my several cents on last night's show--
Me and Melanie (the little sis) arrived around 6, a half hour before the show was scheduled to start, and found we were still able to get right up front and center! Mel, being the short little 9 year old she is, was grateful to be right up against the railing, able to see perfectly ;-) We discovered that to our right was Genna, and her crew, and to our left was Mocksie and *her* crew (Karen, and Kate! hi ;-)
The opening act was...well, talented, but it just seemed long. I mean, he could certainly play, but his songs were all *quite* similar, and a few just a little too long for my tastes (poor Mellie, not used to standing still for that long, was particularly happy when he was finished) We enterained ourselves by playing "spot the fru," as the various guys went in and out from the backstage area.
Some banter I recall:
Murray, in introducing the band: "Ladies and Gentleman, I present to you a band who think black and baby blue go together, Moxy Fruvous!" ;-) It was quite amusing, actually, as Mike and Jian were both wearing black t-shits, and were flanked by the baby-blue clad Dave and Murray. Very nice symmetry ;-)
Jian also apologized for being "a middle eastern man," and therefore how the humidity would affect is hair. I can relate ;-P
Jian was reading from one of the promotional boat tour pampheltes that abound in that area. He prefaced this by saying that he was just a Canadian from Toronto, so of course knew very little about baseball ;-) But one tour offerred a trip on the Yankee Clipper, to famous Yankee Stadium--the House that Ruth built!-- and home of the World Champion New York Yankees!! *or* you could take the Mets Express. With a few new players, this could be the year for the Mets ;-)
They mentioned that they liked the "nautical theme" the organizers had gone with, and that it was all very elaborate to make it actually resemble a port.
Docked close next to the stage was the Peking, which ellicited many comments. One of them (I froget who said what here), mentioned that shouldn't it have been renamed the Bejiing? Another was distraught that Limp Bizcuit could incite fires and riots at Woodstock, but they couldn't even sink the Peking. (JIan-- "Well, listen to the show, buy the CD,a dn THEN sink i." Murray: "You may need to buy a cannon as well.") The "teased" King of Spain that Scott mentioned actually began as the "Peking of Spain," in the belabored stalling as Mike got the guitar ready for the Drinking Song.
Murray also menitoned that if they sold a *lot* of records that night, he wanted to buy the big red boat docked back behind the stage. Jian said that even if people didn't like the music and didn't want to actually buy the CD, they could still contribute to the cause.
The Les Mis comment came when Murray acknowledged all the people who had lined the staircase at the back of the crowd. We truned around, and it was actully kinda cool, all these poeple who wanted a better view, leaning over railings and blocking any sort of actual pedestrian traffic on the stairs. Someone mentioned that it looked a barricade from Les Mis, which is where Mike jumped in with the necrophilia ditty ;-)
At one point, all the guys went to go address intrument problems of some sort, leaving Murray alone up front. "So, I guess I have the floor. As unaccustomed as I am to public speaking..." ;-) He then went into some odd, generic speech on how all we all need to address certian issues, that effect all of us as people, such as the environment, and... -- Jian jumps in with "Wear sunscreen."
Anoher theme was Jian starting with "You know what pisses me off?" Of course, now I forget exactly what did piss him off, but it was amusing at the time.
Oh-and when they were mentioning the "grassroots band" kinda thing, Jian mentioned that we wouldn't see any big ad for them on MTV, not that they'd mind if anyone wanted to buy them. Just found that another intersting bit of information concerning what the band wants, attention wise.
On a musical note, I absolutely adored the disco bargainville ;-) Watching *them* get into was almost as amusing as the song itself. Dave disco dancing at the keyboard was pretty priceless ;-)
The Boo Tim lyrics addressed the humidity, and then went into the Yankees choking and the Blue Jays winning, and somwething about where's the heliport? Don't really recall... but it got quite a reaction ;-)
I was also happy that My Poor Generation didn't have the "scratchy thing" live. Murray did the introduction, and started out by saying. "I didn't write this song. And I always get in trouble for the introductions, with Dave carefully watching over me." So he did a little intro, but Dave, trying to finish a cigarette, said "Keep going, buddy." So he forged on a little longer. Boy do I love this song.
Also, IWHO. Jian really sells this when he sings it.
