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(Disclaimer: excessively long cross posted message....sorry if you get it a
bunch of times)
Show Report: The Troubadours, The Nebulas, Destination: Earth!
Zanies Too, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA 12-July-2003
For the last few years there has been a summer surf show in Indy. I was
fortunate enough to go last year, and knew I had to go again for this year's
bash. Luckily for me, fellow list member and surf fanatic Dick Messick
decided to go as well. I met Dick for the first time in person at the Indy
airport, and our surf adventure began. BTW, Dick is a first class A #1 guy,
and it was great to finally meet him in person.
After killing time in Indy (Dick and I are going to write a 500 page travel
guide on where NOT to go when killing time in Indy), Dick and I decided to
head to the venue, "Zanies Too" around 7pm to see what was happening. With
Layla blasting on the stereo and the biker gang from "Any Which Way But
Loose" drinking at the bar and no musician in sight, we decided we were a
bit early. We stuck out like sore thumbs, prompting the waitress to
essentially ask us "yew ain't from around here, are ya boys? The bands don't
start playin' till 10". We decided to come back later.
Fast forward, we tried again. This time a completely different crowd was in
place, including all 3 bands. I found Ivan and Nebula TooFastJim (who was
also present last year) and finally got to meet Dano and the rest of the
Nebulas, Rudy & Eric. These guys are so friendly and funny, they rule!
First, before I forget, blasting over the sound system was this incredible
surf song, fast and furious, it killed! Sparks were flying! Rudy asked me
who I thought it was, and since it was so high octane I thought that perhaps
we were previewing some new Nebulas material. Bzzzzztt, wrong, it was the
new Infrareds CD! And man oh man is it killer! It was savage and intense.
Mental note: must purchase this immediately when I get back home. Everyone
around the table was grinning and nodding their heads, just admiring this
brilliant piece of work.
Soon the fun began. And I mean fun. This was easily the best show I have
ever seen. All three bands were incredible, each bringing their own spin to
the instro genre. Plus I had such a great time just hanging out with these
guys, I was really lucky to have been there. I always gush on these things,
being so starved for live shows in the Midwest, but wow, I can't help it.
There is zero exaggeration here. Just a freaking amazingly good show. If you
have some spare time, read on.
Here's the rundown.
First the Troubadours took the stage with their matching black Fenders,
white shirts and ties. What can I say? I can't add anything to my show
report from last year. Go search the archives and read it now. To recap,
this is a Shadows tribute band featuring Ivan Pongracic Jr from late great
Space Cossacks, with his father playing rhythm guitar. These guys literally
bring the Shadows to life in front of your eyes and ears. And they aren't
just a polite, friendly, play by the numbers cover band. They are loud, they
rock, and each band member is a tremendously talented musician. They have a
goldmine of Shadows tunes to pick from. They show you how great the Shadows
songs really are. Each song has got something interesting going on for each
instrument, its just a joy to watch to see it all executed in front of you.
I remarked on this last time, but I have to say it again. Ivan Pongracic Sr
is just amazing on rhythm guitar. You do not want to be playing the rhythm
guitar in a Shadows tribute band. If someone would have told me that Bruce
Welch's guitar parts were all studio trickery I would have believed them.
But no, here is probably the only other mortal being that can duplicate
those parts. His playing is nothing short of amazing, fast with lots of
changes. I can't even imagine how he figured all those parts out to begin
with, as there are lots of subtleties (was that an Am or Am7?) in the Shads
songs. Just great. As for Ivan Jr, again, just like last year, wow. He did
draw a blank on the first few seconds of the first song (Man of Mystery --
no doubt he has played that song a million times in his life which he
laughed about later) but unlike lesser guitar players he recovered quickly
and he was commanding and confident the rest of the set. Drummer Dane did
the whole big drum solo again this year, very cool and entertaining, with
the rest of the band joining in with bongos, maracas, and wood blocks. I
didn't get the set list, and I'm no Shadows expert, but they seemed to have
played a few different songs this year. Here are some that I know and
remember: Kon Tiki, The Frightened City, 36-24-36, Atlantis, Guitar Tango,
Rhythm and Greens, The Savage (again...how does Ivan Sr do it?), and Apache.
My favorite song of the night was their version of Gonzales. I love that
song! Thanks for playing that one guys. Ivan Jr dedicated their set to the
memory of Rip Thrillby from The Penetrators, and a local guitar tech named
Tom (sorry didn't get the last name) who also recently passed, who has been
a big help to area musicians. Great job guys! Ivan later said he thought
they played a bit rough in a few spots, but you could not tell from where I
was sitting. I think they really blew a lot of people away who had no idea
what they were going to see.
Soon the huge and deadly Showmans were pushed and pulled inside with great
effort and The Nebulas from Boston took the stage. Reverb units abounded.
