Greetings and Salutations my Thursday night travelers,
As we continue our tradition of spreading our exploratory wings throughout this great city of Milwaukee, we now find ourselves traveling to Kochanski’s Concertina Bar; a bar that thrives on keeping its Polish & German traditions alive through unbelievable Polka and some of the finest beers Germany and Poland have to offer. (Side note: they are known for having the most Polish beers you can find in the state of Wisconsin). Kochanski’s is extremely unique, as they have not one, but two stages, dubbing themselves Milwaukee’s only live music venue with dueling stages. So as Kochanski’s says “Come Join the Polish Maffia” with the Thursdays crew, and maybe enjoy a cold one or two….or three. Maybe, just maybe, you will even hear the tale of the greatest musical match up ever. It all started with two pianos, a lonely Old Milwaukee, and two musical geniuses coming together to create something beautiful at Kochanski’s Concertina Bar.
It’s probably not well known, but WTT’s own Nick Mayer is actually one of Milwaukee’s premier pianists! He played world tours in his early days, until his career halted after the tragic death of his best friend Harambe in 2016. Before that, Nick was asked to play everywhere from Wembly to Madison Square Garden. There was no venue that Nick played more than the stage at Kochanski’s. This was primarily for two reasons: the people and Old Milwaukee.
One night, as Nick was preparing to go on stage, he looked across to see none other than the great Billy Joel preparing to play on the other stage. They both locked eyes, and slowly turned their gazes to the musicians’ ice box, only to see one lonely tallboy of Old Milwaukee. It was at this point that they knew they had to play for it; whoever won the crowd over would be victorious. What came of that night was one that will never be forgotten, as both played their hearts out. In the end, it turns out the bartender had one more Old Milwaukee in the back – so in reality everybody won: Billy, Nick, and the people of Milwaukee for witnessing musical bliss. The rest is history.
Cheers my Friends!
Your Co-Founder and Friend,
Jeremy Jay Blandin
*Keeping your glass filled and spirits high one Thursday at a time, this is Welcome to Thursdays: a local social group determined to make your Thursdays more fun. Each Wednesday, The Squeaky Curd features a fictitious history of a Milwaukee County bar that we gather at on Thursday evening. Join us this Thursday, June 8, 2017 at Kochanski’s Concertina Bar located at 1920 S. 37th Street. (Burnham Park) at 7:30pm.*