Overall, I, as always had a great time. This shouldn't surprise me anymore ;-) I was also impressed by the number of people there for them, who really knew the songs. You never know, in a place like that, who knows the band, and who just happened to be walking by. But the sing along for the Drinking Song was quite well participated ;-)
We got on line afterwards. Melanie *begged* me for her own copyof Thornhill, which I resisted for awhile, simply because I can get it cheaper here, but eventually relented, as I tend to do with her ;-) With the CD, we got the Thornhill poster, which is the CD cover, with some handy orange space at the bottom for signing. (and a teeny tiny budgiedog in the corner, a la LN) We got up there about an hour later, but I enjoyed the time on line chatting with Mocksie and friends (quote of the evening: "Dave sucked my butt." I will only say it did not come from me ;-) We also listened to a VERYpersistent salesman with a megaphone selling the CDs. He apparently did a good job, since I think they sold out, but at one point was even offerring "free mentos to the next person who buys a CD." ;-) Rather annoying, but apparently effective.
We stopped at a diner on the way home, so me and Mellie arrive home from the "Home Before Midnight Concert sseries" at about 1. But we won't quibble ;-)
looking forward to Monday!
From Ken:
After reading several posts reviewing the south street seaport show, I noticed that nobody included You Will Go to the Moon in the setlist. I could swear they sang it. Am I losing my mind? (I know that happens with age)
Good point!! They did indeed sing it, after Johnny Saucep'n.
A few points of my own about the show:
The sound was not at all good. I was right up front, stage Dave/Mike, and it was too loud and very muddy. As a result, some songs sounded very off to me, particularly IWHO. The mix, from what I could hear, was terrible. There was almost no guitar or bass, so it sounded, from where I was, like Jian singing acapella with no backup.
They really nailed Splatter Splatter. Faster than the album version, with only straight distortion on the guitar (see my thornhill review).
The Peking of Spain tease was great! As much as it usually gets to me when the crowd seems to only know King, it really worked. Dave screwed up and sang the wrong chorus after the first verse ("oh my unspeakable wife queen Lisa..."), prompting the crowd to start the song over again screaming "1-2-3-4!" This was probably the highlight of the evening for me.
I'm just disappointed they won't be back in NYC until December :(
From Scott:
Here's the set from the Fruvous show at the South Street Seaport last night - a bit of a mixed bag of old and new.
Great to see the assembled Fruhead contingent, most of whom I missed at FRFF (Jason, Catherine, roB, Gordon, Lisa, Zard, Chris, Mary - sorry for anyone I missed). There were about 15 folks from my alternate net universe, the Idiot's Delight Digest, as well - nice to walk into a crowd of 500 or so, and know a couple dozen of them!
The guys played for about an hour and 20 minutes, then stayed for probably at least an hour signing CD's for a long line, many of whom saw Fruvous for the first time. I believe they also sold out of the CD's on hand, so it was a very successful show from that perspective, too.
Luckily, the weather held out - it had been threatening to pour all afternoon, and actually did start raining well after the show had finished.
The sound outdoors (from my vantage towards the rear of the (noisy) crowd, wasn't great. I'm told that upfront it was a bit muddy, and too loud. From the rear, it was not as muddy and not loud enough.
The set:
Half As Much You Can't Be Too Careful Video Bargainville (disco) Lazy Boy When She Talks Pisco Bandito Boo Time Splatter Splatter Michigan Militia Johnny Saucep'n I Will Hold On My Poor Generation My Baby Loves A Bunch of Authors Get In The Car Psycho Killer E: King of Spain (tease) Drinking Song
The King tease was quite remarkable, about 2 full verses were done in a lounge style while Mike attempted to change and tune a string he'd broken during Psycho.
A good (and fortunately, dry) time was had by all!
Have fun at NoHo!