Dano was playing his sunburst vintage Jag, bass player Eric had both kinds
of bass that night (P and Jazz), and lead guitar player Rudy had his very
cool reissue white Mosrite. (Earlier I heard him say he had modded it by
putting in a heavier spring for the trem. Maybe Dano can fill us in with all
the details later.) TooFastJim brought his stunning green sparkle kit with a
lighted "The Nebulas" logo on the bass drum head. He may have indeed played
too fast that night as the light flickered and died about a 1/4 of the way
into the set. I have never seen these guys before; I think it was their
first Midwest mini-tour. They looked suave in their shirts and ties (no old
sKo0l Star Trek uniforms tonight). As you might expect from their stunning
first full length, they were huge and just killed. My jaw was just flapping
in the breeze. The Nebulas play a mean, drippy, blitzkrieg style of surf.
They are the special weapons and tactics unit of surf bands. I couldn't
believe what I was seeing and hearing. They were obviously having a blast
and very happy to be playing that night. TooFastJim was just giddy and Dano
very gracious to the crowd. Eric was holding everything together with Jim
(who, as you may have guessed, does play fast, but very well from where I
sit), and Dano and Rudy's parts just meshed perfectly. These guys made it
look so easy. The first part of their set was a preview of new tunes from
their upcoming CD. These sounded great and seemed to continue the course set
by Nebula One (can't complain about that). The second half of their set was
tunes from Nebula One, which went over very well. A couple of great covers
too, including a rare Frankie Stein song. I was so thrilled to hear a
Satan's Pilgrims tune! They even played a spot-on version of The
Penetrator's "Redlined" which they dedicated to Rip. Amazing! I never
thought I would hear anything by either of those two bands in a live
setting. I think modern surf bands should cover each other more, just like
they did back in the first wave. I also just have to say that Rudy is a
monster player. He just stands there, head slightly cocked, with a wry smile
on his face, just shredding. He's incredible. The whole band just clicked as
a unit, a well oiled machine. Wow, wow, wow!! What a blast of adrenaline it
was!!!
How could it get better? Well here's the surprise. Halfway through their
set, the Nebulas invited up Ivan Jr. Holy crap! A surf god summit meeting!
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that Dano and Jim first met at the
very last Space Cossacks show. And now, a few years later, they are playing
on stage with him. What a great story. They started off with a killer
version of The Astronauts "Surf Party" with Ivan and Rudy trading leads.
Seeing those 4 guys playing in front of Jim was just unbelievable. I don't
know if it was the adrenaline of the moment, friendly competition, or what,
but they really went at it during the double pick parts of that song. I
thought for sure strings would be snapping off. These guys were really
revved up. Ivan was wearing his Troubadours white shirt and tie, but make no
mistake, he was in full StratoCossack mode, another side to him that I never
got a chance to see. Unbelievable. The next song, a Cossacks tune, was
weird. I think the Showmans temporarily overcame Ivan's Vox AC30 and I could
not hear Ivan hardly at all, unlike the previous song. Maybe it was the
sound guy or something. I was kind of facing away from his amp. So
unfortunately some of the magic was lost for me. Still the visual aspect was
there. But then on the third number, the sound snapped back, and I
immediately recognized "Red Sunrise", another Space Cossacks tune from their
amazing catalog. This was the song that Ivan had dedicated to Dano and Jim
at the last Cossacks show for traveling the most distance and started this
whole crazy chain of events. Insert Twilight Zone music here. This was just
more than I could take and the guys did a tremendous job on this song. Ivan
was just playing like an animal, he was insane, and he had a great backing
band. They played this one so incredibly fast! Smiles from everyone. Surf
music history was made here, and I was so glad I witnessed it.
The terribly sad part about this whole thing is nobody got any pictures of
Ivan with the Nebulas. Aaaargh!!! DAMN DAMN DAMN! Where is Charlie Kinyon
when you need him the most? I vow to bring a camera with me at all times for
future shows.
How in the world can you follow that? Would you want to? I did not envy
Destination Earth. But they were up to it. Maybe to help them out, they
seemed to crank up the volume even more than the other bands. Almost to the
pain threshold for me. That was my only complaint from them though. I saw
and heard them the first time at last year's show. I liked them. I even
bought 2 of their CD's afterwards. But wow, both TooFastJim and I agreed,
these guys were A LOT better this time. The Most Improved Band award indeed.
With a Betty Page fetish video playing in the background and the Theremin
wailing they started off a very energetic set. They played their originals,
a spy music medley, and a surf trio of Misirlou, Squad Car, and Lullaby of
The Leaves. TooFastJim volunteered for the spoken word part on "Stolen Space
Station". These guys were very tight, they had all their transitions down
seamlessly, and the drummer was just a powerhouse. He has even started doing
the Neil Peart stick toss. When they were finished you had to take a big
breath of air. Very competent playing and a fun set. Fantastic job guys!!
