11/19/08 - Big V's - St. Paul

November 19, 2008
Big V's
St. Paul, Minn.

Souncheck:
| Clone You |

Set:
| Poet (Who Didn't Know It) | Last Night | M'Lady | Aphrodite | Moon Over the Water | Chosen Ones | I'm a Bad MammaJamma (Who Works at Wendy's) | Clone You | Lady Madonna [The Beatles] | Jumpstart My Rocket |

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Tonight was our first time at Christensen's Big V's in Saint Paul. It was good. Before the show started, Cody arrived with his laptop and held the world premiere for our "Last Night" music video shot earlier this month. About twenty people huddled around his screen and applauded when it was over.

Right after the showing of the video, Cody and I experimented with the coin-operated cologne dispenser in the men's room. You put in a quarter and pull down a lever and cheap cologe literally squirts out, like a child's water gun. If you're not standing in the right spot, it could go all the way to whoever is washing their hands at the sink. It was strong and cheap. And classic.

Well, we took the stage, which we shared with a tree (no one, including the staff, was really sure whose it was or why it was there). We opened with Poet and afterward, Dustin said, "I think we've got time for one more?" Just kidding, silly. We played longer.

The comedy stylings seemed to be flowing tonight, apparently. Dustin announced that he had to pee. He then asked for a bottle... specifying "something little." Anthony ranted about hump day (since it was Wednesday) and said that this crowd didn't want to be mistaken for a Thursday crowd or just sit in a chair like all of those lazy Tuesday #$@&s. Dustin interrupted and said, "those lazy Tuesday farts. My mom doesn't like that kind of language." To which, Anthony bafflingly replied, "Get busy livin' or get busy dyin'."

You know on the album, on the song "Aphrodite," when that girl sings the background part. Well Dustin sang that tonight. The girl's part. In her octave. I informed that crowd that I literally had his balls in my pocket and he'd be getting them back after the show.

And speaking of giving, Anthony told everyone that we were giving back to the community tonight. He said we were all donating plasma at the end of the show.

During a particularly rocking version of "Clone You" tonight, Dustin's guitar went sourly out of tune and everyone noticed it. Afterward, he explained that he accidentally bashed his guitar against the wall during that song, which caused the out-of-tunage. "But," he went on, "that's rock 'n' roll."

So true, old friend. So true.

11/13/08 - Stasiu's - Minneapolis

November 13, 2008
Stasiu's Place
Minneapolis, Minn.

Set:
| Poet (Who Didn't Know It) | I'm a Bad MammaJamma (Who Works at Wendy's) | Clone You | M'Lady | Last Night | The Date | Chosen Ones | Lady Madonna [The Beatles] | Jumpstart My Rocket |

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Once again, the members of Junebug become victims of our own punctuality. What I mean by this is that we almost always show up on time in a world in which virtually nobody else does the same. When we're told load-in time is 8:00 p.m., we show up at 8:00 p.m. Crazy, right? We were left sitting in wait for some time.

At any rate, when it was our turn to rawk, we didn't hold back. We melted some faces and took no names. Because that's what we do. When we go on an hour and a half late, and all that makes up the crowd are our ladies and Cody and his buds, we may be discouraged, but we hold up our end of the deal. And we have fun doing it.

This set was made up of all "bangers," as our dear Nick calls them. High energy, rockin' vibe and a couple of beers are all we need to provide a damn good time that everyone else is sorry they missed.

Stasiu's was an all right venue, though. In a better situation it could have been a great show. We definitely wouldn't mind playing there again sometime. But like I said, we didn't let it keep us down. We had a lot of fun.

11/13/08 - Cheapo Discs - Minneapolis

November 13, 2008
Cheapo Discs
Minneapolis, Minn.

Soundcheck
| Clone You |

Set:
| Spring Fever | I'm a Poet (Who Didn't Know It) | I'm a Bad MammaJamma (Who Works at Wendy's) | M'Lady | Moon Over the Water | Place | Chosen Ones | Good Vibes | Aphrodite | Jumpstart My Rocket |

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Our first performance at Cheapo Discs in Uptown Minneapolis went swimmingly, as they say. Sadly, there was a miscommunication and the camera crew was not there to tape for the television broadcast. He is on vacation, we were told. However, we were told it would be totally fine to reschedule another show, since the taping was one of the main reasons we wanted to play this particular show. So be on the lookout for that.

