The upgraded Wurlitzer at Fargo Theatre. Photos by Jill Fisher.

It was a five-hour drive on Friday, Sept. 25, when the Curmudgeon and I, together with friends, fellow Duluthians, who have deep roots in Fargo, North Dakota, endeavored to visit it for a very special reason.

It was the 51st annual “Silent Movie Night” at the historic Fargo Theatre. This was something our pal had told me about at least 30 years ago. Indeed, we talked many times about getting back there for the event and finally the stars aligned.

This year was also the 100th anniversary of the first (silent) film shown at the theater, with accompaniment on the theater’s Wurlitzer Theatre Pipe Organ.

Now, you may wonder whether the show was worth the drive. The answer is a definite yes!

And there is background to why I found it particularly compelling to take the show in this year.

Back in May I took a quick trip to Arizona, during which time I discovered the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) in Phoenix.

With nearly 7,000 musical instruments from all over the world on display along with videos and audio recordings of masterful musicians playing them, it is quite the collection.

While a Wurlitzer pipe organ wasn’t among them (no doubt lack of space being the reason), I got to experience a myriad of sounds in MIM’s Mechanical Music Gallery that a Wurlitzer can replicate.

For instance, there was a calliope with its classic circus melodies and piping tones. Another was the 1926 “Orchestrion” from Belgium that generated a gamut of instrumental sounds. And then there was the rinky-tinky notes of a player piano. (If you are curious, you can hear a snippet of what these old-fashioned contraptions sound like online at the museum’s website.)

Those were only a minor sampling of the sounds produced by Fargo’s “Mighty Wurlitzer” we heard last Friday evening. The Red River Theatre Organ Society (RRTOS) produces Silent Movie Night, and it has wisely featured half-hour performances on the Wurlitzer as prologue to these films for years. The locals know to show up earlier than the publicized show time to enjoy them.

Three “house organists” (and members of RRTOS) — Elliot Sander, Alex Moe and Dylan Thiele — took turns on the instrument, thereby giving us a full-out tour of the Wurlitzer’s capabilities.

We also got to see it being raised up for the show and lowered down afterwards into what might be termed a miniscule orchestra pit.

The show tunes played were “California, Here I Come,” “Old Man River,” “When You Wore a Tulip” and “Anything Goes.” These had lots of calliope sounds. The thunderous bass notes of some selections were thrilling while the silly pop ditty, “Rubber Ducky,” showcased an incredible range of sounds, including tugboat toots! 

A gospel tune – “Down By the Riverside” – demonstrated a more traditional organ sound. The final tune of this short concert was a “Tribute to the Fargo” that was a sensational mashup of “There’s No Business Like Show Business” with “That’s Entertainment.” We got to experience in real life the saying, “they pulled out all the stops”!

After this too-short Wurlitzer concert, it was on to the rest of the program which included a brief documentary. Fargo Theatre — the first Hundred Years, told about the 1926 vaudeville theater, the first movies people remembered seeing here (Iron Man!) and what its preservation means to the Fargo-Moorhead community.

We learned that it was the presence of the Wurlitzer and its rescue in 1973 after 25 years of disuse that ended up saving the historic Art Deco landmark from later demolition.

The appreciative organ technicians who found it, together with volunteer members of RRTOS, cleaned and repaired the instrument to get it back in playing order. Since then the Wurlitzer has been rebuilt and upgraded to its present “four-manual” state (see photos).

RRTOS was organized and chartered in 1965. In 1983 its members stepped up to form the Fargo Theatre Management Corporation that took over the theater lease to prevent the property from being leveled for a parking lot.

The original 100-year-old Wurlitzer on display at the Fargo Theatre.

The resurrected Mighty Wurlitzer was featured at the first “Silent Movie Night” on Nov. 4, 1974. Ever since it has been an annual fundraising event to benefit the ongoing maintenance of the instrument.