Its always embarrassing to write so much, I hope I wasn't blathering. It was
just so damn cool. Thanks to everyone for a very memorable show!!!
BN
S3 Field Agent #202 (Thanks Spanky...that meant a lot)
P.S. I didn't notice this until seeing them live. But in the song "Nebula
One" during the pick/string scraping, there is a interval of time where Dano
is going down the strings while Rudy is going up (or vice versa). How do
those guys come up with these cool things? In Cartman voice: "Kick ass. Live
music is hella good".
P.P.S. I thought only Captain Lou Albano wore rubber bands in his beard.
Huh.
P.P.P.S. Apparently "booch" is Slovenian for "drip"......???? Here is how to
use it in a sentence: "my reverb unit only has one booch to it".
P.P.P.P.S. The Nebulas music seemed to have a strange effect on 3 very short
girls of questionably legal age (one wearing a thong with pants low enough
she made sure you could tell), who bumped and pressed up against each other
during a few songs. I believe there was also an "ass-stickering" event which
was captured on digital camera. Perhaps alcohol was involved, ya think?
Brian,
Well considering I saw the 1 of 2 Dynotones sets at a
big Daddy Roth Art exhibit. Saw and Participated in the
Chum Jam show, and Saw a 4 song,on sat. afternnon and 15 song set
on sun. by the Hypnotic IV. I'd say my weekend was full of Surf.
But that was a great review and Ironically From a California surf
nut who's spoiled with too many killer shows. I wish I could have
been there for that. How's your Ears????
Jeff(bigtikidude)
--- In , "Brian Neal" <bneal@i...> wrote:
> (Disclaimer: excessively long cross posted message....sorry if you
get it a
> bunch of times)
>
> Show Report: The Troubadours, The Nebulas, Destination: Earth!
> Zanies Too, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA 12-July-2003
>
> For the last few years there has been a summer surf show in Indy. I
was
> fortunate enough to go last year, and knew I had to go again for
this year's
> bash. Luckily for me, fellow list member and surf fanatic Dick
Messick
> decided to go as well. I met Dick for the first time in person at
the Indy
> airport, and our surf adventure began. BTW, Dick is a first class A
#1 guy,
> and it was great to finally meet him in person.
>
> After killing time in Indy (Dick and I are going to write a 500
page travel
> guide on where NOT to go when killing time in Indy), Dick and I
decided to
> head to the venue, "Zanies Too" around 7pm to see what was
happening. With
> Layla blasting on the stereo and the biker gang from "Any Which Way
But
> Loose" drinking at the bar and no musician in sight, we decided we
were a
> bit early. We stuck out like sore thumbs, prompting the waitress to
> essentially ask us "yew ain't from around here, are ya boys? The
bands don't
> start playin' till 10". We decided to come back later.
>
> Fast forward, we tried again. This time a completely different
crowd was in
> place, including all 3 bands. I found Ivan and Nebula TooFastJim
(who was
> also present last year) and finally got to meet Dano and the rest
of the
> Nebulas, Rudy & Eric. These guys are so friendly and funny, they
rule!
>
> First, before I forget, blasting over the sound system was this
incredible
> surf song, fast and furious, it killed! Sparks were flying! Rudy
asked me
> who I thought it was, and since it was so high octane I thought
that perhaps
> we were previewing some new Nebulas material. Bzzzzztt, wrong, it
was the
> new Infrareds CD! And man oh man is it killer! It was savage and
intense.
> Mental note: must purchase this immediately when I get back home.
Everyone
> around the table was grinning and nodding their heads, just
admiring this
> brilliant piece of work.
>
> Soon the fun began. And I mean fun. This was easily the best show I
have
> ever seen. All three bands were incredible, each bringing their own
spin to
> the instro genre. Plus I had such a great time just hanging out
with these
> guys, I was really lucky to have been there. I always gush on these
things,
> being so starved for live shows in the Midwest, but wow, I can't
help it.
> There is zero exaggeration here. Just a freaking amazingly good
show. If you
> have some spare time, read on.
>
> Here's the rundown.
>
> First the Troubadours took the stage with their matching black
Fenders,
> white shirts and ties. What can I say? I can't add anything to my
show
> report from last year. Go search the archives and read it now. To
recap,
> this is a Shadows tribute band featuring Ivan Pongracic Jr from
late great
> Space Cossacks, with his father playing rhythm guitar. These guys
literally
> bring the Shadows to life in front of your eyes and ears. And they
aren't
> just a polite, friendly, play by the numbers cover band. They are
loud, they
> rock, and each band member is a tremendously talented musician.
