Well, most importantly, it\'s just one show. If other good shows come down the pipe, we\'ll forget all about it. But I do wish we could just have our own ser-head party rather than pay $20 for 45 minutes. (And 19 of those dollars will go to another band.) There are rooms all over Connecticut. What about Murphy and Scarletti\'s in Farmington, they\'ve got a huge stage. No wait, I\'ve got it...
...it could only be...
The Powder Hollow Barn! Who remembers THIS SHOW?
Setlist: 12/31/01 Powder Hollow Barn; Enfield, CT
I: jam > Rufus > Superfly Phaddy Fat > See The Light > Garcian Fishbowl > Hardluck Harry > It’s the End of the World As We Know It* > Mayfly Disarray > Love Lake > Attraction to Shade Ditty > Flower Punk > LDZ > Son of Simpleton
II: jam > Sundance > Wake Up in A Coma > Tribal Funk Affliction^ > One Big Mob% > Frankly Po Zest > Escher’s Etchings > Episode 1 (Happy) > Mooboo’s Voodoo (Episode 2) > Drunk Monk Bar > Fairy > Score > Drum Solo >The Grand Scheme of Things
III: Puppetry > Auld Lang Syne > Buquebus > Sex Machine% > Spunk > The Chase > Gladys Pimp and Kangaroos With Me
E: Food For Thought# > Question Mark and the Mind > Food For Thought > Taboot or Not Taboot
* R.E.M. cover – first time played
^Unfinished
% w/ Dave Pecoraro on vocals
% w/ Seth Wolfman on saxophone
# Thought: Yesterday was the end of the new beginning. Today is the beginning of the new end. (followed by segue into Question Mark)
WOW. I need to give this show a few days to sink in, but right now I feel that this is hands-down the best PB show to date. Every song was played to its utmost potential, the setlist construction was phenomenal, and the vibe in the packed room was nothing short of love-fest 2002. Everyone went absolutely nuts from the first chords of Rufus. After playing a Camp Creekesque Rufus the segued seamlessly into Superfly, and again the whole place was going crazy at every part, particularly Tim’s 4-bar solos. The next 3 songs all had great jams that were all distinctly different. Then an unexpected cover, which always adds spice to any show, and this particular cover was a perfect call. End Of the World as We Know It was rollicking plenty enough to get the crowd going and also has lots of appropriate implications for the night at hand. Love Lake perfectly described the room, perhaps that’s why it came out, and then built into a totally sinister jam that led to ATSD. Gotta love that sinister Love Lake!…another brilliant and unique segue. After ATSD came Flower Punk, LDZ, and Son of Simpleton. You can’t rock any harder than that. The buzz in the crowd all throughout setbreak was: “I can’t believe that’s only the first set!” Set II opened with a Sundance that measured 8.6 on the Richter scale. The jazzy opening of the tune was a nice contrast to the ferocious end of first set. WUIAC was a great way to do a psychedelic slide out of Sundance, then it was time to bring in the Tribal Funk! The realization that the room was packed to the rafters may have inspired One Big Mob, I dunno, but it was certainly another appropriate tune. Great job on the vox Pec! Frankly Po Zest and the place is now really bumpin’, and then a sweet call to change the mood with Escher’s Etchings. They’re really starting to get this tune down, great dynamics tonight. At long last, we finally got Episode 1 and 2 back to back! All throughout Mooboo’s people were getting really revved up in anticipation of a possible Episode 3, but not tonight. Some were disappointed momentarily, but I tend to feel that you can’t throw all your super-special stuff into one night. Episode 1> Episode 2 is still really cool and it’s New Year’s, gotta save some stuff for later! Drunk Monk Bar was a good pick, since we hadn’t had a hard rocker since FPZ. Fairy…man, I love Fairy! Score kicked ass and I thought it would be the set closer, but as it ended one man was left playing, and that man was Adrian. Holy mackerel, this was a drum solo for the ages! After banging on the wall, the mic stands, some loose random objects and his own noggin, Adrian located the drums and went methodically berserk. It was hard to tell which was going to explode first: Adrian, the drums, or the crowd. When it was all over, emerging from the deafening ovation was the drumbeat to Grand Scheme, which was the perfect song to end the set. Epic and contemplative, Grand Scheme had us foaming at the mouth for set III. Setbreak in the crowd was a huge forum on what would be the last and first songs of going and coming years. Some people were even making odds. (Buquebus was the top pick at 3:2.) Anticipation was through the roof as the band came out at 11:47. A clock was projected on the wall above the band. What would they play, what would they play?! Tim just stood there with a huge grin for a moment as if to say: “You guys really wanna know what we’re gonna play, don’t you?” The selection was Puppetry. Superb call! It came as a surprise to some, but it was definitely mentioned in the crowd a few times during setbreak. The jam was an absolutely tremendous rock/trance hybrid reminiscent of Baker Quad. Everyone was jumping around completely delirious and hugging during the last five minutes of the year, then 2002 was upon us! The band played Auld Lang Syne while the free love exchange continued in the crowd. After a few choruses of that came the song everyone was waiting for all night, the song that has packed so much muscle into so many sets for the band this year, Buquebus. I’ve never seen a crowd go crazier at any show for any band, ever. It didn’t matter that it was a tad bit predictable, it’s what everyone wanted to hear and it was definitely PB’s song of the year. Both jams were extended and it was plain to see that the band was putting every ounce of energy into each note. Sex Machine was a fantastic funky call to maintain the party atmosphere. Thanks for letting me play! Spunk and The Chase were extreme voltage, and Gladys Pimp finished the show off beautifully with a long funk jam. What a show! What could they possibly have left for the encore? When the band sparked up Food for Thought everyone was thoroughly intrigued. The crowd hung on every note waiting to hear how Tim would some up the year gone by and the year to come in just a couple of thoughts. First he laid down a philosophical juxtaposition about beginnings and ends, and then, almost magically, the band segued into Question Mark and the Mind. A musical Food for Thought! And what a tasteful song to play! They played ? beautifully and then got back to FFT without missing a beat and finished it up. Question Mark was such a great selection in that spot. Music is as much about the message as it is about movin’ and groovin’, and the band showed a lot of maturity in realizing this and playing an original that fits the times so well. Finally, to wrap things up, they busted out Taboot or Not Taboot, a great way to finish up in classic PB funk-party style. 3 sets plus super party mood equals what is indisputably one of the top-notch PB shows of all time. I had such a blast partying with all of you as always, we have the best scene of any band anywhere! It was definitely an appropriate finish to my year. HAPPY NEW YEAR!! SEE YOU IN 2002!!
Peace and vibes,
Wolfman
Man, I dreamt well last night.
* * *
:thumbsup:
JP, fire up the generators, The Breakfast is coming back to Enfield!
