Rad Beer Festival at Eastern Market, Detroit

If you like festivals... and beer... like me, then this sounds pretty rad.  The first ever Harvest Festival will commence at the Eastern Market downtown on October 24th 2009.  Since the festival is being put on by the Michigan Brewer's Guild and the Metro Times the centerpiece of the festival will, of course, be the beer.  According to the festival info website, there will be more than 40 breweries and brewpubs on location and over 200 beers to sample.  The samples will be doled out in 3oz sampling cups.

$35 gets you in to the festival if you get your tickets early, which I thought was pretty expensive, but it also gets you 15 drink tokens.  If 1 token gets you one sample then that's 15 x 3 = 45 oz of craft beer samples.  That's like drinking a 40 of craft beer for $35.  There might be some beers there that are extremely high gravity though, and this also includes the entertainment portion of the festival.  Food from local restaurants will also be available for purchase.  Also, designated driver tickets will be available at the gates for $5, which is awesome, but if Detroit had a metro system that ran to the suburbs then everyone could buy the $35 ticket (hint hint Detroit).  All tickets are available at the MBG website.

The Harvest Festival is going to last from 1-6pm.  Which I think is rad because then after the festival is over those still wanting to party can hit the bars in downtown Detroit to rabble rouse until the wee hours.  Those that want to sober up and head home can step out for dinner at one of the fine restaurants they have sampled food from and then head home.  Or if you live in downtown, your home will only be a walk away while it is still fairly early in the evening.

All in all I love festivals like this one.  Anytime people come together to celebrate beer, and local beer at that, is a beautiful thing.  Plus Fall is the best time of year in Detroit.  A window of time when the air is crisp and refreshing yet the ground is free of the ice and snow that plagues the winter months.  For more info on the Harvest Festival visit the Michigan Brewers Guild blog, the MASH.

Go get your tickets for The Inaugural Harvest Festival!

Girl Talk is rad

You may have heard of him already but I just read about this artist in "Details" magazine's October issue.  They had a feature article on him that covered everything from his story to the controversial question of whether what he does is illegal or not.  His name is Gregg Michael Gillis, AKA Girl Talk.

Girl Talk is simply a man on stage with a laptop, at least that's what he wants you to think.  It's what is on the laptop that so many college age and young professionals have been talking about around campuses and water coolers.  Gillis is a master at mixing (called "mashup") unrelated vocal and instrumental tracks often times pitting rap lyrics against the background of classic rock or pop songs.  He then creates his own playlists of these mashes and plays them on stage for concertgoers.  The best part is you can also get on stage and take your turn dancing with Girl Talk.  That's right, he's not concerned about fans on stage, which makes most of his concerts look like a rave type dance/college house party.  To keep his laptop dry, he told Details, he wraps it in plastic wrap before each show.

Born in 1981, Gillis grew up in Pittsburgh, PA. and attended Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH. where he studied biomedical engineering.  After college he started working at a biomedical firm while still producing his mashup creations.  It got to the point that he was using vacation days and leaving on weekends to play shows in London, Paris, New York, etc. and then coming back to tissue samples at work, without telling any of his co-workers.  Finally, Gillis quit his job in 2007 to become a full time musician. 

Girl Talk's latest album "Feed the Animals" was released in 2008 on the Illegal Art label.  You can check it out on his myspace page (linked above) or you can download it for whatever price you want to pay for it at www.illegalart.com .  

All of the info here comes from the Details article, the wikipedia page and his myspace page.

Ernie Harwell Final Farewell, Thanks Ernie!

Ernie Harwell is best known for calling balls, strikes and home runs for the Detroit Tigers for 42 years. He retired in 2002 and earlier this month was diagnosed with inoperable, incurable cancer of his bile duct.  

Last night at Comerica Park, in the middle of the third inning of the Tigers win against the Kansas City Royals, he said what will probably his last goodbye to the Tigers, their fans and the city of Detroit.  Harwell thanked the Tigers organization, specifically Mike Ilitch and Dave Dombrowski.  He declared that there were no better fans than Tigers fans.  And he told of his love for the state of Michigan and the "grit" of those who live here.  All while the crowd at Comerica cheered.  I think the "sweetest sorrow" part of his speech was when he said that the best part of his life, his story, was that it would end here in Michigan.  

Once again, Ernie revealed how humble and thankful he is to have had the career he did.  He was the first announcer inducted in to the Baseball Hall of Fame while still working.  He will also be named honorary captain this Sunday as the Lions take on the Vikings at 1pm at Ford Field.  Ernie is truly a legend of baseball, and he will always be remembered.