JamBands.Com - January '99

Big Sky Regional Report
Edited by David Shulman - davids@sterlingdirect.com
Hi all,
As I write this I am looking out the window only to see about a foot of snow with more coming down....not to mention the freezing rain mixed in for good pleasure. Hmmm, driving to work in the morning should be a blast ;~)
Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. I know mine was nice...although I did not have the pleasure of seeing one of several fine New Years eve shows this year.
Once again I find myself groveling for some help for the region. I NEED SOME FOLKS WILLING TO SEND ME SOME INFO CONCERNING THEIR CITY/STATE/AREA....in regards to jambands. Any and all submissions are most welcome.
Also, pleeeeeease, check out this months "Minutes with Mimi" as it contains all valid info for the 1st Mimi Fishman auction for The American Glaucoma Society. I think you'll find some very interesting items to bid on. Bid often....bid high.
The next month brings some nice shows to the St. Louis area...including,
Jan 22 Galactic @ Mississippi Nights
Jan 23 Blues Special, with Johnnie Johnson (Ratdog) and Michael Finnigan (CSN) @ The Sheldon
Jan 29 Leftover Salmon @ Mississippi Nights
Jan 30 Chic Corea @ The Sheldon
Jan 30 Hypnotic Clambake @ Cicero's
Till next time...take care of your shoes,
David

Nebraska Report
Paul L. "Pro" Pearson, Ph.D.
pro@strangepleasures.com
S.O.U.P. (aka Grateful Dudes)
Saddle Creek Bar, Omaha NE
1/9/99
The sign outside the Creek just said "Fri Sat Dudes." No explanation necessary. I walked into the Creek at about 10:00 PM, just shortly after the start. About 50 in attendance at the beginning, the crowd would swell to over a hundred by the end of the night. A lot of familiar faces in the crowd-everybody ready to jam.
First set:
(two or three I missed)
Goin Down the Road Feelin' Bad
??
Ship of Fools
Set break
First set was a warmup for the band and the crowd.
Second set.
Instrumental (Elmo has a searing guitar tone going on this one)
Can't Expect to Be Loved (?)
Sell it to the Man
Your Life's Temptation (original?-good guitar work, blues break with a keyboard solo and then 3 part vocals-cool jam)
Scarlet Begonias (sung as Scarlet Petunias, mid tempo like the Dead, this one filled the dance floor which had been previously empty)
Terrapin Station (beautiful)>
China Doll
Deal (a killer Deal)
This set eventually got the crowd fired up and out on the floor. A lot of nice instrumental work.
Set Three
Dance With Me
Ramble On Rose
Bertha (they tore it up)
Truckin' (I hate hearing this as the only Dead song on the radio, but I really dug this version that electrified the audience)
Promised Land (very good)
Wound Up
The Dudes always put on a fun show that manages to capture some of the magic of the Dead and leave the crowd satisfied. Tonight was no exception.
Strange Pleasures
Setlists of recent Strange Pleasures shows can be seen at www.strangepleasures.com. The 12/26/98 show was a particularly special one, due to all the close friends that made it a point to join us that night. Our former bassist Parker Hill even got up to jam a couple with us that evening. On New Year's Eve we opened for the Denver (formerly Omaha) band Moment of Release at Billy Frogg's in Omaha's Old Market. "Eyes of the World" was stellar and by the time "ScarletaFire" and "Brothers" ended the set, the band and crowd were finally in sync and in full party mode. All in all, a solid show. Next month I promise a more comprehensive review of at least one of our shows. We have our first roadtrip planned to Colorado on Jan 15th and 16th at Quixote's True Blue Cafe in Aurora (Denver). If you're in the area, please stop by for what promises to be two incredible shows.
Strange Pleasures email updates are available. Just send me a request to be put on the list and you'll get frequent updates of our upcoming shows, as well as 'inside' information on the band. pro@strangepleasures.com
If you have a jamband and are interested in bringing your show to Omaha, send me an email. Strange Pleasures owns the Thursday house slot at the Saddle Creek bar and is interested in bands to open for us or bands that are willing to swap gigs.
