Junebug Show Diaries

Sunday, April 18, 2010

4/17/10 - Red Sky Lounge - Mankato, Minn.

Again we rolled into Mankato, ready to rock and ready to roll. We had never played the Red Sky Lounge before tonight. It looked less like a music venue and more like a semi-swanky night club. I could see the ladies in short skirts milling about waiting for the party to get thumpin'. But alas, it was a rock and roll night. They may have been disappointed, but I'm not too cut up about it.

We all arrived and loaded in and decided to go grab a bite to eat at a bar and lounge down the block. We had some beers, some good visitin', and good camaradarie time with all of us boys and our ladies.

It was at this time that we were approached at our table by a young lady. A very young lady. She was a girl scout. In a bar. It was okay, though, her mom was with her and she was selling cookies. She was pretty adorable and we had all had just enough drinks to really have a hankerin' for some tasty girl scout cookies. We all bought some and also promised not to tell anyone that she sold them in a bar. I guess I broke that promise just now, but we never got any names. So no one's in trouble and we ate some cookies. Everyone wins.

Originally The Islez were scheduled to play with us tonight, but it wasn't in the cards. They ceased their operations before the night arrived. We got back to the venue just in time to catch the start of My Lady Four, our friends and the Islez's replacement.

Between bands, I was warned by Carp (ML4's drummer) that I was going to need to play lightly because the acoustics of this room really bring out the drums - maybe a little too much. Then a friend of ours in the crowd, also a drummer, named Tony Bartholomew warned me of the same thing. Then Nick mentioned it to me. As did the sound guy. Finally, Anthony took me aside and said it was really important that I play lightly tonight. So, I'm pretty sure I got the picture, believe it or not. So I got on stage and played lightly. I could barely hear my snare drum myself so I decided to just go easy on the cymbals. During our set break, I was told my drum volume sounded fine. I continued to play normally.

Our second set began with a disclaimer from Anthony: "This second [set] is going to be a lot more offensive. So if you don't want offensive, go home and watch Grey's Anatomy, you f-cks!" You stay classy, Junebug.

Folks were having a lot of fun tonight. Our friend Tony B., whom I mentioned earlier was having a grand old time. He was dancing, singing, screaming and generally doing what people do when they have fun. If only there were about five of him in every crowd...

However, Dustin's girlfriend Sarah nearly got kicked out of the venue. Sometime during the second set, Sarah went to a soft bench seat to lay down and wait out the rest of the show. A bouncer came over to her and, assuming she was wasted, told her that she couldn't sleep there and she'd have to leave. She didn't though. It all worked out.

As we played our show tonight, the televisions on the wall kept running, complete with closed captioning. Normally in a situation like that, the televisions would be broadcasting some sporting event or sports highlight show. Not these. The patrons of the Red Sky Lounge were being treated to CSI while they listened to our music. There was a television very near to the drumkit, actually, and I found myself drifting into drumming auto-pilot while I watched the program and read the captions. It wasn't very good, and as I announced to the crowd, "we provide a really shitty soundtrack to CSI."

It's true.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

4/2/10 - Private Party - Shakopee, Minn.

Set One: | Pay the Toll to Ride the Junebug Flow | Modern Day Fairy Tales | Casanova | I'm a Bad Mamma Jamma (Who Works at Wendy's) | Found My Boogie | Chosen Ones | Downtown Liquor Store | The Date | Dot Com's Power Rangers Jam | Like a Spy (Not the Stalker) | Lady Madonna [The Beatles] | To the Next Episode | Sledgehammer [Peter Gabriel] |

Set Two: | What I Got [Sublime] | I Love Rock & Roll [The Arrows] | Say It Ain't So [Weezer] | Poet (Who Didn't Know It) | Clone You | Brown Eyed Girl [Van Morrison] | I Love Rock & Roll [The Arrows] | Come Together [The Beatles] | Damn the Man |

Tonight was a private party in honor of a graduate named Brooke down in Shakopee. We didn't really know what to expect, since we didn't previously know any of the people involved. We were contacted by the folks putting on the party who were looking for an indie band. They heard our stuff on MySpace and decided we were the right fit. So the contract was signed and we showed up for the festivities.

The party was being held both in the house and in the sizeable driveway under an event tent. The band stage was under the tent, along with the food, the tub full of ice and beer, and a few tables.

