Moxy Früvous - Loyalist Plaza - Saint John, NB - 08.15.00
I've never been known for my short concert reviews and this one won't disprove that reputation.
My first Moxy Früvous show. I've been listening to them since the Bargainville days but they almost never play in my area of the country (Atlantic Canada). The last time they played in Saint John was in 1993 and my mother wouldn't let me go since she didn't like the (all-ages) club they were playing at (I was only 14 at the time). So Festival by the Sea was my first ever live Früvous show.
The venue was an outdoor amphitheatre type setting right in uptown Saint John not 200 feet from the harbour. I was in the area quite early (about an hour and a half before the show) because another band was playing at a small stage just outside Loyalist Plaza. When I got there I heard music. I stopped and realized "That's Moxy Früvous!" So I hurried and found a spot where I could see into the plaza where MF was doing sound check. They played bits from quite a few songs: BJ, Michigan Militia, IWHO, Lazy Boy and a few more I can't remember.
After they left the stage I went over to the ticket/merchandise booth and bought You Will Go to the Moon. While I was waiting for my change, who should walk right by me, but the entire band. I couldn't think of one intelligent thing to say so I just smiled at them as they headed off to a local seafood restaurant for supper. I felt like a bit of a dork just standing there smiling but as a friend of mine once said, "Respectful distance is always better than stammering idiocy," and the last thing I wanted to blurt out was something silly like "good soundcheck." So I remained quiet.
They let us in about 15 minutes before the show was set to start. I found myself a seat in the bleachers stage-Dave side. Just as the opener (a local comic) was about to come on, who should walk right by in front of me again but the band. They passed by so quickly this time that I didn't get a chance to say anything (and what would I have said anyway?) In between sets our mayor came out to say a few words about the festival, etc. By the way, Festival by the Sea is a 10-day long music festival held in Saint John, NB every August. Right after that, the MF guys came out to cheers. Jian started off by saying that he'd just shared a moment with our mayor backstage.
"She looked at me and we locked eyes. We're meeting for drinks later." *much laughter*
"First we're going to play a song you know then we'll start playing our own stuff."
They started off the show with Nowhere Man. The rest of this is in no particular chronological order.
Many jokes were made during the night about the McLobster that McDonald's has here on the East Coast. The band couldn't believe that McDonald's actually offered lobster.
"The McLobster - for those days that you don't really want lobster."
Murray - "It's rubber but your tongue doesn't know the difference."
"You know what they should have in Newfoundland? The McCod."
Before King of Spain Jian mentioned that, "if he [Dave] came out in a dress we'd have to call him the maid of the mist." The fog downtown was really thick that night. By the end of the show you could actually see it drifting by in front of you. The band said that they've never played in mist that heavy before.
Murray: "Someone's got the mist machine cranked tonight. They turned it on and filled the whole town with mist." Also Murray and Mike threw in "there's mist overhead and poutine on my plate" during King of Spain.
I don't remember too much more of the show itself but it was wicked to meet the band after the show. There was no encore for some reason. As soon as they left the stage after the Love Potion medley the techs turned the house lights up. MF wanted to come back and do and encore but people were already up and out of their seats on their way to the door. I guess I wasn't really expecting them to come out and do a meet and greet type of thing. Got my CD signed by them all and got my picture taken with Dave and Jian (then I ran out of film and missed the other two).
The show was supposed to be webcast on the Festival by the Sea website but due to the thick fog they couldn't. I was really looking forward to re-watching the show too. :( But my first show was great! I could definitely see myself travelling to see Moxy Früvous (if they ever head to within about 6 hours of me again).
Cheers,
Melissa :)
Setlist (as written on Dave's setlist)
Nowhere BJ Horse Heat Sad Lazy Moon Pisco Booty Michi Tureen Sauce Kids Hold Nuits Authors Car King GEH Potion
Some other tidbits from the performance include:
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