From: owner-ammf-digest@smoe.org (alt.music.moxy-fruvous digest) To: ammf-digest@smoe.org Subject: alt.music.moxy-fruvous digest V3 #828 Reply-To: ammf@fruvous.com Sender: owner-ammf-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ammf-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk alt.music.moxy-fruvous digest Monday, September 20 1999 Volume 03 : Number 828 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: I have a college pal... ["Novac" ] Re: OT: Bern Lyrics ["Novac" ] Re: Liners (was Re: Jian's smile) ["Novac" ] Re: What I have determinded... ["Novac" ] Re: OT: Bern Lyrics ["Novac" ] Detroit show. review, setlist, the works. :) [Lawrence P Solomon ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 19 Sep 1999 22:11:15 -0400 From: "Novac" Subject: Re: I have a college pal... Erin Ireland wrote in message news:19990919140547.02774.00002135@ng-cf1.aol.com... > -The sign says, "Most patrons always please rewind," or something to this > effect. > -Contrary to this, most people don't rewind. > [snip] > What's not to understand? The basic confusion is the fact the song says "most patrons always 'please rewind'", which is the exact opposite of what you stated. The problem seems to be some confusing phrasing. - --Novac ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 19 Sep 1999 22:08:50 -0400 From: "Novac" Subject: Re: OT: Bern Lyrics katy wrote in message news:19990919134939.08480.00002052@ng-fk1.aol.com... > i was misunderstood... i meant why would he do the comparison of louis > farrakhan and phyllis diller.... because i got the monroe-miller reference, > just not the live show one. Oh, as far as that one, I think he just used it because it's a hilarious switch for the normal lyrics. Random names, but they have the same # of syllables, and diller rhymes with miller. Perhaps there's some rhyme or reason, but I don't think so. Just fun :) - --Novac ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 19 Sep 1999 22:14:42 -0400 From: "Novac" Subject: Re: Liners (was Re: Jian's smile) I hate to be the first one to point this out, but according to the letters you actually wrote, you gave an acronym for "LINEN", and used the word "record" for the second N :) And I don't see what linen has to do with record sales :P - --Novac, official MOTO. wrote in message news:565f55ab.251455aa@aol.com... > Some people call it lyrics booklet, others liner notes, liners for short. > Incidentally, one time when I was really bored, I and my friends figured out > that liners is *actually* an acronym: L = little, I = inside, N = notes, E = > enclosed, + in, + the, and N = record. Therefore, liners are little inside > notes enclosed in the record. [1] > -mm- > [1] redundant, eh? > "I kiss you, you're beautiful" ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 19 Sep 1999 22:28:34 -0400 From: "Novac" Subject: Re: What I have determinded... > OK. I've read the posts where people say "Well, I chatted with Jian for a while..." or "Dave came up and hugged me.." and I was just wondering how can you casually say this? Well, here's my perspective on things: When I talk with Jian (I choose him because he comes out most frequently, and I've talked with him the most), Jian is very personable and friendly. One of the ways that helped break down the "starstruck" phenomenon was that Jian actually came up to me after a few shows and said "Hey Novac, what's going on?" After that, it was less about "talking to the stars" and more about "talking to some cool guys with a ton of talent". He isn't concerned with keeping a "star" status in our eyes (else he wouldn't come out very much, if at all). When I'm talking to him, I don't even try to talk about music-related issues (though it's hard not to slip in a "Great show tonight" or "I can't believe you talked about ____ onstage"). I'm more concerned about talking with Jian about his ideas and views...just ask him sometime about exactly why he's anti-Starbucks. He's got some really great points, several of which weren't brought up on this NG when I saw the thread earlier this year. So, when the FruLads are off-stage, I try to chat with them as "cool guys", not "stars"...while at the same time respecting that they are the genii (I know, I know) behind the phenomenon called Moxy Fruvous. *gasp for air* *stepping off the soap box, and onto a shoe box* - --Novac PS: Having been to about three dozen shows and talking to band members after many of them helps, too :P ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 19 Sep 1999 22:34:43 -0400 From: "Novac" Subject: Re: OT: Bern Lyrics > yeah, that's probably true... remind me never to rationalize dan bern lyrics... > the last time that happened was "beautiful trees" and i didn't win. > katy Yeah, I'm quite cerebral and try to rationalize everything as well, but between Fruvous, Bern, BNL, Weird Al, and Ookla the Mok [plug: http://www.otmfan.com ], I've learned to be able to accept random, meaningless phrases as being just that. I've also learned to accept random, meaningless phrases as having some sort of hidden or obscure meaning (Mike's People should understand this one the best). - --Novac ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 19 Sep 1999 22:58:02 -0400 From: Lawrence P Solomon Subject: Detroit show. review, setlist, the works. :) So I just got back from Chicago, and now that I'm at my computer again I can post my reviews of the two shows. But I'll do them separately