They have a
> goldmine of Shadows tunes to pick from. They show you how great the
Shadows
> songs really are. Each song has got something interesting going on
for each
> instrument, its just a joy to watch to see it all executed in front
of you.
> I remarked on this last time, but I have to say it again. Ivan
Pongracic Sr
> is just amazing on rhythm guitar. You do not want to be playing the
rhythm
> guitar in a Shadows tribute band. If someone would have told me
that Bruce
> Welch's guitar parts were all studio trickery I would have believed
them.
> But no, here is probably the only other mortal being that can
duplicate
> those parts. His playing is nothing short of amazing, fast with
lots of
> changes. I can't even imagine how he figured all those parts out to
begin
> with, as there are lots of subtleties (was that an Am or Am7?) in
the Shads
> songs. Just great. As for Ivan Jr, again, just like last year, wow.
He did
> draw a blank on the first few seconds of the first song (Man of
Mystery --
> no doubt he has played that song a million times in his life which
he
> laughed about later) but unlike lesser guitar players he recovered
quickly
> and he was commanding and confident the rest of the set. Drummer
Dane did
> the whole big drum solo again this year, very cool and
entertaining, with
> the rest of the band joining in with bongos, maracas, and wood
blocks. I
> didn't get the set list, and I'm no Shadows expert, but they seemed
to have
> played a few different songs this year. Here are some that I know
and
> remember: Kon Tiki, The Frightened City, 36-24-36, Atlantis, Guitar
Tango,
> Rhythm and Greens, The Savage (again...how does Ivan Sr do it?),
and Apache.
> My favorite song of the night was their version of Gonzales. I love
that
> song! Thanks for playing that one guys. Ivan Jr dedicated their set
to the
> memory of Rip Thrillby from The Penetrators, and a local guitar
tech named
> Tom (sorry didn't get the last name) who also recently passed, who
has been
> a big help to area musicians. Great job guys! Ivan later said he
thought
> they played a bit rough in a few spots, but you could not tell from
where I
> was sitting. I think they really blew a lot of people away who had
no idea
> what they were going to see.
>
> Soon the huge and deadly Showmans were pushed and pulled inside
with great
> effort and The Nebulas from Boston took the stage. Reverb units
abounded.
> Dano was playing his sunburst vintage Jag, bass player Eric had
both kinds
> of bass that night (P and Jazz), and lead guitar player Rudy had
his very
> cool reissue white Mosrite. (Earlier I heard him say he had modded
it by
> putting in a heavier spring for the trem. Maybe Dano can fill us in
with all
> the details later.) TooFastJim brought his stunning green sparkle
kit with a
> lighted "The Nebulas" logo on the bass drum head. He may have
indeed played
> too fast that night as the light flickered and died about a 1/4 of
the way
> into the set. I have never seen these guys before; I think it was
their
> first Midwest mini-tour. They looked suave in their shirts and ties
(no old
> sKo0l Star Trek uniforms tonight). As you might expect from their
stunning
> first full length, they were huge and just killed. My jaw was just
flapping
> in the breeze. The Nebulas play a mean, drippy, blitzkrieg style of
surf.
> They are the special weapons and tactics unit of surf bands. I
couldn't
> believe what I was seeing and hearing. They were obviously having a
blast
> and very happy to be playing that night. TooFastJim was just giddy
and Dano
> very gracious to the crowd. Eric was holding everything together
with Jim
> (who, as you may have guessed, does play fast, but very well from
where I
> sit), and Dano and Rudy's parts just meshed perfectly. These guys
made it
> look so easy. The first part of their set was a preview of new
tunes from
> their upcoming CD. These sounded great and seemed to continue the
course set
> by Nebula One (can't complain about that). The second half of their
set was
> tunes from Nebula One, which went over very well. A couple of great
covers
> too, including a rare Frankie Stein song. I was so thrilled to hear
a
> Satan's Pilgrims tune! They even played a spot-on version of The
> Penetrator's "Redlined" which they dedicated to Rip. Amazing! I
never
> thought I would hear anything by either of those two bands in a live
> setting. I think modern surf bands should cover each other more,
just like
> they did back in the first wave. I also just have to say that Rudy
is a
> monster player. He just stands there, head slightly cocked, with a
wry smile
> on his face, just shredding. He's incredible. The whole band just
clicked as
> a unit, a well oiled machine. Wow, wow, wow!! What a blast of
adrenaline it
> was!!!
>
> How could it get better? Well here's the surprise. Halfway through
their
> set, the Nebulas invited up Ivan Jr. Holy crap! A surf god summit
meeting!
> Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that Dano and Jim first met
at the
> very last Space Cossacks show. And now, a few years later, they are
playing
> on stage with him. What a great story. They started off with a
killer
> version of The Astronauts "Surf Party" with Ivan and Rudy trading
leads.
