2007-11 Vital Source Mag – November 2007
Tug of War
Milwaukeeans went into a tizzy with the arrival of Whole Foods Market a year ago – was a national anchor in the East Side business district a sign that the city had finally arrived? Would Whole Foods serve as a “tentpole” for other natural and organic businesses in the city? Or would they jack up rent, lowball prices and drive the competition out of town? Would they be receptive to the sensitivities of the East Side community, or would they homogenize the neighborhood? And really, all fuss aside, wasn’t it a good thing that a huge, attractive corporation chose blue-collar Milwaukee, that long-neglected diamond-in-the-rough, for only its second location in the state? Now, for better or worse, Whole Foods is here. And by the end of the year, Urban Outfitters will be here too, in the Kenilworth Building just across the street. Anthropologie, also part of Urban Outfitters Incorporated, will open a location in the gentrified Third Ward. We have a Borders downtown, Starbucks courting our coffee loyalties, and a whole enclave of national retailers in the new Bayshore Town Center, including fast fashion marts like H&M and Forever 21 and super-cheap specialty grocer Trader Joe’s. We have more choices than ever before, which in some ways is welcome (who doesn’t love a two-buck bottle of decent wine, or a cute, cheap cardigan) and in some ways poses complications. How do we square up our love for a truly unique and personal shopping, dining or service experience with our lust for convenience, a great deal and free parking? Buying Your Way Out “This area, like the Brady Street area, is a healthy commercial neighborhood. It has been for years, and it is dominated by local independent businesses,” says Pat Sturgis, co-owner of East Side institution Beans and Barley. The independent natural foods grocer and restaurant has been in business for 33 years at the corner of North and Farwell – right across from the new Whole Foods. “As American consumers, we have really been trained in a very conscientious way to look for consistency. When you go somewhere else, you go to the mall, find the Cheesecake Factory, find a Crate and Barrel, go to someplace that is indistinguishable from any other place in the country,” Sturgis says. “There’s a Starbucks on Brady Street, but there are three other coffee shops, and those are healthy things.” Beans and Barley struggled after Whole Foods opened – especially for the first few months. A year later, sales have recovered, and their restaurant and deli sales have grown. “On the other hand, we were on our way to a record year [when Whole Foods opened],” Sturgis says. “It’s going to take a lot more work to get back to breaking any sales records here.” Rachel Ida Buff, a history professor and urban studies researcher at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a lifelong co-op patron, had her reservations when the new Whole Foods was announced. A year later, her ambivalence holds. She moved to Milwaukee […]
Nov 1st, 2007 by Amy Elliott
Enon
Enon waited only a year between the release of their sophomore album, 2002’s High Society, and their third disc, Hocus Pocus, and to a lot of fans’ ears, the lack of wait time showed. Perhaps the band realized this, because now it’s been a four-year wait for new material. The result, Grass Geysers…Carbon Clouds, is the best news possible for Enon fans: not only is the band back with a vengeance, but they spent all that time producing one of the best indie-rock dance records of the year.? Where Hocus Pocus featured a number of low key, mellow dinner party background tracks, Grass Geysers pushes the dinner table to the side to make room for the dance party. “Mirror on You” sets the pace, all fuzzed-out bass, handclaps and Matt Schultz’s shake-it-shake-it drums, with bassist Toko Yasuda’s pixie voice catching the listener’s attention right off the bat. A scant minute-forty-six later, “Colette” delivers more of the same; the synth-bass jam “Dr. Freeze” provides still more after that, its alien Ed-Wood-film-produced-by-Martians vibe providing the best ring entrance theme for a nonexistent luchador ever heard. The closest the album comes to taking a breather is the fantastic and instantly memorable “Mr. Ratatatatat,” a midtempo stomper that utilizes Enon’s secret weapon—the interplay of Yasuda’s demure Japanese vocals with guitarist (and ex-Brainiac gunslinger) John Schmersal’s barking croon. In an alternate universe somewhere, this song is already a smash chart-topper. That should be taken literally. This band isn’t just otherworldly; they’re multi-dimensional. The best we can hope for in this universe is that club deejays everywhere latch onto the unstoppable dance beats pounding their way out of Grass Geysers and into awaiting ears. If it takes another four years for Enon to produce a follow-up, that’ll be just fine. It’ll probably take many years beyond that to tire of this one.
Nov 1st, 2007 by DJ Hostettler
