Yet another wonderful weekend of fru-triping. There were so many people that were a part of this experience that I know I'll forget someone's name. I'll just start from the beginning and we'll see what happens. :-)

I was in Boston for a class for work, but managed to get the scheduling organized so I could be back in Syracuse in time for the Styleen's show. After dealing with a delayed flight, I got into Syracuse at around eight in the evening, and picked up my friend Kevin (he goes to SU and was with me at the last Syracuse show). Moxy wasn't scheduled to go on till eleven, so we had plenty o' time.

Saw various fruheads in line before the show (Katie, Charlie, and others), and after a while of waiting, they let us in to see the opening band (Mrs. Smith). I ended up going to the patio/outdoor area to get some fresh air, and that's when most people started trickling in (Dan J, Heather, Jenn, Chris & Zard, Mike & Kelly, and others). We all caught up with one another's adventures and eagerly awaited Moxy's arrival on stage.

Moxy went on a tad past eleven, playing for almost two hours. They definitely were having a ball up on stage, and the set was very non-traditional. Extended teases, jokes, and covers galore!! There were three encores, which I'd never seen before at a show. Mike mentioned the crossword puzzle, which was very cool.

Afterwards, we hung out and talked with the guys, chatted with one another, and stayed until the bar kicked us out at 2am. Once outside, we waited for AAA to come and unlock Jenn's car, and listened to the tape of the show in my car. We finally headed out around three in the morning, and Heather, Mike, Kelly and I went to Utica to stay at Kelly's parents. The rest of the clan went to a hotel, and we all planned on meeting up at various times in Hillsdale the following day.

All in all, an amazing show, and a start to a phenomenal weekend of fruving!! Hillsdale, here we come!!

From Zard Snodgrass:

I'll try to attempt an abortive review of the shows this weekend, but I find that when SO MUCH wonderful has gone on, it's hard to narrow down what to type up, and I find myself stumped by the magnitude of the task. Hopefully others will take up the slack! (and probably are doing so as I type!)

Syracuse -

Chris T. and I cruised in at 10:30 pm, as the opening band was finishing up, and got pounced on by Heatherrr and Jenn as we walked in - it's very fun to arrive in a town you've never been and walk into a strange venue, and immediately know a large part of the crowd! Met up with Chris O'Malley, Mike and Kelly, Dan J., Kevin (friend of Chris O'M's)... I liked Styleen's a lot - liked the fact that the bar is separate from the stage area, liked that there was a step to stand on so I could actually see (having gotten in late, we didn't get a spot right up front), and liked that there was an outdoor patio, which was great for cooling off and hanging out. I'd go back in a flash!! It was pretty packed - much moreso than I was expecting, so I assume their Syr. audience is increasing!

The show was good and long, full of lots of off-the-cuff jamming, including a cover of Human League's "Don't You Want Me Baby" - a flashback to my younger days! (and filled in with a few "something, something, something's" until they got to the chorus!)

(AACCCKKK!!! A SPIDER JUST RAN ACROSS MY KEYBOARD! IF I TYPE FUNKY, THAT'S WHY!!!)

Let's see, Chris O'M should have the whole set list up at some point, but I'll give it a go - Down From Above, Horseshoes (Dave broke a string), On Her Doorstep, Bed and Breakfast (noooo....I'M KIDDING about the last 2 there!!! - sorry, had to see if you were reading carefully! :)), Fly, Authors, River Valley (question - does anyone remember seeing them NOT do River Valley? Also, who has seen them do Authors not followed by River Valley, or RV not preceded by Authors? It seems to be like Queen's "We Will Rock You" has to be followed by "We Are the Champions" - two different songs that always go together. Joined at the hip, so to say. There was a Beach Boys jam, they skipped KoS and GEH - they said that it was a treat (human treat?!) to be able to play a longer show, since they're doing so many folk fests with shorter shows for people who may not know them that well, so they have to do all the more accessible stuff and can't play around as much. Get in the Car, MM, Boss?, Incredible Medicine Show...