> Seeing those 4 guys playing in front of Jim was just unbelievable.
I don't
> know if it was the adrenaline of the moment, friendly competition,
or what,
> but they really went at it during the double pick parts of that
song. I
> thought for sure strings would be snapping off. These guys were
really
> revved up. Ivan was wearing his Troubadours white shirt and tie,
but make no
> mistake, he was in full StratoCossack mode, another side to him
that I never
> got a chance to see. Unbelievable. The next song, a Cossacks tune,
was
> weird. I think the Showmans temporarily overcame Ivan's Vox AC30
and I could
> not hear Ivan hardly at all, unlike the previous song. Maybe it was
the
> sound guy or something. I was kind of facing away from his amp. So
> unfortunately some of the magic was lost for me. Still the visual
aspect was
> there. But then on the third number, the sound snapped back, and I
> immediately recognized "Red Sunrise", another Space Cossacks tune
from their
> amazing catalog. This was the song that Ivan had dedicated to Dano
and Jim
> at the last Cossacks show for traveling the most distance and
started this
> whole crazy chain of events. Insert Twilight Zone music here. This
was just
> more than I could take and the guys did a tremendous job on this
song. Ivan
> was just playing like an animal, he was insane, and he had a great
backing
> band. They played this one so incredibly fast! Smiles from
everyone. Surf
> music history was made here, and I was so glad I witnessed it.
>
> The terribly sad part about this whole thing is nobody got any
pictures of
> Ivan with the Nebulas. Aaaargh!!! DAMN DAMN DAMN! Where is Charlie
Kinyon
> when you need him the most? I vow to bring a camera with me at all
times for
> future shows.
>
> How in the world can you follow that? Would you want to? I did not
envy
> Destination Earth. But they were up to it. Maybe to help them out,
they
> seemed to crank up the volume even more than the other bands.
Almost to the
> pain threshold for me. That was my only complaint from them though.
I saw
> and heard them the first time at last year's show. I liked them. I
even
> bought 2 of their CD's afterwards. But wow, both TooFastJim and I
agreed,
> these guys were A LOT better this time. The Most Improved Band
award indeed.
> With a Betty Page fetish video playing in the background and the
Theremin
> wailing they started off a very energetic set. They played their
originals,
> a spy music medley, and a surf trio of Misirlou, Squad Car, and
Lullaby of
> The Leaves. TooFastJim volunteered for the spoken word part
on "Stolen Space
> Station". These guys were very tight, they had all their
transitions down
> seamlessly, and the drummer was just a powerhouse. He has even
started doing
> the Neil Peart stick toss. When they were finished you had to take
a big
> breath of air. Very competent playing and a fun set. Fantastic job
guys!!
>
> Its always embarrassing to write so much, I hope I wasn't
blathering. It was
> just so damn cool. Thanks to everyone for a very memorable show!!!
>
> BN
> S3 Field Agent #202 (Thanks Spanky...that meant a lot)
>
>
> P.S. I didn't notice this until seeing them live. But in the
song "Nebula
> One" during the pick/string scraping, there is a interval of time
where Dano
> is going down the strings while Rudy is going up (or vice versa).
How do
> those guys come up with these cool things? In Cartman voice: "Kick
ass. Live
> music is hella good".
>
> P.P.S. I thought only Captain Lou Albano wore rubber bands in his
beard.
> Huh.
>
> P.P.P.S. Apparently "booch" is Slovenian for "drip"......???? Here
is how to
> use it in a sentence: "my reverb unit only has one booch to it".
>
> P.P.P.P.S. The Nebulas music seemed to have a strange effect on 3
very short
> girls of questionably legal age (one wearing a thong with pants low
enough
> she made sure you could tell), who bumped and pressed up against
each other
> during a few songs. I believe there was also an "ass-stickering"
event which
> was captured on digital camera. Perhaps alcohol was involved, ya
think?
Wow! Deja vu! That was one awesome (and accurate) show review,
Brian! I'd add more, but Brian really captured all the excitement
(and some of our Twilight Zone moments) of that trip. All of the
bands turned out high-intensity, great performances that just blew
me away.
In addition to the awesome music, it was great to meet some of the
people who contribute to this list. I can't say enough good things
about Brian - just a really cool guy to hang out with! Meeting all
of the Nebulas was a real treat too - they were all super friendly
and made us feel right at home (no mean feat at Zanies Too!).
Meeting Ivan was also a thrill - he is a really nice guy (and an
awesome player!). The guys from Destination Earth were also very
friendly and fun to be around. Don't mean to make this sound like a
love-fest, but all of these guys are top notch and love what they're
doing. You couldn't ask to spend a Saturday night with a better
bunch of people!
Based on what we heard, the next Nebulas disc is going to be
absolutely killer! Man oh man, I can't wait for that to come out!
