Sunday, March 29, 2009

3/28/09 - The Aquarium - Fargo, N.D.

March 28, 2009
The Aquarium
Fargo, N.D.

Set:
| Pay the Toll to Ride the Junebug Flow | Poet (Who Didn't Know It) | I'm a Bad MammaJamma (Who Works at Wendy's) | Found My Boogie | M'Lady | Downtown the Liquor Store | Last Night | Moon Over the Water | Place | Chosen Ones | Lady Madonna [The Beatles] | Soul Shaker | Clone You | Aphrodite | So True | Damn the Man |


Last time we wanted to play Fargo, we were glued to weather reports, wondering if we were going to be able to make it because of a monster blizzard. We didn't make it, so we rescheduled for March 28. No blizzards then, right? Exactly. However. Mother Nature had other plans and apparently really didn't want us to play in Fargo/Moorhead. This time, we were glued to the flood reports. People had been sandbagging all week and the river was going to crest on this very day. Businesses were shut down, people were evacuated (including our good friend Kelsey and her daughter). Was Junebug going to play this show? You're damn right we were. And we did, Mother Nature be damned. We all drove to Fargo from Aberdeen (where we played the previous night) and rocked the heck out of them. And we heard from many of them that they were glad to have just been able to relax for an evening.

But none of this happened before I (tony) threw out my back. It was honestly the worst back pain I've felt in my life, but I did my best to power through. My sister had to help me down the stairs because I couldn't walk or even stand up. Thankfully, my bandmates helped me with all my drum gear. If not for those guys... sheesh. So, I'm not really that intense, Fargo. That wincing while playing and baring of teeth with tightly closed eyes and head down, not looking at the crowd isn't actually my playing style, I was actually in excruciating pain. That being said, the show was rockin' and heavy duty.

Tonight was Junebug's official Share CD Release show in Fargo. Yup, seven months after its release. Sharing in the festivities this night were the San Haven Chuckle and the Mind Funk Allstars. It was a glorious gathering and Nick said his new favorite band is the Chuckle.

After a kickin' version of "Found My Boogie", Dustin addressed the crowd. "Flood Relief '09. Thank you for having us here to relieve you from the flood. You're welcome, by the way. If we had decided not to come, who knows what would have happened." This of course goes to the fact that last time we planned a Fargo show, there was a blizzard. This time there was a flood. We're planning a tornado for June. Stay tuned.

During "M'Lady" Dustin accidentally knocked over a mic stand with his guitar. This threw his guitar sorely out of tune. After the song, while he was tuning it, Bud, Travis, and Paul decided to kill some time by coming up to the stage and showing us their rear ends. Bare, with no clothes on them. I made a comment about the real Moon Over the Water. Thanks folks, I'm here all week.

The San Haven Chuckle has a song called "May They Wake". There's a portion of it that sounds almost exactly like the chorus of "Moon Over the Water". That's something that could be expected, since Travis and Anthony have been known to spend late nights jamming and sharing songs they've come up with. Intentional borrowing happens from time to time. Well, when they played "May They Wake" this night, they sang lyrics from "Moon". Likewise, when we played "Moon", we sang their lyrics at the same part. We are friends. We have a good time.

Tonight was fun. A lot more people came out than I expected. Laurel and Wendy (two of my sisters) were there, as were a number of people we know from the Jamestown days who now reside in Fargo/Moorhead. I would also like to say that my back pain had me kind of out of it. Iwas not being stuck up. I know there were people there that I haven't seen in awhile, so if it seemed that I snubbed you, it was not intentional. Catch me next time we're in town (in June).

Great show, Fargo. We were glad to take your mind off things for an evening!

Saturday, March 28, 2009

3/27/09 - Red Rooster - Aberdeen, S.D.

March 27, 2009
Red Rooster Coffee House
Aberdeen, S.D.

Set:
| Pay the Toll to Ride the Junebug Flow | Spring Fever | Poet (Who Didn't Know It) | I'm a Bad MammaJamma (Who Works at Wendy's) | Found My Boogie | Refrigerator | M'Lady | Last Night | Like a Spy (Not the Stalker) | Downtown Liquor Store | Place | To the Next Episode | Lady Madonna [The Beatles] | Chosen Ones | Jumpstart My Rocket | Gamma Ray [Beck] | Aphrodite | So True | Darn the Man |

Encore:
| Crossroads | Clone You |


Oh, Red Rooster Coffee House. How we love you.