They apparently moved BJ and Video B'ville out of the main setlist and put them in as one of the encores (of which there were three). Love Potion, Billy Jian, and Drinking Song to finish. I know I left heaps out, but it was fantastic! A bummer that a contingent of Fruheads was stalled in NYC thanks to car mishaps - no one hurt, except for having to miss this show - UGH! The crowd was WAY into the show (as shown by the 3 encores - but it was weird to hear BJ and VB toward the end - it felt like they were starting the show all over again. Not that I'd complain..)

We all hung out in the courtyard afterwards, cooling off from all the dancing, and meeting other folks, such as Lara, Sandy from Ohio, and many others. A great beginning to another fantastic weekend! And HOW WORTH IT it was to drive up after work! More LATE Friday shows would be great! Gives those of us who work 9-5 a chance to travel a little futher and still get there in time!

From Chris Tragoutt:

Oh my! These reviews are getting harder and harder to write, as they are filled with so many new people, such great music and such special moments. Zard and I arrived in Syracuse around 10:30, and were greeted at the door to Styleen's by a flurry of arms and long blond hair which turned out to be Jenn and Heather. Met up with Andre and Alison (aka Pete the Dog and the Recovering Infidel), Mike and Kelly Santa Lucia (aka fru-family), Chris O'Malley (all hail the web-master) and his friend Kevin, and Dan "the Shadow" Joblanski. We staked out our spots at various places around the stage, stretched out and prepared to jam. Styleen's is a fairly small venue and was pretty well packed with fruheads, fru-fans and curious on-lookers who all got into the music pretty quickly. The fru-lads came out, led by Mike who had the "wicked-gleam-in-his-eye" that signals a good show. And a good show it was! Started off with Down from Above and then Lazlo's career, with a bridge (i don't know what it is really called, but when a performer segues from one song into the next without interruption) into It's Too Cold (I love those two songs together and was glad to hear the combination). Lots of stage banter and fooling around, including a little chat session on table hockey and homosexuality, jokes about a radio interview shared with a wrestler, an on the spot version of "Don't You Want Me" (Human League), and a very bopping version of the Love Potion #9 medley complete with "in front of the microphone" bass solo. (who was a happy camper?)

After the show we got to meet candi and clarisse from Rome, NY, who hopefully will show up on the ng soon, as well as tons of other folks whose names I have forgotten (sorry, all, I'm usually at a loss for words after a good concert :-) ) and hung out outside to cool off a bit. Talked a bit with Dave, Mike and Murray after the show, they seemed full of energy and happy with the performance.

Finally made it to a hotel room about 3 am, got a few minutes of sleep, (literally) and then headed out the next morning for falconridge.

• The band discuss
• Lou!
  Thanks to Mike Scialdone for this one:
• The guys gather closely to sing this number
• (For more of Mike's pics from this show, visit Captain Mikey's Moxy Fruvous Photo Gallery)

• Chatter
  • Moxy appears on stage greeted by some music that sounds like an old grammophone (out of the 30's or 40's) - actually, from listening to the tape, it was "Cheek to Cheek".
• Down From Above

