Buskirk-Chumley Theatre Bloomington IN: January 23, 2003
Notable:
A 6-min improv jam to start a Kris Meyers’ first show with the band.
They go right into a solid Der Bluten Kat, with a really nice bass-led jam in the second improv segment.
Brendan welcomes everyone with “nice to see everyone, it’s been a couple weeks.”
They launch into The Fuzz, a short but perfect version, and the ending jams right up against Dump City.
In the first pause where they always shout or say something into the mic, they shout “Kris Meyers!!!” No improv jam.
After Dump City Brendan says “he’s good, uh?” And “so this is as close as we could get to a 5-year anniversary gig, so thanks a lot. 5 years, I’m almost as old as Joel.”
JaJunk starts with drumstick clicks from Kris. Starting at around 3 minutes in they are improvising along with Kris’ backbeats and creative drumming. (2 minutes) then a drum solo section, Kris’ first true solo with the band I would venture. It’s mixed with sections of JaJunk riffs on the guitars and keys.
At the end of JaJunk Kris keeps a slow beat going and the band plays a Front Porch tease segment, into what the track list calls “jam” for about 3 minutes. It has cool jam with rising key changes teasing a holiday song I can’t quite place right now.
They go into a nice Resolution in the spirit of the new year. At this point Brendan is saying “dank” instead of “skunk” in the lyric “I’m a man with dank in my plan…” which gets changed sometime in the future.
During the keys solo Joel starts with singing the notes he’s playing on the Hammond organ. After the build, they go right into Pay the Snucka part III.
The Pay the Snucka part I wouldn’t be played until September 4 at this same theatre, when they finally add Kris into the mix of lyrics. In the version that survives today, it’s Joel who “pays the snucka,” not Mike.
That ends the set. Set 2 starts with Joel’s synth background and Mris starting up the rhythm like Nothing Too Fancy, but then they go into Prowler, with Andy on the triangle.
Strong Prowler ends just for a second, and they start Syncopated Strangers.
Synco finishes and Kris starts in on a “Jimmy Stewart” as labeled in the track list, a full band improv section lasting 11 minutes.
It goes into a nice standalone The Triple Wide, and then slams into Push the Pig.
The Police’s Walking on the Moon; really emphasizing the reggae sounds. As he did last time they played this song, Brendan changes the lyric to”Thursday” because that’s the day of the week.
It drifts into a drum solo section, prompting a big cheer from the crowd. At first it’s Jake on the drum with Kris, then Jake on percussion with Kris on drums, eventually Kris is left alone on stage.
It’s a big drums section, lasting more than 12 minutes. Jake and Brendan introduce and haze him a little bit. (Kris’ first time in Bloomington.)
Ringo. Smell the Mitten. You should listen, these tunes are on fire.
Andy’s Last Beer starts with some crazy teases and weird sounds. It’s cool to listen to the complex rhythms Kris performs with this odd-meter song. It reminds me of his former side-project Kick the Cat.
Encore: Utopian Fir. The improv segment shows they’re having some fun. Jake says “how many atonal pieces of music can we play this evening, alright folks…” Jake and Joel play with some really weird sounds combined with vocals. Listen closely starting at 4:45. There are teases and explorations and they reunite as a band for a Family Feud theme segment before returning to Utopian Fir.
Uncommon. Brendan: “one more round of applause for Kris, everybody, make him feel at home.”
Setlist from allthings.umphreys.com
Set 1:
Intro > Der Bluten Kat, The Fuzz > Dump City, JaJunk[1] > Resolution-> Pay the Snucka[2]
Set 2:
Prowler[3] > Syncopated Strangers, “Jimmy Stewart” > The Triple Wide > Push the Pig, Walking On The Moon > Drums[4], Ringo, Smell the Mitten, Andy’s Last Beer[5]
Encore:
Utopian Fir[6] > Family Feud theme > Utopian Fir[7] > Uncommon
Footnotes:
[1] ended with Front Port jam and Nothing Else Matters (Metallica) tease
[2] part III only
[3] Began with Pipeline (The Chantays) tease
[4] with Jake on drums with Kris, then percussion; eventually, Kris was left alone on stage
[5] began with The Star-Spangled Banner (Francis Scott Key), Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love (Van Halen), Panama (Van Halen), Thunderkiss 65 (Rob Zombie), Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin), and Sweet Child o’ Mine (Guns N’ Roses) teases
[6] with Jesu, Joy Of Man’s Desiring (Johann Sebastian Bach), Flight Of The Bumblebee (Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov), and Bouree In E Minor (Bach) teases
[7] with You Should Be Dancing (Bee Gees) quotes
Show Notes:
This was the first show with Kris Myers as a member of the band.
Links to Audio and Apps
The Live Music Archive app (iOS) and the Taper’s Section app (Android) is a great way to find and listen to these shows. You can stream, download for offline listening, save favorites, and mark shows as already listened to. The app pulls all data directly from the public repository of live music recordings posted at archive.org.