As we were setting up, there was a gentleman asking what kind of music we play. He was enjoying some frosty adult beverages and well on his way to having a good time. He said he hoped that we'd play some Elvis. I asked whether he meant Memphis Elvis or Vegas Elvis. He responded by singing something I didn't recognize. He shared with us some details of his rock and roll memorabilia collection, including an autographed picture of Aerosmith's Stephen Tyler, whom he said he partied with not too long ago. This gentleman was often heard pre-show shouting his catch-phrase: "Dot Com," which is what he would come to be known as for the rest of the night.

We originally had a basic outline for a setlist tonight, but I didn't get a chance to actually arrange it, as Anthony had charged me. He had a list of songs in his iPhone, though, that we used as a guideline. As the night went on, however, we realized there was really no point in a "setlist" per se.

We opened with "Pay the Toll," which had a couple people bobbing and swaying, which was a good sign, I suppose. After "Modern Day" there was one solitary cheer -- from our buddy Dot Com. It stood to reason then, that when we introduced "Casanova" and asked for a rapper, Dot Com jumped at the chance. Before we even got to explain what was going on -- that he was intended to freestyle on one verse -- he grabbed the mic and began singing some improvised blues a capella. Dustin and I joined in, followed by Nick and Anthony, while Dot Com kept it up. When the jam ended, he kept singing. So I started "Casanova." He continued to sing into the microphone on the stage, and the Dot Com machine was engaged.

We moved on to "Bad Mamma Jamma." It was funky, people were dancing and butts were shaking. Furthermore, Dot Com was on a roll. He came up again, took the mic and went to town.

After we received a request for something by the All-American Rejects and turned it down, Dot Com offered to tune Dustin's guitar for him, which Dustin said he had full control over. The absurdity continued with children happily dancing to "Downtown Liquor Store." Anthony censored it slightly, "Right now I'm playin' blackjack with a two-dollar Hrrmmm."
We took another moment to congratulate the graduate, saying, "We all graduated from high school, and we hope that you have better plans for the future than we did." See what I did there? Self-depricating humor. Or was it... ? There wasn't much of a response. Maybe reality was a little too real.

Dot Com came up on stage and joined us for another jam that sounded suspiciously like the Power Rangers theme song. Though, Anthony later said it reminded him of Rage Against the Machine. Whatever it was, it was ragey and rangerly.

We had plenty of requests tonight. Not for our own songs, but for popular songs like you might hear at a wedding dance. The classic "You Shook Me All Night Long" and "Brown-Eyed Girl" requests, you see. However, we went into this show under the impression that we were not allowed to play covers. We think there was a gap in communication somewhere along the line, because the woman in charge told us eventually that covers were fine. So in the middle of "Episode" we threw in "Birthday" by the Beatles, but subsituted "graduation." Did it work? Maybe. Does it matter? No. We closed the set with "Sledgehammer" and then took a short break to grab a drink and take a breath.

Right as we were starting to set up for our second act, a dude came up to us and somewhat urgently requested, "Can you play some Sublime? These guys are about to fight." Sure enough, at the opening of the tent there were some men seemingly in the beginnings of a scuffle. It was the weirdest justification for a request that we've heard, so we played "What I Got." And sure enough, some guys were seen rushing past the opening of the tent, presumably to either break up the fight or join in. We weren't sure if Sublime was requested in an attempt to stop the fight from happening, or if that was their preferred fightin' music. Either way, we were there to serve them.

Next, since we were playing requests, somebody asked for "I Love Rock & Roll." We started playing the song and in a moment of inspired brilliance, Anthony began singing the lyrics to "I Love Rocky Road," which is, of course, Weird Al's parody. It didn't go over too well and a woman named Sheila jumped up on stage and took the mic. She sang the correct lyrics and appeared to be having a ball. That is until she (and we) realized that we didn't actually know all the proper chords to the song. We struggled through it, and while she had a good time, you could tell that she wasn't truly satisfied.

We decided to keep the energy up with another one they might know. We started Weezer's "Say It Ain't So." From the back of the tent, Dot Com's eyes lit up and he charged onto the stage. Anthony got about the first half of the first verse out when Dot Com grabbed the mic and sang his own lyrics and melody throughout the rest of the song. Being the professionals that we are, we continued to play the correct music.