If you ever get a chance to see any of these bands, do it! Heck, I
live in the same state as the Nebulas, and that was my first show -
I'm glad I jumped on that plane!
Well, as I said before, Brian's review really summed up the
highlights perfectly, so I'm off to buy that new Infrareds CD - it's
hot!
-Dick
Thank you for that very thorough (and flattering) surveillance report, Field
Agent #202. It was truly a once in a lifetime occasion that I will never
forget & as you mentioned, everything seemed to click perfectly with the full-on
"boooch boooch like The Astronauts" thing happening - especially when we were
honored to watch Ivan step out of his Hank Marvin boots to reprise trhe role of
"Stratocossack" on stage with us.
Dan & I did meet at the final Space Cossacks show in Arlington, VA July 15,
2000. If someone told me then that in 3 days shy of three years I would be in a
situation backing the lead guitarist from the Space Cossacks in a live setting,
I would have never believed it. The thought of Ivan playing "Red Sunrise" with
US for the first time since dedicating the song to Dan & I at that final
Cossacks' show is absolutely mind-blowing. Its such a fun song to play & I'm
visibly giddy when we play it at rehearsal - let alone on stage.
Since I'm still pretty spent from the weekend (I've been up since 4am Chicago
time, but unlike the rest of the Nebulas who drove 15 hours straight home after
dropping me off at the Ramada Inn Labyrinth at 11pm, I managed to get 4 hours
sleep), I'll just add a couple of sidenotes to your dossier.
"Any Which Way But Loose" (or "Any Which Way You Can") biker fellows: Yes, when
we arrived at the club earlier that afternoon, there were representatives from
Filo T. Beddo's chopper-riding arch enemies, The Black Widows, milling about,
but the club was nice, the beer was cheap & the stage was large, so we were
happy.
Troubadors: excellent, excellent, excellent, excellent (one "excellent" per band
member) - I love that band - I love the Shadows more because of that band - the
tone is perfect - Ivan Sr. is one of the best rhtyhm guitar players I have seen
- and that is not intended to detract in any way from the myriad other great
rhythm guitar players - because there are many out there beyond reproach. Ivan
Jr. just nails the Shadows vibe and tone with that AC30 - drums great (like TFJ,
drummer Dane enjoys the sound of the aluminum shelled Ludwig Acrolite model
snare drum)
Camera: It is very unfortunate that no one photgraphed the historical event -
more troubling for me is that I had a camera in the van that only needed a a
quick change of film & I would have gladly given it to an operative in the crowd
to use. The problem arose because our van was parked in back of the stage
outside & when it was time to begin setting up our equipment (again, outside),
it ultimately meant having to walk out and miss part of the Troubadors set -
something I really didn't want to do, but eventually had to in an effort to
ensure a timely transition between bands. Basically, I can sum it up by
paraphrasing my favorite audio sample from track #7 of the Infrareds new disc -
' I didn't have time to fuck around, so I didn't give anyone the film'
Lite Bulb Malfunction: upon further investigation (minutes before our show the
following night in Chicago) , it was determined that the light bulb did unscrew
itself. For this, I can paraphrase the skagged out landlord in "Kingpin" -
"There's something about good surf that makes me have to crap; you really
jarred something loose there, tiger."
Modern Cover Songs: many of the 3rd wave bands have written great songs worthy
of being played, so why not play them? They're fun. Who doesn't enjoy playing
Satan's Pilgrims with a good icepick boooch going on?? Good songs are fun to
play & fun to watch being played by other artists regardless of who wrote it or
when. I've seen The Penetrators play Red Sunrise live; The Infrareds cover a
Metalunas song (Celluloid Planetoid) on their new CD, Jon & The Nightriders did
"Tailspin" - even The Vonrippers did a version of Blue Venus by The Blue
Stingrays the other night in Akron & Destination Earth did the Reverend Horton
Heat's "I Can't Surf" - Cocktail Preachers were able to squeeze in a Davie
Allen song and a qucik version of Satan's Pilgrims "Vampiro" (pronounced:
vam-PEE-ro, not vam-PY-ro) before the bar was shut down by the cops ( although
the butthead bartender deserved being hassled by the man it for pouring shots
for himself instead of bringing me beer).
I've about had it for now - but I want to extend a special thanks on behalf of
The Nebulas to everyone involved in making our brief road trip a great
experience.....
Cast of Characters (in order of appearance to the best of my recollection):
Butthead Crazy Truck Driver in PA as himself
In Akron:
Sump Pump Monkeys - thanks for setting up & promoting the show (and showing me
what an Irish Car Bomb is)
VonRippers - thanks for opening the show in Akron
Buckwheat Zydeco - playing across the street on the lawn
Survivor - scheduled to play across the street on the lawn the following night
The mild-mannered bullwhip-wielding female proprietor of the porn shop
neighboring The Lime Spider on Main St.
