn the tables, please report back on anything great you find in Milwaukee or Detroit. We let ballparks pull us around on summer vacations (got back two hours ago from DC - caught Royals @ Nationals on Tuesday and Marlins @ Orioles on Thursday) and we haven't done Milwaukee or Detroit yet.

Will do!

[HeuristicsInc]

If I may turn the tables, please report back on anything great you find in Milwaukee or Detroit. We let ballparks pull us around on summer vacations (got back two hours ago from DC - caught Royals @ Nationals on Tuesday and Marlins @ Orioles on Thursday) and we haven't done Milwaukee or Detroit yet.

Bummer, shoulda said something, I live just outside Baltimore. It's a nice ballpark.
-bill

[Mostess]

Oops! In case this is still in the future, I highly recommend visiting Hostess Mostess' house in Ann Arbor, MI while in the greater Detroit Metro Area. They have a very cute dog and a fairly new drumset, not to mention a deep and abiding appreciation for Frankie Big Face.

[frankie big face]

Oops! In case this is still in the future, I highly recommend visiting Hostess Mostess' house in Ann Arbor, MI while in the greater Detroit Metro Area. They have a very cute dog and a fairly new drumset, not to mention a deep and abiding appreciation for Frankie Big Face.

Uh, yeah. That would have been cool about three weeks ago.

[Mostess]

So sorry! I'm seriously checking this board more frequently from now on. I'm down to 4/year at this point.

How was the tour?

[frankie big face]

So sorry! I'm seriously checking this board more frequently from now on. I'm down to 4/year at this point.

How was the tour?

It was great! I saw a lot of good baseball and some mediocre baseball. Target Field in Minneapolis is amazing, perhaps my favorite ballpark from a purely aesthetic perspective. There's still no truer pure baseball experience than that of Wrigley Field. And even though it now has the unfortunate name Progressive Field, the Cleveland park that started the intimate downtown ballpark experience still impresses.

Along the way, I saw some AMAZING art museums. The Detroit Institute of Arts is an unbelievably gem featuring frescoes by Diego Rivera that American industry in 20th Century Detroit. Who knew?? The Minneapolis Institute of Art is also world-class and it's FREE. And the Milwaukee Art Museum has a great collection housed in a fascinating building on Lake Michigan. (FYI, I spent only enough time in Chicago to see a game and therefore skipped the Chicago Art Institute, which is maybe the crown gem of American art museums. But I have been there twice before.)

If you go to see a game (or anything else in Detroit), stay at the Inn on Ferry Street, which blew me away. For $129 you stay in what is essentially a B&B with a fantastic breakfast, free fresh fruit and coffee throughout the day, free tickets to the museum and a free shuttle that will take you anywhere within a 5-mile radius. Like the Motown Museum! It dawned on me only a day prior that I was traveling to Motown and should probably look into a guided tour of something Motown-oriented. Sure enough, there is a museum housed in the uh, house, where it all started. Excellent guided tour ending with me and some random family forced (gently) to sing the chorus of My Girl in the very room where it and hundreds of other hits were recorded.

The Rock and Roll Museum and Hall of Fame is actually pretty good. I spent three hours there and felt like I could have stayed much longer. There's a little too much time and space dedicated to the likes of the Allman Bros. and Aerosmith and not enough dedicated to Bob Dylan and Led Zeppelin (I mean nothing--Bob and Jimmy much be keeping it all for themselves), but there's also plenty of stuff on the big guys (Beatles, Stones, Hendrix) and the people who made them possible (Leadbelly, Louis Jordan, Les Paul). It was easy to get sucked in by the glitz of a Ziggy Stardust-era leotard, but I found artifacts like the handwritten lyrics to In My Life and Purple Haze much more fascinating.

I also attended the 30th annual German festival in Milwaukee, the whacked-out Walker Art Center in Minneapolis (a beautiful city, by the way), ate great Greek food in Detroit ("Opa!"), got drenched in Madison, and sat in the balcony of two old-timey movie theaters. It was a great trip.

[Mostess]

That totally sounds more fun than my house.

It's true that the DIA is amazing. Been there, done that. But I have not yet done the Motown thing. Maybe an overnight sitter one of these days and the wife and I can escape to the big city. Thanks for breaking it in for us.

Oh and next time to Cleveland try and check out their orchestra. Still the best concert I've ever seen, in any genre: Boulez conducting 1) Debussy's Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, 2) Anne-Sophie Mutter in Bartok's 2nd violin concerto, 3) the frikkin' Rite of Spring. I believe I paid $5 student rush price and sat front row right in front of the cellos. Then we went to the flats and got drunk.

Good times, good times. Ohio!

[frankie big face]

Oh and next time to Cleveland try and check out their orchestra.

Yeah, unfortunately they are not in season in July. They were playing somewhere at a festival but it was too far out of the way for me to get there on time. Plus, it's not the regular conductor, the group is full of replacement players, etc. But I am well aware of the Cleveland Orchestra's reputation and prowess. I also wanted to see the San Francisco Symphony, but again, same deal. They were actually playing on their home turf, but it was a concert of video-game music so I took a pass. I did see the Chicago Symphony back in April and that was cool except I was so freaking tired, I slept a lot.

And so it seems appropriate that I should invite you to see my hometown big-league orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra. They're still spectacular and always program an interesting season. I'm really excited about the upcoming May 22 concert featuring Beethoven's 9th and Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms!

[Mostess]

Symphony of Psalms is so fucking hot!! The second movement is probably the most awe inspiring music I've ever heard. And I've never heard it live. Hmmm...

[frankie big face]

Symphony of Psalms is so fucking hot!!

Yes, that's exactly how I plan to present it to the busload of high school students I'll be taking with me. There's always room for one more chaperone!

Symphony in Three Movements is pretty awesome too. You should check it out if you don't already know it.

The Philly Orch is also performing Oedipus Rex and Apollon Musagéte on one concert late in April AND Pulcinella (with dancers!) two weeks earlier. It's Stravinsky Heaven this season!

On a smaller note (and font), I'll be conducting his Suite No. 1 for small orchestra on February 20 at Franklin and Marshall College.