• Horseshoes
• Chatter
  • Mike jumps into an extended tease of "Surfin' USA", with modified lyrics, of course.
  • Murray: That's a new song of ours, look for that on our new album, "Beach Boys Greatest Hits"
• Lazlo's Career
  • At the end of the song, they immediately merge into...
• It's Too Cold
  • The second verse is removed.
• Chatter
  • Jian: Hello, Syracuse people! It's only our second time here. How many people of you are actually from Syracuse? Because I see a lot of faces from Rochester. Who's here from Albany? Buffalo?
  • Murray: 10 angry Buffalonians, the new movie.
• I Love My Boss
  • "Who knows what Johny Vegas will be bringing?"
  • Instead of "examples", Jian says "Shaq".
  • Jian teases the crowd with the final "I love my".
• Chatter
  • Mike: Broadway bound!
  • Murray: Thank you for your continuing efforts which have made GM the number one automaker for 3 years running!
  • Mike: Murray, we didn't get the GM gig
  • Jian: But they hired Paul Beaston.
  • Murray: Canada is just a pipeline of talent.
  • Jian, in an English accent: So we have a brand new record. This is the first record from the record. In England, they call the single the record.
• Get in the Car
  • Jian says "in Hanson!" after Dave sings "Baby's enhancin'"
• Chatter
  • Jian: Once the pain fades away...
  • Murray: And the physical scars heal...
  • Jian: And the fantasies start, so I say to her "Your new boyfriend's a right wing shit".
• Your New Boyfriend
• Chatter
  • Mike: Right Wing Shit is the name of an alter ego of another band we have. Just 'cause we like the way it sounds in the headlines in England. "The Right Wing Shits arrived today, with Dave-o getting off the plane first".
  • Jian: What was the name of that band on the radio this morning?
  • Mike: Them Jazz Beards.
  • Jian talks about how that morning they did a radio show in Rochester. It was with "The Wease".
  • Jian: We didn't know what we were in for. Other than the sexism and the homophobia, it was great. It was fun, except for when this wrestler guy was on. He's beating people up with a VCR. Extreme violence wrestling. So we're both guests on this show, and before we left we had to do "Gulf War". It was very surreal being next to this wrestler and singing this song. There's a jazz band playing in Rochester tonight called "Them Jazz Beards".
  • Mike: It's a perfect thing when youth get in trouble, and start getting into jazz. It's because of those jazz cigarettes.
  • Jian: Gangsta jazz.
  • Dave: I wonder if Bubba Rae Dudley's (the wrestler) family ever got into jazz. Wease asked him if he had any brothers. There was Big Daddy Dudley, Big Dick Dudley...
  • Murray: There's always a Big Daddy in there somewhere.
  • Mike: It's a big family that can one day take a trip.
  • Dave: And soon they will.
  • Murray: Masters of the segue, Moxy Fruvous.
  • Jian: 14 minutes later, they went into a song.
• You Will Go to the Moon
• Kick in the Ass
• Chatter
  • Murray: Kick in the Ass, Moxy Fruvous' bloodletting song.
  • Jian: We have a longish set planned. If you're not in for the duration, just leave now!
  • Jian talks about some of the upcoming festival shows they'll be doing. He discusses how in a venue like Styleen's, they can play songs they normally can't at festivals.
  • Jian: I'd like to dedicate this next song to Michael, who gave me a letter before the show, and I hear ya.
• Fly
• Chatter
  • Murray: Did someone say Pluto? Wrong band.
  • Murray: This next song is about a modern wonder. Some people would like to live in the 60's, or the 40's. But there's one bonus we have now, and that's a certain ability we have, to fix ourselves if we have the money.
• The Incredible Medicine Show
• Boo Time
  • Mike's voice was through distortion for this song.
• Chatter
  • The guys do some quick Ben Folds Five teases.
  • Jian: If you have some extra money when you're picking up a Moxy Fruvous CD, buy one of their CDs.
  • Murray: Kind of a spare change band.
  • Jian intros the next song as an old one, and about what it was like when Bill Clinton was elected.
• Stuck in the 90's
  • "sounds like more George Pataki"
• Chatter
  • Murray: It's damned hot in here. It doesn't help wearing Dave's pants (Dave had leather pants on).
  • Dave: Should I take my pants off? I think it would bring the tone down.
  • Jian: I want you to take your pants off.
  • Dave: I'll take 'em off for you after the show.
  • Jian: What else is new?
  • Murray: Oh, that funny homosexual banter that we do.
  • Jian: So we're on the Wease's show this morning. We told him how we used to have a Coleco table top hockey league. If anyone wants to play us, we'll play ya, cause we'll fucking kill ya! We had players with names engraved on the back. We thought this was cool, but Wease called us fags.
  • Dave, talking with a lisp: We told him, jesus Weasey, don't talk like that.
  • Jian: We don't mind being called fags, just don't insult our hockey league.
  • Murray: And now there's 47 people saying, "Are they fags?"
  • Dave: Don't insult our hockey league, especially when we're doing our chicks. And driving our hogs.
  • Murray: And now there's 112 people going, "Are they fags?"
  • Mike: We want to be free to drive our machines without being hassled by the man.
  • Jian starts drumming on the dumbek, and after some technical issues, they start this fast little jam. It mutates into Human League's "Don't You Want Me Baby?". They have some problems with the words in the verses. :-) They immediately go right into...
• No No Raja
  • Jian has some funky reverb on his voice during this one.
• Chatter
  • Jian and Mike do some quick lines from various tunes.
  • Jian thanks the people who are outside on the patio.
  • Murray: Here's a song that Mike came up with in a dream, and in the dream he was a polar bear, and he was looking for a blue light.
  • Jian: It's so hot.
  • Dave: I know, but I love it, it's like Dr. Zhivo (sp?), I got all my vinyl shit on and I'm sweating like a pig. Remember that Zhivo stuff, it was something you wore that was supposed to melt away pounds.
  • Mike: It was released by the same people who released 'Swedish Hair Away'. Remember that tape? (Mike uses a sound reminicent of tape being ripped off your body)
  • Jian starts drumming, Mike does some commentary ("just put the tape on the parts of your body where you don't want hair"), and they start singing "Swedish Hair Away".
• Michigan Militia
• Johnny Saucep'n
• Chatter
  • Jian: Syracuse is cool.
  • Murray: And hot.
• My Baby Loves a Bunch of Authors
  • Jian, during the drum intro: Who's been to Toronto? See, that's cool, when you're in NY, people realize that people from Toronto don't live in igloos.
  • Jian stops drumming: You know what else is cool? These towels, it's very nice, but I really forgot my Towels From Home.
  • The guys do a few modified lines from Towels From Home. "They came on boats, they came on planes, they came from all over the place, they came on towels from home".
  • Murray: A 10 part series on A&E.
  • The song resumes.
  • "I was looking straight"
  • "Pulp Fiction"
  • "Who needs a grave? He's Robertson Davies!"
  • The audience yells "turning pages" at the end. Murray: That's my line!
• River Valley

