The East Side really has a rough go of it lately.
Even though I no longer live there or rarely play there anymore, I certainly do work on this side of town, and it saddens me to see the double whammy of disasters that have recently plagued one of my favorite neighborhoods in the city.
In just the last year, alone, the area was first hit the awful Pizza Man fire and then a giant sinkhole on the corner of Oakland and North -- it's easy to think that 2012 is coming early to the fashionable East Side. In fact, the neighborhood has suffered through far too many fires and floods over the years, including disasters at Century Hall and Elliott's Bistro.
But the neighborhood is taking it in stride, laughing about it, even ... and more power to it.
This Sunday, some of Milwaukee's favorite musicians head back to the infamous sinkhole for a free concert that brings together all of Milwaukee's sewage-soaked residents. They're calling it "Sinkhole de My-Oh!"
The concert runs from noon to 7 p.m. in the parking lot shared by Chubby's, Sil's and Hotch-A-Do. Neighboring bars and restaurants will offer flood and sinkhole-inspired food and cocktails.
The East Side BID will be selling T-shirts that read: "Come see our hole!" As a member of the BID, and as the company that built its Web site, I wholeheartedly endorse this event.
The Sinkhole de My-Oh! Lineup includes:
12-12:30 p.m. -- Lil Rev
12:40-1:30 p.m. -- KT's Universal Love Band
1:40-2:15 p.m. -- Hermann Astro
2:30-3:15 p.m. -- The Peggy James Band
3:30-4:15 p.m. -- Subcontinentals
4:30-5:30 p.m. -- Robin Pluer And Friends
6-7 p.m. -- Paul Cebar
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
