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Of all the places we have been, Minot, ND will remain in my memory forever... not necessarily for all good reasons, although I did have some of my best times in Minot, I also had some of my... well, not worst, but not so great.
So, we arrive in Minot. We will be performing at Host Fest, the largest Scandinavian Festival in the country. People traveled there from all over! I met people from Canada, Montana, Texas... everywhere. Anyway, we arrive at the hotel, the Sleep Inn and discover that not only is it attached to a mall/movie theater (not anything huge, but still) but it is also connected to a water park (3 large slides... we were all super excited for it and then didn't even end up going... but it made us happy knowing it was there :) ) So yeah, the hotel was great. Spent our time off bumming around the mall, going to see "Love Happens" relaxing, and enjoying life. Tuesday we had our sound check. We arrive at the venue, which is in building "Horse II" and is used as the cattle barn during the state fair. We walk in and there is our set, on a movable stage, with another bands instruments, risers, mics all set up. Wow... ok. Oh yeah, i forgot to mention, we came in the back way, so on our way into "Horse II" we passed by our trailers. Bill got a trailer and us 4 ladies got a trailer... talk about crowded. oh yeah, and these trailers are not connected to the building. you had to go outside to get from one place to the next... and it was not exactly asphalt either... more like rubber mats laid out on mud which very quickly made its way onto the mats... defeating their entire purpose. So yeah... to really understand what I'm describing, you should probably just check out the pictures.
So that was our first "OK, this is different" moment. After our sound check we went to see the Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons concert, which was absolutely incredible! I had a blast, singing along, dancing, and hey, i even got to shake his hand at the end! Then afterward we went to the hotel bar for Mary's birthday, and after a little while moved to the Badlands Restaurant and Bar, where Frankie was hanging with his entire crew. So yes, we joined them, and we ended up spending the rest of the evening with Frankie Valli and the Four seasons. It was an incredible night and extremely surreal to say the least. I have to say, Tuesday night made the entire week in Minot worth it. It was an amazing night.
The next day we opened our show. in the back of our cattle barn were several vendors selling food (the smell of which filled our noses through out the show) People came and left and talked as they pleased, the stage hands didn't seem to know why it was important to be quiet backstage, the Peking Acrobats (the act on after us) were getting ready back stage right talking the whole time and giving Mikey as run for his money as they tried to cross backstage right when we were about to open our swinging door or serving window. Additionally, it started to rain, making the trip to and from the trailer that much more fun. Oh, and we had two huge screens on the side of the stage where the show was also displayed with wonderful close ups of everyone. Some people simply watched the screens instead of the stage, even if they were in the front row. But we got through our shows, and gave them our all. The show was still pretty well received. People really seemed to love it, so that was nice.
And of course, we had to take advantage of the Scandinavian setting and try all the food we discuss in the show. So... here we go...
1. Rummagrot - Like a pudding sort thing, except a bit more fluid. Extremely buttery and is traditionally eaten with an extra ladle of butter poured on top, and cinnamon and sugar. Quite good really, but man even just a spoonful or two will sit extremely heavy in your stomach.
2. Lefse - Norwegian Potato Flat-bread... tastes like a bland crepe. You eat it with butter cinnamon and sugar and then its pretty darn good.
3. Luttefisk - yes, this would be the "dried codfish, soaked in lye till it bloats into jelly, boiled on the stove to leach out the poison, then slid onto a plate covered in melted butter....hmmm" Well, its coloring is a light yellow. The texture is basically like jello... and the parts that used to be bone are like a very firm jello. It too is served with a ton of butter poured over it. The flavor... well, it reminded me a whole lot of the cod liver oil that my mom used to make me take when i was little. So it tasted like that, but not as strong. And if you don't know what that tastes like, imagine what the smell of dead fish would taste like... but light. I didn't mind it too much, but its definitely not something I would go out and eat as a meal.
So yeah, there you have it. That was our wonderful experience at Host Fest. The last show was also quite interesting. The other acts weren't supposed to load out their stuff until after our show was over, but of course they didn't do that. Instead they were loading out while we were performing. Additionally, all the vendors in the back were tearing down their booths, and we had maybe 100 people watching... and i think that might be more than was there. I have to say... it was the fastest we have ever gotten through the show. We had to hold a few minutes because it wasn't safe backstage, then we had to extend intermission by a few minutes because we were have some microphone issues... and we still managed to finish in less than two hours... that is record timing. It was still a good show though :)
So yeah, Norsk Host Fest of Minot, ND was definitely unforgettable, and will remain in my memory forever. It was a one of a kind experience...
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