From: owner-ammf-digest@smoe.org (alt.music.moxy-fruvous digest) To: ammf-digest@smoe.org Subject: alt.music.moxy-fruvous digest V3 #852 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 Saturday, September 25 1999 Volume 03 : Number 852 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: MDFS [serra44@aol.com (Jill Friedman)] chicago 9/18/99 (travels w/snarky part 2) [Bridget ] milwaukee 9/19/99 (travels w/snarky part 3) [Bridget ] minneapolis 9/21/99 (travels w/snarky part 4) [Bridget ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 25 Sep 1999 15:10:55 GMT From: serra44@aol.com (Jill Friedman) Subject: Re: MDFS >1. Increased hit points, lost love You got me on that one. >2. Uncommon busker with simian pal Organ Grinder! >3. Not a complimentary Russian song The Greatest Man in America (cute pun!)[1] >4. Circumstantial conjugation and bare cauldron Present Tense Tureen! [1] there was a guy at the restaurant last night who looked JUST LIKE Rush Limbaugh, and GMIA kept running through my head. It was funny...guess you hadda be there. ; ) - -J writing a song called the Ballad of Jill V. Fruhead Member of the Jian and Murray fan clubs Owner of all the MF albums and all of Ani DiFranco's "She's too short to play me."-Joey Potter Too short to play herself in a movie ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 25 Sep 1999 15:33:26 GMT From: Bridget Subject: chicago 9/18/99 (travels w/snarky part 2) Bridget's Frütripping log... day 3: And the Frübus takes off again... Joe, Debbie, Drea & Fiona in one car; Donna, Katrin, Amanda and I in the truly ROCKING car. We had a blast. Left Ann Arbor around 1:00, not too far off from our goal of noon... and after 4 hours of non-stop Frühead hilarity (any Früheads who've gone on road trips together undoubtedly know exactly what I'm talking about), we arrived at Jordan's in Chicago. The original plan was to meet Karen, Barb, Mark and Vincent at Jordan's, go see Great Big Sea, then on to the Metro for the ridiculously late 12:30 Früvous show. Unfortunately, due to parking difficulty, we ended up at the Metro at 7:00 (when GBS was slated to start elsewhere in Chicago), so we decided just to eat instead. Grabbed some dinner at an Italian place (Sophia's) across the street from Wrigley. Excellent food. Donna and I got into line at the Metro around 10:00 for 11:30 doors. There was surprisingly already a crowd forming, a rather eclectic mix of Früfans waiting to get in and Manic Street Preacher fans leaving the venue. We were entertained by the absurdly large Manic Street Preacher tour bus trying to back out of the alley. A few more feet and the Früvan would've been a pancake... met a quite interesting gentleman [1] who said he LOVED Moxy Früvous, then proceeded to ask if they had put out an album since "Bargainville"... we almost convinced him to come watch the show. But he didn't because he was drunk and dumb (hey, they were HIS words...). By the time we finally got into the venue, I was very tired. It was WAY past my bedtime... (o; The Metro is an interesting setup. A very spacious floor and a very high balcony, stretching along the perimeter of the room. Donna and I again stood stage Murray, where Kat joined us for a while, but in the middle of the show she got homesick for stage Dave and left us. Früvous came on soon after we got in, which was the one nice thing about such a late start. Again, I don't have a setlist in front of me. There weren't any big surprises; this was actually the first Früvous show I've seen where there wasn't even ONE song to add to my ever-growing list of "songs I've seen live". There was a lot of banter, I think in part due to the fact that Fox in the Morning was filming bits and pieces. The lads were very "on" and seemed to really be hamming it up. I can't remember anything much off the top of my head and I don't have good notes on this show. Hmm... Murray flipped Dave off in the Kids' Song. And that's very, very sad if that's all I can remember. Oh well... a good set. Final encore was My Poor Generation, which would have been much more enjoyable but for the guys right behind us who chose that part of the evening to have a loud conversation. Speaking of the crowd... the crowd was... interesting. We had a lot of talkers. The guy next to me was taping the show with a digital video recorder. We had a good time, but I don't think I'd go back to that venue. I don't think I'd even go back to Chicago, unless it was a stop in the middle of a Frütrip or something. And I'm severely rambling. So