Gig Archives: 2001
(Disclaimer: this may be incomplete or inaccurate)Saturday, January 13th, 2001 Debut show of Robot Arm, which is the brainchild of
Mat and Chris from Ninewood. These two guys recorded
a shitload of improvs as many as three years ago with random
other people (including myself and many others). Supposedly
a CD compiling the best of these recordings will come out this
year. In the meantime, due to a last-minute cancellation at
the Port Lite club in Oakland (ghasp), they decided to
throw together a Robot Arm show with no promo or
nothin'. So I got the invite, and couldn't resist. We headlined
on a Saturday night after two pop bands (some co-ed band and
the fast-pop Little John). Then we played like a
spewing volcano, forcing everybody out of the place. It was
Mat and Chris on drums and bass, me on Nord Lead, Dren on
guitar, and Brian (who I just met that evening) also on guitar.
What a blast, except the power to my Nord kept going in and out during
the entire set, but that lent even more of a random edge to things.
"Behold Robot Arm," read an unfulred banner behind Mat. Indeed.
Saturday, January 20th, 2001 We played a headlining spot of four bands as part of a benefit for
Afghani women at the Tuva Space in Berkeley/Oakland (3192 Adeline).
I never been there before - a cozy, groovy performace space.
Kinda packed and hard to load in our stuff, though. First off
was Zeek Sheck and her freaky cronies. She just played
laptop and harmonica this time around - no drums like a previous
show of hers I caught at the Paradise. Second was some trio
including Henry Kaiser. During that set
Frank and I split to go to the Nursery to pick up CDs to sell. Hung
out there for a while chatting with Dan and Brook as Frank made
a bacon sandwich and chai. Back to the venue, only then realizing
Frank was too busy eating to remember to grab CDs. Oh well. Like
we'd sell any. Perfectly missed the Kaiser set. Third
was Faun Fables. Dawn and Nils were in top form tonight,
feeding off the energy of the crowd (I never heard "Transit Rider"
get such a laugh reaction from an audience - I always thought of
it as a dismal song). Then we had to follow that. As of last night
Kenseth started his sabbatical away from music, and Graham couldn't
make it, so it was just Frank, Eli, Mitch, and me. Keepin' it real.
Ended up being one of best shows since before the Fall '00 tour.
Between the late hour, BART stopping, and the fact that nobody
likes us, the placed thinned out throughout the course of our
fusion odyssey. Still felt good about the show, and still made it
home at a decent hour (around 12:30am).
Friday, January 26th, 2001 On Tour: M&P Pacific Northwest Tour Winter 2001 @ Meow Meow in Portland, OR with the Francis Farmer Gals and the Nearly Deads
Saturday, January 27th, 2001 On Tour: M&P Pacific Northwest Tour Winter 2001 @ the Breakroom in Seattle, WA with Maria Mabra, Ponticello and Blue Collar Love
Sunday, January 28th, 2001 On Tour: M&P Pacific Northwest Tour Winter 2001 @ the Matrix in Chehalis, WA Louis Panush and Hot Carl
Friday, February 23rd, 2001 Our big CD release party for All my Waking Moments in a Jar.
There was a lot of pressure building up to this point, mostly involving
band logistics like assembling CDs, getting T-shirts printed, etc.
But everything worked out much, much better than expected. We had a
great turnout, thanks to the various draws from the many acts.
Wesley Willis was a hoot - he set up off stage and kept the
crowd entertained between long set changes. The wonderful
Red Bennies made their Bay Area debut in fine form, rocking
the crowd into a furor. Then we played, featuring mostly songs from
the new CD, including a perfect lounge ballad version of "Resigned"
with Jenya on bass and me on piano. Also had the debut of our brand
new tune "Lifespan" which the sound guy raved about after the show.
And I mustn't forget that we pulled off our first segue ever
("Breathe Deep" going into "Mountain").
Then Sleepytime Gorilla Museum destroyed the crowd with their
special brain-melting recipe, and I haven't seen that big a mosh pit
at an art-rock show in a long time.
Saturday, March 3rd, 2001 On Tour: Salt Lake City Tour 2001 @ Kilby Court in Salt Lake City, UT with Cobra, Sikhara, and the Red Bennies
Thursday, March 8th, 2001 Another show at the Bottom of the Hill in SF. The amorphous lineup
tonight was me, Frank, Eli, and Graham. We actually rehearsed a couple
of times and came up with "heads" or at list riffs to play with if need be.