Every time we come back to Aberdeen it is more rowdy and more fun. As people know, we used to live in Aberdeen and Dan at the Red Rooster gave us our first real show. So Aberdeen will always hold a special place in our collective heart. In fact, when I (tony) said we were from Minneapolis, Dustin said, "Boo. We'll never be from Minneapolis. We're from Aberdeen, South Dakota!" Cheers erupted. But Nick actually is from the Twin Cities, so there it is. But the sentiment was correct. We love Aberdeen's Red Rooster Coffee House and we always feel at home there.

The show started out right with "Pay the Toll," continued with "Spring Fever" and then brought it up again properly with "Bad Mamma" and "Found My Boogie." After "Refrigerator" I heard a guy proclaim, "I love refrigerator!" I can only assume that we made him realize how much he loves his own household fridge. You, see, we're all about the goodness here. Now they'll live happily ever after.

The crowd at this show was incredible. This is the first show in which I've really noticed people singing along to nearly every song. Specifically during "Last Night" during Anthony's vocal breakdown, the whole crowd was singing along in a chorus of awesomeness and ego-building wonderfulness. Anthony said, "I loved that chorus effect on the breakdown." I felt obligated to tell him, "It wasn't an effect, people were actually doing it!" "No need to fake it," Dustin added.

We really veered from the setlist at times tonight. People kept shouting out requests, and they were songs we actually felt like playing, so we rolled with it. Except "Freebird." We didn't play "Freebird." "Not the Stalker" and "Downtown Liquor Store" weren't on the setlists, but we played 'em.

A question that's in my mind, however, is whether we've really been away long enough that people have forgotten the "Next Episode" routine. After "Place," I said "Did we rock it? How far would you say we rocked it?" Anthony and Dustin began asking the question too, but it took a good thirty seconds for anyone to shout it out. I guess it's possible that we're not quite as clever as we think.

Our show closer tonight was supposed to be "Damn the Man." Well, the Red Rooster is a family place, and there was a certain six-year-old young lady named Cora right down front rockin' out. Anthony made a judgement call that perhaps "Damn the Man" wasn't necessarily appropriate, so we played "Darn the Man". At the part where Anthony usually says, "that sunofabitch," I offered, "like an old pair of socks." Because to my knowledge, that would be correct usage of the word darn. Sadly, my little lesson was lost underneath Anthony's cry of "Everybody!" In retrospect, some things are better kept to myself.

When our set was over, after we had thanked the crowd, everyone started chanting, "encore, encore!" As Dustin noted, we're easy. They talked us into it. Even though we were pooped out, we gave it our all for two more songs. Because you're worth it, Aberdeen!

This was definitely one of, if not the best Rooster show we've ever played -- and that's saying something. Nick had heard a lot of stories about this place, but when he finally got to experience it first-hand, he loved it. He said, "This place rocks. You guys are sweet!"

A few special shout-outs are in order. First of all, Dan Cleberg is our guy. Secondly, Fed By Doris stepped up to play a spontaneous set when two of the booked gigs had to cancel. Thirdly, Butt Mugly was the winner of the 48-hour Bands and they opened tonight. And finally, Jeremy Burckhard ran sound, and he ran it well, like he always does. So we'd like to thank him specifically for that.

So, to sum up: Aberdeen rocks.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

3/21/09 - Big V's - Saint Paul

March 21, 2009
Big V's
Saint Paul

Set:
| I'm a Bad MammaJamma (Who Works at Wendy's) | Found My Boogie | Refrigerator | Poet (Who Didn't Know It) | M'Lady | Last Night | Moon Over the Water | Aphrodite | Clone You | Soul Shaker | Downtown Liquor Store | Chosen Ones | Damn the Man |


We descended upon Christensen's Big V's in Saint Paul once again to bring the mighty rock. There was a much better turnout this time around. Last time we played Big V's it was during the week if I remember correctly and we played only to the other bands a couple regulars at the bar who were more interested in the ball game on television than in the music in the immediate vicinity. This time, the crowd only increased as the night went on. Also in the crowd were Cody M. and Ji-Yeon all the way from Aberdeen.

Before the show started, Tony, Anthony and Anna were quoting lines from '80s movies. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure came up in the game and so I (tony) decided that I was going to open the show by reciting Abraham Lincoln's San Dimas address (also known as the speech Lincoln gives at Bill & Ted's history report). In case you forgot, the speech ends with "Be excellent to each other. And... PARTY ON, DUDES!" Then bam, right into "Bad MammaJamma." They didn't know what hit 'em.