to avoid any confusion. :) Detroit. The Magic Bag. Despite having a very hard time actually *finding* The Magic Bag, I actually managed to get there before there was a huge line and got to chat with lots of Fruheads. This was fun. Got in and found that it was a smallish venue with tables and chairs set up on large step-like things. And there were tables and chairs in the lowest level, but the bouncers told me I could stand unless people were bothered by it. So I went right up to the stage and pretty soon after that everyone was up there anyway. I guess no one complained. :) The opener, whose name I'm not going to try to spell, was decent, but the songs were a bit too slow to hold the audience's attention. He was a good guitarist and he had a good voice, and the lyrics were cool, too, but most of the songs seemed to go on and on and on... he played for about a half hour, with much chatter in the background, and left the stage at about 10. A little bit of waiting and setup, and Fruvous took the stage around 10:30. Because I think it's easier to parse this way, I'll give the songs, then my "descriptions." Poor Napoleon - Ok, so I must be the only Fruhead who had never heard this song at all until Friday night. (sorry, I just haven't listened to any Elvis Costello) But I thought that they did an excellent job and I can really see how this is a nice opener. Given that, I started wondering what else we could expect from a show that they opened with this. (I could see Mike's and Dave's setlists but was trying hard not to look at them) Half as Much - well, they didn't *open* with it. :) It's a good starter, though, and high energy. Plus it's on Thornhill, which they seem to be promoting heavily for some reason. :) Too Careful - I love this song more and more every time I hear it. Especially the tone of the second verse. Something about it. Really nice. If Only You Knew - Another of my favorites on Thornhill. And excellent live. The vocals are so well emoted. Video Bargainville - Dance remix, as usual. Three false starts (it took some of the newcomers a while to figure it out, I guess :) And this version doesn't break up the set nearly as much as the other, although hearing it after If Only You Knew seemed a bit out of place. Sad Girl - The "let's torture Murray" part of the show. They seem quite fond of attempting to do some sort of improv bit while Murray is at the drums. It's amusing, to say the least. And I can't remember what subject they were on this time. The Lazy Boy - surprisingly, no reference to the fact that the home of La-Z-Boy is only a short distance from Detroit. (I guess they came from Toronto, and you only see the sign coming up 75 from the south :) Boo Time - "Raising our flag at the Magic Bag." and other fun rhymes. Independence Day - Don't get me wrong, but there are a lot of songs from Thornhill that I'd rather they be playing at *every single show* than this one. It's a great song, but it is kind of slow, and they've done at at each of the last 5 shows. Maybe because it's the only Murray song on the album. But they could throw in Pisco every now and then, too. :) Earthquakes - Yay! I love this one live. Excellent percussion from Jian on this one, although some of the vocal timing seemed a little off - it sounded like someone missed a beat in the first verse. Still, I love this song, and the audience was very into it, as well. Present Tense Tureen - for once, Lori and Trace weren't there to torment me with "That's not a *tureen*, it's a *tureen*." :) Johnny Saucep'n - exaggerated breathing on Cantaloupe from Jian, and I almost made it through the whole thing. (not quite, still working at it :) I Will Hold On - I forget what the intro to this one was, or if there even was one, but I always love hearing it. There were some people singing the backing vocals, but not many, and none of them were on stage. :) Marion Fruvous - !!! Excellent! I haven't heard this since last summer, and when they started talking about where they got their name, I got pretty excited about it (hey, it was either this or Cedric :) A bunch of fake definitions and explanations were given, and they then went into the song (and no offense to anyone who lives *in* Detroit, but... the song was kind of appropriate, I think. I didn't see much of the city, but what I did see looked quite filthy) Authors - Oh, boy, this was amusing. Started out perfectly fine. Then Dave decided to get on Jian's streetcar. "The driver said 'I was looking fabulously straight!'" and Dave lost it. Kept playing guitar, mumbled a few things into the mic, and got some comments about "Um, lyrics?" and went right into the refrain. However, Dave did *not* break any strings this time so they were able to do the traditional ending. :) Get in the Car - Look at the Fruheads dancin'! There wasn't a huge amount of space, but most people in the back were just sitting down, so it was a little calm except right up front. Splatter Splatter - with the BJ drum intro (this is getting confusing, since the instrumentation is the same :) And the Scream 3 intro, too. The guitar was a little quiet at first, but it eventually came in. Psycho Killer - Jian directed the audience again to raise and lower the volume of its clapping. For the really quiet parts, people were snaping and got some confused looks. The song started out quiet and got loud, as usual. :) I forget if there were any broken strings, but it turned out to not be