Just to let you know that jam music is alive and well in Nebraska, check out the lineup for Wednesday Jan 13th in Lincoln. Strange Pleasures is at the world famous Zoo Bar. Just a half a block away at Duffy's, another fantastic Nebraska jamband-Happy Dog-will be playing their high energy fusion. Next door at Bodega's Alley, Einstein Electric from Lawrence, KS will be taking care of the Dead Hour jam. Three solid bands less than a block from each other. Hopefully there will be enough people to fill all three venues.
Take care,
Pro
Side Trips and moe. New Years Eve Run To start, I just have to say, what a great holiday run it was this year! No matter who you were seeing, may it be Phish, moe., the Disco Biscuits (Hot Air Balloon!!!), String Cheese Incident, Ominous Seapods (we'll miss ya Max!), Ratdog, etc. All our favorite bands played a phenomenal NYE and truly made this an extra special jamband holiday!
Myself, well, we were heading from St. Louis to the right coast for one band and one band only, moe.. While we were up there for the shows though we decided to capitalize on all the other great bands that we rarely get to see out here in the Midwest, er, Big Sky, region.
So before the Christmas spirit could even leave our bodies we began the journey eastward for New York City and the infamous Wetlands to see one of the final shows of Max Verna with the Ominous Seapods and a night with the headfucking Disco Biscuits... What really excites me about the whole jamband scene is that, I think I was more excited to go to the Wetlands then I was to go see Phish at Madison Square Garden... and the excitement that was with me for Phish was more for the fact that this Midwest boy was finally going to see a fabled show at the Garden, but the Wetlands is such a fixture with every jamband that there's ever been in this generation. I won't even start a review of the Phish show on the 28th, you can find that anywhere, but where I'll start is with the excitement that soon possessed my body on the way to the Wetlands. I have so many tapes from this place, and have seen so many reviews from shows at this place, that I couldn't wait to see what this place was really like. I've always had this picture of it in my mind, and when I finally worked my way inside the doors I was amazed at how different it was then I pictured it. Much smaller, but also much cooler too. I absolutely love this place. From the van, to the bar, to the lounge in the basement, to the PA speakers in the bathrooms, everything was really, really laid back... my only complaint would be beer prices which I realized the next morning were a little steep and that my wallet took a major beating that night!
This, of course, was to be Max Verna's last show at this fabled venue with the Ominous Seapods, and it was also going to be my first chance to see his replacement, Todd Pasternak. I really like the Pods and when I heard Max was leaving I was crushed, I really like his style and his voice, and to sit there and watch the show that evening was really cool for me... it was kinda like watching and savoring every note and every sound knowing it will be the last time my eyes and ears got this treat again. During the second set, Max left the stage, and made way for the New T.P., as I eagerly waited in anticipation to hear him (while constantly telling myself to have an open mind about him.) Well as it turns out I wouldn't have needed to have an open mind to be impressed, this guy jams! It was a little weird for me to see him with Dana and the Old T.P. and crew but they put down some sick tracks. What was great was they really seemed to take off together, it was like they've playing together for years. As I left the evening I wished Max the best in his future endeavors, but I also began to look forward to more Seapods shows for sure!
Another night, another Phish show at the Gardens... then back to the Wetlands for what was one of the definite highlights of the trip, the Disco Biscuits. I had been dying to see these guys for quite some time now, and they did a fabulous job of leaving me speechless. It's never quite the same on tapes until you see a band live, then when you go back and listen to those tapes again, they sound even better. A "Pat and Dex" show opener followed by "Run Like Hell" was hot, and then Mike Gordon was spotted in the joint, and I began to drool over the possibility of El Gordo pluckin' the bass with El Jewque and the Barber! Alas, it was not to be, but the Biscuits raged on and on into the night.... unfortunately, the previous evening we had run into a slight problem with the L.I.R.R. (Long Island Rail Road), which only has trains leaving at 3:20 and 5:20. The first night we caught the 5:20 and at some point along the 45 minute ride we all passed out and missed our stop and had to get off at the next stop and walk all the way back to the previous stop... trust me after a Phish show and a Seapods show, walking through Long Island drunk/hungover/whateva at six in the morning is no treat! So we had predetermined that we would cruise early from the Bisco show to hit the 3:20am train... Of course as soon as we are getting ready to leave, the Biscuits, start to rip an insane "Trooper McCue" which had me paralyzed and wishing I was going to be catching the 5:20am train! We left anyways and headed home, but it was still an incredible night with the Biscuits... if you haven't checked these guys out yet, do, they are unreal. How about a debut performance of a Rock Opera for there New Year's Eve show? Sound impressed? I know I am...

