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Owen and Jacob Mahon entertain a crowd of music lovers. Photos by Jill Fisher.

Variety is a good thing, isn’t it?

If so, last week’s music outing provided plenty of it, in spades! It started out with a private backyard party on Thursday, Sept. 17, where the duo comprised of the Mahon brothers, Owen and Jacob, entertained a group of about 60 music lovers. The brothers were charming and wonderfully original during their two-hour gig, as always.

From there I went with friends to the NorShor Theater to see the musical A Chorus Line. This was my attempt to break free of my antipathy toward live theater. I figured the onstage dancing (all those in-unison leg kicks!) would do the trick.

But no such luck. I’m afraid the drama and personal histories the show delivered just aren’t my cup of tea; ‘nuff said!

To recover from my chorus line disappointment, pals and I headed over to nearby Carmody Irish Pub. It’s been quite some time since I’ve been there for music and as far as we knew, nothing was scheduled for that evening.

Luckily for us, Shane Nelson made an impromptu appearance, which made for a fun evening after all. Shane is one of my favorite musicians, due in part to his extensive repertoire of both covers and original material. And even more satisfying is that he can perform several Little Richard tunes. (I regularly ask for Little Richard’s hits anytime a musician encourages requests during their gigs.) It made for a later night than I’ve had in quite a while.

Misisipi Mike Wolf with Pat Eliason on harmonica at Cedar Lounge.

The next night, Friday, Sept.18, the Curmudgeon and I were off to see Misisipi Mike Wolf at his “Weekend Primer” residency at Earth Rider’s Cedar Lounge. We don’t get over there that often, but Jim Hall was supposed to join him, so we made sure to take it in. However, Jim didn’t make it due to illness.

Ah well, we trust there’ll be another opportunity to see those two play together again. As a consolation we got to listen to Pat Eliason accompany Mike on harmonica for several numbers, including Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright,” the Hank Williams Sr. classic, “Hey Good Lookin’,” J.J. Cale’s “They Call Me the Breeze” and Merle Haggard’s “Mama Tried.” Good stuff!

Indecent Proposal at Caddy Shack.

That turned out to be a fun time, and the fun wasn’t over yet! After that show and a supper break for pizza at the Shamrock Bar in Superior, we made a beeline for Caddy Shack (another venue I hadn’t been to in quite a while) to see Indecent Proposal. Josh Brown (or “Socks Brown” the moniker I like for him) and the rest of the band – Jason Owen Sunderland (electric guitar), Terry Beckman (bass guitar) and Andrew Fabian (drums) – were celebrating the release of their newest single “Bleed It” on Sept. 15.

“Bleed It” comports with the band’s typically highly electrified songs. With its anguished refrain, “Can’t stop the bleeding” and James Brown-like grunts, it feels like a song for our times.

Other of Indecent Proposal’s original songs we got to hear were “The Cage,” “Tears & Rain” and “Drift Away.”

Of course the “indie group” (which IP is categorized as) also plays covers. One that was new to me is the Irish singer-songwriter Hozier’s “Too Sweet,” with the line, “I take my whiskey neat, my coffee black.”  Hey, those are my preferences! And of course the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ tune, “Californication,” which Josh has definitely made his own.

Though we didn’t stay for the late set, it was good to see these four guys giving it their all once again. From the first time I saw this band I’ve felt they had the chops to draw a much larger audience and it sounds like the push will happen in the next year or so.

It was Saturday, Sept.19, when the C and I were truly delighted by the Fractals playing at Average Joe’s Pub, starting at 4 pm as part of Joe’s Fest.

The Fractals at Average Joe's.

The group, which includes front man Barry Pirkola (electric guitar), Darryn Wallace (bass) and Marvin Pomeroy Lee (drums), was a bit modified for this gig. Russ Sackett sat in for Jimi Cooper, who was off playing polkas at Utepils Brewing Co. in Minneapolis with The Polkarobics for its Oktoberfest celebration.