I guess that'll be enough of this half-assed review... (o; RANDOM OBSERVATIONS, ADVICE, AND QUOTES: "The Bad Girls Guide to Life on the Road" is an indispensable road-tripping tool. The next time I'm driving through Illinois/Indiana/Michigan, I'm going to stop for some free wine tasting, dammit! The Midwest is BEAUTIFUL in September. Never embark on a road trip without an emergency bag of Doritos somewhere in the car. Definition of a miracle: getting 10 Früheads to agree on a place to eat. It doesn't do any good to stealthily remove a Früvous promotional poster from the wall if you're just going to forget about it and leave it on the stage. Wearing a watch on mountain time while driving through the central time zone in a car where the clock is set to eastern time is NOT the most efficient way to travel... Chicago has very short fire hydrants. When caravanning, always remember that some people just aren't good caravan leaders (read: have directions to your destination on your person). HURRICANE DONNA TERRORIZES THE MIDWEST would be a great headline. Do not EVER look for parking in the 20 block radius surrounding Wrigley Field when the Cubs are in town. Segregating Früheads into a boy’s line and a girl’s line doesn't necessarily imply imminent frisking. Früheads NEVER respond well to being kicked out of a venue immediately following a Früshow. Even at 3 in the morning. [1] "Who likes the taste of beer?!?!? C'mon, let's see those hands!" "We're having more fun than... EVERYONE!!" ~Donna ===== over 'n' out xoxoxo bridget "Cher is following us through the Midwest... and it's scary." ~Amanda __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 25 Sep 1999 15:34:58 GMT From: Bridget Subject: milwaukee 9/19/99 (travels w/snarky part 3) Bridget's Frütripping log... day 4: We left Chicago. We drove to Milwaukee. It was fun. The End. Just kidding. You didn't _really_ think you'd get off that easily, did you??? (o; At least we had a short drive. And it was made even shorter with Donna driving! (just a joke, hon!). Not much to report between Chicago and Milwaukee. Our car still rocked, but Amanda and Kat were sleeping, so we just had to rock a little more quietly. Upon arriving in Milwaukee, we stopped at a stop sign to try to figure out which way Shank Hall was. We must've looked lost, because a nice man pulled up next to us and rolled down his window. We told him what intersection we were looking for, and he said "Oh, just follow me!" and proceeded to escort us to the venue. I love Midwesterners. Once we were oriented, we found a hotel close by and were ready to roll. Except for the fact that the skies opened up and we found ourselves in the middle of a torrential rainstorm. But thankfully it let up just when Donna and I decided we were ready to go get in line. (o; We grabbed a pizza to eat in line, and miracle of miracles, doors opened on time! I loved Shank Hall from the moment I walked in. It is a very intimate room, not a bad seat in the house. Especially mine. Front table, stage Murray. Who says variety is the spice of life? _Murray_ is the spice of life. (o: High Water Limit opened. I enjoyed them. A lot. They are a Milwaukee band, and the bass player's mom was at the back selling cd's. How could I _not_ buy one??? They're kinda country-rockin', kinda folky, very cool. And they harmonize. That gets me every time. So I totally enjoyed their set, but really looking forward to Früvous. We were expecting a great set. I don't mean for my review to seem bass-ackwards, but I have to start by saying that immediately following the show, I was feeling very unimpressed. I was expecting a "rare" sort of setlist, and didn't feel fulfilled. At least not right away. Then it hit me... this set was very similar to the second show in Ann Arbor in June. That was a phenomenal set, and I think just having two such similar shows in a short (for me) time made it seem that this show was ordinary. Yeah, color me spoiled... and the more I pondered, the more I let it sink in... I eventually came to the conclusion that I was very lucky to be at Shank Hall on September 19, 1999. They played Stuck in the 90's and Your New Boyfriend, neither of which I'd seen them do before. They played Nuits de Reve and It's Too Cold. Earthquakes. Folsom Prison Blues. More of the setlist is escaping me at the moment. It was a great show. It was a very desirable crowd, with the exception of the people laughing during Jian's really very unfunny introduction to Stuck in the 90's. I guess there's one in