Comic Uproar: Boris and Doris and 2,500 other adoring fans poured into the Riverside to see comic genius Jon Stewart. The deafening roar of the crowd and standing ovations give hope that there are still levelheaded Wisconsinites. Ticket sales for Stewart's monologue set a record, disappearing in about 10 minutes, with Susan McGovern and Jim Rowen snaring the last two.
Identifying with the satirist's patter were Joel and Kit McNally, Jeff Bentoff and Julie Penman, UWM's Donna Decker and Marquette's C.J. Hribal, attorney Pat Nelson and Mike Van Alstine, Cindy Moran and Todd Broadie seated in a side balcony, Gino Salomone, Milwaukee Public Museum's Karen Spahn and husband Chris, Paul Mathews and Colleen Fitzgerald, Julie Topetzes, Amy Murphy, Adam Dosemagen, bassist for Herman Astro, and usher Dina Spheeris. The Pabst/Riverside/Turner powers-that-be included Gary Witt, Andrew Nelson, Matt Beringer, David Axtell and his wife, Lynne Schade, and pastry chef Julie Thorsen, whipping up fantastic backstage desserts per Stewart's request.
B-Day Pong: SPiN celebrated its first anniversary with plenty of ping-pong and a Dirty Dozen tournament showcasing 12 pros. Among them were Mike Bernhard, plus in-house master Michael Jenders and Don Leone, the “serving specialist.” Novice players included Lisa Olson from Muskego and New Berlin's Cara Lindemann.
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Celebrating SPiN were owners/investors Scott Mayer, with wife Susanne; Lance Allan and Dan McNulty; plus general manager Maria Dakouras and director of operations Eric Kaye, whose parents Jane and John Rau came up from Greenfield. Wearing “Baller” T-shirts were Andy Grunze and Matt Franey. Watching the action were Lance Wallace and his wife, Kirsten, and Corey Robinson with Anita Miller. Arriving among a group having way too much fun on the mobile pedal bar were Tiffany Stadler and Jason Conrad from Hartford and Denise Lang and Jacob Anderson from Iron Ridge, plus the driver/"safety liaison" Jason Puls.
Smooth Music: Harvey's Central Grille overflowed with fans of Outra Vez, featuring vocalist Valentina Barbatelli and guitarist Eric Longreen belting out great jazz, rhythm and blues with a splash of bossa nova. In the crowd were her father Ettore Barbatelli and brother Chess and Gretchen Barbatelli. Many of her Coldwell Banker co-workers showed support, including Joan Read and husband Rick, Judy Hearst and her husband, Jack, Maureen Baumann, Judy Sporka, Larry Weiss, Andrea Azzolina, Marlene Friedman, Tom Sykora and Buffy Godfrey.
Among First Weber Realtors were Derse Smith, Lisa Aranda and Regina Sneed. Friends included Gathering on the Green's Beth Bauer, musicians Mark Saichek and Ed Sison, Poco Loco “propietario” Dean Gardner, and Patty Blommer and Tim Wallis.
Lost Arts Found: Despite competition from gorgeous weather and the Brewers' game, a crowd toured the Grohmann Museum to witness “Lost Arts,” demonstrations of works portrayed in the museum's collection. Milwaukee Blacksmith's Kent Knapp was helped by sons Birdie, Ozzie and Miles, plus wife Shannon. His family operation is soon moving to the Third Ward and will include a blacksmith school. Music by Knapp's business partner, guitarist Matt Tyner, echoed throughout the acoustically amazing building.
Among other artists were “the last” wooden shoe carvers Bob “Sieg” Siegel and Luke Traver; MSOE's Mary Spencer, owner of Stained Glass Fanatics, with grandchildren Victoria and Damien Spencer; Andy Stoginski and Mike Wildner of Brewpocalypse Brewery; and Sangeeta Patel, painting a replica of “The Blacksmith.” Onlookers included Junior and Amanda Gentine, new to Milwaukee after Dubai and France, with her mom Deb Gentine Ebert and her husband, Paul Ebert, in from Plymouth. From the museum were director John Kopmeier, soon moving to Tennessee, plus James Kieselburg and Ann Rice.
Art On View: Art Bar hopped with the Bay View Guild's “ARTiculate,” art inspired by poems and vice versa. Co-founders/artists Anita Burgermeister and Amy Olson showed work along with that of airbrush artist Gregory Juris, photographer Ian Pritchard, Linda Beckstrom and the “Martini Girls”—Marcia Hero, Debbie Callahan and Marcia Hochstetter. Poets included Liz Rhodebeck and Cristina Norcross. In the background was Sophisticated Singing Hobo Extraordinaire D.B. Rouse, accompanied by violinist Jessica Wahl. Art Bar regulars included UWM journalism student Jon Gorski and orange-hatted Brad Dixon. Bustling bartenders were Billy Harlow and Jessica Zierten.
Birthday Boy: The ongoing celebration of Aurora's Michael Johnston's Big-50 was held at the beautiful penthouse of Dr. Beto and Tim Grair. The birthday boy donned a pink flannel fuzzy suit, while others of the costumed set included Michael Jonas from the Hunger Task Force and Jerry “Gin & Tonic” Skalmusky of This Is It, with wig and fake teeth. Joe Kender, owner of Grum, made an adorable photo album for Johnston.
Admiring the view were Johnston's co-workers Deb Unger and Patty Zganjar; pipe-toting Andy Cicero from U.S. Bank; restaurateur Dan Taylor; Jay Reinke, United Way Labor liaison; and Jim Schroeder and artist Patrick Farrell, whose “Gathering of Fruit” will be in the 98th annual Allied Artists of America exhibition at New York City's National Arts Club. Bartender Brandon Ford served up some tasty drinks.
If you have any tips for Boris and Doris, contact them at borisanddorisott@aol.com. Their next column will appear in the Oct. 20 issue of the Shepherd.n