We played through a couple originals with no interruptions or occurrences. Then we brought it back around to playing what the people wanted to hear. Yes, ladies and gentlemen. We are now apparently a band that plays "Brown-Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison. We couldn't resist inviting Dot Com to come up and sing on it. However, when it became apparent that he didn't fully know the lyrics and continued repeating the same phrase, Sheila came up to save the day, much to Dot Com's chagrin. Sheila knew all the words and sang them with gusto. It was like karaoke provided by Junebug.

Sheila was a rock star, though. When we finished "Brown-Eyed Girl," Sheila took command, proclaiming, "We're gonna start this party up! This one's going out to the graduate, Brooke! It's called 'I Love Rock & Roll!'" She turned to us and called out, "Start it up, boys!" After a second of contemplation of her apparent dissatisfaction with the previous performance of this song, she added, "Let's get it right this time." So it was that we got a second shot at getting the music right and Dustin got a second shot at the guitar solo. As it turned out, it wasn't too bad. The second time we played it. The second time tonight.

We had time for two more, and out of our behinds we pulled "Come Together" by the Beatles - a song we had never played or practiced before. It wasn't great, but you know, it wasn't horrible either. And Dot Com got another chance to rock out. We ended the night with "Damn the Man," and it went much like "Say It Ain't So," with us playing the song and Dot Com doing his own thing. It all worked out in the end.

All in all the night was a success. We had a crazy time and the folks present had fun dancing and singing and taking turns performing with us. Private parties are something we'd like to do more of. It was quite unique.

Songs on which Dot Com rushed the stage: Casanova, I'm a Bad Mamma Jamma (Who Works at Wendy's), Downtown Liquor Store, The Date, Say It Ain't So, Brown Eyed Girl, Come Together, Damn the Man

Sunday, March 21, 2010

3/20/10 - Nomad World Pub - Minneapolis

We came together tonight to celebrate the EP release from Nervous Hands. We met Peter from Nervous Hands at Fur Seal last month. He was in to pick up the EP that his band recorded there and we visited a bit, resulting in an invitation to play with them at this show. This invitation, we happily accepted. In addition to it being an EP release show, Nervous Hands also debuted a killer music video.

The lineup tonight included The Humbugs, Junebug, Twin Star Rocket Bug, and Nervous Hands Bug. That's our little joke, of course. There were only two "bug" bands.

Dustin wasn't available to play this show, sadly, because he is currently on tour in Europe with Wive. So I (tony) took the beloved Princess Leia stand-up from our rehearsal space and put a big ol' Dustin face on it, so he could be with us in more than just spirit. He stood on stage with us, mic'ed up and everything. He gave a bit of an understated performance. It left something to be desired, surely.

Tonight was a short set, clocking in at right around 30 minutes. But we made up for it in energy. It was a good, light-hearted, rockin' set. There was actually a decent sized crowd tonight, and they were diggin' what we were laying down. There was dancing, drinking, screaming, maiming. It was perfect.

Tonight we met a friend and former co-worker of Nick named Anne. She qualifies as one of the newest Junebug superfans, telling Anthony and me the titles of the songs off of Share that she "love loves." She was dancing and having fun. She reminded me a lot of Brittany from the Elizabeth show. By the end of the night, she may have been somewhat partied out, but you know what? Good. That's the goal, right? To cut loose and feel good on the weekends. Way to be, Anne. We salute you.

While Anthony was thanking the rest of the bands in the lineup, he gave an accurate description of who we are. "We're the middle child that nobody really cares about. We get okay presents on Christmas." Spot on? I think so.

Anthony introduced Dustin again, saying he was unusually shy tonight. I then confessed to the crowd that after looking at the cutout of him tonight, there'll be a problem when he comes back. I won't be able to look at him in the same way. I'll be aroused in a strange way -- and that could be a problem.

All in all it was a fun show. All the bands tonight were a good mix. It would be fun to meet up with them again in a similar fashion.

Sunday, January 31, 2010

1/30/10 - Silver Dollar Saloon - Elizabeth, Minn.

We had never been to the Silver Dollar Saloon in Elizabeth, Minnesota before tonight. We didn't know what to expect going in. But boy, we didn't know what we were missing. Those small-town folk know how to have a good time on the weekend. We almost didn't know what hit us by the end of the night.

But I won't get ahead of myself. First things first. Nick wasn't able to be with us tonight. He had to head back to the Twin Cities early this morning. So filling in on bass tonight was our old high school friend and current guitarist for The San Haven Chuckle, Patrick "Bud" Hess. We had originally thought that he would jump up on a few tunes here and there, but he played the whole dang show, and he exceeded expectations. He knew every song and then some.

