preface: i'm *tired* people, it's 1:20 am as i begin to write this. bear with me. on that note...

today was a good day. i woke up at 11:32am... i guess i was a bit sleepy after helping out Joey with the interview that Jian and Mike did on tuesday at WBER. *grin* but it was worth it. so i do my normal stuff and i get a call from Andy, who has driven all the way from massachusetts to be here today. we meet at starbucks (i know it's evil, but, we needed something) but we ended up going to manhattan bagel for some free food and drink. :) so, um, we ate and talked and left to go home before the show and i realize that, yes, i am a dumbass and i locked my keys in the car. *sigh* so Andy drove me home and all was well. Melissa was waiting for me at my house, so we prettied ourselves up and took off.

cut to the harro. it's nice and chilly outside and i line already formed. much fun. the accordian-playing elderly gentleman came and played that "when the moon hits your eye like a big a-pizza pie that's amore" song. i do believe that i heard him change a lyric once or twice to fit into a Früvous theme... oh well... i saw Sly as a Fox and said hi to him... and eventually got inside. [side note: Andy has the coolest gloves in the world, they're like, regular gloves, but the fingertips are cut out and then there's a flip-top thingy that makes them into mittens. he's lucky i gave them back :) but i digress....]

the opener was Martin Sexton. i was really excited to see him cuz it turns out he's a cousin of a girl i've gone to school with for oh, six years now. he was really good, from what i was able to hear. however, i don't think that he was really able to catch the crowd's attention. there was much blabbering during his set... and i must admit that i, too, was talking. i'm not going to preach and be a hypocrite and lie about it. but i was thoroughly interested in his music. he is *really* good.

i don't have a real set list... they opened with Half as Much... maybe then did Splatter^2... i know Boo Time was in there somewhere... they did Independence Day... i could feel myself swooning like i have never swooned before... *sigh* i was a very happy girl.

during one of the first breaks between songs, Murray says something like "i realize that this may not be the best time to say this, but, it needs to be said. every year around this time, the harro east checks out its emergency exits and, everyone needs to run out of here as fast as possible... <> i see lots of stunned faces out there... i *am* kidding." and it was very funny. and this led into (i think) the only improv of the night, a song about how everyone escaped the burning harro except the jell-o man, which, frankly confused me because i'm not sure where the hell that came from. i guess Mike was on some *really* good drugs that night... [ed's note: that drug bit was *not* serious]

i was very surprised to hear KoS and GE&H. for some reason, i didn't think that those two songs would be performed in rochester for a long time. oh well, it was nice to hear them after a few months of not. :) i must admit, GE&H is a guilty pleasure of mine... heeheehee...

Psycho Killer was possibly the closer... i have been absolutely feenin' to hear this since... late april when i last heard it at the UofR show. only, this was incredible! see, everything seemed to be extremely well-lit, including the audience, and, the lighting on the stage was incredible, lots of primary colors and at the end when everything goes crazy it was just... *deep breath* woooooowwwwwwww... as Andy had been saying earlier in the day, i needed a cigarette, it was just THAT good. ;)

Bytor returned at one point... and just before Bytor took the stage, Jian noticed a girl's watch that was really cool and flashed blue lights and was just an absolutely fantabulous watch. and then Bytor came onstage and Murray took him, and then Jian tried to put the watch around Bytor's neck. Murray says "Bytor is into bondage" and, it didn't appear to me that many people got that joke... although, what does that say about me? cuz i did... hmmm.... Jian suggested that one of the next videos they do should just be four minutes of Bytor floating around, all pyschedelic and stoned, etc... which i found hysterical because this particular species of Bytor... well... the main part of his body looked a lot like a bong... [ed's note: i don't do drugs, but i have seen pictures of bongs and this Bytor looked like one of those pictures, only he had a head and arms and legs :) ]

i heard two songs that i don't think i've heard live before. It's Too Cold and No No Raja... ITC was a treat, i was very happy to hear it. it's a fun live song. before Raja, Tobey came onstage (woohoo! yay Tobey!) to set up a mic for Jian to use while he sat down, and it wouldn't stay up... and... Jian made a pretty sick joke... he says to Dave (after Dave had shown off his muscles and tried to tighten it more), Jian says "no, it's not working... it's going limp at my mouth" and... i was just like, whoooooaaaa, al*righty* then.... *g*

ummm..... DRINKING SONG!!!!! i was psyched to hear this again. *big smile* twas a treat!! again, i was a very happy girl.

