wow, wow, wow. This one definitely ranks among the best Fruvous shows I've seen. They were more than just "on" tonight... they seemed to nail *everything*. quick setlist, then comments...
down from above horseshoes half as much heatseeker boy sad girl lazy boy pisco bandito boo time splatter^2 I love my boss (off-mic) authors get in the car your new boyfriend fly nuits de reve king of spain michigan militia johnny saucep'n dancing queen ------------- disco b'ville ------------- organ grinder (!!!) gulf war song
I'm really glad to hear Down from Above making it into more sets... and I do prefer hearing it in a venue like that (400 seats or so, very small) than say, Lee's Palace...
some great improvs tonight... there was a plastic slide on stage and they did an improv about a female heckler sliding down into Murray's arms... and others... great stuff, I just never remember any of it.
there were also some giant letter blocks on the stage, and the biggest one in the middle had a "C" on it, so they commented that that was the theme for the evening, and launched into Heatseeker Boy, which is wonderful.
they're apparently going to be making a video for Sad Girl...
They were being filmed the entire time, and at times, they would deliberately play to the camera or make the cameraman's job difficult (like in Boss by leaving the stage)
The Fly->Nuits combo is absolutely great. it works, because the mood doesn't get lost. Nuits->King, on the other hand... well, I guess they have to break the chain somewhere. :)
They revived the "republicans" intro to King of Spain, but due to excessive heckling skipped over the "Is it....?" part and went right into Mike's intro.
Organ Grinder was great to hear (wow, they played about half of Wood tonight). haven't heard this one in a while, and it sounded great, and everyone was up dancing and stomping their feet and clapping along for it. lots of fun.
and hearing the Gulf War Song for a second night in a row... wow. I thought the harmonies sounded a lot better tonight than last night, and I think the smaller room made the effect even better... a great ending.
I was kind of surprised at the lack of much Thornhill stuff (only 3 songs) but it's good to see that they're really varying the sets... (about half the set was different from Wednesday)
halfway through yet another insane frutrip......
lawrence (oooh, no sig, even, since I'm on the road :)
From Bill:
Lawrence Solomon's comments seem to nail this concert pretty well, but I feel that I must add mine, instead of just lurking...
Even though I couldn't sell my extra tickets, this was a fantastic show, including the part where I got mugged (on camera even) for wearing a Flyer's jersey. Fantastic songs, comments, and crowd mood, although the talking from some people that have been to Fruvous concerts (and grown jaded!?) may have cut down on the enjoyment levels of first timers. (I would have preferred to hear the Republicans' intro to King of Spain, as I have noticed that it is never done quite the same in any live show.)
Went drinking at Donnelley's (very empty on Thursday night/Friday morning) afterward with Jian and a few of my friends, where he proceeded to entertain us further, although I suspect that he was entertained as much by us. (Hopefully I will be able to post the picture of all of us in front of Lucy the Elephant.)
Jian talked on Canadianism and Americanism, in which he gently shamed us (making us laugh at ourselves in the process, or at least one of our number specifically) on the general world-cultural illiteracy level of Americans as a whole. However, this did not mar the evening at all. In general, he seems to be a very down-to-earth person in person, and his on-stage charisma is just as strong when he is off-stage.
One question for all of you: As a rule, most Canadians can tell you the names of our political leader, but can you identify the Canadian Prime Minister, without doing any research? (And no, Lisa, it is not Margaret Thatcher...)
From Amy:
Hey there! And this is a special hello to the VA peeps that didn't head up here with me. I'm chillin in Jordan's place basically because it's pouring down rain and we have nothing else to do. I love Jordan's story. How random was that? She's such a crazy girl.
Anyway, so ya. My peeps pulled out on me this past week basically because they have no fundage, which is quite understandable. :-) I decided to head up here by myself anyway because I definitely need a vacation before the stress of finals that are coming up these next two weeks. My drive up to NJ was pretty nice. I thought it was going to be boring, but it was actually quite fun. Turns out that I got to Mays Landing with quite a bit of time on my hands, so I decided to head to Atlantic City and gamble. Whatever. It's close by and I've been there before. What the hell? Why not?
So, I go to Caesar's Palace which is pretty cool and gamble $20 and left with $40. Not too bad, eh?
I'm headed for the Expressway and who do I see? Ghetto-punk Jordan walking down the road. That girl is on crack, but we all have to love her, don't we? Hee hee. So, I pull over and pick her up. I can't believe she was going to hitchike! Anyway, so we drive to Mays Landing and get all excited about the Moxy Fruvous signs around ACCC's campus. It was quite funny. You would've been laughing at us. So, we get into the theatre and there's Jordan's friend, Rachel chillin in the row. That chick is way cool.
