2/4/11 - American Burger Bar - Saint Paul

Set One:
| Pay the Toll to Ride the Junebug Flow | Found My Boogie | Good Vibes | Godzilla [Blue Öyster Cult] | Damn the Man | Soul Shaker | On the Sidewalk | Back in the U.S.S.R. [The Beatles] | Like a Spy (Not the Stalker) | Downtown Liquor Store | Place | Let It Roll (A Doors Medley) | Refrigerator | Clone You | Crossroads | Bumblebee |

Set Two:
| Come Together [The Beatles] | M'Lady | Say It Ain't So [Weezer] | Modern Day Fairy Tales | Dr. Phil (part 2, Dr. Phunk) | Casanova | I'm a Bad Mamma Jamma (Who Works at Wendy's) | Golden Girls Theme [Andrew Gold] | The Date | Last Night | Runnin' With the Devil [Van Halen] / To the Next Episode / Misty Mountain Hop [Led Zeppelin] | Law & Order Theme [Mike Post] | Jumpstart My Rocket | Seinfeld Theme [Jonathan Wolff] | Sledgehammer [Peter Gabriel] |

Encore:
| Poet (Who Didn't Know It) |

Tonight's show was a bit of a last-minute deal. It was pitched, booked, and promoted in less than a week's time. But when we were approaced to play a Winter Carnival party for the Vulcans in beautiful downtown Saint Paul, we pretty much had to do it. For a little background on the amazing, artistic, partying, fun-loving group called the Vulcans, read this article from the City Pages: Meet the Vulcans: The Twin Cites' most controversial partiers.

We decided to re-hash our sports/workout theme from our previous show. It hadn't been done yet in the Cities, so we went for it. It was good except that there was a dude who felt Brandon's Track & Field shirt was no good. It should have been Hockey, he insisted. The man even bought us all drinks under the condition that we all pretended that Brandon's shirt in fact said "Hockey." Hey, it doesn't take much for us to do stuff. Free drinks? We'll take it. Thanks, guy.

We started out the night following a setlist, the same setlist from our previous show in Aberdeen, as a matter of fact. But we quickly abandoned it. These Vulcans really wanted to party and kept asking for different types of songs. "Something rockin'!" "Something slow so we can dance with our women!" Who needs a setlist when you're feeling the vibe of the folks? It was good. After rockin' a little while, Anthony asked the crew, "Are we partying hardy, or hardly partying?" The answer was clear. We were partying hardy. Partying so hardy that a Vulcan dude had a referee whistle that he was blowing in rhythm during our songs. Someone said they could have done without it, but I loved it. I think it belonged there tonight.

There was a bit of a lull while Anthony tuned his guitar and he was trying to fill time by talking a bit without saying much. A dude in the crowd yelled out, "Less talking, more playing!" "Yes!" I shouted. "That's what I like to hear."

We continued with the playing, keeping it diverse with "Stalker," "Downtown Liquor Store," "Refrigerator," "Crossroads," etc. Everyone was digging it, dancing, drinking and having a fantastic time. We partied ourselves out a little bit and needed to take a break.

During our break, some kind of magic happened and the bar which was pretty well hoppin' already packed in even more. So we kicked in with "Come Together" and "M'Lady" and the party was resumed.

One of the servers from the bar walked past us with a notecard stuck to her forehead which read, "Weezer or White Stripes?" So we played "Say It Ain't So." It's nice to be able to give the people what they want.

We kept it rolling and got a little funky with "Dr. Phunk," "Casanova," and "Bad Mamma Jamma." It was around this time that my mother-in-law Diane and brother-in-law Michael joined us virtually via the miracle of Skype. That's right. They were sitting in their living room in Aberdeen, South Dakota watching our show at American Burger Bar in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The wonders of technology. It has certainly got me thinking about the possibility of live streaming shows in the future for those out-of-towners who want to keep up with us. Is that something we should think about?

When we were to play "Next Episode" tonight, we were going to open with the first verse of "Runnin' With the Devil" by Van Halen. However, once we started it, it was clear that the crowd was WAY too into it to abandon it after just one verse. So we pretty much played it for the song's entire length, though I'm pretty sure Anthony didn't have all the lyrics. The crowd didn't care, though. They were totally getting down and singing the lyrics themselves. Then we kicked into "Next Episode" and the crowd surprisingly seemed to like it just as much. After we were done and basking in the cheers of the crowd, Dustin said, "American Burger Bar? Who knew?" Indeed. Who would have guessed that this place would have the amazing atmosphere that it does?

Sadly, the night had to come to a close. We played "Sledgehammer," announcing it as our last song. And while the people voiced sadness at it being the last of the night, they danced extra hard. After it ended there were consistent chants of "one more" and "encore!" After a brief deliberation, we decided to play "Poet." Again, the folks danced extra hard and enjoyed the final song of the night. After it was over, there were still chants of "one more" and "encore." But the management had turned on the lights and house music. In the biz, that means "it's over." I tried explaining this to the gal in the blue top and sunglasses, but she was adament about wanting us to play more, almost seeming to be on the very edge of anger. Ah, yes. Keep them wanting more.

Finally tonight, there was young spunky lady named Brianna who was totally into the show. She was dancing, getting her friends to dance, chatting with us and being an all around sport. She said that we should rename our band The Beardies. I let her play my cymbals and I gave her some CDs to reward her for her enthusiasm.

That's one of the things we like, folks. Hope to see you all at the next one!

Photography by Tony/Liza Kollman