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IN THIS ISSUE: Dude, Where's My Hobbit? & Philly Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 And The Message Board Says... Page 4 Dambuilders/Noho The Reviews News & Links TTOY Hall of Fame Archives
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HOOPIN', HOLLERIN', HOLLERIN'
New York! Boston! Philadelphia! Norfolk?! No 9:30 Club?! Slow your roll! Who scheduled this? For reasons that are still being debated by some of the country's greatest minds, Better Than Ezra kicked off their east coast mini tour at The NORVA. Despite the lack of quality promotion, the SoVA (Southern Virginia) peeps were representin' in full force on March 3rd...
Newcomers Ingram Hill, an up and coming band from Memphis, TN opened the show. They were out promoting their new CD "June's Picture Show." Even though a lot of people there that night had never heard of them, by the end of their set the crowd was trying to sing along. An excellent cover of Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill" grabbed the crowd's attention and catchy original songs such as "Will I Ever Make it Home" and "Almost Perfect" held on to it. Many fans were drawn over to the merchandise table when their set was over. Ingram Hill got the party started, but veterans Better Than Ezra took it to the next level when they kicked off their set with a song that shocked even the most hard core fans. "Particle" was the first song on the set list and it gave us an idea of the kind of show we were about to experience. Fan favorites "Misunderstood" and "Good" followed up next. Then, Kevin introduced "Allison Foley" as "Breakfast At Tiffany's." (Reviewers' Note: This metaphor refers to the similarities between the character of "Allison Foley" and the character of "Holly Golightly" from Truman Capote's short story " Breakfast At Tiffany's.")
Another surprise return to the set list came next as the band played "Normal Town." This song surely appeased even those Ezralites who hadn't been to a show in a long, long time. Afterwards, the people were in for another treat because Kevin sang "Get You In" as the Rolling Stones would perform it, complete with his impression of Mick Jagger's pouty facial expressions. The guys then took a moment to say thank you to The Norva. KG said, "We like playing here because they make us feel like we're John Mayer." He then went on and on about how he wished they were as big as John Mayer because then he could invite us all backstage to chill. They went into "Extraordinary" next, and added a little bit of flava to it by singing a bit of "Ms. Jackson at the end. Tom seized the lull between songs to ask if anyone in the crowd had been to Mardi Gras. No one there had the Benjamins to fly all the way to New Orleans this year, so the guys shared their Mardi Gras stories to make us feel even worse about missing it! It was obvious that Mardi Gras hadn't ended for them because they were extremely giddy all night long.
According to Kevin, they had the opportunity to hang out with the actor who played "Merry" in "Lord of the Rings." KG even demonstrated them all taking a hit from a very good joint and saying, "Dude! We're hanging with the hobbits!" He then reassured us by letting us know they weren't actually getting high and his reenactment was just "dramatic license." This tale of Tolkien revelry led right into "King of New Orleans" but instead of the traditional "Debra" in the breakdown, the crowd were serenaded with the Prince classic, "When Doves Cry." Suddenly, KG called the first of two audibles by throwing "Sincerely, Me" into the set list. If that wasn't enough of a surprise, "Special" made it's return to the line up right after. Then it was time for Kevin' s favorite game of "Stump the Crowd." The mystery song for that night was The Beatles' "Norwegian Wood." The only prize was the personal satisfaction of knowing what the heck he was singing. (Note: Maybe next time Kevin. Maybe next time.) Tom dropped some knowledge on us after that song with news of the DVDizzle. "I just want to let you guys know that there really is a DVD," he said in a serious tone. He went on to say that everything (the DVD, the best of album and the new album) would be out at the end of the year. |
Just when we thought we'd caught our breath from the surprises of the evening, BTE bum-rushed the crowd with another "I thought that was lost and gone forever" song from their extensive catalog, "Simple Song." Next up was a "ghetto-fabulous" rendition of "At the Stars." Why "ghetto-fabulous" you ask? How else can you describe a breakdown that includes Tone Loc's "Wild Thang" and Salt-n-Pepa's "Push it" and Biz Markie's "Just a Friend?" They then brought things down a notch with "A Lifetime" and subsequently played "This Time of Year" with the return of little Grant Taylor as guest guitarist.
While Grant played, Kevin took the opportunity to mingle with the audience. He jumped off the stage, and playfully harassed members of the front row. While attempting to get one girl to sing into the mic, he teasingly quipped, "I can be Simon or I can be Paula. It's up to you." She sang as directed. (Reviewers' Note: I guess he was Paula, because he smiled). As Kevin sipped his Red Stripe from a plastic cup he commented that, "we drink beer out of cups because someone told us it was more sophisticated. U2 drinks right out of the bottle. I wonder if we start drinking right out of the bottle, would sell as many albums as U2?" The final audible was when they played "In the Blood" which wasn't even on the set list but it closed the first half of the show. We don't know what happened backstage in the five minutes before the encore, but when they reemerged there was mischief in their eyes. As Tom, Travis and Jim were getting settled into their places, Kevin, armed only with a microphone, went old-skool and started singing Chaka Khan's, "I Feel For You."
This early 80's gem seemed to have reminded KG of one of Travis' myriad hidden talents -- break dancing! At Kevin's request, Travis came front and center and showed us his block rocking skills. He even finished up with a back spin. This cracked up Tom, Kevin and Jim and made KG comment, "That was just like in 'Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo.' All that was missing was the pose at the end. Even when they sucked if they threw in the pose everyone would cheer. We're going to start posing at the end of the show so even when we suck, everybody will still cheer." Then Kevin actually demonstrated the head resting on your fist with the cheesy grin pose of which he spoke.
Out of the blue, Kevin asked the crowd if we'd seen the Academy Awards the previous Sunday night. He went on to tell us about Jack Black and Will Ferrell singing the "You're Boring" song which was the best part in his humble opinion. He thought it was so funny that he had to sing part of it for us (Reviewers' Note: For those of you who may have missed it, it went something like this: "You're boring! Catherine Zeta-Jones, she's snoring because you're boring!" Once the laughter died down, they played "Recognize" and dedicated it to Saddam Hussein. Kevin then used a classic quote from John Lennon to introduce the last song of the evening, "Desperately Wanting." As he glanced up at the VIP section upstairs, he said, "For our last number, I'd like to ask for your help. Those of you in the cheaper seats, clap your hands. The rest of you just rattle your jewelry" (Reviewers' Note: This quote is from a Royal Command Performance in London at the Prince of Wales Theater, November 4, 1963.) At the end of the show, Kevin did the "Electric Boogaloo" pose on the drum riser but there was no need because the show was off the chain! (Reviewers' Note: The guys knew they had to keep the music bumpin' and the peeps bouncin' since they were in the home area of The Neptunes and Missy Elliot!). Even though fans a still scratching our heads as to why Norfolk was first on this min-tour, Virginia Ezralites sure are glad it was. Better Than Ezra is welcome to kick off a tour here anytime they like... Kudos to AmEmPbdy and Bolony7 for yet another wonderful review... |
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