Hey! I think for this one I'll have to do a setlist seeing as how there haven't been too many reviews yet...

here goes:
Substitute
1/2
Horseshoes
Letter N banter =>Gnome Banter
BJ-"Buddha and a brush"
ID4-echo effect
More Gnome banter
Fly
PTT (the intro being something about gnomes and elves being enemies. even
though they can get together against the "Biggins")
Saucep'n
L-Z Boy
Pisco
Minnie
Disco
Splatter^2
IWHO
MBLABOA-"My Crucifiction" (Dave breaks string)
GITC
Shit
Psycho Killer
Encores: Michy
KoS-During the intro, Jian says completely randomly "He's no mormon!"
GE&H-this had one of the funniest things I've ever seen in it, but I'll get to
that in a minute
TDS-truly beautiful...you could tell the guys put their all into it...

Ok, now onto the usual Leopard Lady style review!

The opener rocked. Russell Wolff (sp? My great apologies if that's wrong!) is so funny! Talented guitarist too...his style reminded me of a slightly tamer Ani DiFranco's. (even though he uses picks.) ; ) I was thoroughly impressed. Because his new album is called "Nipple," he had rubble nipples for baby bottles with key chains "pierced" on them. Nipples were the source of at least one of everyone's (and I mean everyone in the room everyone!) jokes that night.

There were a number of plastic garden gnomes on the stage. I recall reading a review from a while back of some fan giving the lads the gnomes, so I had a frame of reference. There were some that were signed, but about the same number of gnomes that were unsigned present.

Of the four guys, Mike and Murray seemed to be in the best spirits. I noticed from the get-go that Murray was totally rocking out, and told him as much after the show. It was really hot in the club, and they were all looking slightly uncomfortable from that. Jian was drenched by 15 minutes into the show. He commented on what the heat was doing to his hair, and the fact his unnamed "hair product" was dripping down his face.

Mike was wearing a funny shirt that said, "I *heart* Pie," so some drunk weirdo stage Dave shouts "I LOVE PIE!!!" So Jian goes, "Great...that's great..." and

Murray picked up with, "How much do you love pi?"

Jian: "Can you say it to the 10th decimal?"

Murray: "Anyone who can say it to the tenth decimal, leave."

Behind the stage was a giant Molson sign which I chuckled over when peering in from outside the venue. I knew they would mention it (Molson being a Canadian beer and all), and sure enough, they did. They'd had it covered, and Jian said it was because they were big-business, and they preferred micro-brews, yadda yadda yadda...and because Molson wasn't sponsoring this tour. ; ) However, the "N" at the end of "Molson" wasn't covered, so Mike pipes up with, "Tonight's show is brought to you by the letter "N" ", and someone else chimed in with, "And the word "nipple"." This sounds like a very Murray thing to say, and I think it might have been him. There was a whole banter about the letter n.

Highlights of this are:

Jian:"Pi to the nth power"

Mike: (repeating through the song Jian started)"Between the M and the O..."

This led to commentary about the gnomes. Murray said the N was such a noble letter it gave the glory of being the first letter in the word gnome to the letter G. The guys commented on how there were more gnomes than there had been before, which led to the inserting of the word "gnome" into reproductive terms.

Jian: "Chromosgnomes"

Dave: (commenting they must have migrated) "Gnomads"

Murray: "Zygnomes"

Mike: "I get mitosis. Shit."

At some point during the set, Mike dropkicked one of the gnomes...this was hilarious. I think it was also sometime around here that Mike shouts out, "Popcorn Chicken!" I was suddenly reminded of the "Chicken Roti Boneless" improv from Friday, and just before I could say it out loud, Jian starts playing the drum beat and says quietly in the carribean voice, "Chicken roti boneles..." I laughed so hard...

I didn't take notes on the "2 Legit 2 Quit" banter, but my friend Geoff[1] and I were singing it the next day. Mike was absolutely hilarious...the whole Virtual Insanity thing was awesome. Methinks he really dug that ghetto hat he was wearing.

The funniest part of the night (I thought, anyway), was during GE&H during Jian and Mike's "LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO HIM!" bit. Mike growled, got down off the riser on the stage where the congas and keyboard were, went downstage, grabbed a gnome and took it back to the congas. He then proceeded to take out a book of matches, lit one, and tried to SET THE GNOME ON FIRE. He then DID IT AGAIN. During all of this, he said in a cross between a ghetto/beavis&butthead voice "I love that f**king shit, man! I love it!"