Frank expressed concern that our draw would be slim tonight, and his
nightmare became reality. Opening up the set was Wadsworth,
touring from Portland - a bunch of funny guys and a fun band. Then
we played to about 30-40 people. Typical loud set - nothing to write
home about. Then Bluebeard - hyperrock from dudes I've seen around
the music scene for a while but never heard. Too bad about the lame
draw, especially since Frank and I had a sold out crowd here the other day
with our other bands.
Funny note - Scott from Sikhara, now bumming around SF instead
of SLC, popped in with Camille (sp?) - the old, old bass player for
Uz Jsme Doma touring around as well with his latest freakout thang.
The experimental-indie-rock touring world is a small one, indeed.
Thursday, March 22nd, 2001 On Tour: Species Being Pacific Northwest Tour Spring 2001 @ the Rainbow in Seattle, WA with two funk bands
Friday, March 23rd, 2001 On Tour: Species Being Pacific Northwest Tour Spring 2001 @ Medicine Hat in Portland, OR with Cosmos Group and the Opera Cycle
Saturday, March 24th, 2001 On Tour: Species Being Pacific Northwest Tour Spring 2001 @ Meow Meow in Portland, OR with a million other bands
Thursday, April 5th, 2001 On Tour: M&P Mormon to Norman North American Tour @ Ya'Buts in Salt Lake City, UT
Friday, April 6th, 2001 On Tour: M&P Mormon to Norman North American Tour @ 15th Street Tavern in Denver, CO
Saturday, April 7th, 2001 On Tour: M&P Mormon to Norman North American Tour @ the Hurricane in Kansas City, MO
Sunday, April 8th, 2001 On Tour: M&P Mormon to Norman North American Tour @ Fireside Bowl in Chicago, IL
Monday, April 9th, 2001 On Tour: M&P Mormon to Norman North American Tour @ El Mocambo in Torono, ON
Wednesday, April 11th, 2001 On Tour: M&P Mormon to Norman North American Tour @ T.T. the Bear's in Cambridge, MA
Thursday, April 12th, 2001 On Tour: M&P Mormon to Norman North American Tour @ played live on the air at WFMU (in NJ)
Thursday, April 12th, 2001 On Tour: M&P Mormon to Norman North American Tour @ Brownie's in New York, NY
Friday, April 13th, 2001 On Tour: M&P Mormon to Norman North American Tour @ Prodigal Son in Hyannis, MA
Sunday, April 15th, 2001 On Tour: M&P Mormon to Norman North American Tour @ Ottobar in Baltimore, MA
Tuesday, April 17th, 2001 On Tour: M&P Mormon to Norman North American Tour @ the Boro Bar and Grill in Murfreesboro, TN
Wednesday, April 18th, 2001 On Tour: M&P Mormon to Norman North American Tour @ A.R.K. in New Orleans, LA
Thursday, April 19th, 2001 On Tour: M&P Mormon to Norman North American Tour @ Mary Jane's in Houston, TX
Friday, April 20th, 2001 On Tour: M&P Mormon to Norman North American Tour @ Red Eyed Fly's in Austin, TX
Saturday, April 21st, 2001 On Tour: M&P Mormon to Norman North American Tour @ Medicine Hall in Norman, OK
Sunday, May 6th, 2001 On Tour: Tour - Spring 2001 @ the Casbah in San Diego, CA
Tuesday, May 8th, 2001 On Tour: Tour - Spring 2001 @ Solar Cult Gallery in Tucson, AZ
Wednesday, May 9th, 2001 On Tour: Tour - Spring 2001 @ 33 Degrees (in-store) in Austin, TX
Thursday, May 10th, 2001 On Tour: Tour - Spring 2001 @ Red Eye Fly's in Austin, TX
Friday, May 11th, 2001 On Tour: Tour - Spring 2001 @ Rubber Gloves in Denton, TX
Saturday, May 12th, 2001 On Tour: Tour - Spring 2001 @ Medicine Hall in Norman, OK
Sunday, May 13th, 2001 On Tour: Tour - Spring 2001 @ Hurricane in Kansas City, MO
Monday, May 14th, 2001 On Tour: Tour - Spring 2001 @ 15th Street Tavern in Denver, CO
Tuesday, May 15th, 2001 On Tour: Tour - Spring 2001 @ Ya'buts in Salt Lake City, UT
Wednesday, May 16th, 2001 On Tour: Tour - Spring 2001 @ the Zephyr in Reno, NV
Sunday, May 20th, 2001 We played a barbecue show at the Bottom of the Hill with the
same trio lineup as the tour. This was kind of a "welcome back" show as well
as a "goodbye improv" show. We arrived way too early, eventually took our time
soundchecking, and then chowing down on some amazing all-you-can-eat vittles.
