Don't really have the time for a full review so I'll just give a sumamry.... forgive me if I ramble more than my usual, I haven't had a good night's sleep in days (it offically "screw sleep" month).

Wow! What a show! The guys were rocking for 2 hours! I don't don't remember all of the songs, Angel has the set list, so I will just post some of the highlights. Laika!!!!! Oh yeah! I almost fell down! It was absolutely fantastic live.

Lets see... the canopy club kicks butt. Its an excellent venue for a band to play, theatre seating in the back and a large open floor in the front. Who could ask for more (the drinks were good and so was the company)? The Nields rocked! They put on a great set (and since it was my first time seeing them it was quite a treat, I can't wait for the next show).

Who was there: Andy (who I kept calling Josh for some odd reason), Chad (the tall one), Chad's friend Kate (it was her first show), Jordan, Angel, and myself (I also met a couple of lurker fru-fans during and after the show).

Well, since I can't remember the set list (right now the opening song escapes me), I'll put down the songs that I do remember (in no particular order): Laika, Half as Much, I will hold on, Pisco Bandito, Sad Girl (I am very fond of this tune), Libra Calling (an improv. about Libras since it was someone's birthday... quite funny, yeah, the Clash!), Moon, Michigan Militia, Love Potion #9 Medly, Psycho Killer, Minnie (lots of Urbana references, used the C. Clinton is a lesbian hooker line), Johnny, Boss, KOS + green eggs and ham (short), Grunge of Spain, Drinking Song. I know I am missing a couple, it was quite a long set... with lots of audience interaction.

I have to say the crowd was roudy, but in a good way, the guys seemed to feed off of it. I particularly liked the discourse about killing off one of the guys so that they other three could benefit from the fame it would generate. This made one of the girls up front very disturbed, she started talking to Jian (or was she talking to her friend really loud?). Jian taunted her a bit and then reassured her that they weren't going to sacrifice one and she was much better.

Well, I have rambled for far too long... it was a great show! Oh, I didn't see Murray come out after though, so if you don't see him in Minn, then ...

"wild" Bill (who is much more subdued in person)

From Chad Maloney:

Greetings,

Here's the Set List for last night's Frushow at the Canopy Club in Urbana, IL. Review forthcoming, pending time. They played for a little under 2 hours.

Sahara (extended)
Laika
BJ Don't Cry
Horseshoes
I Love My Boss
You Will Go To The Moon
Sad Girl
Pisco Bandito
Minnie the Moocher
Michigan Militia
Johnny Saucep'n
I Will Hold On
Half As Much
King of Spain
Green Eggs & Ham (short version)
River Valley
Get in the Car
Love Potion #9

Encore 1:
Psycho Killer

Encore 2:
Grunge of Spain
Drinking Song

From Jordan McClure:

I'll probably write a full review tonight after I take my midterm but here's the setlist:

Sahara (extended) 
Laika (!) 
B.J.  
"We Call You Libra" (long improv started when someone in the crowd
shouted out it was their birthday... sort of to the tune/beat of 'It's
Our Museum'
Horseshoes
I Love My Boss 
You Will Go to the Moon
Sad Girl 
Pisco Bandito 
Minnie the Moocher (this really rocked... by far the best I've heard
this one.. i'll have the lyrics later)
Michigan Militia
Johnny Saucep'n
- extended talk about how it would be great if one of the band members
died tragically, because the other 3 would become famous
"Hey Hey My My" (extended tease of the Neil Young song)
I Will Hold On
Half as Much
King of Spain -> Green Eggs and Ham
River Valley
Love Potion Medley
---
Psycho Killer
---
King of Spain (Cranky Monarch)
Drinking Song

Fruvous in my now-home town! Yay! I've had a whole day now to reflect on Tuesday night's show and I think it's review time. In short, the show kicked much ass (sorry if I already said that in a previous post) Definitely one of the top two Frushows I've seen too. True, I haven't been to all that many but that does not detract from its excellence. The crowd got really into it and was nice and loud during sing along parts. Loud and interactive, yet for the most part quiet during the songs[1] (even the slow ones!)

