April Issue: Home | Editors | Features | Columns | Photos | Regional | New Groove Road Trip | Tour Journal | Venue | Levels | Ghosts | Homegrown | Inaudible | CDs | Charts

Big Sky Regional Report
Edited by David Shulman - davids@sterlingdirect.com

Hi all and greetings from St. Louis. I don't know about your community, but we are in the middle of an onslaught of great shows which will hopefully continue throughout the summertime. Topping an already impressive schedule, Trey Anastasio (Phish) has decided to make St. Louis one of the rare stops on his short spring tour, at the confines of the intimate American Theater no less. That combined with upcoming stops by moe., Bruce Hornsby, Big Wu, among others will make for an exciting few months of shows.

For those of you that have visited the Mimi Fishman charity auction site, you will be pleased to know that the first auction raised approximately $1500 for The American Glaucoma Society! Combined with the recently completed Mimi Fishman birthday concerts, several thousand dollars has been raised and donated to the society. Check out "Minutes with Mimi" this month for a small but exciting auction involving Phish tickets and backs tage passes!

Once again I must ask for some help and assistance regarding the Big Sky region. Please, please, please, if you have any jamband related items you would like to contribute, please send them my way. Whether it be reviews, band info, venue info, views, etc., all contributions are most welcome, wanted, and needed.

An extended thanks to Paul "Pro" Pearson for his continued contributions to the region report.

Happy reading and have a great April!

---

Nebraska Report
by Paul L. Pearson, Ph.D.

March 17, 1999-Strange Pleasures and The Disco Biscuits, Saddle Creek Bar, Omaha NE. Setlist at http://www.strangepleasures.com/links/sets/990317set.htm. A St. Patrick's Day bash at the Saddle Creek brought Philly heavyweights The Disco Biscuits. Fresh (?) off of 9 previous weeks on the road and week and a half to go, the Bisco unloaded their gear in Omaha and came to jam. A good crowd, including several people from Minnesota and a few from Pennsylvania was on hand for Strange Pleasures' first chance to host a big name jamband from the east. "Little Betty Boop" was my favorite of the night. Particularly impressed by Mags on keys. I didn't spend much time writing notes, I was just having fun and consuming mass quantities.

3/18/99 - "The Well Hung Over Band"
Strange Pleasures with Elmo of S.O.U.P.
(aka Grateful Dudes)-Saddle Creek, Omaha NE.
http://www.strangepleasures.com/links/sets/990318set.htm

Renamed for the evening, a sparse crowd showed up and got a treat. Elmo of S.O.U.P. stopped by and brought a whole bunch of mojo. He jammed for the first set, adding a third guitar and voice. Particularly tasty was his slide on "Porch Song." Bobby Dread of Omaha reggae band Righteous Vibration also sang a couple of the early songs. The second set was almost all originals and made up where the night before fell a little short musically. Tim Zoucha of S.O.U.P. also sat in on skins as he did the previous show.

3/25/99 - Strange Pleasures with Cashambah - Saddle Creek, Omaha NE.
http://www.strangepleasures.com/links/sets/990325set.htm and http://www.strangepleasures.com/links/sets/990318set.htm

With the Big Wu making their debut in Lincoln NE at the Zoo Bar (a big crowd and great energy, according to Jason Fladager), we weren't expecting a large audience, but we even pulled a few friends over for guitarist Erik Blomenkamp's birthday party. A brand new Omaha jamband, Cashambah, debuted in fine style. Playing mainly covers with a few driving originals added in they made a fast impression. Drew Gurney, former bassist for Strange Pleasures, and John Graham (guitar) share the lead vocals, backed by Chuck Tompkins on drums. Pink Floyd's 'Fearless' was good, 'Big Balls' was a riot, 'Sample in a Jar' was unexpected and nice, and although kinda rushed to fit time, Help->Slipknot->Franklin's was a crowd pleasing end to a solid hour and a half set. The original "Dark Recesses of Your Mind" particularly impressed me, but I'm biased.b (Drew took my lyrics and wrote the music in 1998 when he was still with SP). Jam was the word of the evening for Strange Pleasures, playing only five songs the first 45 and 3 the last 30. 'Steve's Anti-Gov't Rag' featured a new verse. 'TangledaEyes' was probably the best jam of the night.

3/30/99-Strange Pleasures-Bodega's Alley, Lincoln NE http://www.strangepleasures.com/links/sets/990330set.htm

Some nights, everything comes together. This was the first time we'd had our PA on the road for a couple of months, and damn did it sound good. A capacity crowd was on hand and was screaming. Former Ripple Effect guitarist Shawn Russell jumped up to play 'Tangled' accompanied by Miss April Domet on vocals. The second set jam was intense, particularly when an unexpected 'Antelope' came out of 'Fire on the Mountain.' Many compliments on the night?

4/1/99-Strange Pleasures, Saddle Creek Bar, Omaha NE http://www.strangepleasures.com/links/sets/990401set.htm

A fun Fool's show with former member Steve Fisher of the Salamanders on skins. Saul Chapa, also a former member and Salamander, came up to jam some of his originals when I 'fired' our lead singer, Greg Beebe. Second set featured a one-time performance of Rick Springfield's 'Jessie's Girl' by request that I am happy to say did not make it on tape.

4/8/99-Strange Pleasures, Saddle Creek Bar, Omaha NE http://www.strangepleasures.com/links/sets/990408set.htm

Soundcheck was a crazy original jam that set the tone for the evening. A playful Scott Moore teased "Jingle Bells" in the middle of 'China Cat Sunflower' and a hard-edged 'Wilson' were standouts in the first set. A sitting and drinking crowd sat and chatted through a good second set jam, then danced away the third set that included a guest appearance by local mystic Michael 'mojopo' Pryor on harp on the original "I Don't Want To" and bassist Steven Petty singing a verse of Justin Hinds' 'Travel With Love' to end the song.