But I'm getting ahead of myself again. After we soundchecked the drums and we were just going to start, I inexplicably felt myself leaning back on my drum throne. I hadn't planned to lean back. Had I simply had more drinks than I had thought? Suddenly, I fell back all the way, nearly kicking over my hi-hat and snare with my flailing foot, but not spilling my drink. I stood up to realize that the post of my drum throne completely broke in half. It just broke. It didn't bend, it broke. It was like a clean cut. It was only holding on by about a centimeter of metal. Luckily, Lunchbox, the sound guy, had a spare drum throne in his back room that he was able to lend to me. I set my broken throne on the very front of the stage, as a monument in remembrance of me, and then the show began.

Forgive me. I'm getting ahead of myself yet again. The San Haven Chuckle played with us tonight, rocking and rolling our faces off as always. The Chuckle are primarily an originals band, but they have a wide range of covers as well. I couldn't help but shout out a few requests of covers I know they play, but have never heard. Among them was "Sledgehammer," with which they subsequently closed their set. So we opened our set with our own version of "Sledgehammer." Which is hilarious, because the crowd heard the song basically twice in a row. Comedy at its highest, my friends.

The comedy continued during "Poet" when during Dustin's guitar solo, Anthony decided to have a seat on the broken drum throne at the foot of the stage. Not surprisingly, it broke even further, and Anthony stumbled backward. Pure physical comedy genius. After that, "M'Lady" was dedicated to Mary Lou Retton.

As you know, the Junebug song "Moon Over the Water" and a portion of the San Haven Chuckle song "May They Wake" sound strikingly similar. This is, of course, because the Chuckle are shameless thieving bastards. I kid, I kid. It has become a bit of a tradition when we play together to sing each other's lyrics on those songs. Tonight, however, the Chuckle guys came onstage and sang the "Moon" lyrics in their own harmonies. It ended up rocking our faces and being pretty incredible. I wish you had been there to hear it.

There seemed to be a lot of audience participation tonight. It's generally good to have a healthy back-and-forth with the crowd, and they were all about it tonight. Before we played "Place" tonight, Anthony introduced it saying, "I'm sure you've got a place to go in the middle of nowhere..." and before he finished a dude yelled out, "Elizabeth!" Gotta respect pride in your community. After "Chosen Ones" we heard the clapping of one solitary person. Dustin said, "Thank you. You know who you are." Anthony commented that he didn't know if that particular room could handle how awesome we are. In response, some dude called out "Play some Styx!" We're not that awesome, dude. Not yet.

We attempted to continue our own brand of awesomeness, however, with the long-awaited return of the song "Fargo Gypsy Girl," which will be included on our upcoming album. Anthony introduced it. "This song's about sex! You know what I'm talkin' about!" Yeah, Bergs. I think we always know what you're talking about. But as a sidebar, the song is about a dude that falls in love with a mannequin. So sexy indeed.

Tonight saw a return to the spontaneity of old. Some dude in the crowd came up and asked us if would play "What I Got" by Sublime. Now, as you know we're not a cover band. But we thought, what the hell. Why not? Keep in mind, that we've never played this song before, whether it be live, rehearsal or just messing around. We as a band have never played it. But we did. And it made the dude happy and he got his buddies on the floor and they stayed there for the rest of the set.

We decided to play another tune that folks would recognize, to keep them interested. We busted out "Lady Madonna" and rocked it well, complete with a back-to-back between Anthony and Bud.

We closed the first set with an energetic "Bumblebee," which Bud said he had been looking forward to very much. But before we played it, Anthony told the crowd that in the second set (which would be after our ten-minute meth break) he expected people to get naked. The reasoning was that there was probably a better chance of it happening tonight than during the week. Someone shouted out that we should get naked first. So I stood up and lifted my shirt. Protruting gelatinous belly, hairy nipples and all. Hey, give the people what they want.

As soon as the first set ended, a girl came up to us as we were at the bar getting drinks. Her name is Brittany (Britney? I didn't have her spell it). She had had a few drinks already and was definitely having a fun night, which is what we encourage. She began requesting all sorts of songs, but it seemed that "Lump" by the Presidents of the USA was the most emphatic of her requests. Again, this is a song we have never played, so we didn't make any promises.

