Set:
| Pay the Toll to Ride the Junebug Flow | Modern Day Fairy Tales | Casanova | I'm a Bad Mamma Jamma (Who Works at Wendy's) | Come Together [The Beatles] | Found My Boogie | Downtown Liquor Store | Clone You | Damn the Man | Jumpstart My Rocket |
We were asked to be part of the special reunion of Inebriation tonight. So we did. Plus it was Nick's wife Anna's birthday bash tonight and she used to sing with Inebriation back in the day. We played at Primetime in Burnsville, a venue we had never played before tonight. As we first pulled into the parking lot, I balked a bit at the idea that a bar/venue was located in a strip mall. But it turns out I'm a chump, because the place was huge with a professional-sized stage and excellent sound. It's a case of not mixing metaphors by judging the venue by its cover.
The night started with our friend Jon Wayne playing some acoustic tunes, followed by us. We were set up (drums and all) on the front of the stage, while the drum kit for the headlining act was set up on the drum riser. Like I said, though, this place had wonderful sound. The balance was good on my drum kit and for once, my vocal mic was at the right level. I pretty much appreciate that.
We took the stage and Anthony asked the crowd enthusiastically if they were wearing their party pants. After a meager response, he said, "Are your party pants on? Huh? Depends?" And a split second later, I totally got the joke.
We had two guest duelling rappers tonight on "Casanova." Idara and Bona Fide were both present and took us up on our invitation. It was pretty much the best guest spot we've ever had. Those guys are pros, and if you missed it, you're probably sad about it.
We moved right along with our program, and Anthony introduced "Bad Mamma Jamma" saying, "We hope Wendy's either endorses us or sues us." "Either way, we win," I added. Too true.
After wishing Anna a happy birthday from stage, we broke into our newly rehearsed version of "Come Together" by the Liverpool Lads. It's getting better every time we play it, and I love playing it. As I mentioned earlier, my mic was at a proper level tonight and it was a good thing, because at one point in this song, Anthony had some kind of guitar issue as was attending to that, which caused him to miss some lyrics. I was able to cover for him, and many folks didn't even know the difference. So it's good to have a proper vocal mic balance.
In addition to the numerous acts performing tonight, there was also a booth by the entrance/exit to the venue. The organization was called Tits & Giggles, and they were raising money to help in the fight against breast cancer. During a song break, I informed the crowd that Tits & Giggles was there and that it was an important cause. In fact, saving the boobies is a very big, important and personal cause of mine. Because face it, boobies are cool. We need to keep them around. Tits & Giggles. It's a funny name.
With three songs left on the setlist and the m.c. telling us that we had fifteen minutes left, Anthony announced, "This is our last song." We had to backpedal and apologize to the crowd for getting their hopes up. We were actually playing more than just the one.
Anthony introduced "Damn the Man" tonight saying, "It's the weekend! You don't have to work! Your supervisors aren't here!" I meekly said into the mic, "Mine might be..." You see, later tonight DJ Diesel performed, along with the Minneapolis Vix go-go dancers. Well, as it turns out, I work with a woman who is part of this particular dance troupe. In fact, she is one of my supervisors. I've never seen her perform, and she has never seen me perform. I was halfway hoping to run into her tonight, but no dice. There were only three of the Vix present tonight, and my supervisor was not one of them. Just to be safe, though, I wasn't too emphatic during "Damn the Man." Which is a shame, right? It's almost like I'm a scab crossing a picketline. But you've gotta do what you've gotta do when the man (or scantily-clad woman) is present.
After we were done, DJ Diesel and the Vix took the stage, followed by Full Throttle Monkey and finally Inebriation. It was a great party atmosphere tonight. The show was run very smoothly, too. We had a designated m.c. who was giving us regular updates on how much time we had left, he introduced the bands, and kept things moving right along. It was one of the best organized shows I can remember.
We had fun, Primetime. Oh, and Tits & Giggles.
