rock me, mr. davis!

[magpie]

home, home again...
now, how to find the words... words to describe such a weekend of music and magic and moments that fill my heart to remember... at this moment i am not quite sure they exist.

surprise me mr. davis did more than meet the levels of awe-inspiring rockdom i've witnessed from them before. they far surpassed any previously held notions of expectations. these were, (along with the high sierra late night of '06), the best smmd shows i've seen... strong, creative, energetic, and TIGHT... the boys (as i collectively refer to them ) were on friggin FIRE. you would think they'd been rehearsing together (i'm referring to nathan and brad here, as obviously the three slips are together more often) for weeks prior to these shows (as apparently was not the case), with harmonies so beautiful, so together, and strong. nathan has really come into his (davis-style) own, rockin out on his classic TrueTone, alongside brad's incredible raging and moving guitarwork that never ceases to blow my mind. marc, rock solid and all over the place as always, and andrew... well, andrew as we know is a madman on the drums, and i mean that in the most perfect sense. friday and saturday night andrew was absent (*gasp*), but a student of his named ezra filled his shoes without skipping a beat. it was truly incredible to witness. hats off to ezra!!

there were some song repeats across the three nights, but enough diversity to make it all interesting. some davis staples, some treats, all in all an excellent representation of what smmd is and does.

the only setlist i have at the moment is from friday night. thursday i didn't write down, and saturday's list got left at the venue (bummer!). but, recordings exist so therefore the setlists are not lost forever.
here's friday:

12/7/07
tin can coffee cup (thanks nathan!)
when a woman
the shouters
everything must go
mardi gras
fat king of gods
wine & white soda
back in 15 minutes
rubberball
unprotected sex
poor boy

also, can't forget to mention, the mother hips were incredible as well. rock solid and rockin out. couldn't have been better, honestly. i thoroughly enjoyed it all, and are now solidly in my Top Favorite Bands list. on saturday night there were some fun guesting-happenings too. Tim Bluhm (of the mother hips) joined smmd for a raging "19th nervous breakdown" encore, and nathan and brad joined the hips' encore for a raucous "whiskey river".

there is more to tell, oh yes...
but that's all for now.
stay tuned for more...

[harrymcq]

12/6/07 The Independent

Holly Would
Hunny
Everything Must Go
Red Sky
Poor Boy
To You
When A Woman
Skull and Bones
I Hate Love
Unprotected Sex
19th Nervous Breakdown (super long with drum solo in middle and drawn out ending jams)
Encore:
Ambrosia Drunk
Cloudy Skies
One Of Us Standing
Tell Me More
I Want To Get To Heaven Before I Die
Sleepyhead

Awesome show! I'm not going to torrent these right away because there is some talk of releasing them but I will keep y'all in the loop.

[Phrazz]

Verrry nice! "On fire" is definitely adroit. "Blowing up" is not far from the mark. Kudos to everyone who witnessed such extravaganzas, and thanks a bunch for the setlists and show reviews. Can't wait to hear the craziness.

-Phrazz

[Captain Sammy]

What a weekend! Couldn't have asked for any more really. I agree with magpie that the Indy show on Thursday was my favorite show yet. Nathan even made a comment to that effect from stage. Something about it doesn't get any better than this and that he didn't want the night to be over.

Saturday - The only song that wasn't a repeated from the previous 2 nights (no complaints by the way) was How Stupid I Am. If I rememeber right it was Stupid > I hate Love. I love those two played back to back.

Thanks to Reap and Sow for putting the weekend together. Let's hope they release the cd's that are being talked about.

[torph]

yezzzzzzzzzzz.... an amazing weekend, which started for me last wed. evening. sunday night was truly special. the closest thing i've seen to that brad/nathan show at the radio bean back in '04 in vermont.

huge props to everyone who made the weekend a success. the reapandsow family, the mother hips, the staff's at the indy & moe's, and all who came out ready to rock.

ezra lipp- you are *our* hero

ok. time to sleep for a few days..... to anyone who's still kicking around SF: my band Big Light is playing at the hotel utah on thursday... 10pm ish.

till next time,

torph

[Phrazz]

No, sleep is not merely wasted time. Except during tour.

