I've finally freed up a minute to talk about Surfstock.
  My fiance and I drove part way from Harrisburg, PA on Thursday night,
and then left from her grandmother's house (30 minutes east of Philly)
Friday at 10:00 a.m., fought through bad traffic, and hit the Surf Club
at around noon.
  The place was PACKED.  We had to climb over bodies to look for
somewhere to put our beach chairs.  The only spot we could find was
right at the edge of the water - every now and then we had to grab
everything as a wave splashed over us.
  Maybe I'm getting old, but it turned into a really long day.  Out of 8
bands, the Connells played 7th, not going on until around 6:00.  The
wait was worth it, though.  Their set was short (although longer than
any of the previous bands) but very lively.  I don't think I've ever
seen Mike more enthusiastic.  He was bouncing and jumping around, with a
huge smile on his face the entire time.  Doug thanked the crowd for
surviving the day.  The new stuff sounded very tight and lively,
although a couple of the old songs had more kick and the crowd seemed to
know better.  People around me did seem to recognize Crown, however.  As
best as I can recall, the set list, in no particular order, was as
follows:

Fun and Games
Maybe
Curly's Train
Glade
Soul Reactor
Still Life
Crown
'74-'75
Motel
Slackjawed
Stone Cold Yesterday

Evan

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bill Drummer [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Friday, July 03, 1998 11:52 PM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      SURFSTOCK was great!
>
> Hello all!
>
> Let me be the first to say the WHTG Surfstock at Ortley Beach was
> really
> fun! I got out kinda late and hit huge traffic, and my hour and a half
> drive turned into three and a half hours. And I listened to ALL the
> Connells CDs on the way. But it was worth it! I saw Pee Shy and
> Superdrag, who were quite good. And of course, They Might Be Giants
> had
> us all singin' Birdhouse in Your Soul! Then my friend Patrick and I
> hopped over all the beach chairs and blankets to get right up to the
> stage. We met someone named Sandy, who, although rather buzzed, had
> done
> an interview with Doug for the Brunswick Underground. Pat snapped a
> bunch of pictures for Sandy's friend Polly. If I get the interview or
> copies of the pictures, I'll post them!
>
> The Connells played a real lively 45 minute set, starting with Fun &
> Games, and hitting about half of the new songs. I mean, the new stuff
> really has a lot more energy live, and the crowd was singing right
> along. After the set, I thought I heard someone say her name was Kim,
> and that she was looking for Jaime Kline (where were you?). Sure
> enough,
> it was Kim who you know from this listserve. She and her friend Lisa
> were super friendly, and introduced Pat and me to Peele and Mike.
> Those
> guys are so cool! And I finally met Cheryl, too, and a couple other
> people. Well, Kim invited me to hang out with the band (thanks for the
> invite!) but I was just SO wiped out from the sun and the beer. I'll
> try
> to catch up with everyone sometime soon! (Kim, can you ask Lisa to
> e-mail me details on Myrtle Beach? My address is
> [log in to unmask])
>
> See ya,
>
> Bill