Vicodin, Ibuprofin, Cipro and Sondre Lerche

I've been fighting brain-crushing headaches with a mixture of about 1600 mg of ibuprofin, plus some Vicodin to help me sleep and some Cipro to kill what may be ailing me (the working theory centers around a malicious sinus infection). With those things swimming around in me (on top of numerous other drugs to treat my allergies and the acne that at age 31 will not leave me be) I decided to give up adult beverages until I'm well and I can retire the extra pills. In the midst of this, my buddy wanted to celebrate his birthday with dinner at Stella's Fish Cafe followed by a concert by Sondre Lerche and the Faces Down Quartet at the First Avenue 7th St. Entry.

The meal at Stella's was so unremarkable, I'm not going to write much about it. I never really liked the place from the first time I visited the men's room and was greeted by a 10-foot photo inside the door of a man naked from the waist-down lying in a pool of his own vomit on the floor of a public bathroom. Rumor has it that the picture is a photo of the owner's son. Anyway the pomegranate mint lemonade was refreshing though a bit on the chemical-tinged side. That place exists for it's rooftop deck with the gorgeous view of the city. Until that opens up, there's no reason to go, so check it out in July when we get past this bloody snow.

Sondre Lerche defied description. He's apparently big in his home country of Norway, but there's no shortage of Norwegians here in the twin cities who love his energetic blend of driving guitar, crooning vocals and explosive energetic flights of fantasy he managed to carry the audience through via his infectious hooks and quirky lyrics. The band spent a lot of time smiling at each other, so I wonder what they knew that we didn't. Anyway, when the band is having fun, so is the crowd, so I'll forgive them for making 2 curtain calls and leaving me breathless and sore feet from standing through the 2+ hour performance. He's better live than on CD, so catch him if he comes anywhere near you. Concert would have been better with a beer though . . .