"Wedding Show" at Revolution in Bryan on Oct 2

About 10 months ago we were asked by Bryan and Lindsey (long-time fans from Bryan/College Station) to play the evening of their wedding. In March 2010 they asked us if we had October 2 open. We typically don't book more than about 3 months in advance, so in perusing the calendar it was safe to say that we were free, and that Bryan and Lindsey had, in fact, "lucked-out". So this was PLUMP's first wedding reception--although to be fair, we weren't technically the "wedding reception band". Bryan/Lindsey had a wedding reception dinner outside on the patio at Revolution in Bryan, and we were the band at Revolution for the evening, and the show was open to the general public as well as for the wedding party.

About a month before the wedding, Bryan sent us an email with a song called "Corrina, Corrina" by Taj Mahal. Bryan said that he and Lindsey were both big-time Taj Mahal fans, and they were hoping that we could learn the song for the wedding, as they would use this as their wedding dance song. So one evening in practice, we utilized the technology at hand. We downloaded the song and played it on repeat so we could learn the music. At the same time, I got on-line and accessed the lyrics and wrote them down. Then, we played along with the song about 5-6 times. "Corrina, Corrina" is a BAD ASS song that none of us had ever heard before Bryan sent us the email link, It is basically a blues song, without a whole bunch of changes, so the guts of the music was learnable within about 20 minutes. The more you listen to the song, it definitely has some subtleties you notice and want to master. Great song.

So, we show up at Revolution on October 2 at around 9:30 pm, which is a little later than we wanted or would have liked, especially since the wedding party was probably wondering if we were going to actually show up (we got held up, again, eating the delicious BBQ at Rudy's). But, we made it, and it was good to see everybody. We got set-up. Bryan said it was actually a surprise for Lindsey for us to play the song, and that they had recently seen a Taj Mahal show in which "Corrina, Corrina" had been the encore, so the stage was set. Bryan asked us to play the song about 6 songs into our first set.

Six songs in, and it was time for us to play "Corrina, Corrina". I (Doug) sing "Corrina, Corrina". Right before I counted it off, I realized I couldn't remember the first words of the song. Disaster. I sat there for about 15 seconds furiously trying to remember. The other guys are going, "What the fuck, Doug". I asked Al--do you know the first line. He didn't know. Then he said, "I think it has something about a bird". Thank god--the first line is "Got a bird". Dodged that bullet.

This was out first time for PLUMP to play this song live, and we had probably only practiced the song 9-10 times. To say this version was sloppy, and that lyrics were mis-sung, would be an understatement. I also totally sang a falsetto part wrong. But, it still sounded good, as people liked it. So we decided to go "Whiskey River" by Willie Nelson, and we played that song two more times during the rest of the two set show--much to the delight (and chagrin) of the audience (this was due mostly because Lindsey said we could play that song as many times as we wanted, as far as she was concerned. As she was the gushingbride, we had to comply). I daresay that the song improved with each playing. The last time we played it, a drunken Jason Jackson demanded that the newlyweds dance on the stage. Not sure if they wanted to be on stage, but dad-gummit they got up there.

One of the out-of-town relatives was thrilled when we played "Uncle Remus" by Frank Zappa in the first set, so we started the second set with "Willie the Pimp" (also by Zappa), and he loved us for it. It was a good crowd, and people were up dancing the whole time, so what will forever be known as "The Wedding Show" was a lot of fun. AND, we have a new song for our rotation.

PLUMP at ZAPATOS on SEP 24

Back at Zapatos--we had the guys from Helix in San Marcos playing with us. Al had some stuff he had to do in Houston that required him to drive up alone and late, so Josh, Jason, and I were doing the driving and set-up of the PA. The set-up of the PA was going to prove tricky, in that Al is our primary sound person. Luckily, the guys in Helix got there before we did, and so were ready to help us load-in. Also, Josh did a hell of a job getting the PA and speakers and monitors going (which is not an easy task given our set-up) and we got Helix sound-checked and going for their set.

Helix brought out some friends and such from both San Marcos and some friends from College Station, so they definitely had the crowd up and going early. Al literally showed up during Helix's final note, which allowed us to breathe a sigh of relief, because 2 hours of bass-sax-drums might have been interesting for a short bit, but it would have gotten very old very fast.

There was a good crowd at Zapatos, and everybody seemed to be up and dancing. One of the more interesting parts of the evening happened when some dude got tackled by the police in the crowd, got hand-cuffed, and then dragged out of the venue. It happened in the middle of a rocking jam--so I really almost missed it. Apparently the cops had seen this dude doing something he ought not to have done out in some parking lot, and the dude had run into Zapatos, and the police had faithfully chased him in there. And by gawd, what do you know but they (the cops) managed to catch up with him (the dude). The dude went down like a ton of bricks. Only at a PLUMP show.

We got some nice congrats afterwards, and then we headed back to Houston. There is a particular gas station about 20 miles outside of College Station in Navasota that we like to stop at at 3 am on the way back. They have a lady there that is making tacos (fresh) at 3 am. That's crazy. I actually don't eat the tacos anymore because they are of varying quality, and when I do happen to eat them the tacos (regardless of quality) put me in an immediate food coma. This time, 3 of us went in, as Josh was passed out leaning forward in the seat belt. He missed nothing, as the coffee at this place is always extremely bad.

Triplecrown in San Marcos on Sep 10

Heading back to the Triplecorwn in San Marcos. As per usual, we were a little delayed getting out of town, got gas (Shell) and food (Jack in the Box), and made it to San Marcos with about 45 miutes to spare. This was our first time playing with the chaps in Helix, which is a band that hails from San Marcos. Big band and a bunch of nice guys.

We get drink tickets in San Marcos--which I happen to like. Each of us gets 3-4 of them. I enjoyed chatting with several San Marcos-ites before the show, which is always a pleasure. I can't remember too much specific from the show--other than that The Sixer sounded pretty good. Wait, I do remember we totally had a brain-dead moment on Reggae #2, in which we all in a way messed things up. We were at a point where half of us are doing one thing, and half us are doing another, and half of us are making a transition to a part that others don't, etc. This is partly due to the fact that Jason is singing this one now (as opposed to Jody who is no longer in the group), and this was either the first or 2nd time we did this song with Jason singing. BUT, we recovered mid-song--which is an important thing to be able to do. And the recovery was such that we had a bunch of people cheer for us after the song (which is way better than silence--especially after you have kind of messed up on a song). Other than that, it sounded good.

We hung around through Helix, which has a kind of oom pah, jam bandish feel, which is cool. We headed back for the long-drive. I drove through the small towns to get us back to I-10, and then Jason drove on I-10 back to home. We have a new mascot--the Buc-cee doll that hangs from the rear-view mirror. It is a constant reminder of all that is good and true in the world. I had too kolaches and then took a nap.