trying to think of more stuff... Jian and i almost looked like twins, both of us were wearing black tank tops, although, i *doubt* we planned it that way... Dave was wearing a shirt that reminded me of charlie brown cuz it was all yellow and had a brown stripe on it. Murray was wearing an *incredibly* tight blue shirt. Mike had on a nifty maroon (i think) shirt that looked like he might have stolen it from Murray. :) isn't it good to share?

i found Mike afterwards. he had a very cool sweater on. meliked it. and he thanked me (again) for helping out the night before... that man is way too polite for his own good. *grin* is there such a thing? Jian had a really huge crowd around him, but we waited patiently and we had a fun talk. *grin* he likes Melissa, but i shall say no more cuz she'll kick me arse. and i talked to Murray, too. i asked him why he didn't use his sparkly hair gel that i had given him on Conan, and i guess it hadn't come into his comfort zone yet. so... i think we're slowly getting there, ya know, his hair was slightly disheveled, so... we're working on it. i even talked to Jude tonite! i said "hi Jude" as she walked by, but i didn't think she heard me, but, i guess she did cuz we chatted for a few minutes... what a nice lady! Dave was nowheres to be seen. <> oh well, it's not like i'll never see him again, eh?

uuummmmm.... this just about raps up Maggie's babbling attempt at a review. hi to Andy and Angie and Paul and Dante and Tanner and the nice girl who was with Paul who talked about Niagra Falls with Melissa and me, and anybody else with whom i might have spoken. see you all soon!!

From Dan:

Half As Much
Splatter Splatter
Spiderman (w/ instruments)
Independence Day
Sad Girl
Lazy Boy
YWGTTM
Jockey Full of Burbon (W/ Guest Trombonist)
Boo Time
It's Too Cold
Video Bargainville (disco)
No No Raja
Present Tense Tureen
Saucepan
I Will Hold On
My Poor Generation
River Valley
Psycho Killer
Encore 1: Michigan Milita
Encore 2: KOS/GE&H
Encore 3: Drinking Song

They guys were really into the show. Prolly the best Crowd I've seen at the Harro East too. The crowd was really into it, and singing along well. Wood wasn't represented too well. Bitor made it's annual appearence. Psycho Killer was the best I've seen is quite a while (ever?) Anyways...

From Melissa:

I have to admit that I only remember little bits (at random) from the show, as there wasn't as much banter as usual at a show in Rochester. Both live appearances at WBER and WCMF (local radio stations) by the band were very entertaining, especially on WBER when jian told those who listened of his obsession with David Bowie, and the whole interaction with the friends of boneboy. back to the review.

martin sexton was pretty good, but there were a lot of rude people in the back of harro east who talked through almost the whole time he was out. :( he kept his set short and sweet.

bytor made an appearance, and jian took the opportunity to fly bytor around the stage, like he was playing with a toy airplane. hmm....

there were also various intros into (unfortunately i don't remember which--i think i was concentrating too hard on the show)

when they were getting ready to play No No Raja, Tobey came on stage and adjusted (or attempted to, anyway) jian's mic stand as he was sitting on the stage during the entire show, jian said it was still falling as he sat there, and he was bending down to try to compensate for it, but it didn't work to everyone's amusement. then, a "real man" as jian called him, came to his rescue, it was dave who fixed the problem, then the song actually started.

in the opening lines of video(disco) bargainville, the audience couldn't get it together, and so jian started the whole song again, completed with everyone holding up one-then-two fingers in the air.

the guys were energized, especially mike and jian, who were almost 'wired' during YWGGTM, K of S, and GE&H--as usual, sam-i-am/jian made a huge deal about the 'not the beatles' thing. also, there was a great power jam at the end of psycho killer.

they played jockey full of bourbon, complete with trombone debut with boneboy--who jian and mike watched through the entire song. we're so fortunated to have a band who let's people come up on stage and play with them, like professionals.

everyone joined in when johnny saucep'n came up.

