From: owner-ammf-digest@smoe.org (alt.music.moxy-fruvous digest) To: ammf-digest@smoe.org Subject: alt.music.moxy-fruvous digest V1 #664 Reply-To: ammf@smoe.org Sender: owner-ammf-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ammf-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk alt.music.moxy-fruvous digest Thursday, September 24 1998 Volume 01 : Number 664 Today's Subjects: ----------------- No, The Fish Are Alright: Expedition '98, Part 3 (LONG) ["Arbie Fru" Subject: No, The Fish Are Alright: Expedition '98, Part 3 (LONG) [It's still Sirilyan, at Arbie's place. He'll be back soon, I promise. In the meanwhile, here's the news from....] KELOWNA, BRITISH COLUMBIA I flew out to Kelowna the morning of the 23rd. Kelowna is a beautiful-looking city, I guess, but what it mostly was to me was *spread out*. I caught the shuttle to the bus depot and purchased a return ticket to Salmon Arm, where the show that night would be. I passed time chatting with Sylvia, a hiker from Switzerland, who was on her way to Penticton. The Salmon Arm bus took me through some of the most beautiful scenery in Canada. I guess. I was asleep, dreaming that I was watching Noam Chomsky teaching a fish to talk. (Spend too much time around Fruvous and your dreams get *very* odd.) The bus finally stopped in Salmon Arm and I hauled my fatigued self off of it. SALMON ARM Salmon Arm is *beautiful*. There are no two ways about it. Phrases like "nestled in a valley in the Okanagan" are cliches but they become cliches because they're so obviously *true*! All around me were tall mounds of verdant green, calming and tranquil to look at until I happened to point my gaze in the direction of the burnt tracts that were where this summer's forest fires had happened. Salmon Arm had been evacuated for a few days because of the fires. Nature's beauty contains its own vengeance. I walked down the access road to an A&W for some food. I ordered a root beer and it arrived in a *mug*. A chilled mug. This was one of the coolest experiences so far this trip. But not the last! (Incidentally, it's named for a bend in the river where there was good fishing. No mutated piscine punks.) The Salmar Theatre is beautiful. It is an old theatre house where arthouse movies are normally shown, but it also has a nice, shell-shaped stage for performances. I wandered Salmon Arm's downtown (which, sadly, is a bit more impressive than the downtowns of some *cities* I've been in) and had a blueberry-flavoured Italian soda at a java place across the street, and a bagel at the place next to it (with some bagel chips - a neat little snack!). While I munched my bagel, two girls walked by. One of them indicated the marquee of the Salmar: "Those guys are famous musicians! Do you remember King of Spain?" (We bat .500 at least....) The Frubus arrived about four hours after I did, and I finally got to see inside the thing. I am amazed! They pack all six of their own selves *and* the equipment in that? I asked Mike the secret, and share it with you now: "Jenga." Salmon Arm has a wharf upon a lake. I don't know the name of the lake; I just know that the wharf is astounding looking, and the caw of seagulls made me homesick. Waiting outside the venue were *dozens* of people an hour before the show. I chatted with a fan named Adrian, who was wearing a Wood-era shirt he had purchased at the last Salmon Arm Fru-show. Down the line, two girls were harmonizing. A lot of families had come. Dayna opened again that night. She is so cool. But then, you already know that and are currently racing to the stores to buy _Volume I_, her first disc, right? The Fruvous portion of the show was strange, because the keyboard wasn't properly configured for Sahara. The crowd, already a little goofy and impatient, went a bit nuts when Cal came out to check it. :-) It hadn't been patched properly. Then the battery failed on it. Then the keyboard started acting up. By then, Cal was actually drawing bigger applause than the whole band had gotten during the introduction.... (Cute interlude: during this delay someone in the audience shouted out "Come out, we won't bite!" A girl behind me shouted back, "I will.") We eventually got Sahara, and a comment from the band afterward that the whole thing was really Spinal Tap. "Then the inflatable dog failed to inflate...." The boys decided they wanted a new introduction now that they were back in Kelowna (crowd goes wacky), so they called a little girl named Sarah up from the audience to do it. Sarah had a sudden shyness attack and nothing the boys could do, whether it was asking Mike to talk to her instead of Dave, or singing a song