So we (Kumar, myself, and some non-Fruheads) hopped in our cars at 7:30pm and headed over to the Canopy Club in Urbana. We arrived at 7:32. Almost nobody was there and Tobey was just setting up the merch table in the bar area. Tobey reported that the hockey jerseys were not in yet, but that they were expecting them by Saturday in Chicago. The band was sound checking in the theater/main stage area (we couldn't hear much of that). After the sound check the band (minus Murray) came out to the bar area and Kumar and I met Jian and talked with him a little bit. They left and the Nields headed over to the stage for their sound check. We amused ourselves until shortly after 9 when they let us into the theater and we secured one of the closest tables.

There have been several descriptions of the club posted already, but let me try another. It's actually a converted movie theater so there's a really high ceiling and a screen right behind the stage. The floor is split up into a decent sized dance area in the front and movie seats in the back and on the sides. Then in the very back there's a balcony with even more movie seats. So we sat at our nice little table until 10ish, listening to the house music which was by far the best house music I've heard any club play (namely Victor Wooten's 'What Did He Say?' album).

At 10, out came the Nields, who rocked for about an hour. This was the first time any of us saw them live and we were all quite impressed they really rocked! More house music after the Nields finished up and finally at shortly after 11 was the introduction that Moxy Fruvous would be blessing us with their presence in a mere two minutes. By the point, the club was quite full I'd guestimate there were around 500 people or so there pretty big club though so I wouldn't say it was packed. Sure enough, a couple minutes later, that almost-now-familiar drone began emanating from the speakers...

SAHARA. Do I need to comment on how much I love this song? I think so. I *love* this song. Really. There is no song I don't love less than Sahara live. If I were on a small desert island and could only have one song with me then I actually would probably not bring Sahara because who wants to be reminded of the desert on a desert island? What the heck is a desert island anyhow? Deserts don't have water near by. Islands do. Maybe it should be a deserted island. Or a deserted desert island. With only coconuts to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. Actually sounds kind of nice I could build myself a big house with a balcony and a deck Nah, who needs a dumb deck? Jian does . . . in order to play Sahara, a song that I *love*! Really! I would have been perfectly happy had the band come out and just played this for 90 minutes and finished up with the Gulf War song. Next came...

LAIKA. A bit of a surprise, but not really since we faintly heard some of it during the sound check. This rocked as usual. I should mention here that Murray looked really under the weather tonight his hair was a bit mussed up (or maybe it was just a nouveau hair style) and neither he nor Jian were at the radio interview that afternoon. Murray didn't come out after the show either Hope he's feeling better by now (and Jian too, who said he was a bit sick).

B.J. DON'T CRY. This is another of my favorites and a song I never seem to grow tired of no matter how much I hear it. Local lyrics: "Till there his only reflection (something about a red bandana) / Now he hikes the Himalayas but he'd rather get down in Urbana!"

At this point, someone in the crowd shouted out that it was their birthday. Jian asked if it was anyone else's birthday (so we could get them out of the way and prevent further interruptions) and Mike started singing a song called "Libra". It more or less involved the guys chanting "We call you Libra" to a beat with some other lyrics thrown in. Example verses: "We call you Libra / Oh my oh my / We call you Libra / Too bad you're not a Gemini." and "They're Libras / They're striped like zebras / They're not amoebas / Those fuckin' Libras." It was great, and went on seemingly forever. After that, someone in the crowd "Sagittarius" and they almost started all over again but instead played...

HORSESHOES. Always a great song I was getting just a little bit tired of it but then started learning it on guitar last week which makes it great all over again. After the song, Dave commented on how "quiet and attentive" the crowd was.

Next was story time with Jian. Jian wanted to explain why he was sweating so much (it was because he wasn't feeling well and took Tylenol with Codine before the show) and there was also a story about Cindi Lauper in there somewhere. Next came...