So then it was on to seeing the silent movie The Man on the Box, starring Sydney Chaplin (Charlie Chaplin’s brother) with its live score accompaniment by Alex Swanson. The movie was the first ever shown at the theatre 100 years ago, which is why it was chosen for this year’s event despite it not being a classic.

The story was something of a rom-com in the guise of a spy thriller. With Chaplin playing the lead, there were plenty of slapstick comedy bits that didn’t necessarily help further the plot. In any case, the organ music was expressive of the action in the film and an enjoyable listening experience.

This outing combined my love of live music and appreciation for historic architecture, so I cherish the experience. No doubt, if I lived in Fargo, it would be an annual ritual to attend “Silent Movie Night.”

It also resonated with our community’s need to protect the West Theatre and Alhambra as important community assets.

As I write about the above Wurlitzer experience, it reminds me of another treasure we have right here in the Twin Ports: A World of Accordions Museum located in the former Hammond Avenue Presbyterian Church in downtown Superior.

The accordions on display are gorgeous and masterful accordion players perform there periodically. Check it out at worldofaccordions.org.

Whiskey River headlining at Moose Lake's Oktoberfest.

Saturday, upon our return from Fargo, the C and I went our separate ways. He headed to Sacred Heart Music Center for the semi-annual Duluth Does benefit concert that this year did the music of The Grateful Dead. I headed south to Moose Lake’s annual Oktoberfest, where Whiskey River was the headlining act. It had been on my music schedule before Duluth Does The Dead was announced.

Normally I wouldn’t have missed the SHMC benefit, but what can one do when there are choices like these?

What made it easier was knowing I could view the Dead concert on SHMC’s YouTube channel. Which I did!

During this year’s 3-hour-and 23-minute DD the Dead there were 18 songs performed by that many acts, plus the finale, “Truckin’,” with all the participating musicians and the audience singing along.

I’m not and never was a Dead Head so my unfamiliarity with most of the 18  songs must be excused along with my absence!

The lovely Kim Curtis-Monson, of Fish Heads fame, was the MC for the evening, providing continuity and friendly banter during band changes.

I was sure glad to get to hear Whiskey River again. It’s become one of my favorite bands and it was in fine danceable form on this cool early autumn evening.

I’m loving their addition of Albert Svenddal’s pedal steel guitar this past year.

The trip south also afforded me the opportunity to experience the First National Bank of Moose Lake Arena (AKA Riverside Arena), a venue I hadn’t heard about before. It was a barebones pole building enclosing a wide-open space without inside plumbing! (Port-a-Potties were provided across the parking lot.)

You can imagine that the acoustics were not great, though perhaps it depends on the group performing.

The last contestant in the “Battle of the Bands” that preceded Whiskey River, was “Live Bait.” I arrived just in time to hear their last three numbers. The volume was so loud, ear plugs were required. Whiskey River wasn’t so loud, so the acoustics were less of an issue.

UPCOMING: Your chance to see Whiskey River is not far off. Saturday, Oct.10, the band is slated to play a benefit concert for the West Theatre at Clyde Iron. Music starts at 7:30 pm; tickets are available online at thewesttheatre.com.

Tom Waitts fans should note that Friday, Oct. 2, Blue Valentine (a Tom Waits tribute band) will play from 8-11 pm at Earth Rider’s Cedar Lounge Tap Room.

The next day, Saturday, Oct. 3, folks who love the sound of bagpipes should get themselves over to Bayfield to hear the “Pipes and Drums of Thunder Bay” in a “Wake Up Concert” at 10 am at the city’s marina.

And there’s more great stuff on hand this weekend: Wild State Cider’s “Friends Fest” and Cellar Sale is bound to be a party! It starts at Noon, Oct. 3, with four terrific bands, one every couple of hours: first up, The Roadside Lupines, Danny Frank & The Smoky Gold follows at 2 pm, Slope City at 4 and finishing up with Big Wave Dave and the Ripples at 6.

See you out there!