BOC: Attn Albert B

[Albert Bouchard]

On Aug 15, 2005, at 11:30 AM, John McIntyre wrote:

> Sigh, I don't think they'll be coming back to Lansing MI anytime soon.
> Friday's show at the Temple Club was a frustrating experience.  (Hint:
> next time try Mac's Bar.  Thor's show outdrew you 20 to 1.)

So he had 20 people eh? Poor guy. ;-)

>
> I got there about 9 PM and was told I couldn't go upstairs as the band
> was doing their soundcheck.  They sure were, and they were working on
> "Astronomy".  It's going to take armed guards to keep me away, and
> that's one more thing the Temple Club lacks, so up I went.  The band is
> still working out the kinks, but I was loving it, mistakes and all.
> They played right up to the point where the "Hey"s come in and stopped,
> so I yelled out "Hey".  The guitarist's head swivled around to look at
> me.  Then they worked out the ending, which got me up and applauding,
> to
> the band's amusement.
>
> Meanwhile, the Temple Club had no idea what was going on with the PA.
> The monitor mix was coming out the mains, and the main mix was coming
> out nowhere.  Things would not get much better as the night wore on.
>
> Finally they were able to get something coming out the main speakers,
> and the first band went on.  And instantly started complaining about
> the
> monitors.  Then the lead player's amp blew, and there was a delay while
> they borrowed an amp from the third band on the bill.  Finally they
> staggered to a close.  Given their comments from the stage, it will be
> interesting to see if they ever play the Temple Club again.
>
> The Brain Surgeons were up next, and I claimed the spot right in front
> of Deb.  Not that there was much competition - one guy stood to my
> left.  The band played with fire, and I was really enjoying myself.
> Standing so close to the stage, the PA was aimed behind me, so I have
> no
> idea how the vocals were, but the instruments were hot, and I was close
> enough to hear Deb direct.  Then I looked behind me to see how the
> crowd
> was reacting.  And there was no crowd.  The main floor was empty.
> Maybe
> five people were hiding around the fringes.  I felt sorry for the band,
> to have come so far for this had to be disappointing.  To their credit,
> they didn't let the music suffer, but they did cut the set list short.
> And dammit, they left out "Astronomy".  It had been planned - I could
> see it on the set list.   I jumped on stage when they finished their
> set
> and demanded "Astronomy".  Al shot me a worried look, as if he feared a
> physical assault, and said they'd do another song "But not
> 'Astronomy'."  So I had to settle for "Dominance and Submission."

They claimed to have a bunch of people paying admission but the place
was so big it really looked like there was only 5. Anyway that's the
beauty of playing so many shows is that it's like baseball there's
another game the next day. And if a tour is like a season then we had a
winning one AND they were all away games. The previous night the club
looked like a real dive in a bad part of town but it turned out to be
one of the best shows. Go figure. And the next night in Chicago was one
of the best sounding shows in Surgeons history. Life is great!

>
> To the band's credit, they were all gracious enough to sign the set
> list
> I stole from the stage, although I do suspect Deb's "Thanks for helping
> us rock Lansing" was sarcastic. (-8  Al apologized for omitting
> "Astronomy", saying it was not yet ready for human consumption.
>
> By all means go see them if they come near you.  But you might not want
> to mention "Temple Club" within their hearing. (-8

Ironically they could not have been nicer people. The treated us like
rock stars and honored every letter of their agreement and then some. I
would consider coming back but I'd play the downstairs room which is
smaller and sounds 1000% better according to the other bands. Sorry for
the bad sound. I hope you'll get a chance to see under more favorable
circumstances. BTW the sound onstage was the worst I can ever remember.
It was like driving a Corvette through quicksand. But that's the kind
of thing that builds character, like an ice-cold shower.
Al