4/9 and 4/10/99-S.O.U.P. (aka Grateful Dudes) with Greg Beebe of Strange Pleasures-Cheerleader's, Lincoln NE

I didn't keep setlists or notes, but I had a fun time listening. With guitar/vocalist Russell Zierke ill, the Dudes brought in Greg Beebe of Strange Pleasures to fill in on vocals and rhythm guitar for a weekend engagement in Lincoln. The crowd was 'hippier' the first night, but I felt the jams were more intense on Saturday night. Beebe's "Lovelight" on Friday night was especially good, as was the Dudes' original 'Wound Up'. Saturday night's 'Sugar Magnolia' was especially nice. It's obvious that the Dudes could have done these two showswithout Russell AND without Beebe, but the addition was more than cosmetic. Some very nice harmony work made the effort worthwhile. Elmo had plenty of opportunity to tear it up on his Gibson/Boogie combo and showed some nice licks over the weekend.

Special shows coming up in April and May include guest artists Uncle Sid's Music Farm, JRZ System, Cashambah, Meandering Blue and others opening for Strange Pleasures on Thursdays. Strange Pleasures is tentatively booked for May 1 in Manhattan KS-details to follow on www.strangepleasures.com., and will make a return trip to Bodega's Alley in Lincoln on May 12. S.O.U.P. and Strange Pleasures will team up on May 14 at Knickerbocker's in Lincoln and again on May 22nd at Sokol Auditorium in Omaha with Uncle Sid's Music Farm and Righteous Vibration. Lots of good music to come.

---

Upcoming Mid-West Shows

Tue. Apr 13th Gordon Stone / Static Circus *** Cicero's
Wed. Apr 14th River City Buskers Cicero's
Wed. Apr 14th Neil Young (acoustic) Fox Theater
Thur. Apr 15th The Schwag *** Hi Pointe
Thur. Apr 15th Tony Furtado *** Cicero's
Fri. Apr 16th Autumn's Child (Native American music) Focal Point
Sat. Apr 17th The Big Wu *** The Firehouse
Sat. Apr 17th The Schwag / Kingfish Listening Party *** Cicero's
Tue. Apr 20th Acoustic Junction Blueberry Hill Duck Room
Wed. Apr 21st Kerosene Willy / Big Bang Theory*** Cicero's
Thur. Apr 22nd Blue Dixie / River City Buskers *** Cicero's
Fri. Apr. 23rd Blue Dixie / River City Buskers *** Firehouse
Sat. Apr 24th Jake's Leg *** Cicero's
Mon. Apr 26th Rubberneck / EM Grueve *** Cicero's
Wed. Apr 28th Kerosene Willy / Denorah *** Cicero's
Thur. Apr 29th The Schwag *** Hi Pointe
Thur. May 6th Ominous Seapods *** Cicero's
Thur. May 6th The Schwag *** Hi Pointe
Thur. May 6th moe. *** Copper Dragon, Carbondale, IL
Sat. May 1st Amorphous Band / Big Bang Theory / Madahoochi *** Cicero's
Fri. May 7th moe. *** Blue Note, Columbia, MO
Fri. May 7th Trey solo tour (of Phish) *** American Theater
Sat. May 8th moe. *** Mississippi Nights
Thur. May 13th The Schwag Hi Pointe
Thur. May 20th Bruce Hornsby (21+) Mississippi Nights
Thur. May 27th The Recipe *** Cicero's
Fri. May 28th Disco Biscuits *** Cicero's
Sat. May 29th Jake's Leg *** Cicero's
Fri. June 18th Day By The River / Dexter Grove Cicero's
Sat. June 19th Foxtrot Zulu Cicero's
Tues. June 29th Smokin' Grass Cicero's

---

Madison, WI
Barrymore Theatre 4.9.99

by Jason Weidman

This was the Big Wu's first show in a "theatre" venue and they didn't disappoint. Opening with Kensington Manor they pulled out their bag of musical tricks and fed off the Madison crowd's energy with reckless abandon. Everyone was treated to a few new songs the band has been working on and tweaking with the Cabooze crowd back in Minneapolis for the last few months, such as Break of Day & Southern Energy. Then Wusters were treated to a rip-it-up-tear-it-down version of Kangaroo. Everyone came away with a satisfied vibe after the first set, knowing the best was yet to come.

After everyone had a chance to re-bake during the setbreak, the Wu came out on stage and played a version of Red Sky most Madisonians have never even dreamed of. What came next was a personal favorite, House of Wu>Rocky Top>House of Wu. I feel this combo is the Wu's best "Get off your ass and jam" song. I think every one of the 700-800 people present were shakin' it as hard as they could.

Tonight the crowd was treated to an intimate two set performance from the upper mid-west's best band. I enjoyed one of my most memorable Wu shows from the hallway, dancing and spinning my way to euphoria. I can't say thank you enough Jason, Chris, Terry, Andy & Al.

If anyone wants to have a splendid good time with the Big Wu, come on down to Harmony Park Memorial Day Weekend. Also scheduled to play are the Disco Biscuts, David Nelson Band, Bobby Llama, Dean MacGraw & more. Just goto the following website: http://www.thebigwu.com

Set I:

Kensington Manor, Ballad of Dan Toe, MN Moon, Break of Day, Dancing w/Lula, Boxing Day, Southern Energy, Kangaroo

Set II:

Red Sky, House of Wu>Rocky Top>House of Wu, Red Sneakers, All Good, Two Person Chair, Texas Fireball, Gimme A Raise

E: Silcanturnitova, Shantytown

---