TDS was really wonderful...I was surrounded by fruheads who I'd finally gotten to meet, and my friend Geoff had gone with me and he was totally enthralled too. I swayed between him and Kath. (HI KATH!!!) It was so great...the guys seemed totally into it, and the vibe of being with friends, and toasting to absent friends, and love and all the warm fuzzy feelings associated with TDS were flying through my part of the room. My sympathies to those who didn't feel such love...it was in abundance where I was.

After the show, I said hi to Jian and Mike, and talked to Murray. Poor Dave had been whisked back to the hotel to go back to bed right after the show had ended. I talked to Cal after the show and learned what a nutty guy he is...I totally dug talking to him. He'd taken one of the nipples Russell Wolff had given out and put it on his flashlight. He genuinely scared Geoff with said prop. (He actually scared me with it...but I loved it too!)

That's about it...oh...I made an interesting bit of an idiot of myself in front of Murray...I told him I was mad at Mike for a piece of banter on Wednesday night that dissed on the street I live on...and it wasn't until *last night* I realised Mike had been making a fairly obvious sexual innuendo. ::sigh:: So now Murray must think I'm an innocent...::chuckle::

Okay...that's where the notes end, so that's where the review ends!

Hugs to Kath, MC, Fiona, Angie, Lawrence, Anita, Amanda, Kev, AdamH, Nate, Paul, Andrea, Jason, Catherine, Rob, Leah, Dan G, other Dan, Loren, Mindy, Anna, Kat Kunz, Lori, Ellen and anyone else I missed! It was a BLAST!!!

[1] Geoff was the short guy in the leather jacket & Fantastic Four shirt who was with me. He is now a fruhead, btw. He might go to Frucon with some friends of his from school. This improves my chances of going.

From Eric:

YEEEEE-HAAAWW!!!!

that was my reaction to saturdays show! I'm not really one to write show reviews but I can't help myself on this one.

ok to start off, the opening act!! Russell Wolff. WOW. What a GREAT opening act, very energetic, very entertaining. Very Nipple. I couldn't help but to buy his new cd and get a free pierced nipple keychain. I talked to him for a few after the show and he asked me to send emails make calls or whatever i could do to get him to open for fruvous again....so whatta ya say gang, how bout it? I know I'd love to hear him again in concert.

Fruvous: after waiting for what seemed an eternity after Russ's set ended..they came out and opened with surprisingly enough...Substitute!! First time I've heard that live, was great! then into half as much, energetic as always. i don't remember quite all the set list but what i do remember is:

horseshoes- Jian managed to tell a sad story and get everyones sympathy

Independance Day- some cool echo effects on this one. is it just me or does this song just seem sooo much cooler live??

*comments on the gnomes*...leading into Present tense tureen.

saucep'n...with much audience sing along

lazy boy- hehe i just love this live

pisco- with an intro that got into how canadians hate americans and some other stuff that i really can't remember...

minnie- Grandpa fruvous came out and started doing a little karate kid action, some good star trek lines

(Disco)VIDEO BARGAINVILLE!!!!- first time i saw this was at falcon ridge and i've been dying to hear it again since. Ohh i just love it, makes me want to kick out some John Travolta-saturday night fever dance moves. Although I'd look like a complete ass doing so...:-)

other songs that my memory fails me on.....

1st encore: michy...good good, energetic. in the middle of the song dave's banjo broke and he just set it down and started dancing!! I loved it!!

2nd Encore: king -> green- i always love this! dave's sporting the blue MF hat for his crown. mike tried to burn one of the gnomes during green eggs.

3rd encore: drinking song- my favorite way to end a show...audience singing along.

now i know i'm missing plenty from that...but that the best i can do right now.

We stayed afterwards to talk to the guys and get some pictures. They all seemed quite tired and not at all healthy. This worries me to some extent here. I do love getting to see the lads perform at every opportunity that i can get, but i wish for their own health that they could slow down some of their touring. Maybe next year will be a bit slower. I'll probably get crucified for that last comment but I can't imagine how miserable it must be to be in a bus all your life. i don't know...

well thats my attempt at a review. thanks for your patience.

From Kait:

Again, I apologize for my long-windedness... There's a straight set list at end.

