...seven years ago yesterday, 9/14/01 at the Iron Horse became one of the most memorable PB shows of all time. Just 3 days earlier we had all lived through 9/11. The next day, 9/12/01, the band had ALL their gear and van and trailer stolen in Boston. Having no money to replace everything, it looked like the band would never play a show again. This is still without question the toughest 24 hours in Breakfast history.
Two days later, the band still had no gear but was headlining a club for the first time in what was easily their biggest market at the time: Amherst/Northampton. Uncle Sammy opened the show and PB had to use all of their gear. Nobody was sure what would become of this gig, but in an amazing show of solidarity and spirit, the Amherst and CT crews came out in full force and completely packed the place, and many more who never got in simply watched and listened through the window on the sidewalk. It was a very emotional show and a wonderfully singular afterparty around the campfire.
The following is a reprint of the archived review of this night as originally posted to the pbfans yahoogroup.
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"The Amherst promo team is running like a well-oiled machine and we are gonna pack the place to the rafters and there is nothing anybody can do to stop it!"
-Me to the group, 9/7/1
Well guys, the world threw absolutely everything it had at us to challenge this statement. Tuesday was the worst day in American history, and Wednesday was the worst day in PB history. It would have been perfectly understandable if the show did not go on, or if nobody showed up. But in a true showing of determination, positive spirit, and a need for love, the show went on, the people came in droves, and the result was a fantastic night complete with that unstoppable UMass magic.
Emotions have been high for this show for a long time. All the fans in western Mass have been foaming at the mouth since Baker Quadfest, eager to pick up where we left off. The egroup went through an emotional morality debate relative to this show. The Amherst promo team hasn\'t stopped talking about it since school started. Personally, the excitement around here, particularly from new fans, has gotten me up in the morning over the past few weeks. And if this weren\'t enough to make this an extraordinarily emotional show, it was almost every fan\'s first activity since the horrors of Tuesday, and the band\'s first activity since the horrors of Wednesday.
As if I weren\'t already jumping out of my skin on the way to the show last night, when we pulled up there were 50 people waiting outside for the doors to open. This completely put me over the top, because 50 people outside before the show means sellout by the end of the show. As it turns out the place was packed, but it was even more than that. People actually needed this show, and you could feel it. The feelings weren\'t all positive by any means, but they were potent.
Spunk was awesome as an opener. I was hoping for this and Food for Thought as well as lots of newer stuff for all the UMass people who haven\'t seen the band since May. We got both, of course. Great poem, Tim. Attraction and Beef have become Umass classics, both frequent tunes at Butterfield. Rufus was needed around here too, so I was excited for it. Pretty standard as far as Rufus goes, but I can only imagine how hard it is to play with any sort of sustained emotion when Armageddon stares you in the face and you\'re using someone else\'s gear. Awesome drum duel w/ Adrian and TZ, and the roar from the crowd was deafening after we all sang happy birthday! Then Tim decides "might as well finish the song" (Language) but instead of going right back into it there came an off-the-cuff heavy funk jam that was awesome. It was only about 2 minutes long, but just the way they went from nothing to this jam and then from this jam back into the Language reprise was just fantastic. The Uncle Sammy jam was cool, and God Bless America was an excellent finishing touch, as well as a good way to play past curfew and not get heaved mid-song. (I\'ve seen Iron Horse do it before.) The show was way too short, although Iron Horse regulars are used to this. If you have an opener, there is no way you\'re going to play more than 2 hours at Iron Horse, that\'s just the way it goes. I know it was tough for some of you who are used to later curfews and 3 hours a night of PB.
The show had ended, but for a lot of us the night was by no means over. I really want to thank everyone who came over to my house to hang out. UMass crew, Joce, Todd, Curtis, Freddie, Fran, Jule, Josh, Josias, Tim, Adrian, Ron: I really needed to be with a lot of people I like, and what better than to have people I like from around New England all come together. It was our first real party at the house in 3.5 months of living here, which made me and my roomies really happy. The fire was great! It was the first time I have talked about this week and not been frustrated with everyone else\'s opinions and assumptions. I really admired everyone\'s words and needed that conversation, thank you. But besides that, it was just awesome raging until full daylight with the best music fans in New England. You are all welcome anytime. Once again my # is 413-549-9906. I am so happy you could all be here.
So goes a memorable PB night. Stay strong, keep listening, keep loving, and we\'ll be just fine.
Peace and vibes,
Seth Wolfman
