The Nestor Bar
Fargo, ND
Soundcheck:
| Downtown Liquor Store |
Set:
| Back in the U.S.S.R. [The Beatles] | Poet Who Didn't Know It | Pay the Toll to Ride the Junebug Flow | I'm a Bad MammaJamma (Who Works at Wendy's) | Another One Bites the Dust [Queen] | Modern Day Fairy Tales | Crossroads | Found My Boogie | Clone You | Ghostbusters [Ray Parker, Jr.] | Last Night | Rapper's Delight [Sugar Hill Gang] / To the Next Episode | Jumpstart My Rocket | M'Lady | The Date | The Money Medley (For the Love of Money [The O'Jays] / I Need Some Money [John Lee Hooker] / Gimme Some Money [Spinal Tap] / Money [Pink Floyd] ) | Chosen Ones | Damn the Man | With a Little Help from My Friends |
Much like 2001, Junebug's first show of 2007 took place in the city of Fargo, North Dakota. So we all got in cars and headed north. On the way, Liza used the restroom at a gas station about halfway there and realized that the shoes she was wearing did not match one another. This was at the same exact moment that Tony was making the realization that he had inadvertently entered a stall in the very same ladies' room in which Liza sat.
The Nestor welcomed us once again with open arms and smokey eyes. Our pals Travis and Bud with their band, The San Haven Chuckle, opened with a rocking set and a fully naked drummer (aside from socks - on his feet). A number of familiar faces were there, including (but not limited to) Laurel, Wendy, Dave, Allisyn, Josh, Big Tony, Jenni, Kelsey, Monnie, Joshua M. (for Moron) Trumbo, Paul, and many more. It was like a strange family night and nondescript reunion all at once. With beer. And rock. And smoke.
Sadly, Wendy and Big Tony had to leave at midnight to go to work. We didn't take the stage until about quarter to twelve, so we played "Downtown Liquor Store" in her honor as a soundcheck just before she had to go.
Things got off to a tiny bit of a rocky start, as we had all been partaking in frosty beverages during the San Haven Chuckle's rocking set. We had assorted notes emerge a half-step off, a couple inadvertantly poorly constructed chords, some grating "harmonies" and a few drum cracks well off the beat. While it may not have been the absolute best performance musically (and it really wasn't too bad), the energy was high and we had a great time.
After a few tunes, Anthony informed the crowd that the dance floor does not bite and that it's not illegal to come on up and shake your ass. However, Dustin informed potential ass-shakers that they must move around the checkered floor as chess pieces - though they could choose their own piece identity. Allie's Josh and another fella came out on the floor, but rather than shaking ass, they did the "hobbit punching dance" - throwing fists and kicks toward a lower plane. Afterward, Dustin tried to figure out what chess pieces they were emulating: "It didn't look like a knight..." Tony surmised that perhaps they were queens. But he didn't say it too loudly.
We ripped through a great assortment of originals and covers, including "Another One Bites the Dust". Out last show at the Nestor actually inspired us to play that song - we started playing it though we didn't know it, and we stopped, angering the crowd. So we learned it and played it tonight to great reception. "Money" also went over well tonight. But when doesn't it. Really.
We closed with a great show closer, "With a Little Help from My Friends". Travis, Bud and Monnie all joined us in singing. The crowd put arms around one another and swayed and sang in a beautiful display of drunken friendship.
Tonight's show may well have been the longest single set we have played. We originally had two sets planned out, but at the designated set break, the crowd's energy was up and taking a break would have lost them. We made the right decision in just plugging on through and came out at about an hour and fifty minutes.
In the morning, Dustin, Tony, Josh, Liza, and Sarah went to IHOP for brunch. Upon taking one bite of syrupy pancakes, Liza made a b-line for the ladies room. What she did in there is anybody's guess. In an unrelated incident, Tony later used the men's restroom. As he did so, an unsuspecting woman entered and looked Tony square in the eye as he continued his urination. She asked, "Am I in the wrong room?" "Looks like it," he replied, and she exited in consternation. A gruff, unseen voice came from a stall saying, "I did that the other day at the Walmart." Tony chuckled and recalled the previous day in which he had entered the ladies' room himself. He realized that the trip had come full circle. And that life now held order and meaning.
The end.