First, I have to give some kudos to Russell Wolff, the opening act. He handled the Früheads so well, had the greatest time ever, and played good music. I never get tired of watching up-and-coming musicians enjoying themselves. He was just overwhelmed by the response and it was awesome to watch. Plus, he's funny. Highlight of his banter... with the gnomes making another appearance, he started the night well when he said, "I reached down for my water and I wasn't sure which gnome's head to suck on." Anyway, the guy's great and his album is great (I couldn't resist buying it). www.russellwolff.com That's all about that.

So Moxy... general comments: Dave started out looking like death, but he got better as the night progressed. They all looked tired, to tell you the truth. And there were some real gems in the way of banter, but the music was nothing extraordinary (for Moxy, I mean... after all, isn't Früvous always extraordinary). There were some highlights, of course, so here's my commentary in full.

Opening:

Substitutes. (Well, it wasn't the most energized opener I've seen.)

Set:

Half as Much. (Great for picking up the pace/ energy for them and us.)

A quick nod to all the "Albanians" (of course!) and we were off! Jian: [random drunk guy who yelled "I love pie!" (Mike was wearing his "I love pie" shirt) must be a "spiritual brother to Mr. Mike Ford."

Horseshoes.

Quickly, the guys proceeded to thank the Northern Lights staff for covering up the huge "MOLSON" that had been serving as the backdrop. Leave it to Jian to articulate the band's ideological issues with the endorsement. However, the staff left the last 'N' uncovered and Jian explained the real reason they had asked the staff to cover the "MOLSO": This show was being brought to us by the letter 'N.' 'N' is for Northern, 'N' is for Nexus, 'N' is for Nipple! (Look out for the mass of nipple jokes coming in honor of Russ Wolff, whose new record is called "Nipple." The guy was even giving out rubber nipple key chains.) Jian: It's "pie to the nth degree!"

The Letter N Theme Song (a mostly instrumental groove). N is for gnomes!?! Murray: "See how unselfish the letter 'N' is?... 'I'll give 'g' the first letter.'"

BJ Don't Cry. (the fresh line was something about Russ Wolff's nipple)

Then some banter about Jian's hair product, which was presently drooling all over his face. Highlights... Murray: "If you want my advice, go for the afro." Jian: calls Murray Christopher Walken. Murray: suggests Jian lick it off his face. Dave: "I got some stuff for [your hair]." Jian: "Nair?"

Independence Day (with echo).

Then some banter about the procreating gnomes (they had doubled since the last time). (Procreating but all male??) Bad but wonderfully entertaining puns. Mike: "They must have split up into chromos-gnomes." Jian: "...zy-gnomes." Dave: "I guess they couldn't find their way gnome." Somehow, Jian split off into making the crowd feel sorry for him as he launched into...

Fly. (I thought this was terrific tonight. Impassioned. Although, in their state of mind, I expected to find this emotion in a rendition of Homeward Bound - or Gnome-ward Bound, Amanda?)

Then Murray picked up one of Russ' nipples that someone had thrown on stage and commented on the size of the nipple. Then back to the gnomes... mention of the gnomes' nemesis introduced...

Present Tense Tureen. (Dave did not look good at all.)

Johnny Saucep'n. (A rockin' version. I felt that this was the point at which the show really started picking up. It got more and more energized from this point on.)

Lazyboy. (Same as above)

Banter (if it can be called that) about "Virtual Insanity" with Mike in his "ghetto" hat. This was when Mike started getting violent. He kicked his first gnome. Yes, Mike was definitely in a violent mood last night. I think he needed a release. Good thing it was the gnomes and not the front-row Früheads! Then some banter about American exploitation of Canada for things like shoes.

Pisco Bandito. (Can there be any doubt as to how absolutely cool Murray looks when he sings this song? He's got the greatest stance, no?)

Grandpa Früvous, who also seemed to be acting as mentor to the karate kid, introduced...

Minnie the Moocher. Great verse about Star Trek, for all you Trekkies/ers out there.

Banter about Früvous... Jian: we're aspiring to be "the next Olivia Newton John" and "giving the They Might Be Giants newsgroup a run for their money." (At which point everyone in the front row stage Murray looked at Lawrence. Hm.)

Disco Bargainville (with only one false start... In the middle, Mike and Murray were trading guitar lines and Jian said, "I feel like I'm in a porn video... not in a bad way.)

