Deeds: 2013 was a year of Burgundy, ‘breastaurants,’ BBQ debacles

Author: Michael Deeds
Click here to view original web page at www.idahostatesman.com

Sure, the new year is three days old, but I’m not ready to let go — or let you block 2013 out of your mind just yet. Here’s one last loving gaze at the wins, losses and memorable moments:

• Attention-craving Idahoans muscled their way onto national TV, whether it was Sherri Biethman of Boise on “Survivor: Caramoan — Fans vs. Favorites” or Eagle business Proof Eyewear on ABC’s “Shark Tank.” But the most entertaining TV action was local. Sports anchor Paul Gerke donned a phony moustache on Halloween and pretended to be “Anchorman” Ron Burgundy. Video of his antics on channels 6 and 9 went viral on the Internet. Gerke ended up clicking his heels together on Katie Couric’s talk show with actor Will Ferrell.

• The entire Village at Meridian reeked of California, but there was no denying the wow factor. Village Cinema opened with liquor service, upscale dining, D-Box motion seating, Dolby Atmos sound — and VIP seating areas available only to moviegoers over 21. It’s hard to argue with the strange perfection of being able to down a shot of tequila while watching “Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa.”

• Beer enthusiasts raised a toast. Bend, Ore.-based 10 Barrel Brewing Co. added a towering, impressive brewpub to Downtown Boise. Crooked Fence Barrelhouse gave Garden City another much-needed dining option. Chain brewpub Yard House opened at The Village at Meridian with 140 tap handles serving 131 beers. With a parade of new local breweries ready to debut in 2014, let’s hope the Valley’s craft beer scene doesn’t wind up overflowing like a shaken-up Natty Light.

• Sports bar Hooters vanished near Boise Towne Square — but Boise wasn’t left hootless. Younger, prettier Twin Peaks — where the only flat thing is the TV screens — opened near the Boise Spectrum. Celtic-themed “breastaurant” Tilted Kilt also is slated to arrive in 2014 at the old Murphy’s Seafood location.

• In a media-manufactured fuss, Idaho received national scrutiny because NC-17 movie “Blue is the Warmest Color” did not show at art-house theater The Flicks. Outdated Idaho statute prohibits businesses that serve alcohol from showing such skin-and-sex-laden films. It wound up playing at Edwards 9 Cinemas instead. Controversy over.

• Sticking a finger in the eye of the North End Neighborhood Association’s Hyde Park Street Fair, a party erupted simultaneously down the street. The two-day Hyde Park Curb A’Faire borrowed concepts from other area events, including the defunct Curb Cup, then marketed itself as “Where the Hyde Park Street Fair began.” Good times or not, if it happens again, organizers should pick a different weekend.

• Commercial-free (for now) station My 102.7 blasted onto the FM dial, adding more noise to the already crowded Treasure Valley airwaves.

• Garden City clashed with the Revolution Center, sending the 2,200-capacity concert club thousands of dollars in bills for police overtime. The bills have since stopped.

• Barbecue festivals got run through a meat grinder. The financially troubled Soul Food Extravaganza was canceled after two decades but hopes to return to Julia Davis Park in 2014 with support from the NAACP. And after being unceremoniously tossed out of Meridian’s Julius M. Kleiner Park, Northwest Ribfest managed to generate enough bad publicity at Nampa’s Idaho Center to suggest it won’t return. (I hope it does. Everyone loves a grease fire.)

• Imagine Dragons? Steely Dan? Fun? The Lumineers? Macklemore & Ryan Lewis? Concert fans had a solid year, although Boise did lose a couple of venues. The outdoor Eagle River Pavilion called it quits just outside city limits, and all-ages indoor hangout The Venue moved to Caldwell.

• Somebody got the wacky idea to lower a huge potato sculpture Downtown on New Year’s Eve. Considering that the Idaho Potato Drop fell thousands of dollars short of its fundraising goal, who knows whether it will happen again? Either way, you’ve got to applaud the event’s sheer ... somethingness.

• Boise’s music scene rocked steadily. The second annual Treefort Music Fest shrugged off cold March weather, got bigger and proved it was here to stay; plans for year three are even more ambitious. Indie phenom Trevor Powers of Youth Lagoon continued his global tour. And folksy act Hollow Wood generated enough local excitement to make 2014 brim with possibility — which is how we all will try to view this new year, right?

Michael Deeds’ column runs Fridays in Scene and Sundays in Life. He co-hosts “The Other Studio” at 9 p.m. Sundays on 94.9 FM The River and appears Thursdays on Channel 6 News.