every crowd... but for the most part people were polite and attentive. I would LOVE to get back to Shank Hall sometime again. After the show I had to say goodbye to Donna, Joe, Debbie, Jordan, Mark, Vincent and Karen, as they were all heading home while Kat, Amanda and I forged on to Minneapolis. I miss you guys already, and I have but ONE word for you. Colorado. Say it together... Colorado. Very good! See you there, eh? RANDOM OBSERVATIONS, ADVICE, AND QUOTES: Sleeping 7 Früheads in a hotel room is severely underusing that space. I'm not going to mention any NAMES, but... get enough Früheads sleeping in a room and at least one of them is bound to snore. If you are lucky enough to have pancakes for breakfast, it is not necessary to share that information with those less fortunate. Weeping willows are damn cool trees. Wisconsin is NOT the dairy state. It's the rainy state. There's a big difference. Apparently, it takes much more than 2 VERY strong Jack & Coke's to get a Denverite buzzed at sea level... (o; Bands with mailing lists are infinitely cooler than bands with fan clubs. The weather channel lies. Feeding Dave Tobey pizza will regrettably NOT get you an extra Frümiles stamp... People who see the band a lot have a certain "look" about them... perhaps a gleam in their eye. I have said look. (As told to me by Rudy, a guy I met at the show.) (o; When you have a premonition that Mike Ford will come up with an improv for the sole purpose of rhyming "Shank"... you're probably right. If the Illinois border is any indication, the porn industry is booming in Wisconsin... When a Frühead claims he can't go to Milwaukee because he has to work on Monday, it's really just a cry for help. Help him by suggesting that he call in sick. "I _like_ orange mango... just not piss warm orange mango!" ~Shell "Hurricane Donna has just been downgraded to tropical depression Donna." ~Mark "I guess the 'T' was taken!" ~Kat, on the "GURAQD" license plate we saw "Why are all these songs about ME?!?!?" ~Donna, 2 songs into the High Water Limit set "I feel like I'm in a locker room..." ~Amanda ===== over 'n' out xoxoxo bridget "Cher is following us through the Midwest... and it's scary." ~Amanda __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 25 Sep 1999 15:36:33 GMT From: Bridget Subject: minneapolis 9/21/99 (travels w/snarky part 4) Bridget's Frütripping log... days 5-7: And then there were three... Kat, Amanda and I left Milwaukee around 11 in the morning... Minneapolis bound!!! The Frübus still rocked... just not as hard. We missed Donna... (o; It was a good drive to Minnesota. Some more Wisconsin rain, but no hardships to speak of. Oh yeah, except for the worst Denny's experience we've ever had... (o; We waited about 45 minutes for our food, then found out that our waiter had forgotten to put our order in. Thanks to Amanda, we ate for free. We stayed at the most wonderful, magical place during our time in Minneapolis. It was a place where dinner was ready when we walked in the door; where the beds were turned down when we were ready to go to sleep; where coffee and cereal awaited us when we woke up. And that place was called Kat's parents' house. Kat's parents, Duane and Karen, are excellent people. I wanted to stay forever... but was told that in a couple of days the magic would wear off and I'd be forced to fend for myself... (o; We stayed with them from Monday night until I went home on Wednesday. Kat had wanted her nephew Andrew to come to the show with us, but since it was a school night that plan was nixed and Karen said she'd go with us. So we headed off to downtown Minneapolis Tuesday afternoon, bummed around town for a while, had coffee at Starbucks just on principal... (o; and had dinner at a great Thai restaurant around the corner from the Fine Line. Got to the doors around 6 for the 6:30 opening. We caught a little of the soundcheck through the closed doors and Amanda stated that there seemed to be too much sound for such a little room. Lawn chairs outside on the sidewalk would've been good seats at this venue. It was a nice room. Kat and Karen had reserved seats up on the balcony and Amanda and I grabbed a couple stools stage Dave. As the place filled up, however, we found ourselves almost on the stage. We were literally draped over Mike and Dave's monitors. It's been a while since I've been THATCLOSE to a show. It was cool, though. Toshi Reagon opened. She was pretty good... I probably wouldn't buy her cd's, but she was entertaining, very funny. She said it was