Splatter Splatter. (Mike hit his head on the mic. I thought that was sort of funny.)

I Will Hold On.

Random spurts of "We wear short shorts." Then Mike puts his "ghetto" hat back on and we get "Can't Touch This" and "2 Legit 2 Quit." They had fun with this. With Mike keeping his hat on (I think he grew an attachment to it), they went into...

My Baby Loves a Bunch of Authors. Gotta love Jian's "I was looking straight" and Murray's "my crucifiction." Why did I laugh at those even though I'd heard them a million time? I'm so easy (no comments).

A nod to frütripping, specifically Frücon and...

Get in the Car.

Your New Boyfriend.

Psycho Killer. (Mike went insane kicking the gnomes again.)

Encore 1:

Jian: "A song from our new album, 'Pyromania'"

Michigan Militia. (I must have had the worst seat ever for this, but I couldn't understand an ounce of what went through the distorter. What made up for it twenty times over? Dave's banjo broke and he just put it down and started doing this really silly dance. It was good to see him being silly and having a good time.)

Encore 2:

Introduced by "...corrective surgery posterboy, Mike Ford" as... a monarch with a mane and four legs (Mike sings "Can You Feel the Love Tonight") and as Charlie Brown (Mike does the Peanuts "teacher voice")...

King of Spain.

Green Eggs and Ham. (two high energy Dave songs in a row... wow. This man is a saint... a saint pumped up on beer, cigarettes, and cold medicine... of course, the highlight was when Mike took out a matchbook and started *burning* one of the gnomes)

Then Toby went around and collected all the gnomes and threw the bag out into the audience (I hope they got their gnomes back okay).

Encore 3:

Drinking Song.

So, it was a lovely show. It really picked up towards the end and, as all Früvous shows tend to do, it put me in a great mood! : ) Everyone but Dave came out at the end, wearied and dragging, but there nonetheless. My recent Früfriend, Bailey, will have to explain it to you, but we found out that Murray is Faust.

Despite being in the middle of final exams, it was well worth the journey.

Please everyone have a lovely, safe holiday season. I will see many of you for New Year's!

Cheers!

Kaitlyn

Set List (from Mike's... snatched for me by a big security guard at the request of Russell Wolff =)

subs
1/2
horse
BJ
indy
fly
tureen
sauce
lazy
pisco
minnie
video
splat
hold
author
car
shit
psycho

michy
king, green
lose, drink

(they skipped Lose That Girl in the third encore... : / )

And since the guard got me Russ' set list too...

My Girl

The Net

Cop

Brian Q/Supermarket

Nipple

un-named

Promised Land

Road Rage

From Tamra:

well, i made it to this show after all....see, i had to deliver something to the band from my kids that we could not give them the night before in amherst because the little one was tired and we left right after the show....yeah, that's the story, and i'm stickin' to it....

anyway, I am so glad i made it to this show as i was able to identify a major problem. Fire up those letter writing skills...at least a few dozen fruheads are in desperate need of your support. It seems they are victims of the 70's - 80's school budget cuts that fostered the idea that kindergarten was not mandatory. These poor folks have *no clue* that a line forms *from the rear*!!

There must be something we can do for these poor, poor misguided fruheads...a compulsory, GED-type, kindergarten course of some kind...grab your pen and write your congressmen.....its the least we can do! Of course,

i haven't really read the FAQ, so if there is some seniority clause i'm not aware of, well, just kick me in the head and color me sorry....

(Ack, cough cough)...there! Coughed up that annoying little furball that was the only blight on which was otherwise the warmmest, fuzziest fruweekend i'll ever see

Loved Russell Wolff...a genuinely funny & nice guy both onstage & off -- he deserves more exposure...demand him at your local venue(s).

I was unprepared for the crush of fans at CP(i don't actually "club" much at all!)...but had a blast dancing and grooving with Ellen(Hi!) in my little space...as it was only my fourth show and i knew that the guys were tired and not altogether well, I was *overly* amazed at the energy I witnessed...hung out after (and with Adam's help) was able to pass on the kid's present to murray.

What a weekend, two shows! I guess i'm set til spring now....!

Thanks to Kat for this one:
• Dave's setlist

Some other tidbits from the performance include:

• Feel free to help contribute to this section!