Jerome the toothless crackhead pan-handler - can you have some change? Yes.
Can you have 5-bucks to get some chicken? No. If you get 4 people in one hour
to "give you five bucks" for chicken, you're pullin' down $41,600 a year tax
free if you "work" 40 hours a week.
Tom Hinders - Tsunami Soul host from Oberlin College radio - thanks for the
support, the airplay, the referrals and for attending the show.
In Indy:
Mr. Biscuits
Destination Earth: thanks Commander 007 for overseeing logistical, promotional
and performance elements
Troubadors - thanks again for performing in front of me - and to Ivan Jr for
playing with us and for asking us to be on the bill to begin with
Brian Neal & Dick Messick - surf troopers extraordinaire
The woman from Tennesse (another long distance surf fan) who wound up buying me
two beers because Dano didn't drink the one she bought for him
thanks to the other woman who let us photograph her ass with a Nebulas sticker
on it. ** Sign up now for a 3-day platinum membership @ www.thenebulas.com
and receive unlimited access to the bonus gallery**
In Chicago:
Phil Tiki and The Cocktail Preachers - thanks for booking, promoting & playing
at the show - sorry the cops cut you short. - they should be out on the goddamn
highway opening up more than one f*cking lane of traffic on a major interstate
instead of patrolling the sidewalk in front of the Turkish bath house
Destination Earth - another stellar performance, not to mention weather control
members of Michigan-based rockabilly combo, Dangerville, for making the trek
down to see us
Everyone and anyone else that I forgot to mention because I'm spent
-tfj-
.
----- Original Message -----
From: Brian Neal
To:
Sent: Monday, July 14, 2003 5:52 PM
Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Show Report: Troubadours, Nebulas, Destination:
Earth! 12-Jul-2003 (VERY LONG)
(Disclaimer: excessively long cross posted message....sorry if you get it a
bunch of times)
Show Report: The Troubadours, The Nebulas, Destination: Earth!
Zanies Too, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA 12-July-2003
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Hi Jim,
I hope you catch enough sleep before you and the Nebulas invade Belgium
in a few months....
Jerry S.
-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Nichols [mailto:]
Sent: dinsdag 15 juli 2003 10:19
To:
Cc: ;
Subject: Re: [SurfGuitar101] Show Report: Troubadours, Nebulas,
Destination: Earth! 12-Jul-2003 (VERY LONG)
Thank you for that very thorough (and flattering) surveillance report,
Field Agent #202. It was truly a once in a lifetime occasion that I
will never forget & as you mentioned, everything seemed to click
perfectly with the full-on "boooch boooch like The Astronauts" thing
happening - especially when we were honored to watch Ivan step out of
his Hank Marvin boots to reprise trhe role of "Stratocossack" on stage
with us.
Dan & I did meet at the final Space Cossacks show in Arlington, VA July
15, 2000. If someone told me then that in 3 days shy of three years I
would be in a situation backing the lead guitarist from the Space
Cossacks in a live setting, I would have never believed it. The
thought of Ivan playing "Red Sunrise" with US for the first time since
dedicating the song to Dan & I at that final Cossacks' show is
absolutely mind-blowing. Its such a fun song to play & I'm visibly
giddy when we play it at rehearsal - let alone on stage.
Since I'm still pretty spent from the weekend (I've been up since 4am
Chicago time, but unlike the rest of the Nebulas who drove 15 hours
straight home after dropping me off at the Ramada Inn Labyrinth at 11pm,
I managed to get 4 hours sleep), I'll just add a couple of sidenotes
to your dossier.
"Any Which Way But Loose" (or "Any Which Way You Can") biker fellows:
Yes, when we arrived at the club earlier that afternoon, there were
representatives from Filo T. Beddo's chopper-riding arch enemies, The
Black Widows, milling about, but the club was nice, the beer was cheap
& the stage was large, so we were happy.
Troubadors: excellent, excellent, excellent, excellent (one "excellent"
per band member) - I love that band - I love the Shadows more because of
that band - the tone is perfect - Ivan Sr. is one of the best rhtyhm
guitar players I have seen - and that is not intended to detract in any
way from the myriad other great rhythm guitar players - because there
are many out there beyond reproach. Ivan Jr. just nails the Shadows
vibe and tone with that AC30 - drums great (like TFJ, drummer Dane
enjoys the sound of the aluminum shelled Ludwig Acrolite model snare
drum)
Camera: It is very unfortunate that no one photgraphed the historical
event - more troubling for me is that I had a camera in the van that
only needed a a quick change of film & I would have gladly given it to
an operative in the crowd to use. The problem arose because our van
was parked in back of the stage outside & when it was time to begin
setting up our equipment (again, outside), it ultimately meant having to
walk out and miss part of the Troubadors set - something I really didn't
want to do, but eventually had to in an effort to ensure a timely
transition between bands. Basically, I can sum it up by paraphrasing my
favorite audio sample from track #7 of the Infrareds new disc - ' I
didn't have time to fuck around, so I didn't give anyone the film'
Lite Bulb Malfunction: upon further investigation (minutes before our
show the following night in Chicago) , it was determined that the light
bulb did unscrew itself. For this, I can paraphrase the skagged out
landlord in "Kingpin" - "There's something about good surf that makes me
have to crap; you really jarred something loose there, tiger."