great to be playing before Moxy Freevus... and the crowd quickly corrected her, to which she said we'd have to help her out since she'd never heard of them. I enjoyed her. Oh, yeah... the show. Mike's setlist (I finally managed to grab one from this trip): 1/2 HORSe 2 CARe IF ONLY VIDEO SAD PISCO LAZY RIVeR MINNIe BJ DARLING RUSH HOLD MICHY SAUCE SPLATTER PSYCHO As Amanda pointed out, it was a very traditional set, but extremely well played. I didn't think it was all THAT traditional, but I do agree that it was well played. The sound WAS too big for the room, but perhaps our vantage point wasn't the greatest either. Horseshoes was dedicated to Eric and Tara, who had recently gotten engaged or married, I forget which... we had to wonder whether "look straight at the coming disaster" is really such a good way to start married life together. Hmm... They guys stated that they are totally in favor of intra-Frühead relationships, then went off on a whole tangent of polygamy and Mormons. 'Twas hilarious! After Disco Bargainville, Jian told a very funny story about going to Sam Goody for a couple cd's. The girl helping him at first seemed interested, but when he mentioned that his band was playing at the Fine Line that night, she was indifferent. OK, you had to be there. He ended by walking out of the store like "Peter Brady loses the girl". After Lazy Boy Jian broke out the camouflage wearing mother f***ing Jesse Ventura doll... we knew he had to pop up somewhere. During Minnie, some random woman from the audience got on stage behind Jian and was literally fondling him through an entire chorus. Jian joked later that it was the Sam Goody girl... the whole thing was extremely odd. They did a totally kick-ass slow version of BJ Don't Cry. Very interesting. I was thrilled that they finally did Darlington. It has been and continues to be one of my absolute FAVORITE live tunes. And I was surprised by The Greatest Man in America. It has never been CLOSE to a favorite song of mine... but something about seeing it live... it's very entertaining. I'm still enjoying Psycho Killer, but after having heard it 6 times in my last 7 shows... it's starting to wear on me. I saw Love Potion #9 in 4 of my first 5 shows, and started wishing for new closers then, too. It would've been gratifying to hear something different for at least a show or two on this trip. Billie Jean is always one of my faves... Dancing Queen... saw Walking Spanish once. Anyway, for the first encore they played Authors and Get in the Car; second encore was Fly and My Poor Generation. It was a great show... bittersweet though because it was my last for a while. On Wednesday we were able to get to the Mall of America for a couple hours. The place is SO huge... in 2 hours we only managed to see a small section of the whole mall. We went to Legoland, saw Camp Snoopy, and just wandered around for a bit. My plane left at 8, so Kat and Amanda dropped me off at the airport and then headed up to Manitoba for the Thursday and Friday shows. Color me jealous. It was great to get home, but as I landed in Denver, I wished more than anything that I was instead Somewhere In North Dakota with the remainder of the Frübus. I know, there's just something sick and wrong about wanting to be in NORTH DAKOTA... but what can I say? Apparently four consecutive shows just aren't quite enough... So now it's time for me to get a little sappy again. Donna, Joe, Debbie... it was great to see you guys again. Really great. And to everyone else I saw again or met for the first time (I won't name you all for fear of forgetting someone), thanks for reminding me why I travel thousands of miles for these experiences. It's been the best time I've had in a long while. We'll have to plan a Frübus2 before long, k? RANDOM OBSERVATIONS, ADVICE, AND (mostly Amanda) QUOTES: Why is it that other people's parents kick ass when yours are tolerable at best? If the billboards in the Milwaukee area are any indication, the anti-smoking industry is MUCH more lucrative than the cheese industry. Whoever wrote the Denny's menu had to've been drunk. Or high. Every city should have a Brett Favre steakhouse! Whoever named the Ho-Chunk Casino was NOT a marketing genius. If you REALLY want to confuse your waitperson, ask if you can substitute fruit for the meat in your Denny's Slam. In the Frü-universe, 'thief' is synonymous with 'souvenir collector'. It's possible to OD on Pop Rocks. By the time I get around to writing reviews, nobody cares anymore. "It's a festival of