relevant....... end of main set First encore - "What state are we in?" "MICHIGAN!" "What State are we in?!?" "MICHIGAN!!!!!" Michigan Militia. I guess a little more appropriate in Michigan. :) Second encore - the four of them came out and stood in a line at the front of the stage, and my immediate expectation was the Gulf War Song. Well, have Fruvous ever been known to let *me* down? :) It took them a little work to get the audience quieted down (and a bit of checking to make sure the people in the back could hear) and there was an introduction along the lines of "With all the stuff that's been going on recently, we thought we'd do this song for you..." and they did, in fact, sing the Gulf War Song, and it was *incredible*. Despite the noise from the non-audience part of the venue (i.e. the bar) and the occasional laugher from people who had never heard the song before and found some of the lines funny (not to say the rest of us didn't, but we'd heard them before, so...) you could have heard a pin drop. I was completely mesmerised by it. The four of them standing right in front of me and singing this powerful song. A perfect ending to the show. Some of the banter and improv... there were these giant light globes hanging from the ceiling, and they had lots of holes in them. one of the lads commented that they looked like strawberries, and we got a bit of improv about that. hmmm... that's actually all I remember of it. I'll have to check somewhere else for some of the good quotes and stuff. :) Chicago is next... - -- Lawrence Solomon * http://www.fruhead.com/users/zaph * zaph@fruhead.com "Just because you're floating doesn't mean * This space inadvertently you haven't drowned." -They Might Be Giants * left blank. ------------------------------ Date: 20 Sep 1999 03:18:42 GMT From: michykith@aol.com (Michykith) Subject: Re: What I have determinded... Novac said... > I'm more concerned about talking with Jian about his ideas and >views...just ask him sometime about exactly why he's anti-Starbucks. Yeah, Novac, I remember when we did that at Katonah! It's so good to see you posting alot lately. I quite enjoyed your "Jian's toothbrush" comment :D Anyway, I used to be nervous about talking to the guys in the band. One should have seen my hands shaking at Appel Farm last year...But, they're such wonderful, obliging, patient guys that it's hard to feel uncomfortable around them. I credit 3 things with helping me get over my chronic shyness...Theatre, Fruvous, and my friend Greg. ~Joni (fnjoni@fruhead.com) * * * * "I wouldn't make a good Blair Witch...because she had really good timing" dar williams 9/18/99 ------------------------------ Date: 20 Sep 1999 03:07:15 GMT From: dstbunnny@aol.com (DstBunnny) Subject: Re: Earthquakes, etc. Raenfaerie wrote: >Second, I don't know where I got these age figures, but me wonders if they >are correct: Jian/Murray: 31, Dave: 34, Mike: 37? If so, when Bargainville's > >"Stuck in the 90's" was written, about 1992/1993, Jian/Murray would have been > >24/25, Dave 27/28, Mike 31/32. That makes Dave the probable writer of >SIT90's, due to the line "Soon I'll be 30, I don't want to be 30." although >Jian sings it, hmmmmmm... After all my sleuthwork, I'm still confused, >perhaps moreso. Oh well, I'm sure I'll be flamed and corrected until I'm a >beaten orange pulp. For some reason, I place Jian/Murray at 32, and Dave at 33. Doesn't really matter, though. Anyway, I came across this when I was looking around FDC: "...It's strange to me with a song like 'Stuck in the Ninties,' where I brought in the music and the lyrics but when somebody asks who wrote it, I say, 'we did.'" - Jian, Canadian Composer, Fall/93 The "soon" is just relative, I guess... 5/6 years isn't THAT long of a time. Anyone know how many instances there are of the writer of a song not being the lead singer? I know there's "The Drinking Song," and I once read that "River Valley" was written by Mike, but that's it. Christine "As you make your way through this hectic world of ours, set aside a few minutes each day. At the end of the year, you'll have a couple of days saved up." ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 19 Sep 1999 23:47:52 -0400 From: Lawrence P Solomon Subject: Chicago show review/report! We got to the Metro at 10. And there was a huge line already. I was pretty surprised by it, actually. Some amusing events transpired (like the bus from the previous band blocking the entire street while trapped Austin Powers style between two parked cars as an ambulance tried to make its way down the street) and they finally let us in around 11:30. "It's too late." fortunately, it wasn't Too Cold, too. :) The opening act came on around 11:45... it was some guy named Dave Tobey, and instead of playing any songs, he went around and picked up *Fruvous'* guitars and took them off stage! I was appalled. :) Fruvous came back with their guitars around 12:15 and pretty much went right into Half as Much - there it is at the beginning again. :) Still, it's a great way to start things. Dave somehow managed to break a string pretty early on, so he had to switch guitars for the next song. Laika - with a short intro by Mike, and a really different guitar that I've only seen once before (in BG last week) being played by Dave. I love this song, especially live - everyone is doing something interesting, and the ending is amazing. There's a lot of stuff in there that I just can't hear