Madison Madness and a COTU*

An art-shot of the Capitol Dome. It was a rainy-misty-foggy night. And it turned out looking very cool.

Hey everyone -
The long weekend is winding down to an end, and we are in our hotel in Madison, packing up and getting ready to hit the road tomorrow after our 2 shows. We are heading Northwest - next stop: MINNESOTA! And my teeth are already chattering!
We have had one heck of a time in Madison. For those of you familiar with this gem of a city, I'm hoping you agree. For those of you who have never been, find a reason to come check it out! We are right downtown on the Capitol Loop, and our hotel overlooks the beautiful Wisconsin Capitol Building. We are 2 blocks from the beginning of State Street - the HAPPENING street that runs between the Capitol and the UW-Madison campus. State Street is shopping, restauranting, movies, coffee shops, etc. PLUS - our performance space, The Overture Center, sits on State Street. So since we arrived last Wednesday, the only real driving we've had to do is to the movie theater and back...so it's been nice to be able to come and go.

The view of the Wisconsin State Capitol, out of Eric's window. Picture compliments of Eric Thompson's picture taking.

A view of the Capitol from down State Street.

A quick run-down of the highlights of Madison is as follows: the beautiful Capitol Building, Great Dane Pub, Angelic Brewery, Pizza Extreme, Pop Deluxe (fun shop), Triangle Market, State Street Brats, Laundry 101, all the popcorn shops, cheap movies, and (according to Elisa) The Company Store Outlet. The food has been STELLAR - the people have been AMAZINGLY friendly (except for the crazy lady yelling at someone on her cell phone by our dressing rooms today...who said, in the best Wisconsin accent, "Well excuse the hell out of me for working 2 jobs, Mr. Rich Man.") - and we got SNOW! It has been so much fun!
*I had 3 SPOTTING of 3 different CASE OF THE UNFORTUANES while I was here in Madison...but UNLUCKY for me, I couldn't get my camera out in time for 2 of them. And they were super unfortunate. BUT - tonight, I look up at the laundromat, and fate delivered into my direct path a candidate for your consideration. This dude HAS to know that the hair-do, the boots, the army jacket...they just aren't WORKING for him. I hope the pictures capture the unfortunateness of it all. And I'm going to say - capturing these things is a LOT harder than I thought it would be. AND factor in not getting CAUGHT snapping the photos. It's a craft I'm honing...that's for SURE! Enjoy!

I mean...the hair. You're seeing that right...SHORN like a sheep. And the other side was the same...so I'm PRETTY sure we can assume that when he's feeling REALLY crazy...he spikes it up into a mohawk of emotion. And...did I mention the guy looked 40?

Special thanks go out to: Dan Weber, an old high school friend, who in a previous post recommended Pizza Extreme. I had the deep dish Chicago-style, Sir Weber. Delicious. To my old friend Ben Bennett...a Wisconsin-native and my e-tour guide...from the Brats to the Capitol, all of your recommendations were SPOT ON! Your city showed me a great time, my friend. And I will speak its praises forever more. Um...actually...that's about it. OH! The only thing I did have a problem with in Madison: FINDING CHEESECAKE. And finally, at the 11th hour, TONIGHT, before leaving, I found a pumpkin cheesecake at Hawks Restaurant - ON STATE STREET - and you can get the details below...but know that I'm leaving happy.

This pumpkin cheesecake was worth the wait. I give it a high 8 on the MASE. What would've made it better? A thicker crust. A LARGER slice. And better whip cream. I don't know what was wrong with it, but it wasn't as good as I wanted it to be. But the cheesecake itself was light and tasted like pumpkin pie batter. Amazing flavor.

2 shows tomorrow - a drive to Eau Claire, WI - a sleep over and then an all-day drive on Tuesday into Minnesota. We are at about 3 weeks until we close the book on this Fall portion of the tour...and the next 3 weeks are going to be cold, whirlwind and FUN!
Oh - and for those who are wondering...we are still doing the 'altered show' - but today, since the doctor told Jen to be off her feet, we did the show with Jen in a wheel chair. And for the most part, it was pretty seemless. PLUS I'm sure that the audience members were hailing the Kennedy Center's Equal Opportunity Policy. A minority AND a wheelchair performer? How progressive!
Stories from Minnesota to follow......
G


Eric and Elisa celebrate the snowfall we got, the day after Thanksgiving, with a good ol' fashioned SNOWBALL FIGHT!

after the fight comes the make-up. Couples welcome.

L: Who did we run into out on the streets? TORG! And in shorts, as always...snow or sun! R: During the Friday snowstorm, Eric tries to re-create a RENT moment for us. Gladly, it didn't work.


L: The world-famous BRAT from State Street Brats. Even as a non-fan of brats, there were right tasty. R: Jackie celebrates the NEON lights at the County Courthouse. I mean...neon and justice? Weird.

En-route to the movies, Puppetmaster Chris tries to warm up in the cold van.

Here is Elisa, hanging at the Pizza Extreme, waiting for my pizza to be ready to go.

L: Jackie opens her SURPRISE 'WELCOME BACK' gift from Matt outside the Urban Outfitters! What could it be? R: Why, it's a T-shirt that seems to be made with Jackie in mind! Bottom: The FINAL fashion show for the shirt.


HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I mean REALLY......


Eric and I went to do our laundry tonight at Laundry 101! It's a laundromat. It's a internet cafe. It's a bar. It's a dry cleaners. It's an arcade. It's the COOLEST LAUNDROMAT I'VE BEEN TO IN MY ENTIRE LIFE! And USA Today SEEMS to agree. I miss it already....


More Laundromat. I know- I look THRILLED to be there. Believe me, I REALLY was. It was like the DISNEYLAND of Laundromats. PLUS the had the BEST of Will Farrell SNL DVD's playing. Heaven. And is that a beer I see in Eric's hand? At the laundromat? Zany.

A PHOTO SHOOT:
Today, the Jen got a new costume shipped to her...and Tara wanted to do a quick photo shoot with it on. Just a few changes...like the neon patterns added to the body suit. Here are the best 5 shots from the 45-frame shoot. (If you watch them REALLY fast on the camera, you can see her in ACTION!)


Work it out, GIRL!