There was a shortage of microphones tonight, so I had one in back, Nick went without, and Anthony and Dustin shared a mic in the style of Steven Tyler and Joe Perry. There's always that question of "will they accidentally touch mouths? If so, does that mean they kissed? And what if someone's breath is bad?" Maybe other people never thought that, but I did. And no, Dustin and Anthony did not kiss. Not tonight, anyway.

Remember the theme from Top Gun? So does Dustin. And tonight it showed up in the solo sections of two different songs: Last Night and Moon Over the Water.

We played "Clone You" by request tonight. I asked, "Have you loved anyone so much that you want two of them so you can have a little fun? Huh? You know what I mean, right?" Anthony emphatically responded, "SEX!" But I was talking about Scrabble® brand crossword board game. Sickos.

Also by request tonight was "Downtown Liquor Store." Before tonight we hadn't played this song (even in rehearsal) since December. When we had rehearsed it, we made all these great edits and made it more awesome. But we forgot all of them, so we played the old long version. But whatever. It doesn't matter because the song kicks ass, long or short.

Also appearing tonight were Velveteen, Good Luck and Godspeed and another act, the name of which I did not catch.

Lots of times at shows, I bring along my little low-end Hi-8 video camera for the purpose of documenting shows for my own records. Not good cinematography, just a static camera set up to capture what's going on. Well, tonight, a guy from the crowd we don't know asked Liza if he could film us. There's some interesting footage, lots of close-ups. More interesting than a static shot for sure. And he zoomed in on my wife's butt twice. So... thanks to that guy.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

3/7/09 - Tiffany's - Saint Paul

March 7, 2009
Tiffany's Sports Lounge
Saint Paul

Set:
| Pay the Toll to Ride the Junebug Flow | Soul Shaker | Poet (Who Didn't Know It) | M'Lady | Last Night | The Date | I'm a Bad MammaJamma (Who Works at Wendy's) | Found My Boogie | Like a Spy (Not the Stalker) | Chosen Ones | Crossroads | Clone You | Jumpstart My Rocket |


What a crazy awesome night. First things first, we played this show tonight with The Isles and Nathan Miller & Unstoppable Company. These two bands are HOT. You need to check them out. You will not be disappointed. It is because of these incredible acts that Tiffany's Sports Lounge was packed tonight. It's always a party with The Isles.

We opened the show and our set was solid. This is the kind of show we like to play. Full energy, people enjoying drinks and free-spiritedly dancing. This was a crowd that had not been exposed to us previously (for the most part), so it was a chance to impress. Who knows if we did. The point was we had tons of fun. We played the regular Junebug standbys, plus "Stalker" and "Crossroads" which are both starting to flirt their way into our regular repertoire. Not surprisingly, both went over well. Other than the great vibe, nothing really too notable happened at this show. We distributed a couple discs, a few booties shook, connections and friendships were made, and the rock was good.

After our set, Nathan Miller and his guys shredded it and The Isles took all of our names so they could continue kicking asses even after the night was through. Hopefully we'll play with both of those bands more in the future.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

3/6/09 - Nesting Grounds - Wyoming, Minn.

March 6, 2009
Acoustic Show
Nesting Grounds
Wyoming, Minn.

Set:
| Spring Fever | Good Vibes | Share | M'Lady | Moon Over the Water | El Paso | Breathe You In | Crossroads |


Every band has on-nights and off-nights. Sometimes, it's not the fault of the band. The band can push through and play beautifully, but if there's literally nobody there, it's sometimes all for naught. Even the planning of this show started in strange chaos. The band that asked us to play it with them broke up after it was booked, but they didn't tell us. It was very weird. We kept the date anyway, because we have had this idea that playing acoustic shows could expand our exposure into more mellow coffee shop -type venues that don't cater to loud rock.

The Nesting Grounds is a fun little place. It reminded me somewhat of the Red Rooster in Aberdeen. It's a nice little coffee shop that also has a fair-trade gift shop. Furthermore, the staff was completely nice. So it's a nice place to go.

There were four acts on the bill. Forgive me (tony) if I forget their names. The first act was a solo acoustic dude, but the next two acts apparently didn't get the memo that it was billed as an acoustic show. There was a dude who programmed music into a Game Boy and played/sang along with it and a duo from Mankato that wore animal hats and were quite loud indeed. We always want to encourage young, independent acts, though. While not all of it may have been my personal cup of tea, it's good that they get up and do it.

Well, by the time we got up, most of the people that had been there (a majority of which were family members of performers) had trickled out. About mid-way through our set, all that remained were the two staff members of the Nesting Grounds, Anthony's girlfriend Katie and Nick's wife, Anna.

