Ominous Seapods & Winter Carnival, 2/11-13/11, Saranac Lake, NY

Ominous Seapods, 2/11-12/11, Waterhole #3, Saranac Lake, NY
w/ Deoro (2/11) & Okemah (2/12)
-> Tim Herron Duo, 2/13/11


My head is finally emerging from a Post-Winter-Carnival-Fog enough to string sentences together again. HUZZAH!

More insight into the phenomenon that is 2/11 with a Special Report at a later date. For now, let's just say that a Legendary Mutated show occurred on 2/11/95 and thusly, 2/11 has since been widely accepted as the Ominous Seapods' New Year of sorts. It's important. It means something.

This particular weekend of shows was not just a 2/11 celebration, it was also: at the Waterhole #3, during Winter Carnival. That's like 3 Liberty Bells! That's like hitting Mutant Mecca on the holiest of all Holy Days. There was even talk of the possibility of Mutant Rapture. Thusly, anticipation in the Mutant community was quite significant leading up to these shows. Folks gathered from Germany, Oregon, Maine, and even right down the block for this giant Mutated Family Reunion. Stakes were high and I was hoping Ominous Seapods had rehearsed. :)

FRIDAY, 2/11/11

My evening started off with a lovely (and the first of many) custom Margarita, concocted by the talented Alchemist and Prince of Saranac Lake, Brandon DeVito.

It begins...

It continued with the mind-bending thrash grooves of Deoro, a trippy trio consisting of the obscenely talented Dave "The Emperor" Eggar on cello, Tom "TP" Pirozzi on bass, and Chuck Palmer on drums (I do not know if Chuck has a nickname). They had the entire Waterhole (which had quickly filled in) rocking with both originals and a variety of covers, including God Street Wine's Hellfire (Dave was also member of the Lo Faber Band) with Dana Monteith on guest guitar. Awesome! Eggar left the following morning to fly to LA for the Grammy Awards (he was nominated this year for Best Musical Arrangement!). Brilliant!!




This is where things get a bit fuzzy. I most certainly got caught in some sort of bend in the time-space continuum, because the rest of the night felt about 45 minutes long. I can tell you that I had an amazing time and that Ominous Seapods opened the 2/11/11 show with Blackberry Brandy, their tribute to Winter Carnival and the Waterhole. It was sweet in the ears. What I remember enjoying immensely (once I referenced the setlist) was Stephen O'Rourke -> La Fiesta!, Hey Donnie Osmond (YES! + Emperor), Adirondack (an easy crowd favorite, + Emperor), some classic Sally -> Cali -> Sally action, Rogue, Anything's Possible, The Old GP, (FREAKIN') Seymour (!!!), and most especially SNEAKIN' SALLY (which my regular readers know I would rather hear/see any day over Phish's version). You cannot top Max Verna's Sneakin' Sally. Fuck yeah. Lay it down, boys!




However, since I cannot provide you with exact details of what went down, we turn now to our Field Correspondent, Happy Lopez, whose recollections are supposedly less vague than mine. I have no choice but to take his word for it:

AS OF PRESS TIME, HAPPY LOPEZ HAS NOT SUBMITTED HIS REPORT

Dana, Max, Teep, Teddy, & The Dark Horse. Your classic lineup. The boys were definitely having fun. The Waterhole was rockin' & packed to the gills! Smiles all-around. Great to see this all again! Happy 2/11, everyone!










Proud to drink toasts to & occasionally dance like Johnny Fishwick throughout the night. After all, it was the 12th Anniversary of his redecorating a snowbank outside the Emerald City Ballroom before the 2/11/99 show had even begun. *TO JOHNNY!*


Umm, no new merch? Seriously? Helllooo, Cash Cow? Moo?

Mike McKinley modeling his brand new Halloween In Vegas, '98 poster!

SETLIST, Friday, 2/11/2011

Set 1
Blackberry Brandy
No Time Like the Present
Stephen O'Rourke>
La Fiesta!
Hey Donnie Osmond*
The Pull from Adirondack Blue*
The Sad, Sad Corner>
Guardian Angels
Sally Simpson>
First Day in California>
Sally Simpson

Set 2
Jet Smooth Ride
Come On Baby Let's Go Downtown>
Theme for Another Enlightened Rogue
Anythings Possible
The Old GP>
Taste Sensation Overload
Seymour>
Jonh Henry's Hammer
I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon>
Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley

Encore
Final Destination
Lawyers Guns and Money

*with Dave Eggar on cello
a false start of "Sad, Sad Corner" false start occured before "Hey Donnie Osmond"
Deoro (Tom Pirozzi, Dave Eggar and Chuck Palmer) opened

-- Once the show goes up on the Archive, the link will be HERE --

The only way to end 2/11 is with a toast TO 2/11!