Sarah Harmer was good. It was good chill music to listen to.
Fruvous' set was great. That's the first sit down concert I've been to and I really enjoyed it. The camera-men were kinda funny...they went for really close close-ups. Jian's performance of I Love My Boss through the rows was awesome. People were dancing in the aisles and stuff. Really quite entermusing to say the least. I think that we have some new inductess into the Fruvous sorority, VA crew!
After chillin in the theatre for a bit, we headed for my aunt's house in Avalon, which is about 45 min from Mays Landing. She hooked us up in one of her other houses down there (it's nice having a millionaire as an aunt). This house was tight. 3 stories and 5 bedrooms. We all slept in the master bedroom and on the softest bed. Ahh....paradise. So, now we're eagerly awaiting the "Rock Extravaganza" to quote Jian. :-)
Anyone have any extra tickets to NoHo? We can definitely get up there and stuff, but funds are a little short despite the fact I won money in Atlantic City...I kinda spent it today.
From Robin:
Well, since you asked, here it is -
Down From Above Horseshoes banter re: NJ, genetics into a little genetics ditty Half As Much comments re: the stage-set & backdrops Heatseeker Boy banter re: the sliding board on stage into a little tune - 'She's gonna slide down the slide into Murray's waiting arms!' Babe I Believe You (The Styx) improv Sad Girl Dave finds a rubber grape on the stage! Lazy Boy Pisco Bandito Boo Time Splatter, Splatter - now the lads ask for the house lights to be turned on and there is some conversation regarding hockey jerseys, a simulated hockey fight between conflicting 'shirts' in the audience (but mine was the best, it was a Maple Leafs shirt!), and someone(s) had a large Canadian flag. the lads come down off the stage & prepare to go into I Love My Boss - at which time Jian proceeds to climb into the audience by climbing over the auditorium seats! I Love My Boss (with Jian climbing!) My Baby Loves A Bunch of Authors Get In The Car Right Wing Shit Fly Nuits King of Spain Michigan MIlitia Johnny Saucep'n Dancing Queen with special quest, Lou! - i think right around here, Bender's friend, Not Dave, makes a quick walk around the stage, thanx to Bender, Kelsey & Jian - Disco Bargainville Organ Grinder Gulf War Song
Well, there you have it. It was a great show and I'm really glad Kelsey and I drove to South Jersey to see it. We reunited with old friends and met some new ones, passed some time with Tobey - he's such a nice guy, and had a thoroughly wonderful evening. Slumbered over at Shannon & Karen's - thanks again you two - and headed home the next morning. Here's hoping everyone had as much fun as we did.
From Lauren:
Hi! My name is Lauren (aka Convert Chick), and when I saw your little thingie at the bottom of the 4/20 concert review asking for info, I couldn't resist the urge to rave. The concert at ACCC was my very first one, so naturally I was more than a bit excited. I am a devoted Fruvous fan, Jihead, all-around-obsessed teenager, you get the picture. So here goes...
The banter during this show must be described because it was really out of this world. Dave found a "rubber grape" on stage and the lads proceeded to talk about discovering Murray decanting eggplant (whatever that means) and one of the lads licking Dave's head because he thought it was a fuzzy grape. "Then I knew it was the beginning of the end." (to quote Mike- I think)
Then Jian did the whole "VH1's Behind the Music will be right back" thing, which made the audience hysterical with laughter.
The camera guys caused quite stir. For example, when one of the cameramen was moving a big fuzzy microphone along the bottom of the stage, Jian looked down and said, "My. Doesn't that look enticing!" *blush* Mike also started singing "Cameraman, cameraman," at one point, and Murray purposely put his face all the way up to the lens during a close-up at the beggining of "Pisco".
The row-jumping thing during "I Love My Boss" was great, especially since Jian danced on my seat! (I was the petit brunette chick in the second row.) ;-)
After the show was pretty cool, too. Jian was the only one who came out to talk to people, and my friend Steph was a bit disappointed that she couldn't get Dave's autograph on a drawing our friend Lis, who couldn't make it that night, drew. However, I did get to give a friendship bracelet to Jian, so I'm a happy camper...
Well, I couldn't have asked for a better first concert experience, except
maybe if Jian sang IWHO, but c'est la vie. I will say this though: I
thought I was a little obsessed before my first show, but I can honestly
say that now I am a full-fledged Fruhead.
Some other tidbits from the performance include:
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