At any rate, our set was good. Included tonight was the first ever performance of "El Paso" which is to be included on the future release, Sonic Harmonic. Also included were a bunch of the tunes that we don't often play live, since they're not really bangers. We had had three other tunes on the setlist, but they were cut. For Anthony's part, he wanted to just plug through the whole set, since we were there anyway. It was a weird night, man.

The owner of the Nesting Grounds was very nice. He threw us a few bucks and apologized for the lack of people. We gave him and the worker girl each a disc and called it a night.

You win some, you lose some.

Friday, March 6, 2009

3/5/09 - Bunker's - Minneapolis

March 5, 2009
Bunker's
Minneapolis

Set:
| Pay the Toll to Ride the Junebug Flow | Poet (Who Didn't Know It) | M'Lady | Last Night | I'm a Bad MammaJamma (Who Works at Wendy's) | Found My Boogie | Refrigerator | Chosen Ones | Crossroads | Aphrodite | Clone You |


The New Congress is awesome, and we feel great opening for them. Tonight was the second time we played with them at Bunker's, and it was even better than last time. The place was packed from the start, and that's definitely a good sign. There's one regular who has been there every time I (tony) have, and he reminds me of what our friend Rory might be like in 25 years. This dude dances and gets into it all. He's good stuff.

Anyway, our set consisted mainly of stuff we've been playing quite alot lately, which is fine, since it seems to be rocking faces. Why fix what isn't broken, y'know? However, we tried out "Refrigerator" in front of this crowd, which possibly was not one of our more inspired moves. Even the dancing dude stepped back a bit. However, "Crossroads" kind of kicked some butt tonight. I'm not sure folks expected us to whip out something so different from what we had been playing, but it was definitely a nice response. I have a feeling "Crossroads" will be a regular fixture in our sets from here on out.

Tonight, I discovered for the first time the band greenroom at Bunker's. I hadn't known it existed the first time we played. So it was cool to just chill down there for a little while and eat some M&Ms and drink some water. Plus, when I used the bathroom, they had a print of George Costanza's sexy photo shoot. I was overjoyed. Were my pants up when I took the photo? You decide.

All in all, it was a solid show. The only trouble we had was almost not starting on time. The last time we opened for The New Congress, I used the drummer's whole kit, cymbals and all. But this time, they were playing with a new drummer and we didn't know ahead of time. When we were told that we could take the stage, I realized that the kit had no cymbals or snare. (It is, by the way, very common practice amongst kit-sharing drummers to use one's own snare and cymbals, since they take the hardest beating.) Well, I hadn't thought to talk to him. When we were told to go set up our stage, I had to go home and come back! Luckily it only took about a half hour in all. But as soon as I got back, we rocked it well.

Hey, all in all, we had a really wonderful night and The New Congress is an amazing band. Any time they ask us, we'll be there.

Monday, March 2, 2009

3/1/09 - What's Up Lounge - Mankato, Minn.

March 1, 2009
What's Up Lounge
Mankato, Minn.

Set:
| Pay the Toll to Ride the Junebug Flow | Poet (Who Didn't Know It) | Last Night | I'm a Bad MammaJamma (Who Works at Wendy's) | M'Lady | Found My Boogie | Chosen Ones | Clone You |


Tonight's show was the first we've played in Mankato, Minn., with the exception of Nick, whose first show ever was played right there at the What's Up Lounge. Regardless, it was Junebug's first show there. Both Nick and Anthony went to college in Mankato at various times, but this was the first time that I (tony) had ever been to that town.

The What's Up Lounge is located on the second floor, upstairs from a bar. All our gear had to be loaded up the fire escape. It wasn't as bad as it may sound, though.

Well, we didn't even know the order of the lineup when we arrived. I asked the girl who had opened the doors for us, but she hadn't been made aware. After some calls were made, it turned out we were up first, which was kind of a bummer, since we were counting on picking up some of the other bands' fans. As it was, there was a decent enough amount of folks there (and much appreciated), but as our set was closing, more were coming in. Ah well. It's not like we'll never be back.

Anyone who did wait to arrive until later truly missed out. This was a high-octane set, chock full of bangers: a solid rock block. The crowd was diggin' every bit of it. It wasn't really much of a dancing crowd, to be sure, but there was enjoyment being had. Though there was a girl sleeping on one of the couches and one point. But she probably (hopefully) woke up when we played.

All in all, it was a short set, but it was sweet. We look forward to playing in Mankato again, exposing more people to our stuff. Music and/or otherwise.