Setlist included: Half as Much, Sad Girl, My Poor Generation, No No Raja, I Will Hold On, Independence Day, It's Too Cold, Spiderman, Boo Time, Splatter Splatter, Present Tense Tureen, River Valley Johnny Saucep'n, Lazy Boy, Disco Bargainville, You Will Go to the Moon, Get in the Car, Psycho Killer, Jockey Full of Bourbon, I think there were actually three encores (1) Michigan Militia, (2) King of Spain, Green Eggs and Ham, (3)The Drinking Song. --the show lasted more than two hours--:)

after the show:

dave didn't come out, but hey, everyone needs a break from the after-show crowd once in a while.

i got a "let's salute like a canadian mountee" picture with mike.

i'll leave jian til last.

murray reassured maggie and i that he still had the sparkle hair gel we gave him at milestones in august. he said that it still had to become part of who he was, he didn't wear it on the conan o'brien appearance, but he said it would have been the perfect opportunity to try it. thanks for signing the picture murray.

jian.....what can i say about jian. we waited for atleast fifteen minutes to see the guy, after which his crowd had died down a tiny bit. he remembered maggie from wber, as she is an intern, and he eventually recognized me after a few seconds of thinking through the thousands of people he's met since we saw him last. i told he owed me a "good" picture, because he blinked the last time, twice. he signed one of the bad, yet not so bad pictures, and politely let maggie take another picture of me and him, she always has problems (to jian's amusement) with my camera. --i think we need a user-friendly training session.

JIAN....if you (or your "mole" is reading this) i _really_ want to thank you for the whole after-show experience we had. what you did with the picture i gave you was really sweet, and made me feel quite special--i really needed the compliment and your friendly personality. you are such nice guy.

those who saw this whole thing know what went on--with everyone sighing "awww" in the background when he had the other picture, so enough said.

a great, long setlist, terrific performances by mike, murray, jian, and dave, and a personalized-jian encounter (*big smile*). all in all, a wonderful show.

it was good to meet chrissy (again), andy world (you have the coolest gloves) and his friend dante (who looks slightly like chris farley, lisa e.--a former schoolmate, and ms. s. and her sister and friend--thanks for coming.

to everyone else who was at the show, please add anything which i have forgotten, including what jian said in his political intro to king of spain.

thanks for hanging on through the whole review. i hope to see everyone on new year's day.

From Freetime (Nov 17 to Dec 1, 1999; Vol. 23; No. 13; pg. 10):

One of Rochester audiences' favorite bands, Moxy Fruvous play a pre-Thanksgiving Day show at the Harro East.

Over the course of their career, Moxy Fruvous have made genre-hopping their calling card, from soca a cappella songs to Middle Eastern-influenced epics to three minute pop gems. And their lyrics are as challenging and diverse as their music, from humorous to heartfelt, from whimsical to political, all infused with a sense of sly intellectual fun.

Moxy begain in 1990 as a busking (street performing) band in Toronto. In 1993, the group's major label debut, Bargainville, went platinum in Canada while the band toured sold-out theaters across Canada and garnered a Juno nomination for Group of the Year. They followed this with non-stop touring throughout the U.S. and Europe allowing Moxy to hone their skills and develop a fanatical fan following who are known internationally as the "Fruheads".

In 1995, the band released their second album, Wood, which was followed by an EP of oddities, The B Album, their '97 full-length, You Will Go To The Moon and last year's Live Noise, their first ever live record. Now, Moxy support their brand new album for Razor & Tie Records entitled, Thornhill.

• Freetime Ad
• Freetime blurb (Nov 17 to Dec 1, 1999; Vol. 23; No. 13; pg. 10)

Some other tidbits from the performance include:

• Feel free to help contribute to this section!