We took the stage again to start the second set, and somehow in the ten or fifteen minutes that we were down, the place filled up. The Silver Dollar in Elizabeth was pretty well attended by this point. Brittany followed us up to the stage and requested "Lump" one more time. Anthony addressed the crowd. "We talked about getting naked, and it's not happening. I'm disappointed." I added that shaking booties and shaking boobies are all encouraged. And again we got the run-around. But we're rock stars, dang it!

Much to Brittany's delight, we played "Lump," though we had never played it before. I knew this song had a pretty specific drum part, that would sound crappy if not played pretty close to the original. But I couldn't remember what it was. I was a bit amazed though, because once I counted off the song, I played the right part. Brittany was ecstatic and totally into it, and was getting her friends into it as well. "I tip my invisible had to you, Brittany," Bud offered. "It's your job to get people on the floor. Round 'em up!" They followed. We played a bunch of our dancers next, including "Pay the Toll," "Casanova." The hoochies were feeling it. Until the end of "Bad Mamma Jamma" where there was a brief lull. The ladies started leaving the floor, and I asked them not to.

At this point, Brittany yelled out "Weezer!!" We looked around at one another, because strangely, we had talked about possibly throwing "Say It Ain't So" into the set anyway. Take note, though, that we also do not play this song. We've played it maybe twice in messing around in the rehearsal room, but aside from a private garage party in 2007, I don't think we've ever gone through it beginning to end. No matter. We whipped it out tonight and delighted our newest fan. With the playing of this song, all the asses were on the floor. There was a large group of hot chicks right down front dancing to what we were playing. That doesn't happen often with us, so we have to mention it when it happens.

Bud had to remind the crowd that "Again, we were told nakedness would happen." But still nobody took the bait. Except the other Chuckle boys who upped their game. Normally they moon us at shows, but this time, they mooned us with "Junebug" written on their butt cheeks. "June" on one cheek, "bug" on the other. So, apparently, we got our nakedness. But I would argue that it doesn't count.

"Dance now, because you only live once," Bud advised. "Speak for yourself!" was my retort. Take from it what you will. "Tip your bartender, for godsake!" I shouted. "For your health," Dr. Steve Brule (Dustin) added.

The time was winding down and the show would be ending soon. In one last ditch effort, Anthony said, "We were promised nudity. I'm just sayin'. We encourage that kind of behavior." Inexplicably, from the crowd came a woman's voice shouting, "It's not rape if you're willing!" I'm not sure how that applies to what was being said, but the fact remained that there still was no nudity.

We closed the set with "Damn the Man" and called it a night. The crowd at the Silver Dollar was a great crowd. Like I said earlier, these small-town peeps know how to cut loose. Especially Brittany, it would seem. After the show, she hung around Bud and me pretty closely, telling us how great she thought we were and that we should definitely come back to Elizabeth. Lunchbox, the sound engineer, liked us enough to invite us to sign the wall of fame, which we did.

It was a fantastic night, which we raved about all the way home. It was definitely the most fun Junebug show I have played in a long time. Even without the nudity.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

1/29/10 - Nestor Tavern - Fargo, N.D.

We've been to the Nestor in Fargo many times in our little musical experiment. Some crowds have been big, some have been tiny. Some have been right in between. Tonight was one of those nights in which the crowd was right in the middle. But that's not a negative thing. The peeps that were there were having fun and that's what matters.

It was a bit of a family reunion for me (tony). Three of my sisters were there: Wendy, Laurel, and Tammy. Also, my nieces' boyfriends Seth and James were there (my nieces, Angell and Allisyn, aren't quite 21 yet). All of them brought friends. Additionally, our old friend Kelsey was there and she presented me with a container full of shortbread cookies. You see, I had mentioned on Facebook a couple days ago that I was craving them. Kelsey took a cue to make my day. I shared them with the others, of course. Because I am a nice boy.

Our good friends, The San Haven Chuckle, opened tonight and warmed up the crowd real well. When we took the stage, there were already a couple partied-out girls dancing and flailing. At the end of our very first song, "Pay the Toll," one of them bit the dust. "Girl down! Girl down!" Dustin exclaimed. A concerned Anthony inquired, "Did we rock you too hard to where your body couldn't handle it and you collapsed?" No reply. "'Cause that was our goal." She got up and left, presumably to find a place to pass out. Kudos to you, San Haven Chuckle. You inebriated our crowd a little too well.

