Vol. 2 No. 6 (Jan. 1, 2005) Page 4

2004 Christmas
Show Reviews
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8

The Bootlog
Page 9

Fan Profile /
More Cowbell!
Page 10

Some Ezra Sights From New Orleans
Page 11

Listening Party Update
Page 12

The Reviews & Pictorials
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15
Page 16
Page 17
Page 18
Page 19
Page 20
Page 21

News & Links
Page 22

Map of Ezra
Page 23

TTOY Hall of Fame
Page 24

Cowbell Hall of Fame
Page 25

BTE Impressions
Page 26

THE ARCHIVES

Volume 1
Mar. 2003
May 2003
July 2003
Sept. 2003
Nov. 2003
Jan. 2004

Volume 2
Mar. 2004
May 2004
July 2004
Sep. 2004
Nov. 2004

Friday Night Encore (Cont'd)
As starry floating lights filled the stage, the entire band began to play fan favorite “Porcelain.” This is the newer acoustic version of the song we had been told was coming some months ago (although not it’s first appearance). Although in some ways a little less soulful than the electric “voodoo” version fans have come to expect, the soul is nevertheless put right back in by the acoustic tomes of the rendition and the melancholy keyboards contributed by the ever spectacular Jim Payne.

Graham Colton Added Maracas and
Vocals on Friday Night
(Photo: ChrisK, click to enlarge)

Momentarily pausing, Griffin noted that it was only 11pm and they had started pretty early that night. In retrospect, this was probably a condition of the negotiations with the HoB for later use of The Parish for the Fan Club party.

A rare acoustic “In the Blood” came next. This seems to have taken some fans by surprise, but variety is the spice of life (and music). Griffin began with a maniacal flamenco intro with an equally deranged look on his face. During the song, he seemed to sense a problem with Travis’ “mini-kit” drums so he came over and banged them for good measure. As the guys closed out the tune Kevin asked: “Has anyone seen the Graham Colton kids? Where’s Turtle Elf? Bring me a beer!”

Soon After the HoB Show, the Guys Were
Kickin' It At The Parish Fan Club Party
(Photo: Wallflowergirl, click to enlarge)

Switching back to electric, Travis manned his “big kit” and gave over the “mini-kit” to Jordan elder of the Graham Colton Band for a spirited version of the Tom Petty classic “Last Dance With Mary Jane.” Kevin and Graham traded off verses in succession. Everybody else jammed like crazy.

Turtle Elf picked up Kevin’s guitar and followed Graham’s shouted direction to “let it out Turtle,
don’t stop!” It’s always tough to hear the guitar
from the Tom Drummond side of the stage, but Turtle did just that. Fans on the other side reported a solo so hot that KG implored him to back off! And in a real change of pace, Griffin did a little solo on the harmonica during the song.

As the drummers took over, Kevin asked the crowd if they were all ready for some “sleeping late and overeating” before directing Ryan Tallent to lay down some “sinewy keyboards” that led into the fierce jamming session that heralded the end of the song. Kevin and Graham were the first to leave the stage as the other continued to play – “we’re the singers so we get to go first!” And one by one the both bands left the stage to the tremendous satisfied roar of the HoB crowd.

Fan Club Party at the Parish
As the main show ended Ezralites crammed through the HoB doors to head over to the Parish for the Fan Club Party. This was the second year a party has been held after a Christmas Show and it was again a very fun event.

Tom Drummond Mans the Acoustic Bass,
Later He Tested His (Vocal) Pipes
(Photo: Dina)

This year there seemed to be a slightly fewer attendees at the party which made for a more relaxed event. Maybe this was because the party wasn’t scheduled until the week before, or perhaps because it was held after the Friday show this year.

The all acoustic set was more cover-centric than the prior year. The guys were in fine spirits (pun-intended) and were just hanging and having some fun playing some of their favorite songs. Graham Colton also joined them for a number of the tunes.

Jim Payne, The First To Don His Hat
(Photo: Wallflowergirl, click to enlarge) 

The festivities kicked off with Travis coming out and
claiming KG’s stool announcing to the assembled
throng, “I’m going to be singing and playing guitar.
Kevin get on the drums!” At this point fans threw
some Christmas hats on stage. The guys looked at them
hesitantly, but it wasn’t long before they were to
come into play.

At last year’s Fan Club Party fans we were treated to
only a snippet of The Beatles’ “Mother Nature’s Son,”
so it was a great surprise to have this year’s party kicked-off with a full cover of this classic song.  The song sounded great and as it ended KG remarked: “I
swear we have never played that before.” And he just
may be right on that.

“Use Me” is probably the last BTE song I’d expect to hear done acoustically, but it was. During the tune, Jim Payne leaned over and examined the Christmas hats fans had thrown on stage and retrieved the one with “Jim” on it. As he continued to play, much to the crowds’ delight, Jim experimented with the physics of the chapeau by shaking his head back and forth and from side to side to make the end of the hat move in mysterious ways. At some point, following Jim’s cue, Tom and Travis each donned their hats. Kevin also tried on his hat at the end of the set, but he seemed a little disappointed that it didn’t fit so well.

The Hats in Santa's Workshop
(Photo: EnglishDave, click to enlarge)

Fans were a little disappointed that “Merry Christmas
Eve” wasn’t played at last year’s extravaganza or at the earlier show, so it was another welcome surprise when it appeared during the acoustic set. Another great rendition even if Tom did remark that “we are calling this the ‘winging it’ set” (more on page 5).