Day 6: Minneapolis
Welcome
Yesterday we were on the road at 7am driving to Minneapolis, Minnesota, to play at Rock The Garden.
Jonathan got us off to a great start by making a takeaway breakfast to bring along in the van. I had toast with peanut butter, toast with jam, and a pastry.
On arrival we soundchecked and then played a quick game of cricket before our set.
Rock The Garden is a small and charming festival set in the Minneapolis Sculpture Gardens in central Minneapolis. With only two stages and only eight bands playing, the festival had a pleasant and laid-back atmosphere, and the event staff were all wonderfully helpful and friendly.
The sculpture gardens with our stage in the background.
Spoonbridge and Cherry (4.6 stars from 216 reviews) by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, 1988. Aluminium, stainless steel, paint.
Without Words by Judith Shea, 1988. Bronze, marble, limestone.
I suspect that this sign and fence are a clever part of this sculpture.
The highlight of my day was seeing our friends in Bad Bad Hats perform to a hometown crowd. We haven't heard them play since we toured together in March and they sounded amazing as ever.
My bridge of the day is the Irene Hixon Whitney Bridge. Completed in 1988 it is a steel through-truss with arch and suspension supports, and has a total length of 114m and a longest span of 53m. The structure was designed by Minneapolis based artist Siah Armajani to represent two bridge styles that play a prominent part in Minneapolis history; the suspension bridge which was the first type of bridge to span the Mississippi and the arch bridge, of which there are four excellent examples also on the Mississippi River. The Irene Hixon Whitney Bridge currently holds a Google Review rating of 4.5 stars from 4 reviews. If you get the chance to walk across it please take the time to give it five stars. With the review numbers so low we have a rare opportunity to push the rating up into the 4.9s and give this bridge the recognition it deserves.
Beth of the day goes to Jonathan for making breakfast for everyone, for cleaning the windscreen of the van, and for teaching Tristan how to bowl a cricket ball really fast. Congratulations Jonathan on such a diverse array of achievements 🥐🧽🏏.