about her, could convince her to open her mouth. Eventually, they asked Murray to do the introduction lest they be there all night. "Ladies and gentlemen, Sarah's third favourite band, Moxy Fruvous." After the introduction they cut into BJ and Horseshoes. Jian commented on the crowd's attractiveness. Of course, just having come from Alberta, that could have just been a relative comparison.... Boss followed, and then the story of the one man who can help you if your pie burns, or you get a paper cut, or a meteor is about to destroy all life on earth - Peter Mansbridge! Nah. Wouldn't fit into the meter. Really Spidey, who introduced the new dance sensation - writhing on the floor - that would take the world by storm. After Sad Girl, the band discussed Peter and the way he foolishly threw away Wendy Mesley for Cynthia Dale. (Trust me, Americans, this is the A-list material.) Pisco and Moon. A buzz erupts in Jian's vocal mic. Sentence fragments make reviews chaotic. Mike picks up on the buzz and declares it is the official soundtrack for writhing. This time, at least, more than seven people in the audience got to see it. :-) Minnie, Car, and Kids followed. Jian commented on the response for the Quebec line - in nearly every other province, the crowd screams out "NO!" In Alberta, half of them were screaming out "YES!" but at least they were right on top of things. In B.C. ("not to stereotype about you people"), the crowd waits for about six seconds (Jian mimes taking the joint out of his mouth) and then says "Oh man, are they asking us a *question*?".... I Will Hold On followed, and then Murray's rather nice, and somewhat poetic, introduction of Tureen, interrupted by Dave's coughing fit. "Don't you mean the present time in *Michigan*, Murray?" I was on the floor. After Michigan Militia the topic of conversation turned to Burton Cummings and his famous objectivity. Well, not his famous objectivity. Let's just say there are rumors about his head.... the boys discussed a recent documentary on Burton where his ego was quite evident, and Jian related the story of being at a dinner held in Burton's honour because they had the same agent, where Mr. C would say things like "There's nothing like waking up in the morning and seeing the sun shining off twenty-three gold records." (Mime: Jian turns to his next-seat neighbour to share a laugh.... smile falls as he sees that this isn't a joke.... turns back with stunned face, clapping mechanically with everyone else.) ("But we don't want to turn this into a slag-Burton-Cummings show--" "Oh yes we do!" - Mike and Jian.) They cut into American Woman at the drop of a hat, with the lyrics somewhat rewritten for the occasion, Mike on lead. The crowd was a-roar. Finally, after all that, we got Tureen, Saucep'n, and Message. Kingreen and Potion closed out the set, and Authors was the first encore. The two girls who'd commented on the show earlier that day, and had been harmonizing outside, started jiving to the song. It was just the coolest moment of the night. But only to date, for then someone in the audience shouted out "Drinking Song!" and Jian smiled. "Well, normally we do close with the Drinking Song, but seeing as we're in such a great theatre, we thought we'd do something different...." Gulf War Song. Off mic. *Gulf* *War* *Song*. Off mic. My God, it was Gulf War Song. And though other things happened that night, I think that's a perfect place to close. More from B.C. soon. - -D., Vancouver, British Columbia, 11:22am 9/24/98 ------------------------------ Date: 24 Sep 1998 20:33:25 GMT From: "Arbie Fru" Subject: Delayed Orgasm: Expedition '98, Part 2 (LONG) [NOTE: Sirilyan once again finds a keyboard where he can take a set of notes and turn them into observations on the trip. We will return to your regularly scheduled Arbie shortly.] EDMONTON In Edmonton I was, for the first time on this trip, alone. I had no Drea to dance by my side and no Doug Levy to discuss the state of political affairs with. It was an interesting feeling as WestJet flung its way through the Alberta skies to the city that, until now, I had known only as The Other Alberta City. I disembarked from the airport, backpack in tow, and caught the shuttle service downtown to the new Edmonton International Hostel on 81st Avenue and 106th Street. The weather was sunny and *warm*, a welcome diversion from the gooey, sleety mess that had been Calgary. The hostel is excellent. There are nice, large rooms. The washrooms are good. There's a reading room *and* a games room, complete with a huge mural map of the world on the wall, which you can even mark up with chalk. (That night, I