Tonight's set consisted of a lot of material from our upcoming album, Modern Day Fairy Tales, since we're going into the studio to record it next weekend. This is our last attempt to solidify these tunes. Our final cram session before the big exam, if you will. Included tonight was the return of an old instrumental tune called "Vacation to Oblivion." This tune is Anthony's spacy, trippy Oddyssey, and we haven't played it live for years. So, welcome back, "Oblivion."

The title track off the upcoming album is "Modern Day Fairy Tales." We played it tonight, and I thought we played it well. However, an entire table of people, around eight or ten, got up and left. "That's how you clear out a table," Dustin announced. Trust him. We're experts.

"Who's thinking of getting married?" Dustin asked. A couple friends cheered. "Okay! This song's not about that." We played "Downtown Liquor Store" next.

Tonight's guest rapper on "Casanova" was the San Haven Chuckle's own Patrick "Bud" Hess. Frosty adult beverage in hand, he delivered a stirring redition of the song "Clint Eastwood" by Gorillaz. We much enjoyed this particular guest appearance on this song, and wish all of them went this way. (Sidebar: Bud will be filling in for Nick on bass tomorrow night at our show in Elizabeth, Minn.)

Before the show started tonight, I noticed a sticker on one of the Chuckle guys' instrument cases. It read, "I'm in a band. Now show me your hooters." I shared this with the crowd tonight and let them know that we in Junebug encourage this kind of behavior. Then, as I said it I realized that I had three sisters in the crowd. I had to quickly backtrack and add a disclaimer that they were exempt from this particular Junebug promotion. Upon hearing this, Anthony considered protesting my disclaimer, but allowed it to stand. Then Nick suggested that it would be okay if they had a note from my mom. I was still not fine with this arrangement. We played the next song, and when it was over, I mentioned that nobody had shown us their hooters yet. So my friend Travis, a skinny, pale gay man promptly lifted his shirt in our direction. I suppose I should have mentioned that the promotion was geared toward females. But, he did it, so we gave him credit.

The members of the Chuckle stepped it up a notch, though. Of course. During the next song, "Lady Madonna," they lined up in front of the stage and displayed their bare behinds. Now, I've said it before, but it's truly not a real Junebug show in Fargo if those guys don't moon us. So it made the night complete. Nothing is quite as satisfying as mutilating a Beatles tune while looking at men's asses.

We had originally planned on playing two sets, but when the first set ended, we said screw it and continued on. It's a marathon, you see. Not a series of sprints. And we're athletes up there. Or not. We continued on with the rocking, rolling, dancing, and grooving. We even had a request for the song "Share" tonight. We haven't played that song in months, but generally, our policy is that if somebody likes our songs enough to request them, we play them. So we did.

But not always, I suppose. Bud was a friend of ours in the early days and even still he's a fan of an old song, "Rich & Poor." So when we said we had one song left, that was what he wanted us to play. We teased him with it a bit, but didn't actually play it, much to his chagrin. But it couldn't have upsetted him too much, since after the final song of the night, "Jumpstart My Rocket," when Dustin shouted, "GO HOME," Bud nodded at us saying, "Approve. Completely approve."

Well then, mission accomplished I suppose.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

1/15/10 - Whiskey Junction - Minneapolis

It was another good show at Whiskey Junction. This was our first show in the brand new year 2010. Furthermore it was our second show with great Twin Cities band, Burnin' Hyder. Plus, it was a reunion of Nick's old band, Stereoscope. And finally, it was Nick's 52^nd birthday! Okay, he's not 52. And I don't think anybody heard me (tony) when I announced it from stage. So I'm safe.

We started the year off well, with a really fun, and high octane show. We kept it light-hearted and we kept it fun, which is what we are all about. The crowd was sizable for the Whiskey, and they liked what we were bringing. There was drinking and dancing, and one young lady was wearing a Junebug t-shirt. We can definitely get behind that.

Brian "Carp" Carpenter was invited on stage tonight to freestyle during "Casanova." In the midst of it, drink in hand, he made a prediction that tomorrow the Vikings will defeat the heavily favored Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs, which elicited cheers from the crowd, and from me. [Note: The Vikings did indeed beat the Cowboys the next day, quite handily. So it seems Carp was a bit clairvoyant in the middle of our goof-off song.]

