The Venue:
The show was at The Monkeys Tale, at 925 E. Westfield Boulevard in Broad Ripple (Indianapolis). Nice place. Huge outdoor patio, with umbrella-equipped tables. And, ashtrays. They serve Pepsi, and that's always a bummer... but otherwise, a cool place.
My favorite photo of the whole evening: Patrick, clowning around. Note the reactions of the backgrounders...!
The Opener:
The opener. They're playing again at The Melody pretty soon; we'll keep you informed.
They kept referring to themselves as "Nighthawk", as well as "Thunderhawk"... but, I think that Thunderhawk was the actual name of the group. A cool band. Very witty, laugh-out-loud songs. Think "Dinosaur Jr." with a sense of humor, and you're pretty close. I liked them, obviously. If I can ever figure out their real name, I'd even be quite happy to see them again.
Bitsy reacts to the wittiness of Thunderhawk's "drinking" song... funny stuff!
The Turnout:
Not so great. Probably due to The Reverend Horton Heat playing a few blocks away...
The Crowd:
Those that did show up, looked pretty damned happy that they came. Lots of "Oh, my gawd, this band kicks ass!" sort of reactions. Smiles and laughs all around. Good times.
The Shake-Ups:
Were a bit tired (so they claimed, at least) from a show in Dayton, Ohio the evening before. You wouldn't have known it, though! This band, once they're "on", has enough energy to light up a sizeable suburb. Lots of jumping all over the place... hell, I get tired just watching them. Which is part of what makes them so good, of course.
The biggest complaint that I had about the show, was the less-than-adequate lighting on the bands. They basically played on a dark patio, backlit with only a wall of Christmas lights for illumination. Taking photos was more than hard enough (as you can see). Playing couldn't have been much easier...
They sounded great, they played great, the set-list choices were great.... yeah, man. "Great!"
Woo-hoo! Party on!
In other words: A typical Shake-Ups show.
The "Snacks":
Airheads, this time. Bitsy handed them out, so I wouldn't have to get smashed in the noggin by their usually-rambunctious "snack-tossing" interudes, again. Warning: The Shake-Ups have a tradition of tossing snacks into the crowd at every show. Editor's advice: Come hungry, and wear a helmet and kneepads.
Bitsy handing out the "snacks"...
Thanks, Bitsy. You're the awesomest.
The CD:
The CD Release-Party was for their newest, "Warm Fuzzies". A perfect title for this band, I might add. Of course, being a bona-fide fan, I bought the entire discography. Which includes:
- "Last Everlasting" (5-song ep),
- "Breathing The Flood",
- "Twist of Lemon", and
- "Warm Fuzzies"
If you buy the entire set, it'll cost ya about $35. Not too shabs! So, what's the verdict?! Well, here it is: "They're all great!" Duh...
I'd like to genuinely thank everyone involved for the good time, and a grand evening out. If you missed it, then you're a loser. No worries, though: Just catch the next show on June 24th, at The Melody Inn.
(And, don't forget your helmet.)
