The Skinny: 05.20.09 through 05.26.09
Hey folks,
these are crazy days for us…almost didn’t get the newsletter out this week! Summer is rapidly advancing on the Burlington scene, we’re working to open a second location in Montpelier, our cart is in full swing–and open for lunch on the Church Street Marketplace every nice day of the week!!!–and our vegetable-oil powered bus, Sueno is “saddling up to ride” through our summer festival tour. Busy, busy days…and we’re grateful for it!.
A Marathon Memorial Day Weekend:
We’ve got a BIG weekend on our hands here in Burlington…the weather has finally broken through to summer temperatures, its Memorial Day weekend and 7000 people are taking to the streets for the Vermont City Marathon this Sunday starting at 8 am. With the farmer’s market on Saturday, the Marathon on Sunday and Memorial Day on Monday…Burlington will be alive and thriving…
Rhubarb.
Such a strange plant, a “false fruit.” Though tart in taste, its almost always found in sweet treats…like our special this week (see below). Rhubarb is high in potassium & calcium and can be used as an effective organic insecticide for leaf eating insects like cabbage caterpillars, aphids, peach & cherry slugs. And while the stalks are the tart ingredient in pies we know & love, the leaves are toxic.
A quick history: “Earliest records date back to 2700 BC in China, with the botanicla name Rheum which is said to be derived from Rha, the ancient name of the Volga, on whose banks the plants grow. Early records of rhubarb in America identify an unnamed Maine gardener as having obtained seed or root stock from Europe in the period between 1790-1800. Sugar is integral to rhubarb’s story, changing its role in the human diet during the 18th century from a medicinal vegetable to a false fruit.” For more information on this famous fruit, check out www.rhubarbinfo.com.
Our special this week:
The Hot Rhapple Crispy Crepe: Local Rhubarb & Champlain Orchard Apple Compote topped with a crunchy streusel in a classic sweet crepe. $8.50
BIG NEWS: Music is moving out onto our EXPANDED patio as weather permits all this summer!!!
That’s right, we’ve EXPANDED OUR PATIO!!!! The GREAT folks at Artistic Landscaping completed this expansion in JUST TWO DAYS!!! They worked with diligence and concern for our approval and our customer’s experience. Honestly, they just did a stand-up job building our patio and working on the adjacent landscaping. To contact Artistic Landscaping, you can call (802) 879-9535.
Now, on to the music…
Thursday, 05.21.09
Paul Cataldo (Folk singer/songwriter)
***$5 suggested donation
This email will probably be sent just as Paul is going on stage…too bad, because Paul was a hit last time he came through. We welcome him back for his second performance at the Skinny Pancake…this time out on our newly expanded patio!!!
Paul Cataldo is a singer-songwriter hailing from the Boston-area. Too often, singer-songwriters resort to cliches and easy rhymes. Take a listen to Paul’s songs (www.myspace.com/paulcataldo). Seems to me he’s getting at an honest truth like a diary entry or a confession to a friend…he just puts it to a melody. Definitely a nice Thursday evening activity for those with a mid-week itch to scratch…
Friday, 05.22.09
The Leaves (Alternative / Folk / Americana)
***$5 suggested donation
The Leaves write: “We have put together a mellower, acoustic set for your place, so hopefully that will go over well! I’ll leave our loud rockers for our upcoming show at Metronome 
”
From the band: Aya Inoue has been a singer-songwriter floating around the Burlington Vermont area since 2002. When she first moved to Vermont, she found herself being drawn to performing more music, and thus began meeting various local musicians through the years. Gradually, Aya began to play her own music out in public – getting the opportunity to meet more and more talented and wonderful musicians. Over the years, Aya has played with various performers, primarily as an accompanying singer. She has been known to sing/record with artists such as Mike Gordon & Ramble Dove, Brett Hugh’s Honky Tonk Tuesdays, Lowell Thompson, Marie Claire, and Vermont-based RAQ. For years she felt safer singing other people’s works, but as of September 2007, she decided to form a band of her own and bring her “journals” to the surface. Aya describes The Leaves as a collaborative effort by four musicians to bring music that speaks to people. “I write the words and the melodies most of the time, but that’s about it. I basically bring a skeleton song to the band and they make it twenty times better.” The best high a person can feel is to connect with other musicians and realize that a song is taking on a life of its own. The Leaves hope to reach out and connect with an audience through the rawness and powerful emotions of their music. Life is full of ups and downs… music gives this band a great way to express those emotions.
Saturday, 05.23.09
Laura Meyer (folk/lyrical)
***$5 suggested donation
www.myspace.com/laurameyermusic
I’m excited for this show…in fact, I’ve already got my metaphorical tickets. Click on the link above and listen. Laura has a beautiful voice, but more importantly articulate and interesting lyrics and melodies.
What people have said about Laura:
“Beams of adeptly and uniquely finger-picked guitar support walls of elegant, earthy vocals and through tall, open windows come remarkably poetic and relatable lyrics. These songs are country roads, rich with story and movement.” – Dan D’Ippolito, Jezebel Music
“But my favorite of the evening was Laura Meyer, who positively trampled what few pieces of my heart were still beating with her forlorn crooning and subdued fingerpicking. Her poetic lyrics were particularly notable; she had a way of taking an image and stringing it out along an entire verse, cleverly leading her listeners’ expectations into trap after heartbreaking trap.” – Dan Barry, Hartford Advocate
In the pipeline…
Thursday, 05.29.09
Dave Keller (blues/soul/R&B)
***$5 suggested donation
www.myspace.com/davekellermusic
Friday, 05.30.09
Lowell Thompson & Jay Ekis
***$5 suggested donation
www.myspace.com/lowellthompson
Saturday, 05.31.09
Toni Catlin (Southern Folk)
***$5 suggested donation