4/29/14 - Honey - Minneapolis

Set:

| Prelude / 7 Eleven | Beards | Destiny, She Drives a Rolls | Moon Over the Water | Modern Age | Mystic Princess | Fluffy Little Hands | Stan | Veronica | Jumpstart My Rocket |

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Poster by Tony Kollman

I had heard of Honey, but I had never been there before tonight. There it is, kind of hidden away on Hennepin. There's a door with a bee on it and the word "Honey" below. You go in the door and go down the long stairway to a wide open, dark, dungeon-like basement. There's a bar, there are tables and seating, and a stage. It's a perfect little hideaway for some drinks and music.

I got there before any of my Junemates and just chilled for awhile, observing the people and the vibe and exploring the space. It was really laid back. I liked it. Everyone got there and we got a drink, hung out, visited, set up. I helped the drummer of Turn Back Now set up his drum kit and he let me share it. The Mercellas drummer used his own stuff, which included a kick pedal hooked up to a suitcase. It was pretty cool. 

Tonight's show was a good solid little set of Junebug favorites and it was pretty indicative of where we're at. We played stuff from Share, stuff from Modern Day, stuff from Beards and even some stuff from the forthcoming Stan. That includes the debut of a brand new song from that project, "Veronica." "Veronica" is one of my favorites from the new album and I'm glad we have now shown it to the world. It was a good, solid performance. Good energy, good vibe. The people there were diggin' it. And I dig that.

4/12/14 - Acadia Cafe - Minneapolis

Set:

| Modern Age | Destiny, She Drives a Rolls | Beards | Stan | M'Lady | Mystic Princess | Fluffy Little Hands | Jumpstart My Rocket | Handlebar Mustache | Prelude / 7 Eleven |

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Poster designed by Tony L. Kollman

We returned to the warm and friendly Acadia Cafe in Minneapolis. It's a cozy little place with a tiny stage, but we always feel welcome here and the staff has always been wonderful. It's a charming little joint and we dig it.

This was a solid little set for us, including mostly Beards stuff with a couple pieces of Stan thrown in for good measure. Oh, and there were a couple little hellos from Share and Modern Day too. It was a pretty good show, and pretty typical of our shows lately.

Dustin enjoys a drink, but then...
SQUIRREL!

I mean, nothing too notable happened. Nobody fell off the stage. Nobody's guitar burst into flame. Nobody's amp melted. It was just a good solid set.

Also appearing were Dustin's choice for "band name of the night," Jesse & the Full House, and the Disiacs who lent me the use of their drumkit for the night. Everyone was beautiful and wonderful and we had a great time staying late and chatting with everyone from die-hard fans to girlfriends to bar staff to fellow performers all the way down to complete strangers.

And we enjoyed beverages. A few beverages were had. And it was a success.

4/5/14 - Slackers - Aberdeen, S.D.

Set One:

| Poet (Who Didn't Know It) | M'Lady | Law & Order Theme [Mike Post] | Don't Let Me Down [The Beatles] | Modern Age | Place | Hell-Bent Woman / Vasoline [Stone Temple Pilots] | Beards | Chosen Ones | Prelude / 7 Eleven |

Set Two:

| I'm a Bad Mamma Jamma (Who Works at Wendy's) | Refrigerator | Destiny, She Drives a Rolls | Mystic Princess | Fluffy Little Hands | I'm a Bad Mamma Jamma (Who Works at Wendy's) [double time] | Angel [Aerosmith] / To the Next Episode | Stan | Jumpstart My Rocket | Downtown Liquor Store | Crossroads | Heaven's Just a Mystery |

Encore:

| Handlebar Mustache / Champagne Wishes Jam |

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Poster designed by
Tony L. Kollman

Every time we play in Aberdeen I end up typing the same thing into the show diary -- something to the effect of "it's always so great to come back to Aberdeen." It's true. So here is my traditional expression of that: It's always so great to come back to Aberdeen. 

We played again at Slacker's for the first time. Meaning, we've played at Slacker's before, but they have moved and this is the first time we've played in the new location. In the old space, there was no stage. Bands would just set up on rugs in front of the big front window. In the new space, there's a stage and the drum set ends up being set up in a display window. So people outside can come within a foot of the drummer and stare at him/her if they so choose. I felt like a zoo animal. And I liked it. 

Playing with us tonight were our pals Honest Engine, featuring a member of the Junebug family on guitar. Our former bassist and old friend Brandon Johnson now calls Aberdeen home and it was really good to see him again. The way things had worked out, we hadn't even really seen him at all since he left Junebug a couple years ago. But he came right up to me, gave me a big ol' bear hug, and it was like no time had passed. And he and the Engine boys killed it on stage. What a fantastic show, complete with a hard rockin' version of "Royals." I mean it. It was good.

From Instagram: @JunebugMusic

We got started in our typical fashion, noodling around while the levels get set. Dustin greeting the crowd saying, "Hello, Aberdeen. It's your hometown zeroes." Anthony interjected, "Don't call it a comeback." "Because it's... it's not," Dustin replied. 

We kicked into high gear off the bat with a couple of older favorites from Share. Again, in typical Junebug fashion, the top of the show was plagued with technical difficulties. I mean, it wouldn't be Junebug if there wasn't some kind of issue, right? Anthony's gear was messing up and while he went to work on it, the rest of us kicked in a bit of the ol' "Law & Order" theme. Always appropriate. Never gets old. No debate. When it was done, we heard a request for the "Gilligan's Island" theme. 

It's been no secret that the main riff in "Hell-Bent Woman" was inspired by Stone Temple Pilots' "Vasoline." Therefore tonight, we decided to pay tribute to this fact by mashing the two together. Did it work? It was surely fun. I'll leave it there.

Let me take you to a place...

We kicked off the second set with a slow jam which ramped up into Bad Mamma Jamma, much to this Aberdeen crowd's delight. We continued with some more solid tunes of our own. We wound down that stretch with "Fluffy" and just as it ended, Anthony's mom shouted out "Bad Mamma Jamma!" Well, we already played it and we let her know. She wasn't satisfied. She wanted to hear it, dang it. And she's Anthony's mother. Anthony said, "My mom wants to hear 'Bad Mamma Jamma' so we're gonna play half of it!" A look of great insult descended upon Mrs. Bergman's face and she shouted, "AM I HALF YOUR MOTHER?!?" So in an unprecedented move, we played "Bad Mamma Jamma" a second time in the same set. But with a twist. We played it in its entirety, but twice as fast. It was a workout. And a success.

As sad as it may sound, there are some Junebug tunes that have sort of retired themselves. Some songs only get played in Aberdeen for the die-hard, longtime fans. And then only sometimes. Tonight we got a request for "Downtown Liquor Store" by one Mr. Scott Waltman. Though we haven't played this song probably since the last time we were in Aberdeen, we obliged Mr. Waltman happily. It's a song of triumph and inspiration. Why wouldn't we?

We unveiled some tunes tonight from the next album we're currently working on, Stan. Aberdeen got to hear "7 Eleven" for the first time tonight. They also got to hear "Stan" for the first time since our going away party at the Ramkota in August 2007.

We closed out the night with a jam on "Heaven's Just a Mystery" from Beards. But when it was complete, boy oh boy, Aberdeen wanted more. So we appeased their appeals for "one more song" with "Handlebar Mustache" dedicated to our good pal Wade. 

You can't describe how we feel in Aberdeen. It's like coming home. It's like we never left. As Anthony said tonight, "There is no place in the world like Aberdeen, South Dakota." So many beautiful people. So much love. 'Til next time, my friends.