SATURDAY, 2/12/11

Saturday began ever-so-slowly. Our late start kind of wounded us at Blue Moon where we waited for what seemed like forever, for our breakfast. The place was jammed with hungry customers and parade-goers. Eventually we got our yummy breakfasts, but the coffee was totes weak. Blue Moon, I will not hold this against you, but that ball was drrrr-opped.

Live Music Beth keeps busy, while waiting for breakfast.
Ahh, the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Parade-- this was my first time not sleeping through it! The sidewalks were mobbed with North Country Freaks of all ages & sizes. A pleasant snow fell, making it all the more picturesque. Being outside for so long in the cold mountain air was just absolutely fucking beautiful. Love it!





This year's Carnival theme was "Medieval Times". There were a lot of Monty Python's Holy Grail references threaded through the floats (alongside Lawn Chair Ladies, Little Lawn Chair Ladies, and the Waterhole's own Sock Monkeys).



The Officially Sanctioned Pin featured Doonesbury's own Zonker in Knight's armor.

By the end of the parade (please note: it ended well after 2pm, so the song lyrics are misleading), I was more than ready to warm back up in the Waterhole-- where The Horseshoe Lounge Playboys (which includes members of Old Crow Medicine Show) kept the festivities going to another packed upstairs. It was a great blend of mountain grass foot-stomping rock. Very enjoyable. Alcohol consumption continued at a steady rate. When in Saranac...








After a much needed nap, early evening found me back at the Waterhole during soundcheck, to work on the aforementioned 2/11 Special Report. Due to which, I missed all of Okemah. This was slightly disappointing because they were great at moe.down x, I always dug freebeerandchicken (FB&C are the base of the Okemah lineup, which also includes Ted Marotta of the Seapods on drums), and really reeeally reeeeaaallly wanted to see it. Alas, next time, Okemah. It will be worth it!

Saturday night also brought a 2nd wave of Mutants-- the reinforcements! This is gonna sound crazy, but even the large crowd had thus far been pretty well behaved. People were definitely having a good time- some kinda shitfaced, some sitting on the stairs the whole night, but there were no fights or any other crazy disturbances of the sort. Have the Mutants mellowed with age? Good stuff!





The Seapods started with Waiting 4 Da Bomb, but What's the Buzz was when I really felt them kick into gear. They even broke out fan favorite the North Country Rap! "Yo yo yo, ya ya ya, fuckin' ay right, Buck!" Ohh, to know them is to love them. Candy Cane got the room moving. Somedays let us all bask in Max's sweet vocals. Jet Smooth Reprise showcased their smoov grooves and harmonies. Then a nice Stephen O'Rourke -> Fiesta, but am I allowed to complain about a repeat? Hmm... Josephine's was always a favorite, so I was psyched to hear it. Match Maker is a "new Max Tune", but only for the Seapods. Max played this on multiple occasions way back in the days when he still did solo shows and promised us an album (we're still waiting, Max.). And of course, it couldn't be a Seapods weekend without the cult classic Bong Hits & Porn! Complete with Mr. Greenfield section. Well done! There was a whisk in there somewhere. Praise 211, Amen.





Set 2 began with Jump 4 Joy, and it was exactly here that the Seapods finally reached their groove. The Universe had clearly honed in on the Mutation at hand and pressed TURBO BOOST. That familiar North Country Freak energy gushed through the room. It all felt right. Cold outside the walls of the Waterhole and scorchin' hot within. Figuratively. It's times like these that make me realize how much I miss this band.

Oberon & Titania was beautiful. Passengers was a ton of fun. Counting Time was dark and lovely. Keep In Mind, gorgeous, featured Steve Langdon on harmonica (and Old TP in the audience for a time). Live On the Moon was cute even if a little odd. It is also apparently a Sesame Street song-- sung by Ernie? Strange. Anyways--- THEN came the Michael Murphy Trilogy!!! SWEEEET! Michael Murphy Rusted, The Guide to Roadside Ecology, & Michael Murphy III ("Mi-chael, Mi-chael Mur-phy!"). Super energized, a buzz in the room, great shit. A fantastic Monopole closed out the set. PHEW! It was good to hear that!






They encored with the classic Ship ("cuz I, don't wanna swim in shit no more!"), featuring Dana on bass and Teep on lead guitar. FUCK YEAH! And then another Blackberry Brandy to close out the run. A Blackberry Brandy sammich. Quite appropriate. Not that the first one was bad in any way, but I was really glad to hear it again after they'd warmed up.






That's it?? It's over already?!?




