After dinner, Stacey joined us and we went to see Wanted at this very cool theater/entertainment complex; iPic. It was the first time I saw a movie in a digital presentation. I was impressed and Wanted was high-energy, action-packed, ridiculous fun. Highly recommended if you like things blowing up and a movie that understands that its not high art and laughs at that fact with the audience.

On Sunday, we went out for breakfast at the Original Pancake House. It was worth the wait, they have bacon pancakes!! Tasty brilliance!

Sarah & Charlie while we waited for our seats:

Bacon Pancakes!

After breakfast, the kids and Sarah napped while Stacey and I played video games. I took my first stab at Guitar Hero and see what the hype is about, it is very addictive.

More pictures of food and the Harrison family are on Flickr.

After his nap, Charlie wasn’t feeling that well and Stacey was the Dad of the Year who took care of both boys so Sarah could with me to Summerfest to see Bonerama. We had a fun time and Sarah loved the Bones. I definitely have a new dancing partner! The music was a tad bit LOUD, so we didn’t stay too long after the Bones’ set and missed them sitting in with Galactic. But at least Stanton sat in with the Bones, so I got to see him do his thing.

A few pictures:

Craig and Greg:

Trombone Shorty sits in:

Mark and his cowbell:

Stanton Moore sits in for a couple of songs:

All Bonerama pictures over on Flickr.

and

You can have a similar, musically fabulous, experience this Saturday at 6pm in Iowa City. Come down to the Pentacrest to see Bonerama as part of the wonderful FREE Iowa City Jazz Fest!! You know I’ll be there. (Mentally, I already am.)

• More live Bonerama recordings. Bonus happy points for ‘Lost My House’, ‘Hard Times’, and ‘Folsom Prison Blues’
• Best Game Ever: Fun and heart-warming.
• Iowa is thisclose to having a smoking ban! Woo! [Though I honestly wonder what will become of The Deadwood.]
• Spending time online with Lisa looking at hotel rooms for Mardi Gras 2009…
• Finally, this clip from SNL last week continues to crack me up:
  

Photos from four of the five shows (nothing from Madison, more on that later…)
If you click on a photo when it is the big photo, it will give you the caption for the photo, with the option to click over to Flickr and see all the sizes.

All my video clips (some short, some long) in one big playlist:

And now a trip overview:

Last Wednesday, my boys of Bonerama came to Iowa City and enjoyed the cozy surrounds of the basement of the Iowa City Yacht Club. Huge thanks to all my friends and family from many parts of my life that came out to enjoy the fabulous music. I know it was tough since it was a Wednesday, but I hope the music and fun was more than worth it for everyone. It was very cool for me to get to see even more people I know see the guys for the first time or get a second or third (or more) taste. I can’t wait for them to come back in July and play the Iowa City Jazz Fest! Mark your calendars for Saturday, July 5th at 6pm! Bring the family!

On Thursday, Julie and I headed for Minneapolis. We stayed with the Whitworths and got a chance to enjoy the cuteness that is Muiread. There was dinner and BC dropped by for a few drinks before the show. Brandon went to the show with Julie and I. I think he enjoyed himself. The Cabooze was a cool club in Minneapolis and the show was great with an enthusiastic crowd.

Friday, we rolled eastward to Madison to our one night in a hotel. I hadn’t been to Madison before and expectations were a little high since the city was so highly recommended, but Wisconsin managed to not disappoint. Jewels and I had a great dinner at a wonderful restaurant called ‘The Icon’ that was across the street from the theater. Highly recommended for both before and after show fun. The concert on Friday was in a real theater. It was sold out and packed with around 900 people! Julie can report on the show as I mostly heard it from the lobby. I was helping out the band and selling merchandise. It was nice to be thought of and asked by Mark. Yes, I know I said ‘yes’ three times, but wow, it was crazy!! I liked getting to talk to people about the show as they came in and out for drinks or the restroom, but after the smokin’ encore, it was pandelrium! So many new fans!! And the guys came out and signed autographs and talked to the eager people. I complained, but they know I loved it. Anything to help out and share the joy of the Bone!

Saturday (and we were surprisingly feeling good, other than some lingering/developing colds), and we had a nice short drive to Chicago. There was cheese and wine tasting along the way (isn’t that required by law in Wisconsin?) and we settled into my home away from home in Chicago, at my friend Scott’s apartment. We went out for a fabulous seafood dinner at a restaurant that I can’t remember at the moment, and then grabbed a tasty (and properly filled) drink before Julie and I headed to the club. Bonerama had played Martyrs last July and I was there and it was a good crowd: dance floor in the middle with tables on both sides and it was all comfortably filled. Obviously the second time around had built up a following because when we walked in at 10:45pm it was a sweaty madhouse! Totally packed from wall to wall with people fired up to see the guys and they definitely brought the goods. The people were dancing and loving it all night. I hadn’t been to a hot, sweaty club show in quite awhile. That’s what they’re like in NYC or NOLA. It was fun. And hot. The music was so good. Seriously, watch some of my shaky video. Revisited the Green Mill, site of one of my best Harry shows ever, later that night which was a great way to end the day (or start Sunday).