breakfast meats!" ~Amanda "Cher is following us through the Midwest... and it's scary." ~Amanda "If I HAD a poodle, I'd name it Snarky." ~Amanda "Note to self: speeding past the state police headquarters... NOT a good idea." ~Amanda "We must be true Früheads... we're running errands for Dave Tobey." ~Amanda This is a great quote, but needs some introduction. We were eating breakfast with Katrin's dad on Wednesday and we were telling him that Karen had become a "Jian's person", which was understandable since he's nice-looking, charming, personable, and good with moms and kids. Kat's dad says... "You know, you're describing Eddie Haskell..." "You are entirely TOO perky. And your shirt's tucked in." ~Amanda (to me, at the airport) ===== over 'n' out xoxoxo bridget "Cher is following us through the Midwest... and it's scary." ~Amanda __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 25 Sep 1999 15:31:58 GMT From: Bridget Subject: detroit 9/17/99 (travels w/snarky part 1) Wow. Here I am, finally, miss 'one week later'... sorry about the delay! Bridget's Frütripping log... days 1 and 2: Here we go again... where do I begin? Let's start with midnight on Wednesday, September 15, when Katrin and I took off from Denver on a greyhound bus. All I could think was "Why? Why am I doing this AGAIN?!?!?!?" I have asked, begged, and pleaded with several people that if I ever, ever, ever get the idea in my head to take a long bus trip to please slap me. Nobody slapped me, so I found myself sitting on the dreaded gas-guzzling beast set for a 30-hour trip to Ann Arbor. I blame Joe and Donna. They know it. However, Katrin was my savior. It's amazing how much easier such a trip can be with good company. Thank you dear, for accompanying me! We boarded the bus at midnight, and with a couple of exceptions [1,2], things went smoothly. [1] One guy didn't even GET on the bus... they wouldn't let him board because when we were getting set to go, he for some reason thought they weren't going to let him on, so he proceeded to verbally abuse any Greyhound employee within shouting distance of himself. Kudos to the Greyhound staff for not allowing this kind of behavior to go unnoticed. [2] There was a rather hygienically challenged man with a frighteningly uncanny resemblance to Charles Manson riding with us until Chicago. But we met enough great people along the way to sort of balance things out. We stopped for breakfast in Henderson, Nebraska on Thursday morning. Thanks to an overcrowded bathroom and an inattentive waitperson, Kat and I almost got left behind in Henderson, Nebraska... ugh. But the wonderful Des Moines woman in the seat behind me alerted the driver that not ALL the passengers were back, and he waited for us. Thank god for small favors. We met Jenni from Australia, who was in the midst of making good on a drunken New Year's Eve resolution from a couple years ago. She is amazing. She saved her money for 2 years and is now in the fourth month of a two-year excursion around the world. She'd been to California, Nevada, Colorado, Mississippi... I'm not sure where else. We rode with her from Omaha to Chicago, where she was continuing on to Buffalo and Boston, and next month to Europe. All I can say is wow... very impressive. Not much else of note to say about the bus trip. Two nights on the bus was brutal, but I figured once we got to Ann Arbor, the rest of the trip would be smooth sailing. It didn't help to have to go all the way to DETROIT, either, before backtracking to A^2. I looked out the window sometime around 5:30 on Friday morning, realized that we were actually PASSING Ann Arbor, and got very depressed. Ah, life goes on, right? Actually, what REALLY pissed me off is that I lost my Früvous pin somewhere between Omaha and Ann Arbor... grr... So we got to Ann Arbor Friday morning at 8 and what a wonderful sight it was to see Joe waiting for us as we got off the bus. We picked up the rental car (from here forward known as the rockin' Frübus) and went to Joe & Debbie's for some much needed sleep. And chex mix. The new apartment is awesome! We sacked out on the couch for a couple hours, showered, ate, and I actually started to feel human again. Left to go BACK to Detroit to meet Fiona and Drea and finally see Früvous. We trucked on back to the Detroit Greyhound station, found Drea & Fiona, then set off to Ferndale and the Magic Bag. Soon after we got in line, Donna showed up. It was wonderful to be among Früheads again. I've decided we just need MORE of you guys in