Who's Ezra Lipp? Sounds vaguely familiar.

Torph, is Big Light your latest main band? No more White Thighs or is that a side project now? Hard to keep up -- you are rolling right along.

Definitely keep us posted on any releases. I want 3 copies of each.

-Peace,

Phrazz

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EunajGvY8-Q&NR=1

[harrymcq]

12/8/07 Moe's Alley

I Want To Get To Heaven Before I Die
How Stupid I Am
When A Woman
I Hate Love
Sleepyhead
Holly Would
unknown - new Nathan, "Gotta gotta make love, gotta gotta make sense..."
Red Sky
19th Nervous Breakdown (with Tim from Mother Hips on guitar)
Last One Ever

[magpie]

thanks for the lists harry!

don't know what nathan's officially calling that new one, "gotta make it" works well enough for now... great song! so stoked to have gotten to hear it...

here's the lyrics (from percyboyd.com)

since the beginning we've been spinning our wheels
trying to love, digging in our heals
wondering how could the angel tugging on our sleeve
not be real?
We deal the cards and read the signs and step in line with fate
and finding Heaven's gate, we hope we're not too late-
we've dispelled the magician but in magic we
still have faith!

gotta make it, gotta make it, gotta make it,
gotta make it, make sense
gotta make it, make love
gotta make it, make believe
gotta make it, make enough
for you and me.

Beauty sits upon a stone and tries to prove me wrong-
she sings all alone, a far away song
that goes "i wasn't born inside you and i wont die when you do...
carry on!"
i try to sing along but my voice it doesn't fit
it tramples, beauty is begging me to quit
I'm tired and thirsty and limping
thru this field of violet.

gotta make it, gotta make it, gotta make it,
gotta make it, make sense
gotta make it, make love
gotta make it, make believe
gotta make it, make enough
for you and me.

the last thing that Wisdom said, lying on his deathbed
don't let the things you know go to your head
then he took a breath, let out a laugh
said "O no," and then was dead.
i put pennies on his eyes and sat up on the fence
satisfied thinking, well, that's my two cents.
Then surrounded I surrendered to let my song be rendered
by silence.

gotta make it, gotta make it, gotta make it,
gotta make it, make sense
gotta make it, make love
gotta make it, make believe
gotta make it, make enough
for you and me.

[torph]

so Erza Lipp is a really great guy from Mass who I know from VT & slip shows... he's a HUGE Slip fan and great drummer and a sometimes student of Droo's....

nathan gave a great explanation of the whole situation from the stage at the yankee on sunday... hopefully those recordings will circulate..

http://www.myspace.com/ezralipp

Phrazz- The White Thighs are alive and well... i would describe the thighs as a dysfunctional, crass collective of ten or so people from southern Rhody who play a handful of gigs each year in various combos.. ezra actually saved our camp harry set this year by learning a bunch of our songs a day before the festival.. big light is a new band.. we've gigged three times- our 1st 2 performances were on the same bill as nathan and we were lucky enough to jam with him for those... anyway....

http://www.myspace.com/biglightband

[torph]

http://www.spinner.com/2007/12/12/the-s ... e-surprise

[magpie]

duuuuude they spelled ThaMuseMeant wrong

[magpie]

check this great review:
http://www.jambase.com/Articles/Story.a ... ryID=12337

[magpie]

here's a video tidbit of Tim Bluhm (Mother Hips) jammin with Mr. Davis 12/8/07 @Moe's. short but sweet, just a little taste of what it was like to be there...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3HVx5gQ6Ak

[magpie]

and part two:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtAS-b9dBXg

[magpie]

here's a clip of nathan and brad at the yankee:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m07M7IY0Cec

damn, it's so dark though! bummer...