moe. - 12.30.98
Bohagers
Baltimore, MD
Fathead opened
After a couple of nights in NYC I was ready to leave. The place is great, but my pocketbook took heavy damages and I was ready to leave the city of cab rides, train rides, and tool booths...
Only a few short hours anyways and we'd be back on the bus with moe., the whole reason we came. It was like a second wind was just knocked into all our souls as we headed to the venue.
As we parked the car we jumped out to go get our tickets from will call, and that's when our breathes were sucked from our bodies by bitterly cold wind and vicious wind... jesus it was cold! No lot scene today boys and girls!
We braved the cold just barely long enough before frostbite began to set in, and finally got in the doors. First diagnosis: security sucks. Second diagnosis: fuck it, it's warm! As I ventured around the venue saying hi to friends and what not, I noticed that there was hella Fathead shirts at the merch booth, so I soon began to realize that we were being treated with an unannounced opener. Fathead is a 311-ish group from Philly, that I'm pretty impartial about. All I know is, I longed for moe.
After a month and a half hiatus, moe. took the stage to much applause and to more smiles. "Spaz Medicine" opened the sets... I particularly love the guy in Rolling Stones who said that "Spaz" was "three good songs in one"...this was followed by "Stranger Than Fiction" which made me think that I've seen this in the first set about 10 times this year... oh well. "32 Things" was next followed by one of my new favorite tunes from the fall tour "Tambourine". An old school "St. Agustine" followed by "It" and a bass-filled "Brent Black" ended the first set. I was a little disappointed with the boys though, it seemed like they were all just a little off in the first set and that they were trying too hard to make it right instead of relaxing and letting it flow...
Second set opened with someone in the crowd handing the boys Christmas cards, one of which (Chuck's) had a little "green" surprise in it too, which brought huge cheers from the crowd. Rob and Chuck had a little tug-o-war with it until finally Rob seized it and sparked it up... after Chuck and Vinnie got a taste it was promptly handed to the crowd. Now that we were all smiling, they started off with "Nebraska" which some think is over played or that there is no jam section, but I'll always like this tune. My girlfriend and I have always just been in love with this tune and Chuck on the voice box always brings a smile to my face. "Big World" erupted next, and even though the guys cords fell out of there guitar/bass a few times, Chris Burroughs was quick to patch 'em back in and save the song despite the many distractions.
The next number was a real treat though as the epic "Meat" soon began to weave it's way into my ears and after 25 minutes of perma-grin we soon found it leaning into "Head"! Ahhh, the rarely played (5 times ever) MeatHead! This got the adrenaline pumping, but what was to follow was pure insanity. As the last few chords of "Head" fell off, Rob announces that "From our ass we dug coal for this next song. I think the last time we played this Chuck had quit the band, I was being haunted, and AL drove a Honda..." So we were all waiting in heavy anticipation for this number! What was it to be? "Po' Sadie",a tune that hasn't been played since November of 1994!!! Man this version was sick! 4? minute intro jam, and then some great little banter inside the reggae-esque verses, and the jam section, the section with the actual story of Po' Sadie was complete madness! Al was pretty much just saying anything that came to his mind and took us all for a ride! By the time this one ended my face hurt from smiling!
Up next was my other favorite from the fall tour "The Faker", which was followed up by the ever popular "Buster". The boys came back out for an encore of The Ramone's "I Wanna Be Sedated" which was played at a snail like speed compared to the original version. On and all a good night to warm us up for New Year's Eve in Philly.

moe. - 12.31.98
Electric Factory
Philadelphia, PA
Fathead and Huffamoose opened
Finally, New Years Eve was here!!! No matter how much fun I had been having on this trip, this was the big daddy, the show of shows! I guess I've been spoiled and lucky, so whenever I've seen moe. it has been in nice little cozy venue's, but this place was huge! Much bigger than I imagined, and a little bigger then I really like. It was great to start bumping into more and more friends though and to meet a lot of people that I hadn't met before, but had been trading tapes with for a year. After another Fathead opener and a Huffamoose opener, I had a fairly good alcohol content going and was really ready for moe.