I LOVE MY BOSS. Actually it took a few tries to get this one started. Every time the band got quiet so Murray could do the pitch pipe, someone shouted something out. Alternate lyrics included "Who knows what Periscope Records will be bringing" (Periscope is a kick-ass little record store the band played in over the summer). After Boss, the instruments stayed down and we were treated to...

YOU WILL GO TO THE MOON. This song, which is not one of my favorites from the album, is considerably more fun live. After this, someone tossed their jacket up on stage. I won't go into how nice it was since someone else already did. Now it was time for the ole switcheroo and Murray to the drums and Mike the bass. Mike started playing some funk-ass shit on the bass and Murray gave him a what-are-you-doing-to-my-bass glare. This instrumental configuration could mean only one song...

SAD GIRL. Very nice as always I seem to like this song more than others though - maybe since I'm a sucker for keyboards. After this we journeyed to cottage country where we were pestered by ...

PISCO BANDITO. No "apple strudel" part this time. I missed it but still a fantastic song and the crowd really got into it. After Pisco, out came the silly hats. Could it be Boo Time? No, it was Grandpa Fruvous singing...

MINNIE THE MOOCHER. Wow. Not previously a big fan of this song but this was my favorite of the night (well except for Sahara). Fortunately, I have an audigraphic memory so I'm able to remember all the lyrics:

"Well folks here's a story about Minnie the Moocher / She was one real hoochy coocher / She liked popsicles and the occasional lola (?) / But Minnie had a heart as big as Tuscola (local town)"

"So Minnie as some friends went down to a Champaign club / Before the show they ate a little too much grub / The Doritos were perfect the cabbage salad was gorgeous / But the flatulence that followed rivaled hurricane Georges"

"Now radio listening can cause such frustration / It seems so many radio programmers have had castration / Their lists of songs to play suffers from constipation / Thank god that isn't the case with the Web radio station"

MICHIGAN MILITIA. Rocking as usual.

JOHNNY SAUCEP'N. Introduced by Murray as " There are people who are very conservative in the kitchen. There are people who are very daring in the kitchen. This song is a tribute to the people who are very daring in the kitchen."

After this came a looong discussion on how it would be great if one of the band members tragically died because it would make the other 3 famous. (They've been looking for new marketing tactics ever since they made the mistake of calling themselves Moxy Fruvous). Finally, they played...

HEY HEY MY MY. Yes, the Neil Young song. With Dave on lead. Only a tease, actually, but it went on for a little while. After than came another pair of new ones starting with...

I WILL HOLD ON. No need to comment on how excellent this song is. Next was one I had not heard live yet

HALF AS MUCH. Another great new song I really can't wait for a new album. We were missing only Sleepy Drinker tonight (another piano song that I love, though they don't seem to play it much :( ).

Then it was time for a special guest star (after making shadow puppets on the screen behind them), who, with his hat full of brains was saving the ruble one city at a time. This rocked through all the way to the end of the show, including...

KING OF SPAIN -> GREEN EGGS AND HAM.

RIVER VALLEY.

GET IN THE CAR.

LOVE POTION #9. Including Gotta Get Over Gretta and Barbie Girl and the aforementioned really annoying shouting woman sitting next to me.

Encore1:

PSYCHO KILLER.

Encore2:

KING OF SPAIN, CRANKY MONARCH VERSION.

THE DRINKING SONG. Just about everyone knew the words. A perfect end to the evening.

All and all, just shy of two hours of Fruvous. I have no complaints and can't wait to see them again this weekend! I got to meet Mike and Dave briefly at the end of the show (though I was tired and didn't have much to say) Murray didn't come out. And that's a wrap!

- jordan (not the female one)

[1] The exception of course happened to be the two people at the tape sitting next to us who would not shut up! At one point they were even screaming at their top of their lungs so they could continue their conversation during Love Potion.

From Zack:

This may have been the best show I've been to. I didn't do a set list but several others did - hopefully they will post one here.