• Chatter
  • Jian thanks the crowd for coming, Styleen's, Johny Vegas,
  • Murray plays a little "Can't touch this" on the bass.
  • Mike does "2 legit 2 quit".
  • Dave thanks Mrs. Smith.
• Love Potion #9 Medley
  • Ohio, Stayin' Alive, Jungle Boogie riff, Who Will Save Your Soul?, "Who will save Jewel's soul?", "I'm heartbroken, she's outspoken, that's the kind of love that keeps your love...", Love Shack, You Oughtta Know, "would she go down on Meredith Brooks, that bitch!"

• B.J. Don't Cry
  • Mike, during the drum intro: This song goes out to our good little friend, he's a monkey, his name is Sassafrasssss. He's a big fan of Styleen's Rhythm Palace (Mike holds the 's' sound at the end of 'Palace'). It's a tale about a fish boy.
  • "hooka and a brush"
  • "every Thursday hit the Roxy"
  • "looked a little Oscar Wilden ... but he'd rather be hanging out at Styleen's"
• Video Bargainville
  • For the verses, Jian's voice is put through distortion.

• Chatter
  • The guys do a quick tease of "Kung Fu Fighting".
  • Dave: We don't go for that take a couple songs, change a few lyrics, and slap 'em together thing. We don't go that way. So here's a brand new one.
• Billie Jean Medley

• Chatter
  • Mike thanks me for doing the web site (I was all smiles!! :-) and plugs the first crossword puzzle.
  • Jian: The winner gets a very special prize.
• The Drinking Song

Some other tidbits from the performance include:

• Feel free to help contribute to this section!