There was one particular lady in the crowd so inspired by Carp's participation that she wanted to come onstage and join us as well. She kept asking if we had a shaker or maracas or a tambourine. Heck, if I had had any of those things with me, we would have let her jump up with us. As it was, she was bummed. But I'm pretty sure she still enjoyed the rest of the show.

There is one particular dude that we have seen many places. He was at the Cabooze both times we played there and the same with Bunkers. He has also been at the Whiskey the last two times we've played there. He wears a hat and he lets the music move him. He dances like no one's watching. For those who know our friend Rory Behrens, he is what I imagine Rory will be like in twenty years. I don't know this man's name, but he always has a blast at our shows. So if you ever read this, hat-man, keep coming to our shows. We love to see you.

Well, our frivolity continued. Before a particular song, Dustin tantalized the crowd. "Before we play this next song, I just have to ask you people a question -- Was anybody here BORN IN THE USA?!?" There was a smattering of cheers and applause. "Okay, well... here comes 'Found My Boogie.'"

Likewise, more toward the end of the night, I said, "How many of you here have a special lady in your life? A lady who might have brown eyes? A BROWN-EYED GIRL?!?" Very little reaction. "Cool, well here comes 'Chosen Ones.'" It's a well known fact, you know, that jokes get funnier on repetition. Solid fact.

Anyway, this was our last Twin Cities show until after our studio sessions next month. Stay tuned.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

12/12/09 - 331 Club - Minneapolis

Tonight was Junebug's first show at the 331 Club in Minneapolis. We were joined by Yasen Marie and Julie Puppets, who I may add, are the former band of our Share studio bassist Kai Catudio. So we're all one big happy family. Anthony described this mix of bands as being like a "creamy Oreo." He then advised the crowd not to get any on their jeans, because it crusts up. Indeed.

The 331 was packed. The stage is is tiny little space at one end of the rectangularly-shaped bar. The cramped nature of the place gives it a really nice intimate coziness. Amongst the three bands, there was so much gear that things had to be stacked in strange places to make it all fit. But small venues are great when they're full. That's a fact.

Over half of the material we played tonight is stuff that will be included on our next studio album, Modern Day Fairy Tales. We're dusting it off, working it up, and rocking it out because we intend to record in February. Hold on to your hats, kids.

We have this song called "Casanova," which is to be featured on said upcoming album, in which we often invite a guest from the crowd to come up and do a little freestyle wordsmithing. Tonight it was Russ from the Julie Puppets. Now, something you have to know is that tonight was the Julie Puppets' cowboy-themed show. Russ was a sight to behold. He of course had the five-gallon cowboy hat, some great aviator-like sunglasses, a false trucker 'stache, tight jeans, belt buckle... the whole deal. He brought his own great southern twang to rap improv. And it was beautiful.

As we were telling people to get drinks, even if they're alcoholics, Dustin was playing "Deck the Halls" quietly to himself. That's great music for drinking away your holiday blues. Furthermore, tonight was our annual performance of "A Junebug Christmas." This is a song that we wrote, kind of. The music is basically "Happy Trails," and I (tony) wrote the lyrics. But we only play this song once a year, our last show before Christmas, and the year the 331 Club was the lucky recipient. The video of this performance can be seen below. Warning: may include rudeness and lewdness. Or not enough. Whatever.

Tonight we were trying to push our album, Share. Earlier in the night, Yasen Marie was saying that they needed money to eat. We explained tonight that we also need to eat. Anthony exclaimed that he needed more shrimp for his yacht. I informed them that I needed premium gas for my Rolls Royce. Anthony also needs a new battery for his Rolex. Oh, how far we've come.

I wrote tonight's setlist, and boy was it energetic. Maybe it was just hot in there, but we were all relatively pooped only half-way through. Anthony suggested cutting it short because we were all sweating and breathy, but I said no way! I was having fun. We continued tonight's show with much energy and gusto. So much so that I actually got a sideache during the rock-out section at the end of "Sledgehammer." You see how much I give? Hunred puhcent.

As our set was drawing near to its close, I said, "We've got a couple left if you want to hear them..." There was little response aside from the ongoing murmur of the crowd. Then, one dude said, "Woo!" I said that I'd take that as a yes - that one is all I need. Dustin responded with, "Don't encourage us."

At the close of the show, someone in the crowd showed their approval of our set by exclaiming, "Grease that hog!" I can think of no other more appropriate exclamation.