Some of the highlights (to me) included a wonderful performance of "Laika" and several new songs which I really like.

The artist from Sullivan, IL who brought a cartoon drawing of the band last year at Decaturfest was back with another one. Also, a girl in the audience had a denim jacket with a homemade Fruvous back, which the band spent a couple minutes admiring (and almost stealing!)

The new venue here, The Canopy, is a great place. Lots of room and a very high ceiling. The crowd was also in a festive mood which seemed to match the band's.

Jian said to expect the new album out in late Spring '99.

Oh - before the show the band did a rollicking interview on The Web (WEBX-FM, also known as www.webxfm.com with Realaudio) which lasted about an hour. I guess the Web was getting phone calls and requests for Fruvous songs from all over the country during the show.

Off to work - I'll see if I can think of more details later!

From mtflight:

Moxy Fruvous is no doubt the greatest Canadian band since the Guess Who. These eyes have seen a lot of bands but they've never seen a band like Fru.

A disonant chord resonated as the Quartet bounded onto stage, opening with "Sahara". As the mood music continued I wondered if "Gunga Din" would appear on the silver screen behind them.

Standing on sofas, my girlfriend and I bounced to the beat. Below us fans crowded the dance floor/mosh pit. Audience members called out for birthday recognition, the boys obliged with that little known Clash hit "Librya Calling". A fruhead handed Jian a denim jacket with a hand-made Moxy design on the back. Murray accepted it and wondered if anyone might have some shoes size 10.

A young lady saw them in San Fran and told them so, the difference was she didn't drive there quipped the sly Canadian. Another devoted fan offered a poster drawn of the King of Spain and his court. The boys were impressed. Unfortunately, they had to give the jacket back and Murray's still waiting for the shoes.

Driving from Colorado, the gents pondered difficult questions. If it were necessary for one of the band's members to die to propel Moxy Fruvous to stardom which one should it be. The audience thought this was participation time, it wasn't. The band decided Dave-O should die, but not like a herion overdose or a fiery car crash. The Fruvous style would be much less glamorous, say a bathroom accident. Dave smiled and strummed a few bars of Rock n' Roll will never fade away.

The "Pisco Bandito" swam its way into our hearts. Another new offering was "Sad Girl". For those of you keeping score at home, the play list included: Get in the car,Y.W.G.T.M.,Michigan Militia,River Valley, B.J. Don't Cry No More,Laika,King of Spain,I Love My Boss,Johnny Saucep'n,Horseshoes and Green Eggs and Ham. Did I mention the shadow puppets on the wall.

In the song "Minnie the Moocher", Mike conjured up images of Al Capone and Abraham Lincoln tooling around Illinois in a '58 Corvette. "Heidi-heidi-heidi-hey. Gotta remove Bill Clinton from the pressure cooker," crooned Mike, "Chelsea Clinton's a lesbian hooker." Cab Calloway was turning in his grave.

The set ended with "Love Potion #9" medley. The crowd of 200 or so cried for more. Tod the emcee from WEBX coerced them out before the 1 am curfew.They belted out "King of Spain" cranky version and "Psycho Killer." Next to me Amy cried out for Spidey but to no avail.

Arm in arm lines formed around the theater swaying to "The Drinking Song." Like good Protestants we sang,"drunk on the lawn in a nuclear dawn my senses finally blurred.

• Sahara (extended version)

• Laika
• B.J. Don't Cry
• Horseshoes
• I Love My Boss
• You Will Go to the Moon
• Sad Girl
• Pisco Bandito
• Minnie the Moocher
• Michigan Militia
• Johnny Saucep'n
• I Will Hold On
• Half As Much
• King of Spain
• Green Eggs & Ham (short version)
• River Valley
• Get in the Car

• Love Potion #9 Medley

• Psycho Killer

• Grunge of Spain
• The Drinking Song

Some other tidbits from the performance include:

• Feel free to help contribute to this section!