First set opened with a 15 minute, nicely jammed "Moth", followed by a 16 minute groovy "Timmy Tucker". "Spine of a Dog" was next, followed by a nice little treat from Al. Al began to explain that how usually on NYE they do 3 sets, an acoustic set early, then 2 electric sets to end the night, and how this year the tradition was being broken, for time constraints and what not, but that instead they were going to do acoustic numbers throughout the night and to make it a new tradition to bring back some "oldies" on NYE too!!! Well that was all I needed to hear, I love the classic's, and after the previous night's "Po' Sadie" I was ready for anything! So an acoustic "Blue Eyed Son" was then played, followed by the return of "Awesome Gary"!!! Wow! A tune I've been dying to hear, and here it is, a million miles from home, New Year's Eve, and I'm dancing my ass off to "Awesome Gary", man it's awesome! :-) Time was now closing in on midnight, so they jumped into "She Sends Me" the last official song of 1998, and though I was really hoping they wouldn't play the "No Doy" version and go for the version with the reggae and ska jams, it wasn't to be, as they played the 5 minute, little jam version. Some time to spare a little chatter and bam it's the NYE countdown which brought smiles from wall to wall... so what will be the first song of 1999 for moe.? How about a first time played, "After Midnight"!!! This really got the crowd going and they didn't let up there as they jumped right into an emerging supersong "Bring It Back Home" to close the first set.
After a long break, the boys retook the stage, to bust out another oldie "Strychnine Waltz" which featured Al on acoustic guitar and Vinnie off the drums parading around the stage in a diaper and throwing glitter on everyone... the rock-yer-ass "Seat of My Pants" was up next which started off with an "Auld Lang Syne" jam and also featured some "Close Encounters" teases. Then back to acoustic for "Time Again", which brought us to another oldie break out... "Ugly American"!!! Man what a night, new songs old songs, and great songs, and it's early in the set!!!
Up next was "Mexico" which to newbies is a great song, and to the oldies it is getting stale because they've heard so often, but it will always hold a special place in my heart considering the exact thing happened to me this last summer when I was in Mexico, so I can completely relate to being thrown in jail "a million miles away from home/ and I can't find a telephone/ and my folks don't even know where I am/ and I don't even know where am!"... this was really cool though, because when they got to the "funny" part, Rob (instead of something goofy) actually got really serious and sang the first verse of "Amazing Grace" solo, and then jumped right back into "Mexico".
The definite highlight of the *entire* trip was still to come though as the ever familiar intro of "Dr. Graffenburg" began to stream through my ears. Side Note - Dr. Graffenbrug is an old German (I believe) doctor who discovered the "G-Spot" on women... it was formerly known as the Graffenburg-Spot, but later shortened. The jam in Dr. G really took off (thanks Chuck!) and included a 3? bass solo from Rob, and also included some Conan O'Brien "In the Year 2000" teases as it made it's way into the ever-sweet "Four". I've never seen "Four" bring down the house like it did tonight. I'm a huge fan of this song, but it's quiet ways usually means a bathroom break for most people at shows, but tonight everyone in the Electric Factory was hanging on to every single note... beautiful! Why stop the party now though? We still had an incredible "Plane Crash" to end the set, and as the lights kicked on, we all kinda grabbed our heads and looked around, like "Whoa, that was fucking awesome..."
Everyone there already knew that this had been a memorable NYE show, so any song they could encore with would be fine, but moe. wasn't into stopping on this night, as they took the stage and played one of the most requested out of circulation songs they know, Frank Zappa's "San Ber'dino"!!! WOW!!! This hadn't been played since September of 1995, and it was AMAZING!!! I've never seen so many happy people jumping up and down, and singing along before, moe. definitely made the night perfect with this closer!
It was incredible run of shows with moe., and even though there were only 2 shows in the NYE run, it was definitely worth the drive from St. Louis and we are definitely spending our next New Years with them again.

Scott McClintock is a 22 year old student at Webster University in St. Louis, MO. He also runs a group for St. Louis moe.rons, appropriately titled, St. Louis, MOe.rons! If you live in the St. Louis area (or know someone who does), so for more information check out: http://members.primary.net/~nughuffer/moerons.html
Also a big thanks to Ryan Ackelson, Sean Lock, Al Toona, Oven Bake Rd., and Joe for a great trip and all the sod I could handle... and always remember, if you drive faster, you'll get there sooner... :-)