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Date: Fri 18 May, 2001 at 00:00
Headline: The Famous First
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Greetings and Salutations!
Last night at Getty's, we played our first show in
front of a moderate crowd consisting of friends, family, and other
interested parties. The cheers were loud and enthusiastic, and we appreciate every last one of them.I did a head count in between sets, and it seemed
like there were far too few people to be making that much noise.
Thanks are also due to The Name Droppers for their
strong showing, Tommy the soundman for his expertise, patience, and
support, and the designers of the "Spit" concert flyers for providing
everyone with conversation fodder for most of the night. Due to some
technical mishaps, we won't be able to post any audio clips from
this show, but I'll be in touch with Fozz shortly to see
how the video turned out and we'll definitely have some pics up over the
weekend.
The show had its share of rough moments, but we pulled thorough and
had a good time doing it. We played a mix of tunes from the upcoming CD, an
oldie but goodie from the Rain Kings days ('The Next
Temptation'), another old favorite that had never before been played with
a full band ('Esperanto'), and some covers thrown in for good measure.
John Clark commented to me before the show that it was amusing for him
to see us switching roles. In Jupiter, he's always the
pacing, nervous, tension-filled guy, but last night I was the one in
full-on backstage jitters mode. I couldn't help it - this show was a
culmination of over a year's work, and my first time back to fronting a
band after several months of playing it safe behind the keys in
Jupiter. I think those who have known me for some time,
however, would say that I have improved in dealing with this
tension over the years. John should have seen me when I was doing my
Pink Floyd tribute band in college...those were the
times that tested men's souls, to be sure.
It's
always interesting to see how a song evolves from one
form to another, even simply from the rehearsal room to the stage. The
arrangement is locked in, the song has been practiced and polished, yet
when played in front of an audience it can take on a completely new
life...or be left to die. Last night's performance was no exception,
and the way the material played out has caused me to re-evaluate the way
to aproach our upcoming show atMilla's. Certian
songs will be left off, new ones will be added, and others will change to
more or less prominent positions in the set - then we'll have to make
changes based on how well that goes over. It never ends...and I
love it.
Here's to the first step on what promises to be a long and rewarding
journey.
bye for now,
your humble correspondent
Thom Bowers
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