Project: Pimento played first, a lounge/cover band featuring a missing
bass player and somebody who could actually play the theremin. Good stuff,
but totally not a good opening band for us. They drew some well dressed
lounge types who fled during our set. I believed we played quite well,
especially considering I was still physically and mentally recovering from
the tour, and haven't touched my bass since the Reno show. The Portlanders
from Wadsworth were in town on tour and all stopped by. Speaking of
Portland: Julie, who put us up during our last tour up there,
also appeared at random during some days off in SF before moving to Big Sur.
Trance/Hardcore Ybo Ybo had half their members detained before
leaving Japan, yet they still embarked on this tour with a last-minute
surrogate American drummer. No offense to the new guy, but
I felt myself wishing they had their regular lineup. What a weird collection
of music. Good crowd for a Sunday. And thus marks the beginning of the
end of the marriage between Species Being and improvisation.
Friday, August 24th, 2001 A benefit show at the Starry Plough for Mark Growden who needs
money to bring his broken down bus which is still in LA. Lots of solo
acts before the Tiger Lillies did a surprise guest segment,
and then the Electric Pinata played a full headlining set.
I was one of the many entertaining solo acts that started the evening.
Others included Gobo Yaya, Deep Fried Happy Family, and
Brian Kenney-Fresno, as well as short films here and there.
I felt my slot was poorly rehearsed yet well received. Lots of people
there who never saw me play solo. So be it. My little sister was in
town and she got to see me play in some form or another. After the
festivities ended, I had to house Brian who was up from Fresno only for
the evening but was locked out of the Nursery so he needed a place
to crash. We talked Warr guitar.
Saturday, September 15th, 2001 I wouldn't call this the Dropsy debut show. Dave called it
the "beta test." It was Alex's birthday, so two of his bands played
(us and Six-Eyed Columbia), as well as Mega Mousse,
at his warehouse performance space on Piedmont Avenue.
We only had six songs ready ("Sign the Bill," "Shiny Scenery,"
"Level Below," "Altimeter," "Throw Me," and "Hole in the World")
and we are still missing saxophone. Nevertheless, it was fun to
give this new band a whirl and present "things to come" to various
friends and strangers who attended.
I hung out a while after playing, enjoying the other two bands
who rocked the house in their own special ways.
Saturday, October 27th, 2001 Wow! The first Mumble & Peg show in over half a year!
We played last after about 11 other acts as part of the annual
"Murder Ballads" benefit show to raise money to fund musical
therapy programs in schools. As usual, this happened at the
Starry Plough in Berkeley, and it was packed. The general
idea was for each band to play songs about murder and death
and misery and whatnot. Other acts included,
Thom Moore, Tommy Carnes,
Hoarhound, Ramona the Pest (doing some
outstanding Black Sabbath covers),
Bitesize, and Noe Venable Trio, and more..
Now.. we haven't played together as a band in a long time,
and Erik has been down on music in general (aggravated
by his job where he's booking tours for several better-funded
and better-promoted bands). So we've were quite uninspired
to put our little set together. We started with our only
original murder song, "Mirrorface," followed by a Melvins
like rendition of the Police classic "Murder by Numbers,"
segue-ing into the perfect Shellac number "Prayer to God,"
and then finishing with the Idiot Flesh opus
"Teen Devil Worshipper." Despite Erik's complaints about
having to perform earlier, his histrionics were unparalleled
and the crowd (which withstood the high volume) asked for more,
so we encored with the old standy, "Hangman."
It ended up being a fun show - all bands kept to the schedule,
bless their many hearts, so we got on fairly early. Jenya's
costume was a hit (she recycled her Little Dead Riding Hood
outfit from a couple years ago but now had all-white contacts
which freaked everybody out). My costume was stupid - a
ghoulish doctor with a bloody hospital shirt. Erik dressed
up as the keyboard player for the Faint.
Despite the fun, it remains to be seen whether or not
this was the last Mumble & Peg show. There's not
a lot of inspiration right now, though there is talk
of continuing as a trio under a different name, just
to give ourselves a "clean slate."
Monday, December 31st, 2001 I'm only calling this a show because I haven't been doing
much else, performance-wise. Beth & Eli were having a
New Year's Eve talent show at their house. Before
splitting early to go to another party where Jenya had
to play drums, me, Dave, and Alex played a couple Dropsy
tunes as a trio. Unrehearsed and silly. Both songs were
in C minor and the E-flat below middle C was missing
on the piano. I survived.
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