Modern Cover Songs: many of the 3rd wave bands have written great songs
worthy of being played, so why not play them? They're fun. Who doesn't
enjoy playing Satan's Pilgrims with a good icepick boooch going on??
Good songs are fun to play & fun to watch being played by other artists
regardless of who wrote it or when. I've seen The Penetrators play
Red Sunrise live; The Infrareds cover a Metalunas song (Celluloid
Planetoid) on their new CD, Jon & The Nightriders did "Tailspin" -
even The Vonrippers did a version of Blue Venus by The Blue Stingrays
the other night in Akron & Destination Earth did the Reverend Horton
Heat's "I Can't Surf" - Cocktail Preachers were able to squeeze in a
Davie Allen song and a qucik version of Satan's Pilgrims "Vampiro"
(pronounced: vam-PEE-ro, not vam-PY-ro) before the bar was shut down by
the cops ( although the butthead bartender deserved being hassled by the
man it for pouring shots for himself instead of bringing me beer).
I've about had it for now - but I want to extend a special thanks on
behalf of The Nebulas to everyone involved in making our brief road trip
a great experience.....
Cast of Characters (in order of appearance to the best of my
recollection):
Butthead Crazy Truck Driver in PA as himself
In Akron:
Sump Pump Monkeys - thanks for setting up & promoting the show (and
showing me what an Irish Car Bomb is)
VonRippers - thanks for opening the show in Akron
Buckwheat Zydeco - playing across the street on the lawn Survivor -
scheduled to play across the street on the lawn the following night
The mild-mannered bullwhip-wielding female proprietor of the porn shop
neighboring The Lime Spider on Main St.
Jerome the toothless crackhead pan-handler - can you have some change?
Yes. Can you have 5-bucks to get some chicken? No. If you get 4
people in one hour to "give you five bucks" for chicken, you're pullin'
down $41,600 a year tax free if you "work" 40 hours a week.
Tom Hinders - Tsunami Soul host from Oberlin College radio - thanks for
the support, the airplay, the referrals and for attending the show.
In Indy:
Mr. Biscuits
Destination Earth: thanks Commander 007 for overseeing logistical,
promotional and performance elements
Troubadors - thanks again for performing in front of me - and to Ivan Jr
for playing with us and for asking us to be on the bill to begin with
Brian Neal & Dick Messick - surf troopers extraordinaire
The woman from Tennesse (another long distance surf fan) who wound up
buying me two beers because Dano didn't drink the one she bought for him
thanks to the other woman who let us photograph her ass with a Nebulas
sticker on it. ** Sign up now for a 3-day platinum membership @
www.thenebulas.com and receive unlimited access to the bonus gallery**
In Chicago:
Phil Tiki and The Cocktail Preachers - thanks for booking, promoting &
playing at the show - sorry the cops cut you short. - they should be out
on the goddamn highway opening up more than one f*cking lane of traffic
on a major interstate instead of patrolling the sidewalk in front of the
Turkish bath house
Destination Earth - another stellar performance, not to mention weather
control members of Michigan-based rockabilly combo, Dangerville, for
making the trek down to see us
Everyone and anyone else that I forgot to mention because I'm spent
-tfj-
.
----- Original Message -----
From: Brian Neal
To:
Sent: Monday, July 14, 2003 5:52 PM
Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Show Report: Troubadours, Nebulas,
Destination: Earth! 12-Jul-2003 (VERY LONG)
(Disclaimer: excessively long cross posted message....sorry if you get
it a
bunch of times)
Show Report: The Troubadours, The Nebulas, Destination: Earth!
Zanies Too, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA 12-July-2003
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:.
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Jim -
Thanks for posting how it looked from your side. What a blast it was indeed.
You guys in Europe are in for a great time!
And yes, thanks for reminding me the correct spelling is "boooch boooch". A
new phrase for the surf lexicon.
Oh and I almost forgot, I learned the correct way to say "Ferenc" too that
night. :)
BN (Still smiling)
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jim Nichols [mailto:]
>
> Thank you for that very thorough (and flattering) surveillance
> report, Field Agent #202.
...