From Shadoe:
well, now that was a day to remember. the afternoon began with meating some friends at the train station, and saying goodbye to another. ::sniffle:: one tough goodbye...(my best friend had been staying w/ me for the week on a trip from ohio which he couldnt aford to take...and the goodbye at the trainstation will have to last me about another 10 years before we meet again...sigh...ok...enough lementing...on with the review)
the ride to the city was fairly eventless. when we got there, we took bets on the rain...which soon started to fall...we didnt melt though, and it felt good to cut the humididity. we found the peir w/o a problem, and saw tobey and cal and some unidentified people (one who looked about 14) setting up the stage. at which point i realized i had a botu 2 pics left on my camara, so i went and bought some film. came back...listened to the sound check (and sang along...to which (i think) dave relplied "easy guys...i'ts sound check..."sigh...the excitement builds. big "hi's" to mocksie and friends and Jen who proved to me yet again that the fruhead community is goofy, comfy and warm.
mocksie noticed something satin and red sitting in the base drum, she asked jian "is that underwear" to which he replied "but of course" ...sigh...too bad it never came out during the set.......
the opener (who's name escapes me at the moment) didnt please me too much. his guitar skills rivaled any...but his songwriting could use a swift kick in the ass. i think mokst ofus really just wanted to get him off...i feel bad though...he wasnt too bad. after about an hour of him fruvous setup began, the lads came out to a thunderous applause. jian entertained himself by plaing with the volume of audience cheering. then gave us a sincere sounding appollogy for "being a middle easern man" explaining that the humidity would give him a fro. Murry introd the band as "the band who thinks black and baby blue go together"
and thus they began.
Half As Much
You Can't Be Too Careful
Disco Video Bargainville - this was adorable...with murry's dancing...
Lazy Boy
When She Talks
Pisco Bandito
Boo Time
Splatter Splatter
Michigan Militia
Johnny Saucep'n
I Will Hold On *swoon*
My Poor Generation-dave looks anoyed at murry's intro
My Baby Loves A Bunch of Authors - "my crusifiction"
Get In The Car
Psycho Killer-teaser beginning...swispers first few lines...screams "DONT TOUCH
ME"
E: King of Spain (tease)-hysterical: dave on accordian...completely weird.
"peking of spain"
Drinking Song-lovely closer
banterful moments:
murry "is it humid in here or am i just wearing a poliester blend i shouldnt
be"
"that's not a blend"
"a blend of polyester and OTHER polyester"
jian : discusses "new york by boat" a brochour. talks about the "intra
new-york rivalry" of the mets and yankee's (which note: does not really
exist")
contsant reference to the "peking" a boat docked at the seeport.
ex: jian "i dont know...were just not cutting it. Limp bizkit can bring down
woodstock and we cant even sink the peking. weve gone through seven songs and
no one has sunk the peking"
jian"we sould call it the bejing. this is politically incorrect"
murry"the peking of spain"
jian notices a crowd has gathered on the balcony
jian:"this looks like a seen from lesMis"
lads start singing "doyou hear the people sing"
mike:"cant your making love to one already dead....thats called necrophilia you
sick and crazy bastard"
after KOS teaser mike still has no working guitar...still needs stringing and tuning. jian admits to killing time...says this calls for Dr. zavago (sp) dave plays Lara's theme on accordian. (note: jians intellect never ceases to impress me.)
it was a great show
i only regret missing chatting with the lads after the show...my friends made plans to meet some family for dinner, and forgot to figure in the opener in they're time...they were waiting at the restaurant for over an hour...oooops.
ok, i'm done now...genna's babbly review has come to an end
smiles
genna (who's still swooning...and still trying to figure out a way to get to ocean city)
From Alex:
Another close fruvous show, so I figured I might as well check it out. The set's been discussed already -- standard-fare for the most part, but definitely fun all the same -- so I figure I'll share some other interesting tidbits instead.
Most Annoying Thing of the Night: The guy at the merch table with the megaphone between concerts and after the show. He just wouldn't shut up. People were threatening violence (unfortunately, like Jian said, Fruvous fans aren't really the violent type, so the threats remained simply threats. :P)
Coolest little bit of the night: The Bug Song -- some weird thing Dave played on the banjo between songs. Sounded like a gradeschool song, about digging a big hole until all the bugs were gone, "And that would be the end of the bug song."
Interesting Fact: Sean Altman (former Rockapella member) was in the crowd. He's a friend of Jian's and he lives in the city, so it was a pretty safe bet that he'd be there. My brother's a big fan of his and he got to talk with him for a bit before the show.
Coolest Thing to Steal: The "Thornhill" posters, which were about 4'x4' and were stationed on either side of the stage. My brother managed to get one and have it signed by the band. They drew little pictures and stuff next to their signatures. It looks *really* nice.