made a nice big indication of where Saskatoon belongs in the world.) Seeing the graffiti from all across the world made me really feel like a global citizen. One-Worlders, take note: screw the Trilateral Commission, go after the hostels! One block up from the hostel, on 82nd Avenue (also known as Whyte Avenue), is one of the main drags of the city. This area of Edmonton is known as Strathcona. It is full of trendy shops, neat restaurants, and bars. As well, everyone in Strathcona is more beautiful than you are. I wasted no time in asking at the hostel front desk how to get to a net cafe so that I could visit my friends in #m (and hello, y'all, again), but before I got there my hunger caught up with me and I had the most incredible quesadilla con pollo I've ever tasted, at a restaurant called Julio's Barrio. I almost regret not having tried the nacho plate, but chips just ain't the way I swing. While I was there, I sent a note to Gabby informing her that I'd be around, and giving a description of myself. I'd arrived in Edmonton a day before the band did, so it behooved me to kill time. I also needed to buy tickets, so I returned to the hostel and asked for directions to the Sidetrack Cafe. Easy! Just go up 81st to 112th, turn right, find University Station, take the LRT to Corona, and then go to 104th and 112th! It might have been easier if I'd already figured out this navigational aid I give to you all as a present: everywhere I was in Edmonton, the street number of a building divided by 100 was the number of the cross street. 10646 81st Avenue is between 106th and 107th Streets. It only took me *four hours* to decipher this. Let nobody call me intelligent, lest mockery harms them not. It is somewhat ominous that next to University Station, the U of Alberta urban rail stop, is a mall. It is even more ominous that the Hub Mall, which really *is* on campus, is extremely large and contains many stores I recognised. I did, in fact, get a bit lost once I got out at Corona Station. I was also slightly creeped. Corona station is on Jasper Avenue, which is a six-lane throughway in the middle of town. It was a Sunday, and the streets were nearly empty with almost no pedestrian traffic. I felt vaguely isolated as I wandered. If civilization had ended during my walk up Jasper, I might not have been able to tell the difference. The Sidetrack is nestled, somewhat confusingly, more on 112th Street than 104th Avenue. It is behind a Starbucks and looks somewhat like a train station. In fact, an actual train car has been made part of the decor in back! It's very cool. I purchased one ticket for the show the next night from (and I say this without reservation) the most beautiful waitress I have ever seen, and returned home to roost. I chatted a bit later with my roommates, two of whom were from British Columbia, and the third who was a tech support contract worker from England. (Have I mentioned yet that I love hostels?) That night I decided to partake of a bit of Irish music, as I'd seen that O'Byrne's, a pub on Whyte, was having a band in and had no cover. I headed over and found a table on the second level, but was not impressed. The band was doing old traditional instrumentals, and I find I've been spoiled by bands like GBS and Spirit of the West. I did quaff a bit of Guinness before heading on my way, and retiring for the night. (Fruvous? What's that? Hush, punkins, the show happens tomorrow.) EDMONTON, DAY TWO It was a beautiful day in Edmonton, again. I now knew exactly where I was going and had a ticket burning a hole in my pocket, so I decided to do something that I had been planning for weeks: I decided to dye my hair. I wandered out onto Whyte and entered the first hair place I came across (yes, I know this may sometimes not be a survival strategy). Out came the color samples, where I picked what I felt was a nice, Tori Amos type shade. I discussed Edmonton and Saskatoon with the hairdresser as we waited for the dye to set. Though all of Edmonton may not live up to what I saw during my trip, it is safe to say that Strathcona is one of the most beautiful and rocking neighbourhoods I've ever seen. (And I only got about three blocks each way! I still have so much to explore!) Best money I've ever not been able to afford to spend. With mane of red and heart of gold, I wandered back out into the world. To the net cafe for a bit of chatter... I checked my mail and found that Gabby would indeed be at the show that night! Woohoo. Now I knew *one* person in Edmonton. I returned to the hostel to hang for a few hours, where I'd like to think I made some new friends - Tim from Melbourne