Cheapo Uptown is kind of like a giant four-walled warehouse, with the stage set up in one of the far corners. It's pretty sweet. We were able to play at our normal volume, but customers could still shop at their liesure. It was pretty interesting playing in a retail setting. Most of the people weren't there to see music, they were there to purchase it. However, a number of customers came up to the stage to watch us for awhile. We also had friends there, which was nice.

Our set consisted mostly of Share tracks, since we were promoting our album at a store that sells our album. We also threw in Bad MammaJamma and Jumpstart My Rocket. Because face it, they rock.

An observation I (tony) had was that good, energetic, fun sets are pretty much the rule now, not an exception. It seems that probably 95% of the time we come off stage and congratulate each other on how great the show felt and how awesome the energy was and how much fun we had. Even when there aren't a lot of people in attendance. Each time this happens, it feels as if this show was an oasis in a desert of suck, when in reality, they all have been feeling great. It was just something I noticed, based on my own feelings, of course.

On to Stasiu's in just a few hours, to play a second show in the same night.

How "rock 'n' roll" are we, right?

11/11/08 - Uptown Bar - Minneapolis

November 11, 2008
Uptown Bar
Minneapolis, Minn.

Set:
| Poet (Who Didn't Know It) | I'm a Bad MammaJamma (Who Works at Wendy's) | Last Night | M'Lady | Place | The Date | Aphrodite | Good Vibes | Chosen Ones | Lady Madonna [The Beatles] | Jumpstart My Rocket |

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We returned to the Uptown Bar tonight. We were slightly worried about turnout since the news was reporting that the roads were treacherous and slippery, when in reality they really weren't bad. Turnout was actually pretty decent for a Tuesday night.

We shared this show with Laundromat Vacation, a local instrumental sort of "Midwest Surf" band. Because, you know, the surfing is good in Minnesota. These guys like to prove it to you. Fun stuff. I pictured that it would be great underscoring in a movie or television show about high school or college kids.

There was definitely some good energy tonight. The folks who were present were feeling the groove, and maybe it had something to do with the fact that everyone was enjoying their adult beverages. After all, in the words of the alcoholic, fired Santa Claus from the classic holiday film, Miracle on 34^th Street, "A man's gotta do something to keep warm!" So, in short, Junebug benefits from alcoholic Santa's philosophies.

The set was good and solid and held the attention of the crowd. People actually cheered, rather than just applauding politely. People clapped along during "Place". And when it was all over, they demanded one more song. Did we give it to 'em?

Nope.

Keep the masses wanting more, we say.

11/2/08 - Station 4 - St. Paul

November 2, 2008
Station 4
Saint Paul, Minn.

Set:
| Poet (Who Didn't Know It) | I'm a Bad MammaJamma (Who Works at Wendy's) | Last Night | Chosen Ones | Lady Madonna [The Beatles] | Aphrodite | Jumpstart My Rocket |

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This was Junebug's first time at Station 4 in Saint Paul. I (tony) had never even been there before. So when I first walked in to the bar it seemed very small, with a diagonal wood floor back in one corner. I mistakingly thought that was where we would be playing. So I was pleasantly surprised when I was led into the actual venue area. No, it's not just a corner of the room, it's a fully functional show space.

There were a lot of bands on the bill and we were a last-minute addition to replace someone who had dropped out. This was an all ages show, and that mixed with all the other bands provided a great new crowd that has never heard us before. They seemed to dig it, too. One thing is certain - Junebug has never played a gig so LOUD.

Our set was compact and concise. We had about thirty minutes, so we just threw together our sure-fire crowd-pleasers. We ripped through them with vigor so as to embolden those assembled in their expression of enjoyment. Or something.

At any rate, we had fun. The sound guy did a nice job too, with monitor mixes and house mix and such. And Carp, the drummer for My Lady Four, said that my kit sounded really good. My kit doesn't usually sound good...so kudos to the sound guy for that. And personally, I love playing on a stage that has an actual drum riser.

We had a brief photo session before the show in the alley behind the venue. Some good shots were had. Finally, Nick's brother and niece were at the show tonight so they deserve a "shout out." Holla!