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Show Friday, Feb. 19, 2010 Page 5 A&EDIiirer 6``• co?" k • *0' - wsi\Osi ',7,VIt et, 4; si N.. NI° 01 17J 4i v ti- s'• tt'k r:41 4;74, 65 tod 02 4" 4(1' c GO. N.4 \-u \CO I,: <*_ /4, 004'4 MOiN',Cd4- 431t t5 P'`I m iro444 • A Utah State University • Logan, Utah • www.aggietownsquare.com Bluegrass at Eccles By TAM ROUNDS staff writer M. JUSTIN ANDERSON SERVES a plate to a waiting table at Smokin' Blues, located one half-block west of the Stadium 8 theater. The restaurant blends authentic regional barbeque with live and local music, for a unique dining experience. Among the items on the menu are ribs, sandwitches, sweet potato fries and fried pickles. PETE P. SMITHSUTH photos A new taste of the blues By KASEY VAN DYKE staff writer Nothing says passion like barbecue. After about five years of thought, Zach Brown has seen his passions brought together in a new restaurant in Logan: Smokin' Blues. Growing up in the midwest, Brown, the owner of Smokin' Blues, developed a passion for barbecue and music, even played in a band, called Cinnamon Brown, when he first attended USU in 1996. Brown said one of the reasons for starting the restaurant was impatience and a desire to share his passions with others. "I just got sick of waiting for someone else to do it, and I love barbecue," he said. "I wanted to combine all my loves." Brown's passions are shared by others who work at Smokin' Blues, including head chef Frank Ford. Growing up as one of five children, Ford said his mother would assign him a day of the week to cook. He later developed his cooking at the Le Cordon Bleu school for the culinary arts and has worked at several Las Vegas hotels and casinos, including Circus Circus. According to Ford, cooking barbecue takes more than skill. He said, "What goes into cooking bbq? Experience, time, passion, desire and love." Ford said Smokin' Blues — located at 71 E 1200 South in Logan — is more than a restaurant, it's an education in barbecue. "Their vision is to educate people on barbecue," he said. "There are seven different regions of barbecue and each has different sauces." Brown echoed this, saying barbecue is more individualized than some might think. "The thing that keeps people from liking or loving barbeque is based on the regional sauces," he said. "I wanted people to appreciate barbecue however they want to. Smokin' Blues currently has seven sauces, and Brown mentioned an eighth that will be served with a legal waiver because of its intense spiciness. Aside from customers, Ford tries to edu- I See BAREBEQUE, page 6 Students looking for fun, live concert action might want to head over to the Eccles Conference Center auditorium Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Infamous Stringdusters will be performing, and the word is they put on a dynamite show. Just a couple of weeks into their Ski Tour 2010, audiences have raved about their performances. The band is touring, doing two of its favorite things: playing its strings on stage and hitting the slopes along the way. The Stringdusters will follow up their Logan performance with shows in Salt Lake City and Park City, this weekend. Their blog mentions their plans to play on the peaks in Big or Little Cottonwood canyons. The Infamous Stringdusters leaped onto the bluegrass music scene, in 2007. Their debut album, "Fork In the Road," won the International Bluegrass Music Association's (IBMA) Album, Song and Emerging Artist of the Year. Although the Stringdusters are fairly new in the bluegrass scene, all of its members are experienced backup musicians to recognized performers such as Dolly Parton, Charlie Daniels and Vanessa Carlton. Band members are Andy Falco, guitar; Andy Hall, Dobroresonator guitar; Chris Pandolfi, banjo; Jeremy Garrett, fiddle; Jesse Cobb, mandolin, and Travis Book, upright bass. Their style is not strictly bluegrass and has sometimes been described as "newgrass." The second track on their soon-to-bereleased third album, "Things That Fly," due April 20, 2010, is a remake of U2's song "In God's Country." According to publicity information from Sugar Hill Records, the band's label, "They venture into virtually uncharted territory for an acoustic group — a sonically and thematically I See BAND, page 8 THE INFAMOUS STRINGDUSTERS pose for this band photo. The bluegrass musicians, sometimes referred to as playing "newgrass" for their innovative style, will be performing Friday in the Eccles Conference Center on campus. photo courtesy of the band Wiseguys of Ogden offers a comedic weekend alternative By JESS WALLACE staff writer Comedy clubs exist in a world of fragile balance. If certain elements are not taken into account, it won't matter how funny the jokes are. The entire experience falls short. Three things that should always be taken into account when choosing where to spend your time and money are atmosphere, reliability and the quality of service. Wiseguys Comedy Club on Ogden's 25th Street walks the razor's edge on several of the requirements considered vital to a great time. Atmosphere is always important. The ambience of the club is the first impression anyone receives of the establishment: room temperature, comfortable seating, visibility, pleasant smells and good decor are all necessary components to a good atmosphere. Wiseguys executed most of these factors well but, nonetheless, not without flaws. The room was initially warm but got progressively hotter throughout the evening. "The setting was fine," said Lou Neidfeldt, a Utah Valley University student visiting the club for the first time, but it felt a little stuffy, like the comedy club was taking itself too seriously." This is to be expected as people become flushed when they laugh really hard and, therefore, feel warmer the longer they laugh. However, the room itself was not properly ventilated and resulted in the stuffy, hot feeling by the time the show ended. The seating was not comfortable enough and not positioned well. "I couldn't see," said Aubrey Warner, another first-time customer. "There was a pillar in my way. I had to keep leaning around it." Neidfeldt said, "They needed softer chairs. My butt fell asleep. Also, there was a giant pillar halfway in my view." In addition to ill-positioned seats behind pillars, some of the sections of chairs that were closer to the stage were roped off, forcing people to sit farther back in the audience, making it more difficult to see. However, despite some of the interesting placement choices and increasing room temperature, the stage itself was quite enjoyable to look at. The red brick walls were covered in posters of visiting comics, the overall tone was warm and inviting, and the smell of the kitchen wafted pleasantly through the room. The stage — the obvious focal point — fit in with the rest of the setting and did not distract from the performers. Reliability is another problem lots of people have with these types of venues. "Comedy clubs are very hit and miss," Warner said. "It could be a blast or you could end up feeling like you just wasted $20. Make sure you do the research on the headliner." Customers can come to a club, expecting a great laugh but not connect with the main comic that night and decide not to come back. Their first visit can be the most fun they've ever had, but the second one is just under par. Inconsistency in comedians, types of humor and quality showmanship can drive people 1 See COMEDY, page 7 |