Sunday, we hung out with Scott. There was brunch and a lot of walking. Then we headed to DeKalb for an evening of contrasts. A slightly smaller crowd, but no less appreciative. It was kind of like a fan appreciation show. It was nice to have time to chat with people in a calm fashion and be able to sit back and enjoy the show. Though the music was so good I pretty much wanted to crawl out of my skin. What was really cool about the setlist was that it included both ‘Moby Dick’ (with a crazy 13+ minute jam) from the first Bonerama album, which I hadn’t heard for quite awhile, as well as a brand new arrangement of ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ that they had just rehearsed that afternoon. Its going to be so awesome.

And then we said our goodbyes. I cried a little bit on the way home, more from joy than sadness. What an adventure to get to take. We got back to Iowa City around 1:30am on Monday.

I can and will say more… its coming!

The guys will be performing with the lead singer from OK GO to support the release of a five song EP entitled “You’re Not Alone.” The album is available exclusively from iTunes for only $3.49 with ALL money raised going to support New Orleans musicians as they continue to recover from Hurricane Katrina. Do yourself a favor and get this album today!

They’re going to be hitting several midwest locations in March, hopefully many of my midwest readers can join me for a show or two.

Dig the Bone!

But its killing me to miss them. Its been killing me that I missed any of the Midwest shows they’ve been playing these past two weeks. I only went to four shows. I feel so unsupportive. Ok, not really. But you know me, concerts are an addiction and to know a fix is just a few states over makes me twitchy.

I’m consoling myself by thinking that after I get the crazy crap I have to do at work done in the next month or two and that by the time they come back my way, I’ll be able to ditch out of work for a week at a time to hit the road and be a proper friend of the band.

Work is work. I’m actually doing cool new stuff and its not a pain to come in or even stay late most days. We’ll see how I feel about it in another three months or so.

I guess this post doesn’t have much of a point other than me convincing myself I’ve seen my boys enough for these past two weeks. Though I’m really just lying to myself because I can never see them enough. I’m coming down off a lot of pop-culture too. Finishing reading all seven Harry Potter books in the last three months and watching all five Harry Potter movies in less than three days. I’ve also consumed the first two seasons of House on dvd in the past couple of weeks and now I have to wait until mid-August for the third season to be available. I need my House fix! I’m out of sorts… but then again, I could go see The Simpsons Movie at midnight…

Ok, the phone call I’m waiting for isn’t going to happen tonight.

Me and my random ramblings are out.

Check out this awesome combined set list from all four shows that I went to over the last two weeks (duplicates removed):
And I Know
Bap Bap
Baronne
Bayou Betty
Big Fine Woman/Whoopin’ Blues
Blackout in NYC
Blues For Ben
By Athenish
Cabbage Alley
Cardova*
Crosstown Traffic
Epistrophy
Equale
Frankenstein
Funky Miracle
Helter Skelter
Hey Pocky Way
It Don’t Mean Nothin’
Less Is Moore
Louie’s Perch
Meters Medley
Mr Go
Peaches En Regalia*
Red Roof*
Shake Your Rugalator
Sprung Monkey
The Long Run
The Mouse
The Ocean
Trombolero*
War Pigs
Whippin’ Post
Yer Blues

[* songs that were totally new to me]

In the past I would take hundreds of photos in a weekend of shows. (Seriously, I could make flipbooks from some of those shows.) But after all this time I’m pretty confident I know what the guys look like while standing on a stage and playing their instruments. Now I just take a couple at each show, more of a documenting of the venue and to remind myself I was there. I have a few photos from each of the shows and you can see them on flickr.

Now I tend to take video clips instead of photos.
Videos from the DM show:
The Long Run

Louie’s Perch

It Don’t Mean Nothin’

That’s it from me for now… until the next show…

Its twenty six minutes of informative and entertaining conversation and you can enjoy the entire interview right here:
[audio:bones_krui.mp3]

Craig Klein and Mark Mullins do an in-studio radio interview on Frosty’s KRUI show on Friday night in Iowa City. I got to sit in the studio for the interview. These guys were so great to do this and Frosty did a fabulous job of interviewing.

It was surreal and awesome to have Bonerama in my town on a beautiful Friday night. Thanks to all my friends who came out and enjoyed the music and thanks again to the guys for being the rock stars I know they are.

The show last night in Des Moines was super kick ass. Something about those random Sunday night shows. ‘Whipping Post’ was another level of incredible. Wow. Just wow.

Ok… now I have to shower and go to work. bleh. Why can’t I just be a full-time fan?