BoDeans
2007.12.31 Fine Line Music Cafe • Minneapolis, MN

Sam Llanas, Kurt Neumann, Bukka Allen, Eric Holden, Noah Levy

Monday December 31, 2007
Fine Line Music Cafe - Minneapolis, MN
Opener: Michael McDermott

We were really looking forward to this show, great venue, great band, and of course all in the company of great friends!

By the time we arrived, the warm entrance was packed with people, so we ended up having to start the line just outside the door. Needless to say we were awfully cold an hour later when doors finally opened. But we quickly took our spots up front, scoped out the free appetizers and of course the open bar. Knew that it was going to end up a pretty drunk crowd because of the open bar, just didn't realize I was going to be part of that crowd! (yikes!)

This was our second venture to the Fine Line over the weekend and we were pleasantly surprised both times to catch some Cory Chisal on their sound system before the show. For those of you at the Brillion show in August, Cory Chisal opened for the BoDeans that night and did a fabulous job! As for this NYE show, Michael McDermott opened and he too did a great job as well. Always a treat to see him play, even in a solo setting his music just seems to "stick" with ya.

Before we knew it, the guys were taking the stage, and proceeded to play a fantastic show. You could definitely feel the energy (you have to in such a small venue). Everyone sounded great and they had us rocking from the very first notes of:
1. Ultimately Fine - Quite possibly my favorite opener, ever.
2. Angels - Something tells me there weren't many 'angels' out that night! - at least not front and center!
3. Idaho - "staring at the world, at the world, at the world, at the world, at the world....STARING AT THE WORLD! " (love it!)
4. First Time - Sam once again explains that the new record is coming out in March and explains that him and Kurt have been playing together for the past 27 years. (and here's to many more!)
5. Good Work - honky tonk version once again. Can't help but have fun with it no matter which version they play.
6. Texas Ride Song - Eric Schmeric was in the house again and rocking that solo as ever. Somewhere in the middle Kurt got a little screwed up with his clapping, and of course there was jumping. There's always jumping!
7. Naked - Little different memo this time around (especially considering the source), so then Kurt did the echos for us instead.
8. Crazy - didn't look at the ceiling, but there quite possibly was cottage cheese hanging off of it! :)
In between songs Kurt asks how was everyone's Christmas, then he goes into this cute little ditty on his guitar about how he had a good Christmas and such. Seems to me this was the second time Kurt made up something up on the spot during a Fine Line show. There was a little ditty like that two years ago about the snow falling too!
9. Still the Night - not only did they go into Sedated and quite possibly the fastest ending ever, but Kurt threw in a bit of Blitzkrieg Bop in there too!
10. Misery - Sam was sure feeling it, then added in there "god damn bitch ..(pause)...you'll never hear THAT on Cities97!" Of course everyone cheers to that! :) Somewhere in the middle of Misery, Sam also threw in a Replacements reference when he added "Tommy Stinson" to the mix.
11. YDGM - only way to describe it is "wow"
12. Runaway - not that any of you care, but someone points out to me here that there is red glitter all over the front of the stage. I swear I didn't do it! (not on purpose at least!)
13. Fadeaway - just before they begin, Kurt mentions that we were getting close to midnight and asks us to tell him when it's like 30 seconds before and he'll stop playing. He held up his end of the deal when it came time, but I think we ended up being just a smidge late with our countdown. Oh well, we were all having a great time nonetheless!
14. Closer To Free - as Kurt was going through the usual band introductions, he ended with a "I'm me, you're you" with a big smile on his face.
- encore #1 -
Kurt begins by telling us once again that the new record "Still" is coming out soon and that they once again worked with T-Bone Burnett and that it has much of the same feeling that the first record did. Then they proceed into the next song as our jaws begin to drop.....
15. Waste A Lifetime - wow...absolutely wow. I've never had the pleasure of hearing this live before, but I know there is a version on an old bootleg somewhere from something like 10 years ago. Either way it made my night! I'm assuming that it's going to be on the new record and can't wait to hopefully hear it out and about more often in the coming year because its such a sweet song!
16. Good Things - Even though we all knew it was getting to the end of the show, we still enjoyed every second of it. The guys were sure feeling it too. Just a all around infectious energy both on and off stage. Near the end when the guys are all really getting into it, Kurt comes up to the edge of the stage and asks us to "make a space, move aside!"...of course we obliged, and for the second year in a row Kurt steps down from the stage and ventures a few feet out into the crowd. Once he did return I think he was having trouble getting back up while still playing his guitar because Sam eventually comes over and asks him if he needed a hand getting up. It was all too silly and of course made for a fun ending to the song!
- encore #2 -
The crowd cheered, the house music came on, and to our surprise, the guys came back out for one last song
18. I'm in Trouble Again - always a treat to hear this live, and even though we didn't get any Stolen Car like the previous nights, it was pretty darn cool how they ended it. As the crowd was singing the countermelody of "oh's" the guys put down their guitars and walked off stage as the crowd continued singing.

With that said, here's to all the best for the band, crew & fans in the coming year especially with a new cd, a full tour and hopefully countless more BoDiva roadtrips. And who knows, maybe we'll even find a replacement for the missing Chicken'n'Waffles....