In his next life: male model
Who's that looking all dapper in the latest issue of GQ? None other than Barrio bartender Chad Larson, who was a finalist in this summer's GQ/Bombay Sapphire cocktail contest. Larson and his fellow mixologists appear in a special multi-page ad detailing the prestigious competition (he placed just outside the top 10). Larson dressed the part for the men's magazine, appearing in a gray vest and maroon tie, plus one serious face. "It looks like we're all pissed about something," he said. The 40-year-old's winning cocktail is called the Coliseum, a refreshing gin drink with a hint of licorice. Ask him to make it for you at Barrio St. Paul, where at least one regular has already asked for his autograph. "My swimsuit issue will be out next summer," he joked to I.W. --TOM HORGEN
Hem and her
Zenon dancer Tamara Ober doesn't let a little thing like a wardrobe malfunction get in the way of delivering a knockout performance. During the company's barn-burning rendition of Danny Buraczeski's "Swing Concerto" on Sunday evening at the Cowles Center, a panel on Ober's petticoat peskily came undone, threatening a modern-dance meltdown. But she and partner Stephen Schroeder didn't miss a beat of Louis Prima's "Sing, Sing, Sing." At an opportune moment, they yanked the offending fabric out from under their fast-moving feet and tossed it to the back of the stage. It was quite a trick, and I.W. wouldn't be surprised if Buraczeski worked it into the choreography. --RICK NELSON
Loony tunes
Tuesday's release of the "Minnesota Beatle Project, Vol. 3" comes with an interesting thank-you in the liner notes: the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Organizers of the nonprofit tribute album -- this year featuring Cloud Cult, Solid Gold, Tapes 'n Tapes, Charlie Parr and 11 others -- had to enlist the DNR to fulfill artist Brock Davis' ingenious vision for the cover art: a loon wearing a mop-top wig. Turns out, though, taxidermy versions of the state bird are illegal. After many phone calls, "Beatle Project" producer Mark Gehring got his hands on the one and only "official" stuffed loon at DNR headquarters in St. Paul. "It came with instructions on how to handle it and everything," said Gehring, whose Vega Productions has donated $60,000 to public-school music programs from the last two CDs. --CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER
Waiting on Adele
It turns out people who had tickets to Adele's twice-postponed Twin Cities concerts weren't the only ones in town who had to wait for her. She kept Cities 97 waiting until press time for "Sampler Volume 23." In fact, the station prepared three different versions of this year's sampler while awaiting approval from Adele's managers. "One had 'Someone Like You,' one had 'Rolling in the Deep' and one didn't have anything from Adele," Cities 97 program director Lauren MacLeash told Billboard.com. "Someone Like You," recorded in Cities' Studio C in October 2010, got the green light and became the opening track on the 19-song "Volume 23." The disc landed at No. 12 on Billboard's album chart and No. 1 on the -- get this -- folk-music list. --JON BREAM