and Rebecca from Vancouver. At around 5pm, I took my sorry ass back up to the Sidetrack. I was shown to my table and saw that it wasn't that bad. The decor was mostly dark, stained, well-worn wood. A fireplace was in a corner opposite the stage, and the aforementioned train car was behind the stage as a dining area. But more importantly, there was a dance floor! Oh my very yes, I would not be at that table very long tonight at all. I wandered the Sidetrack for a bit and then spotted Dayna having a bit of supper with two other folks. I wandered over, introduced myself, and intruded upon their meal. :-) The other two folks were Perry, her sound man, and Brad, a Dayna fan who was at the show to see her. We had a bit of a discussion comparing Fruheads and Dayniacs. I tooled around, taking in the decor, which is *really* nice (have I mentioned yet how impressed I am with the Sidetrack?). Later, I saw come in two women, one of whom was blonde, so I wandered over to ask "Excuse me, are you Gabby?" That could have gone poorly under the wrong circumstances, but it really was our favorite Edmontonian! I assure every single one of you that you are jealous of me for having met her. I shared setlists and a tale or two with her while waiting for a vegetarian pizza to arrive from the kitchen. The pizza was *very* neat and fine - a surprise to me, and another stereotype crumbling to dust, considering that I was in Alberta. Dayna hit the stage about 20 minutes after the announced time (yes, I know you're all shocked that a Fruvous show could be behind schedule) and was her usual angelic self. Her voice had been steadily improving since Winnipeg where she was getting over the last traces of a cold, and tonight she was just incredible, all the way from the opening "Half the Man" to the close. She even played some piano! I've really gotten to liking her music, and will have a CD by the end of the tour. Call me a Dayniac, I guess. Fruvous finally got onstage at about 11pm, with the Sahara extended mix that we have all grown to love. I needed it! Two days without it in Calgary had left me a hollow, empty shell of a man, even if I did get to quaff like a Viking at the Dalhousie Community Centre. Gabby and I were at the side of the stage, blissing out to the sound of doumbek. After Sahara they cut into Jockey and BJ. Jian wandered around the stage for a few seconds before they cut into Video Bargainville - and he explained later that the reason he was doing so is that he had forgotten some of the lyrics. :-) He could only sing if he wasn't thinking about it - - sort of like being nineteen years old and delaying orgasm. They cut into a peppy little delayed-orgasm improv at that point, and asked those of us reviewing to erase VB from the review. Er, what I meant to say for that last paragraph was, "After finishing BJ, they sang a song about dessert flambe entitled After Dinner Emotion. I really wish they'd done Video Bargainville that night." Jian noted (as had I) that the waitstaff at the Sidetrack Cafe was incredibly good-looking. It might have been, he opined, a result of the Alberta eugenics program of the 1940s. A quick improv about the waitstaff left me on the floor giggling. Horseshoes, an improv about the vernal equinox, Sad Girl, and Pisco followed. Everyone appears to give Pisco and Sad great response on the tour so far. For some reason, the groove barrier broke for me during Pisco. I lost all inhibition on the dance floor, and felt myself moving a lot more freely. It was so damn cool. :-) Post-Pisco, Dave mentioned that they were planning on growing gills so that they could hold the all-aquatic show they'd been discussing. "There's good money in those fish conventions," Murray agreed. Who knows what pay equity *won't* be bringing from dear old boss? Moon and Boo followed ("Don't get bushwhacked/ you wanna get sidetracked"), then Kids, Fly, Michysauce and Message. Next was that damn-fast-and-furious Kingreenauthorcar mix I love so well, even if my Pilot doesn't.... Potion closed the set. The crowd was full of energy still, and a rousing roar of applause brought Our Heroes back out for Psycho Killer... and out *again* for Drinking. What a fine experience. I got back to the hostel and had to stay awake until 5am, because I dared not sleep and miss the airport shuttle for my flight to Kelowna. But that's a tale for another post..... Coming soon, Part 3 of Expedition '98, complete with lifetime warranty. With Doug, quality is job oen. - -D., Vancouver BC, 10:40am 9/24/98 ------------------------------ End of alt.music.moxy-fruvous digest V1 #664 ********************************************