Hey Happy AHH!sters!

Your suggestions have been tallied. Preliminary research (of suitable happy hours) completed. And the nominees for the AHH! 2 locale are…

Clubhouse Jager
923 Washington Ave N
Minneapolis

Grumpy’s (included as runner up from previous poll)
1111 Washington Ave S
Minneapolis

331 Club
331 13th Ave NE
Minneapolis

Town Hall Brewery
1430 Washington Ave S
Minneapolis

Alary’s (the token St. Paul venue)
139 7th St. East
St. Paul

In a day or two we’ll post a new poll just to the EAST of here>>>>>>
with these choices (for you to vote on the venue and time).

Stay tuned.

The Art Happy Hour! humbly solicits you to send in ideas, suggestions, and all manner of artsy thought to include on this blog, and at the next AHH! event. In particular, we’re looking for the following input:

1. What should be the venue for the next Art Happy Hour! (AHH!2)?

*Note: Suggestions on this issue were made at the Inaugural Art Happy Hour!, and those venues will be researched for suitable happy hour policies. Still, we’d welcome any other suggestions. Please send them to the AHH! Admin at admin(at)arthappyhour.com (or send via the comment function on the blog post) by February 22. We’ll post the final five potential venues in a AHH! poll that will run into early March.

2. What makes you (artistically) happy?

The Art Happy Hour! team would love to share stories about happy artists and why their artistic practice makes them happy.

Why are you happy to be an artist?

Send us a note to admin(at)arthappyhour.com (or via the comment function on the blog post).

“There were hours at Harry’s when it filled with the people that you knew, with the same rushing regularity as the tide coming in at Mont St. Michel. Except, the colonel thought, the hours for the tides change each day with the moon and the hours at Harry’s are as the Greenwich Meridian, or the standard meter in Paris or the good opinion the French military hold of themselves.”
–Ernest Hemingway, “In Harry’s Bar in Venice”

The inaugural Art Happy Hour! occurred last night at The Independent Bar in Uptown, Minneapolis. About 20 or so artsy people—of all sorts of backgrounds, media, and practices—attended, each enjoying their own independent merriment, or mingling with others. I saw some arts publishers talking to arts writers; I saw a comic book writer talking to an independent filmmaker; I saw sculptors hobnobbing with painters. And so on.

Thanks to all who came to Art Happy Hour! Here’s hoping this is the beginning of a regular local tradition.

Here are actual pictures from the event:

We here at AHH! HQ have to apologize for the recent technical difficulties on the Art Happy Hour! site. A routine software update went awry, and backup files we made were damaged—destroying our beautiful former site settings.

I know, it was a rookie mistake, and a very learning experience. But rest assured, even as we’re scrambling to get a fully functioning version of the site (with subscriptions and polls) back up and running, you must all know this: Tomorrow’s Art Happy Hour! is still on.

Let me repeat: The Inaugural Art Happy Hour! is ON!

WHEN: Tomorrow, Wednesday, February 13, 4 to 7 pm
WHERE: The INDEPENDENT-UPTOWN

AND REMEMBER: Look for Wally-the-Walnut!

See you all there!

FABS #1: Robert Plant’s Radiohead Rant

News Item: London, Jan 21, 2008, 13:30 GMT

Robert Plant recently demanded that a London bar stop playing music by the band Radiohead, calling it “rhyming crap” and saying it was “ruining his night.”

A source told Britain’s The Sun newspaper: “Robert was drinking with a woman and didn’t like the choice of tunes playing. Radiohead was on and he started complaining.”

When the bar’s staff complied with Plant’s request and put on the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the 59-year-old former lead singer of Led Zeppelin was still not pleased, saying this music was like a “nursery rhyme.”

We’re closing in people. Just one week left before the inaugural Art Happy Hour!

How can you stand the excitement?! I know I can’t. I feel like Thom Freakin Yorke on a loop track!

For those of you of a more rational mindset, we at AHH! HQ know what you’re thinking. Logistics, man. What about the logistics?

So, for you over-planny nervous-nelly types, here are a few official AHH! Logistics (LAHH!gistics):

What: The Inaugural Art Happy Hour!
When: Weds., February 13, 4 - 7 pm
Where: The Independent-Uptown

How to find the AHH!:

We here at AHH! HQ fully realize what a leap it is for many of you to consider attending the initial Art Happy Hour! After all, A.) Who’s going to be there, and how many of them will I know? B.) Could this possibly one of those elaborate web-based cyber-pranks I’ve heard so much about?! C.) How is anyone expected to find fellow Art-Happy Hourians? D.) And what does this AHH! Admin look like, anyway?

Here are the answers to your concerns, direct from AHH! HQ:

A.) We have absolutely no idea, but that’s what makes this fun.
B.) No, absolutely not—or my name ain’t AHH! Admin.
C.) and D.) No worries, we have a plan: 1) Go to the Independent in Uptown at the appointed time. 2) Look around for a large group having a fab time. 3) If there is not yet a large group (you early bird, you), look for a guy holding this camera bag (to take official AHH! photos)

and wearing this snazzy Wally-the-Walnut (the official Art Happy Hour! mascot) hat

Also, just so you know, as a one-time enticement for you to take this happy leap, the Art Happy Hour! Admin intends to buy a round of drinks for the first ten people to arrive at the Art Happy Hour! with the super-secret Art Happy Hour! code phrase (”Wally the Walnut”).

P.S., See you at Art Happy Hour! Cheers!

The Art Happy Hour! is pleased to announce, in advance of the inaugural AHH! on February 13, several new AHH! features (new featAHH!s).

First, there’s the AHH! poll archive, or Poll AHH!rchive, wherein you can see the results of all past AHH! polls. Cherish the memories; relive nail-bitingly close venue votes; wonder what could have been… Visit the Poll AHH!rchive! Today!

Also, there’s the AHH! soundtrack, or SoundtrAHH!ck, which gives AHH! regulars a little smidge of music to get them through the week (or at least until the next Art Happy Hour!). Music selections will be changed on a regular basis, so check back! Often!

And finally, as many of you know, there’s the free AHH! subscription service. Get email updates about the topics that you select, as well as up-to-date happy informational updates from Art Happy Hour! HQ. All delivered to your inbox at no cost to you!

Well! See you on the 13th!

(Information about the inaugural Art Happy Hour! logistics, a.k.a. lAHH!gistics, will be posted in the coming week. Be hAHH!ppy!)