Colorado!! Got some dinner, chatted with people outside the venue, finally got in. Same old, same old. I like the Magic Bag. It's a nice-sized venue. Donna and I planted ourselves stage Murray, while Kat and Amanda ditched us for stage Dave. Their loss, I guess... (o; We had found out earlier in the day that Tory Cassis was going to open, so we were psyched for the show. Chatted some more, met a few people, just the regular good time. Tory's set was great. He's so mellow, sometimes it seems amazing that he's so well received as a Früvous opener. Enjoyed him immensely. Especially the Tom Waits cover, "Time". And he talked with the crowd a bit, which I love. He really is a funny guy. So he finished up, and once again we were on Früvous time, though I have to admit my last few shows haven't been TOO bad. The lads came out before long, and put on another great show. I don't have a setlist yet, but I'm sure it's been posted by now... They opened with Poor Napoleon, very nice. The banter was hilarious. Mike does a mean Eddie Vedder impression. And we learned about the book "Jian". Authors was hilarious - Jian: "I was looking fabulously straight!" [3], causing Dave to pretty much forget the rest of the lyrics. And we got Marion Früvous. This was the highlight of my night. Hadn't heard Marion since my second show last October. Murray's definition was the best: Früvous was the name that was rejected for the town of Blair, Mary-land, which was too bad, because "The Früvous Witch Project" would have been so much scarier than "The Blair Witch Project". (o: We also heard "Earthquakes - the REAL version", copiously better than the version we heard at Lee's Palace in February. Other highlights were Gulf War Song off-mic for the final encore, and for the first time I got to see Disco Bargainville and The Lazy Boy. Hooray! When the set was over, I remembered WHY I rode a Greyhound for 30 hours to get there. (Actually, truth be told, as soon as I saw Joe, Debbie, and Donna I remembered why I rode the bus for 30 hours, but Früvous is nice, too.) So ended another indescribable show. I was amazed. But perhaps most importantly, I was happy. I was giddy. I know I'm preaching to the converted now, but there is just NOTHING like a Früvous show when it comes to being entertained. Meeting some more great people was an added bonus. Karen, Mark, Amanda... Frübus companions, it was great to meet you! I also got to meet Sheryl briefly, hope we can hook up again soon! Hung around the Magic Bag for a bit, and by the time we got back to Joe & Debbie's, I was a zombie. Sleep is very very good. RANDOM OBSERVATIONS, ADVICE, AND QUOTES: I made an appearance in "Waiting for Bob"!!!!! OK, so this was an observation that had to be pointed OUT to me... AFTER the fact... and I still feel bad that I didn't recognize myself. Kat, hope you don't mind me posting this, but I was so proud to be there! Go to waitingforbob.com and see me on the Friday, September 17 strip. I'm the "jerk" who, like, sold the cd! And I'm even wearing my Früvous jersey! (Katrin drew a budgie dog on my copy... *g*). OK, enough self-promotion. Onward and upward. (Thanks, Kat!) When you are able to rank Greyhound stations in major US cities by how clean they are, how nice the neighborhood is (or isn't) or how good the snack bar is... it's time to either (a) stop Frütripping so damn much or (b) get a better job so you can FLY!!!!! You know you're in for a long trip when your traveling companion keeps telling you "We're having an adventure... we're having an adventure...". There's no better time to traverse Nebraska than the dead of night. Tiger Stadium is pretty darn ugly... Good, true friends will give you a hug even when you're skanky from 30 hours on a Greyhound. Club Bart (Ferndale, MI) has luscious grilled cheese sandwiches, but the slowest moving staff I've ever seen... It would appear that Katrin is impervious to the effects of alcohol at sea level. Mike Ford may very well be the funniest person on the face of the earth. [3] "Who are those fabulously gay magicians in Las Vegas?" "Penn & Teller?" ~Dave & Jian "I've Gotta Get a Message to You!!!" "And what message might that be?" ~Random fan & Jian "The artwork on the label will NOT get you drunk." ~Amanda ===== over 'n' out xoxoxo bridget "Cher is following us through the Midwest... and it's scary." ~Amanda __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com ------------------------------ End of alt.music.moxy-fruvous digest V3 #852 ********************************************