Hello everyone,

Whew!  I have not had the whirlwind tour that some of you stalwarts had
("Hats Off" to Dede, Stacee, Tracey, Jeff...) but seeing the 'Nells on the
14th in Louisville and the 15th in Columbus has kept me pretty busy.  I
should point out that I am the primary caretaker of two children and only
got 4 hours of sleep in between the shows, so that's got to color my
recollection here somewhat.  Ok, you don't have to pity me.

Louisville.  I drive up and am late for an interview with Mike (I will
transcribe that in the future and yes, I will share).  Find the place.  Its
a real interesting bar with a small stage that as I look at it I wonder if
the Connells can actually fit up there.  The back wall is the main bar
which runs the length of the room.  Lots of wood and usual bar decor.  I
find the guys back at the courtesy house eating dinner with Far Too Jones
and the tour guys.  Mike offers me dinner.  What a nice group of guys.  I
tell him that I'll come back and he says "Naw, we can go to the bus and do
the interview."

After an hour and half of conversation.  Where I am excited to learn that
he's already working up some new songs!  Yes!  We go back to the bar and
check out Far Too Jones.  I agree with Tracey, they were not bad.  I think
they need to develop a little more diversity and mix it up a little more
but I was entertained.  The lead singer has a nice voice and I liked some
of his word play.  Although, sometimes three guitars really aren't
necessary.

I spoke a bit with David and he is certainly interested in making another
record.  Yes!  Another good sign.  I also met Tracey and Jeff.  Very nice
to meet the both of you.

So, the Connells come on after the set has been torn down and then set back
up.  They start with "Fun and Games" and as Tracey pointed out stayed with
the similar set list that has been reported by others.  Although the
version of "Get a Gun" was marred by Doug's rushing the second chorus over
what should have been a verse.  David kept tapping Doug's shoulder with his
bass and refusing to speed his play.  George and Mike laugh and jump ahead.
Then to please a very enthusiastic fan from Texas, the band did "I Suppose"
-- although maybe I should say that they mostly did it.  Clearly the guys
had not expected to do it but they gave it a good try.  I thought it was
not too bad.  The harmonizing between Mike and Doug and occasionally Mike,
Doug, and George sounded great!

Well, after standing off to one side because the stage area was pretty
small (and I like to jump around a bit) I was getting a sore throat because
I was yelling for "Hats Off." Which the band finally played a rousing
version of at the end of the set, I think.  "Stone Cold Yesterday" also
sounded hot!

All in all a good show.  The crowd really warmed up to the band and a good
time was had by all.

Now...  next night.  Columbus, Ohio.  Newport Music Hall.

Ok, I am again arriving late.  I have got to find a more reliable
babysitter.  I meet up with a few people from the list.  Big Hi's to Jeff,
Jon, Heather, Mindy, Craig Z... and anyone else that I am forgetting.

Talked with George for awhile.  He's doing well.  Enjoying the tour so far.
Loved the Raleigh show!  He said it was great.  He also asked me to thank
everyone on the list for their support.  What a nice guy!  Just once you
would think that maybe one of the members of the Connells would pull some
kind of rock star crap  --- but they never do.  George was friendly and
curteous.  He comes out and sees me there and then sits down to talk.
About 8 people come up and ask for autographs and he signs and chats with
each one of them.

Far Too Jones opened with the same set as in Louisville.  Not bad again.
The single certainly sounds pretty neat to me.  They are beginning to
remind me of the Gufs (out of Milwaukee -- I highly recommend them).  I
bought the cd.

From Good Homes played after FTJ.  Really neat stuff.  Accoustic guitars,
Violin, Hooter, bass, mandolin... I was a little worried at first but they
pulled it off quite well.  I really enjoyed their set.  Now, I need to go
out and find some of their records.