Also, Jian's hatred (heh..) has apparently turned away from Gordon for the moment and is now aimed at me. I think he wants a waytogojian.com or something... :)
Someone put up a site or something so he can go back to being mad at Gordon. :P :)
From Harry:
Moxy Fruvous seems to take me to places I would never normally go to. The South St. Seaport, I always felt, was a tourist trap (well it sort of is). But, having seen the guys there my wife and I will probably go back soon.
Arriving after my wife met me at work and I finished up some details before going on a much needed vacation. We found a place to stand and started to enjoy Jake Allison. Though I have noted some Furfans complaining about the similarity of his songs, I actually thought they were rather diverse for a blues guitarist. I had heard this guy has been playing with blues greats in his home town of Austin, TX since the age of 9 and it showed. Oddly enough I bumped into someone at the show I hadn't seen in years. It turns out, he works at Jake Allison's record label.
I bought my copy of "Thornhill" and got ready for Moxy. After walking on a half-hour late, the guys put on a fine show only marred by sound problems. It seemed to me that Jian quickly understood the Mets vs. Yankees dynamic in New York by simply reading a NYC tour pamphlet. But, then again one could easily understand the evil that is the Yankees by watching the Blue Jays over the years.
My wife was thrilled to hear "Pisco Bandito" (can we expect to hear this on "The 'C' Album"?). "The Lazy Boy" was a nice addition as well. I belive this is the first time they didn't play "The King of Spain" proper at a show I've been to and I didn't really miss it too much. The odd thing is that I knew all the Thornhill songs already (or at least the ones they played). It's also nice to see the same band twice in one week and find they have a few surprises up their sleeves.
From Lizzie:
okay, my friend Adam wanted me to post this for him, because he still hasn't figured out a good way to get the ng himself, so here it is:
I was this close to not writing this, because I figured that it had already done. But I promised myself I would write one, and "I -meant- it this time!" So...
Ah. The show was wonderful. Best I've seen, I think... the boys had tons of energy (suitable for a pseudo-release party) , and the set was nice and long (a first for me... all my shows so far have been at festivals or half-sets, i.e., the Bottom Line New Years shows). I won't go through the setlist, since that's been done to death, but I will mention that I -finally- got to hear two songs that I've been waiting for: Boo Time, and, be still my heart, The Drinking Song. Yes, I know that it's old, but perhaps that's why I've never heard them perform it before... it was worth it to sing along, after all the practice I've had.
Soundwise, I was a bit too close to the speakers, so it was a bit iffy... not sure how it sounded elsewhere. I also couldn't see any of Murray other than his feet (which I studied; he was always standing on the outside edges of her Converses :) ) because of where I was standing. I couldn't very well move, though, because I was trying to stay near a very dear net-friend who was visiting me in the city... unfortunately, she didn't seem to enjoy it as much as I had hoped. Ah, well, you can't convert them all (as Lizzie would know...)
Speaking of Lizzie; yes, Murray was wearing your shirt. And though I've already told you about this, they even discussed it a bit during the banter...
Murray: "Is it just me or is it muggy? I really shouldn't be wearing a polyester blend." (approx.) Jian: "I don't think that's a -blend-..." Murray: "It's polyester blended with other polyesters."
The oft-mentioned King of Spain teaser was interesting... during the rather lengthly encore-pause (probably due to the broken string), part of the crowd began yelling "King of Spain! King of Spain!". When the boys finally came out again, Dave introduced the encore as a "sing-along, a pretty easy one..." Then, after a few more "Peking" jokes (there was a boat nearby named the "Peking" that the band was complaining about, saying it should have been the "Bejing"), Dave began with an extremely slow, empty version of King of Spain... confusing, especially since it was not yet obvious that they were stalling... then when the song sort of petered out... well, it wasn't too hard to figure out. It got a little tiresome after awhile, but it was worth it I think, for The Drinking Song... ah.
We had to leave early, so I didn't have a chance to meet the band
(the line was tremendous), see if I recognized anyone from FRFF,
etc., as I would have liked to... we had a train to catch. All in
all, though... lovely. Absolutely lovely. Can't wait for December...
Some other tidbits from the performance include:
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