... Posted January 1, 2003 Share Posted January 1, 2003 Last night was something that only happens once in a while. I'm still just beside myself that it all happened and happened so well. Here is my recount of the evening... it may be long and rambling. There were but two bands, the Mike Keneally Band and us (Yogi & Half Zaftig). We opened for one of my favorite bands of all time. Yay!! After everything was basically setup and running, Bryan Beller and I went into the green room so I could show him how to play the ending bit of "Throw Me a Bone", a Yogi tune that he originally played bass on. That was fun to finally be in a room with Beller and the two of us actually have our respective basses and noodle around together. We played. Beller came up to do "Throw Me A Bone" and I got to go out into the audience and listen. It was great. Yogi decided that it we weren't going to do "No More Evil..." and the Frank Zappa song "Echidna's Arf (of you)" due to time. Not doing "Echidna's" bummed out Mike Keneally... more on that later. Our set went well, especially considering it was the very first time this band has performed live, and I've only known this material for about a month and a half. Yogi had a few uhh... "moments" during our second song but was able to laugh them off and continue on, he's terribly professional like that. During our third tune, we really settled down and wonderful things began happening. Overall, I was very pleased with our performance and the crowd and the Keneally band were very complimentary. Yay! During the break between us and Keneally, Mike told me and Yogi he was sad that we didn't play "Echidna's". He also proceeded to ask us if we would come up and do it during his set if he called it. I said, "yes, I would do that". The Mike Keneally Band took the stage around 11:00. They tore through a load of new material, which is all wonderful stuff. As midnight began to approach, Mike was wanting to know what time it was so they could stop playing at midnight for a toast and such. Midnight arrived, much rejoicing and toasting was done. At this point in the evening Mike decided that it was time to take a break... but before aforementioned break, he called myself, Yogi, and Chris G (our uber-drummer) back onstage to perform "Echidna's" with him. So Beller, Nick, and Rick left the stage and we joined Mike for his first song of 2003. We proceeded to burn through the song. I can't find the words to describe how it was to look over at Mike, with a huge smile on my face, and to have him looking back at me with the same expression. I was really something else. After we finished, they took their break, Beller called me a freak, and we had much rejoicing. The Keneally band took the stage again about 30 minutes later and played another hour+ worth of material, including taking requests from the audience. They played more new stuff in thier second set... and holy mother of god, the new tune "Physics" is absolutely terrifying and Beller is out of this world on it. Beller is just so incredibly amazing... it blows me away every time I see them play. A few other random memories, not like this whole thing hasn't been random... During sound check, Mike was playing the grand piano they had there and he played a solo version of "Strictly Genteel" (Frank Zappa tune). During Keneally's second set, someone yelled out for them to play "Skunk", a Keneally tune, and Mike mis-heard it as "Squonk", which is a Genesis song off of 'A Trick of the Tail'. So Mike proceeded to start playing "Squonk" for several minutes... then they played "Skunk". Sorry this rambled so much.. my head is still kind of a big blur as to the events of last night. It all seems a bit surreal still. Hope you all had a wonderful New Year's Eve and wish everyone the best! -Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Capasso Posted January 1, 2003 Share Posted January 1, 2003 Bumpcity, Thanks for the great report - I'm glad everything went so well. Wow - you played well, were complimented by Beller, and got to watch him do his thing, and played with Mike K. All in one night. Hope your feet touch the ground again soon Tom www.stoneflyrocks.com Acoustic Color Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars and keep your feet on the ground. - Theodore Roosevelt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenLoy Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 Bumpcity had the New Year's Eve I always wished I had... If Beller's calling you a freak, then you're a FREAK, Bump! And many congrats to you, as well! I'd need to change my pants twice getting onstage w/ Keneally! Good show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
... Posted January 2, 2003 Author Share Posted January 2, 2003 My head is still in the clouds... unbelievable experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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