February made me shiver...
February was one of the busiest months we have ever had!
We played 12 shows in the span of 28 days, were out of town for 5 of those, and played some unbelievable shows here in the seacoast.
We kicked off the month with our Louis Armstrong show at the Dance Hall in Kittery. Look at the earlier posts for more info on that one.
Tour
Many of you have asked about the tour. What was it? How was it? Where was it? Well…..we went out of town for 4 days. 1 of those dates was in New York city at Hill Country BBQ in Manhattan. It turns out that the Po boys pair quite well with BBQ. The show was well attended and we were well fed.
What we ate:
Sausages
Brisket
Pickles
Smoked Chickens
Ribs
Mac and Cheese
Mashed Potatoes
Corn Salad
The food was delicious but tranquilizing, making that set a challenge.
That night we stayed at Claude's house in Shrub Oak, NY. The next morning we cooked a lot of bacon and eggs….a LOT of bacon and eggs.
Summary after day 1: Po boys + BBQ= Good times. In fact, if you have some good BBQ, well come play for you!
The next 3 days were spent on tour with the Vice and Virtue revue. If you aren't hip to it, heres a link: https://www.facebook.com/TheViceandVirtueRevue
Basically, the show is a walk through purgatory…but with titties.
The show was organized by our friends Ophelia Derriere and Zhora Nova, and featured some of the finest talents in the burlesque scene.
There was some video taken and we will upload some pictures in due time.
The show spanned 3 dates and locations:
The Rock n Roll Hotel in Washington, DC
The Jefferson Theater in Charlottesville, VA
The Naro in Norfolk VA
These shows were unlike anything we have done before. They were exceptionally well organized and attended, and introduced your favorite burly octet to a host of new faces. There has been some talk of doing it again but we can neither confirm nor deny that at the moment….
What we can confirm is that we had an absolute blast and can't wait do go on a 4 day drinking, dancing, and BBQ binge again!
We want to thank all the wonderful performers we played with:
Ophelia Derriere
Zhora Nova
Magnolia Jackson Pickett Burnside
Deepa DeJour
Melody Magpie
Ellie Quinn
Rusty Bolts
When we got back, it was our BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION!
Thats right! Mardi Gras 2015 marks the 3 year birthday of the Soggy Po boys and it was wonderful to be back home to celebrate. We had a party at Sonny's that night and played three sets including some of the electric NOLA funk we played at our new years bash.
Later that week we played at the Big Room in Barrington NH.
It was unbelievable to play to a full house of people that braved the snow to come see us. We gave them every thing we had and they gave it back! There was a potluck that preceded the show and folks brought out their New Orleans best:
Beignets
Gumbo
Jambalaya
Red Beans and Rice
Po boys!
And finally……on 2/28 we closed out a night of music by The Band.
The bill included Tan Vampires, Mary Dellea, Clara Berry, and Marty England and the Reconstructed.
It was absolutely surreal to see so many of our friends in one room and we got to sing The Weight at the end with Mary Dellea, Clara Berry, Marty England, Nick Phaneuf and Taylor O'donnell.
Our set that night was as follows:
Bessie Smith*
Tombstone*
Caledonia Mission
Don't Do it
The Night they drove old Dixie down
The Weight**
*w/ Brett Hartenbach and Dawn Boyer
**w/ Mary Dellea, Clara Berry, Marty England, Nick Phaneuf and Taylor O'donnell.
The night was a beautiful celebration of community and was documented in photos and video by Zach Foote.
So there you have it folks, i wasn't lying when i said that February made me shiver. Sure, it was cold for most of the month, but the shivering I'm referring to is the incomparable sensation of being able to connect with audiences over and over regardless of age and location, and still come home and be able to play for and with our friends and families. Thank you.
-Stu