on the album. Horseshoes - Audience members, where were you? the line is "Look straight at the coming disaster." not " ." :) So the third verse's corresponding refrain had no first line. Actually, it was there - it kind of faded in once people realized that they were supposed to sing it. :) Too Careful - Mike's turn to break a string. I think there were some modifications to the lyrics, but I can't remember what they were. And it was less than 24 hours ago, too. Sad Girl - There was a bit of guitar buzz in this one, but for the most part the sound was good. I'm really glad they're doing this one in the place of When She Talks (sorry, Jian :) King of Spain - "Are you curious?" Murray raises his hand "I've heard this story over 1500 times and I'm *still* curious!" Boo Time - references to Sammy Sosa hitting his 60th home run, among other things. Apparently no rhyme available for anything Chicago related so they used tonight's show (which I was unfortunately unable to go to) as the rhyme. Video Bargainville - started on the second try, which isn't bad. :) It was either this show or Detroit where Jian used the "Scream 3" intro that he normally does for Splatter Splatter and then corrected it to "On video, of course!" We got an extended bass solo at the end of the bridge, although Jian kept trying to interrupt with "Once we..." :) And the final refain ending with " Raja..." Independence Day - I think my favorite part of this is the "Red and gold bleed down to black..." as the vocals "bleed" together into a perfect harmony. And I think that comes out better live than on the album (I have a thing about live songs - most songs I think are better live than recorded for some reason - - probably because I can watch what's going on :) If Only You Knew - again, beautiful. Afterwards, Jian commented that it was "track 11, for those of you who know things by track number," and was answered with a few shouts for "Track 10!" and "Track 9!" Kick in the Ass - by request from Columbus. Right before the song, someone shouted out for Pisco Bandito, and they said something like "We don't know that... what are you talking about? You know what I think... I think this guy needs something... Murray?" and started the intro. I also could have sworn one of the lines in the middle went something like: "Kick in the ass (it's coming) Kick in the ass (Mahoney) Kick in the ass..." Kids - I'm not sure what Mike's continuation of the "My sister has three" line was, but it was hilarious. Murray inched away from Mike with a frightened look on his face. Not to be outdone, Jian, in the third verse, sang "My mother makes a spicy bowl of SOUP!" and the audience answered "Three rhymes" before they realized what he had said. The song stopped momentarily while the others stared at him, until he finally said "Chili, three rhymes!" I Will Hold On - Jian began explaining the song and the misconceptions about it, and someone suggested that it was a stalker song, and he pretty much agreed, and Dave began the intro. Jian then stopped him, probably realizing that if he didn't clarify, it would be made known to the newsgroup that IWHO was a stalker song. So he explained that it's about the kind of freaky obsession that might lead to stalking, but that the song wasn't about stalking. (somewhere in there, he used the word "Bittersweet" and I had to resist a lot of temptation to say something :) Michigan Militia / Johnny Saucep'n - I'm not going to say something about *every* song and since I hear these a lot I'll just leave it at that. Splatter Splatter - It's always good to see Dave play the accordion. :) I wish he'd do it more, though... Psycho Killer - similar to Detroit, except that in Detroit the setlist actually said "PSYCHO" and in Chicago it said "POTION." :) Encore #1 Authors - it took this one a while to get going because the acoustic still had distortion on and any time Dave clicked it off, all the sound cut out. After a bit of fiddling, they finally realized that it had come unplugged, and got it working again. This time, for the sake of Dave's sanity, the streetcar driver was "looking straight ahead." :) Get in the Car - nothing to say, it's a fun song. Encore #2 Fly - Perfect placement in the set. Nothing before it - no talking or anything. Really nice. And immediately followed by.... My Poor Generation - back to the thread about "What works well after Fly?" This one, definitely. It doesn't break the mood, and without any banter between them, the audience stays calm and the band isn't cracking up as they start it. This song makes such a great closer, and it really does have all the emotion of The Drinking Song and The Gulf War Song, but in a different way. Not the same emotions, but it's definitely as emotional. banter and stuff: "But my point is... my point is... Deep Blue couldn't do that..." -Jian some Jim Kirk impressions by Mike introducing the Kids' Song "Dave, who did they ask?" Dave answers... "Yes, no, they were not... not asked..." there was considerably less improv at this show because it started so late, but it was good long show without that, too. lots of great music. :) - -- Lawrence Solomon * http://www.fruhead.com/users/zaph * zaph@fruhead.com "Just because you're floating doesn't mean * This space inadvertently you haven't drowned." -They Might Be Giants * left blank. ------------------------------ End of alt.music.moxy-fruvous digest V3 #828 ********************************************