The Connells played their hearts out that night.  A decent sized but small
crowd was very enthusiastic (eh, Jon?).  I was right out in the middle of
it doing my little Art dance.  Doug, who missed an interview appointment
with me, notices me in the crowd and leans down to chastize me for my
tardiness.  Then smiles and winks at me.  The band played a similar set to
Louisville except Doug makes a big deal of the monitors and keeps posing on
them.  Stand outs included:  "Fun and Games", "Soul Reactor," "The Leper,"
"Motel," "Slackjawed," "74-'75" a kickass version of "Running Mary," even
"Curly's Train" was a hoot.  Several people shouted and whooped for "Choose
a Side."  Instead of "Hats Off" we got the Nick Lowe cover, "Cruel to be
Kind," which I loved.  Buy this soundtrack.  Nice versions of "Gauntlet,"
"Glade," and "Bruised."  At several points Doug wished several people a
happy birthday and kept finding "sweet" and "awesome" dance moves from the
crowd to imitate.  Alas, my simple Art dance was not even in the running.

The whole band was pretty up for the concert.  Mike was more animated than
I have seen him in a while.  Dancing about and jumping up and down.  David
kept moving back-and-forth and side-to-side.  Steve kept standing up and
slamming his hands down on the keyboard.  And, of course, Doug was... well
Doug!  It was a great show!

The most unique moment of the show was when this (obviously drunk) fan who
kept bumping into people decided he was going to jump on stage with the
band.  Well, I made a quick decision.  He's either going to make it and
ruin a great song or he's going to fall and hurt himself and someone else
(I think they were doing "Still Life" although I might be wrong).  So, I
grab him, pull him down and hussle him out of the way.  Luckily he happily
went because he was bigger than me.  So, I told Mike later that he owed me
hazzard pay.  George came up later and said that he was going to hire me as
a bodyguard.  So, it was a great show with a moment of weirdness.

Ok, this is getting way, way too long.  I am going to be at the Kansas City
show at Hurricane's on the 21st -- so if anyone wants to meet up let me
know.  I am going to need directions as well so, if you know contact me
privately.

Take care everyone,  your tired yet happy pal,  -Art

>Date:    Wed, 15 Jul 1998 08:40:23 -0700
>From:    Tracey Dittoe <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Louisville show 7/14
>
>Hi all!
>
>Here's a report, such as it is, of the Louisville show. Of course, a
>good time was had by all, but I expect there was some letdown from the
>Raleigh show--I knew Kentucky couldn't begin to compare with that!
>
>First, about the openers Too Far Jones...they were
>pretty good, very enjoyable.  Inbetween the nervous lead singer's many
>(every other song, at least) pleas for us to buy their new (and first,
>I believe) album, the songs were solid and interesting, and very, I
>might add, "radio ready".  I think they're going to be the next "band
>that opened for the Connells" to be big.
>
>As for a Connells setlist, I must admit, my memory is poor to
>middlin'.  Basically the same stuff as the last few lists posted, but
>in a different order.  They started off with "Fun and Games" and ended
>with "I Suppose" (that one they threw in for a couple that came all
>the way from Houston, TX!) and "Hats Off" (thanks, Art!)  The high
>point as far as the crowd (finally) getting into it was "Slackjawed",
>I think.  The crowd was pretty decent--smallish, but it was a small
>place.  Mike said one girl tried to tear off his shirt, so there's
>some action for ya.
>
>All in all, I had a GREAT time as usual, and looking forward to more
>to come!
>
>Art, it was great to meet you, and I'll let you fill in any blanks!
>Still believing in Cowboys and Santa Claus,
>
>Tracey
>==
>**************************************************************
>--"The ocean is the perfect place to discuss a round world."--
>          --Delacorta's  *Vida*
>**************************************************************

Art Jipson
Department of Sociology, Gerontology, and Anthropology
Upham Hall, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 45056
513-529-2637 (o)  513-529-8525 (f)  [log in to unmask] (e)
513-523-7604 (home)
Me:  http://miavx1.muohio.edu/~ajjipson
Connells:  http://miavx1.muohio.edu/~ajjipson/connells.htmlx
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The trouble with you is that you just can't see the truth
we'll meet at your house, have it all out
pull your clothes off, lets get this over with...
  --- R. Gates

This is what we should do, lets go to Boy Island,
book a passage for a few days in the sun, waiting and watching...
  --- D. MacMillan