In addition, three other proficient musicians joined the group for several songs each.

The first was Mike Waggoner (cousin of the late Dave Waggoner of the bands Crow and Whiskey River) who is a prominent guitar man in his own right. For instance, back in 1964 his band opened for the then little-known Rolling Stones in Excelsior, Minn. More significantly, he and his band, the Bops, were inducted into the Rock/Country Music Hall of Fame (since renamed Mid America Music Hall of Fame) in 2008. (The Fractals were also inducted.)

Some readers might even recall Waggoner as a on-air personality at the AM radio station WEBC in Duluth from 1965 to 1976.

Other two musicians who got into the act were the veteran electric guitarist Billy Bulinski, who has a surfeit of surfer tunes in his repertoire and Tim “Mac” McEvoy who impressed us with his vocals.

Then there was a masked drummer unknown to me that spelled Marvin for a few tunes.

But, as usual, it was Pirkola who took this band to the highest of rock-n-roll heights with his frenzied performance, both vocally and with his guitar playing. Besides his standard electric guitar, Barry played a lap steel guitar on several numbers.

We were treated to several oldies but goodies, including several Chuck Berry tunes, Elvis Presley hits, “Don’t Be Cruel” and “Good Rockin’ Tonight,” “Li’l Red Riding Hood” by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, the Hollies’ “Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress,” “Runaway” by Del Shannon and many others, including some surfer tunes, all great to dance to. 

Their original “Hot Rod” was worked in as well. All I can say, the playlist was deep and these guys were as spectacular as the original artists.

The Driftless Revelers at Bent Paddle.

This should have been enough for one evening but The Driftless Revelers were in town playing at Bent Paddle Brewing, indoors on the Cosmic Lounge stage so the C and I hustled across the bridge to take in their show as well.

Gee, what can one say about three eccentric guys (Matt, Jerrod and Ben) from Eau Claire who drive all the way north to enlighten us with their weird, loud, lewd and extremely funny ditties?

Since I’ve reviewed them previously (Sept. 4, 2025 and June 22, 2023 Reader issues — available online at duluthreader.com) I can only reiterate our high regard for these wild and crazy musicians. 

As if this wasn’t enough music for this reviewer, it was off to Clyde Iron in Lincoln Park on Sunday, Sept. 20, for the Roy Orbison Tribute Show, a benefit concert for The West Theatre. (Your opportunity to support that venue, along with its adjoining Alhambra Lounge, is available on the Internet at thewesttheatre.com.)

The Roy Orbison tribute at Clyde Iron.

I arrived about 15 minutes late to find a full house comprised of a sea of gray hair and balding heads. These aging baby boomers seemed to be glued to their seats, barely a bobbing head or foot tapping to be seen. I guess that suggests the Orbison impersonator (David K of Minnetonka) started out with Roy’s ballads.

I was wondering why no one was at the door to take my donation, but I heard from West Theatre owner Bob Boone that tickets to the concert had been sold out online! Good to hear, however, I did not find the program all that engaging despite the tidbits of information about Orbison shared by David K.

One of the things I found strange is that though David played the electric guitar for much of the concert, he also played keys. According to my subsequent research, Orbison did not play the piano. Just sayin’!

UPCOMING: Attention Deadheads! The semi-annual Duluth Does concert is featuring hit music of the Grateful Dead band at Sacred Heart Music Center Saturday, Sept. 26. More than two dozen local musicians will be performing and Kim Curtis Monson of The Fish Heads will serve as MC. Just be aware that this concert will include endless jams! Duluth Does The Dead gets started at 7 pm. Tickets are available online at sacredheartmusic.org.

If you aren’t a Deadhead, you might be more interested in heading down to Moose Lake for the annual Oktoberfest this Saturday, Sept. 26. Whiskey River…downstream is headlining at 8 pm at First National Bank Arena with a Battle of the bands starting at 5 pm. Tickets available at mooselakebrewing.com.