because it's 3am, I'll spare you all the gory details of the show, which was amazing... the sound system ROCKED, and the mix was incredible, especially the bass.
setlist (these are not copied off an official one, I just like abbreviating :)
spidey jockey medicine splatter if only boss (off mic) sad girl pisco indy boo time half horse rush hold michigan darlington lp#9 --- lazy boy car --- drinking (acoustic!!!)
there were a couple of amazing improvs, too, that I'm sure someone else will tell you about... and hearing the Drinking Song acoustically was incredible... they all stood up in one of the balconies and played, with much audience participation.
ok, so I will make a few comments... for Spiderman, they started off stage doing an a capella fanfare (that sounded
familiar, but I can't identify...), and then going into Spidey, with Mike up
in the balcony the entire time. As a result, Jockey had a *very* extended
intro while Mike worked his way down to the stage.
during Get in the Car, Dave broke two strings and Mike signaled someone to
bring him the other guitar, which he switched to during Mike's solo.
the opener was amazing, too... for those who were in Bowling Green, this was
the band that included the guy who played with them on Jockey there... They
played for close to an hour (and one of them played a dumbek for one song!),
and got a tremendous response from the audience.
Michigan Militia was... the best I've ever heard it. the perfect mix really
helped this one, because the bass was *very* prominent, but the banjo was also
coming in clearly.
the atmosphere was a little strange, but certainly a nice contrast to the
smoky club full of drunk hecklers... the non-Frühead part of the audience
seemed to be a considerably older group than you usually see at shows, but
they were appreciative...
see you all in Philly. :)
From Kate:
*Sigh*
Three months without a Fruvous show is nearly inhumane, I've decided.
That's why I was so excited to pick Val up and head to Harrisburg for a show
at the *lovely* Whitaker Center.
The place is just gorgeous. Brand new and beautiful, complete with cool-ass
light fixtures about the (two)balconies and cushy, impeccably upholstered
seats. The stage was spacious and obviously designed for theater; I near
drooled over the fly space and three or four scene curtains. I thought I
saw more than one scrim too . . . but I digress.
The openers, a trio called Maggie, Pierce, and E.J. played some great,
offbeat tunes. I picked up one of their CDs, and I hope they'll get down to
Baltimore eventually. I'd really like the see a longer set. E.J., I
believe, said that he'd rather be a Frupie (like a groupie) than a Fruhead.
I was mucho impressed afterward when Pierce introduced himself to me and
pulled out his old Fruhead card to show me.
Anyway, around 8:25 Val and I and a few other people claimed some empty
seats at the very front of the room (they had been promised to us if they
remained empty until 8:15). The lights went down and over the speakers came
the rumblings of something Fruvous and a cappella. Murray, Jian, and Dave
wandered on stage singing the beginning of Spidey. No Mike though.
Suddenly, he appeared in the balcony, slinging webs and donning someone's
Canadian flag as a skirt. "We brought you the toque, then the toke. Now we
bring you the Can-apron."
Spidey led into a great version of Jockey, and Jian segued into Medicine
Show by noting that there were places in the U.S. (but certainly not in
Canada) where you could have your body altered. After that came one of the
best improvs of the night.
Dave began talking about going to see the latest teen horror flick, and Jian
somehow picked it apart. It got rambly, and finally Murray said "The segue
lurches on." Of course, that became a song. They'd play a few bars of a
smoky dirge with those lyrics, then someone would attempt the segue again .
. . then back to the song. This continued for a bit, and finally they
played Splatter.
Mike then issued a neat, tidy segue into If Only, after which Jian abandoned
his mic. "Can you hear me this way?" He had talked earlier about how the
average ticket price for a Fruvous show was $15, and that for that you get a
$17 show. That was something that Marcy Playground couldn't say. He wasn't
sure, he said, that they were ready, though, to play a $20 show (the price
of tickets for that evening's performance). So we might just get an $18
show. He suggested (in layman's terms :) that we take something home to
make up the extra $2, like a piece of the upholstery, or a lighting fixture.
Anyway, after If Only, Jian left the mic and assured us that we'd get a $20
show. With that, he jumped off-stage. Murray mimicked being old and weary,
but then jumped off after him. He was followed by Mike. Dave started the
song on-stage, but then joined the others in the stage left aisle. To be
honest, this was the *best* Boss I've ever heard. The harmonies were
*outstanding* . . . and the human voice is always so much better
unamplified.
They hopped back on-stage (with Dave and Mike displaying great dexterity, I
might add) and Jian started talking about how he got another free haircut
from the Elizabeth Arden Red Door Salon (or saloon as he called it in his
makeover special :), and about a magazine he saw there called Style. He
said that a poll of women (or at least people who would have sex with men)
were asked what makes a man sexy, and that 79% of them responded that they
liked slightly unshaven, rugged looking guys better. This, evidently, was
why Jian hadn't shaved in a few days. This led eventually into Sad Girl.
Then Mike told us all how excited they were that they got to be tour guides
. . . to a little town called
Flesherton, Ontario. Pisco inevitably followed :).
I can't remember if it was here or not that Jian started rubbing the stubble
on his face and talking about how he was going to grow a mustache to look
more Persian. He then began impersonating an Iranian (I guess) trying to
cross the Canadian border into America.
Eventually a few of us corrected the gender of his pronoun. "Whatever," he
said. "I'm thinking about Alexander Haig and the hostage crisis!"
This led Mike to comment on Madeleine Albright's raspy voice. "There's
someone jonesin' for a smoke, eh?"
This led to an extended Madeleine Albright jam. It was *hysterical*. o/~
She's Madeleine . . . smokin' Madeleine . . . o/~
Anyway, regardless of whether that improv was there or not, Indy was next
:).
This was followed by Boo Time, complete with Tobey personally delivering the
guys' hats to them.
Mike's Minnie notes are the following:
And the traditional "Smokin' a little boo with the Fruvous crew . . ."
Great fun :).
This was followed by Half As Much (always splendid), and here is where my
joy finally hit me. I discovered that I'd been smiling so much that my
cheeks actually hurt. Like, bad. I turned to Val and told her so :).
Okay, I'm getting tired. Here's the rest of the setlist:
The encores (not noted on Mike's setlist) were Lazy Boy, Get In the Car
(Dave breaks two strings and eventually gives up - a house crew member had
to get him another guitar), and a lovely rendition of the Drinking Song from
the balcony. Not many singing along, but Val and I certainly did.
And that was that. Afterward, we hung out a bit and I got back here to the
comfort of my dorm room at around 1:45. A wonderful night altogether. Can't
*wait* for Philly :).
Some other tidbits from the performance include:
Guard: "What is your nationality?"
Brown Guy (w/ Middle Eastern accent): "Uhhh . . . Canadian? Right,
Canadian."
Guard: "Do you have anything to declare?"
BG: "Just some explosives! I like to see your Secretary of State."
Guard: "What do you want to see him for?"
BG: "I just want to . . . talk with him."
3 mile island
Keystone stylin'
Susquehanna
Big pirhanna
IMAX keener
Jumbo screener
Hip Hop Hooray
M.P.E.J.
Horse
Rush
Hold
Michy (*huge* crowd response for this one)
Tureen
Sauce
Darlin'
Potion (Dave messed around with the amp feedback and was generally
hilarious)
The Pictures
Thanks to Ellen for these:
The Music
The Set
Closed with
Encore 1
Encore 2
Misc. Info
Back to the tour dates 1999 page