Kat and a Flatcat Kitteh Scarf






SETLIST, Saturday, 2/12/2011

Set 1
Waiting 4 da Bomb 2 Drop>
What's the Buzz?>
North country rap>
What's the Buzz?>
Candy Cane Flame>
Somedays
Jet Smooth Ride Reprise
Stephen O'Rourke>
La Fiesta!
Josephine's Grand Motion
Match Maker*
Bong Hits and Porn

Set 2
Jump For Joy
Oberon & Titania>
Passengers en Route,
Sitting Up Counting' Time
Keep In Mind**
Live On the Moon***
The Michael Murphy Trilogy:
a. Michael Murphy Rusted
b. The Guide to Roadside Ecology
c. Michael Murphy 3
Leaving the Monopole

Encore
Ship%
Blackberry Brandy

*Max original, first time played - pretty sure this is the title he introduced the song as
**with Steve Langdon on harmonica
***Max original, first time played, Max solo
%Old TP on guitar, Dana on bass
Okemah (with Ted Marotta on drums) opened

-- once the recording goes up on the archive, the link will be HERE --

Thanks to GLR for the setlists!

SUNDAY, 2/13/11

I tried to leave on Sunday. Tried. But there were these Bloody Marys with magic beans that were all, "Haaaay Lynn, you should totally keep drinking me!". I was completely powerless against them. And I kept running into Seapods to say goodbye to. And Tim Herron Duo were doing an afternoon set downstairs at the Waterhole (which would be followed by 2 more sets)... Annnnd the Cold Mountain Air felt so good in my soul. How could I leave all of that?



Tim Herron (of Tim Herron Corporation) & Friends, consisted of Tim & THC bass player Eric McElveen ("& Friend"? Duo.). It was damn good and it got even gooder as the day turned to night. They did a fabulous Into The Mystic that gave me goosebumps. No other details are available at this time, only that I eventually switched back to tequila^, because Vodka Lynn was put down years ago.

Sunday Bloody Sunday at the Waterhole #3, w/ Tim Herron Duo



Soon it was time to make the short trek over to the Ice Palace for fireworks! Whatever crap music that was playing on the PA needs to be replaced next year with some Ominous Seapods. It's only right! Some shenanigans were had in and around the wonderful Ice Palace, before heading back to the Waterhole, where the evening had only barely begun.



The closing Sunday of Winter Carnival brings with it an Annual Waterhole tradition, in the form of some sort of Waterhole Can Kicking Credenza. From what information I gathered beforehand, two teams are formed, each claim 1/2 the room, and the goal is to get all the empty beer cans on the floor in the OTHER team's half of the room. Original North Country Mutation, no doubt. I never saw it that organized.

Alls I know is that we disappeared for an hour (in which time I had a super tasty & LOCAL Wild Boar/Cranberry sausage from Woody's) and the place turned completely upside-down and backwards. We walked back inside and-- first of all, there was Silly String fucking EVERYWHERE. And b) what started off with a few cases worth of empty cans being shuffled back and forth around the room had become the alley door swinging open and garbage bags filled with empty beer cans flying into the bar to join the frenzy. Hundreds of cans were now being corralled around the floor with feet, brooms, planks, and just about anything else that wasn't bolted down. Occasionally some semblance of a pile would form, but only until someone else went barreling through, exploding the massive pile. The sound was spectacular. This was truly the most twisted and bizarre Backwoods event I have ever had the honor of observing. Wow. Rockin'.





I'll fast forward through the bizarro Waterhole Hip Hop Dance Party and get to one of the highlights of my night which was: picking some Silly String out of Tim Herron's silky hair. Oh yah, it's silky.

MONDAY, 2/14/11

It was flurrying, beautiful flurries on Monday morning. The air was invigorating. Blue Moon's coffee redeemed itself. Bacon was plentiful. Ahh, the Pull From Adirondack Blue. It was tough to leave & I'll need to go back real soon.


The whole weekend was a blast. Spending time with friends who are family-- you can't beat that with a rusty-nail-ridden plank. Hopefully next year on Palindromey 2/11/12, even more Mutants will make it.

You can pick apart setlists or complain that there were a couple of repeats when we didn't get to hear a few other favorites, but who really gives a shit? Anyone who would deduct points from this EPIC weekend didn't party enough. It was an amazing fucking time-- all of it!

2/11!!!! Winter Carnival!!! Waterhole #3!!!^^ Ominous Seapods & Deoro, 2/11/11 -> Ominous Seapods, Okemah, & the Horseshoe Lounge Playboys, 2/12/11 -> BONUS: Tim Herron Duo, 2/13/11: 10 HUZZAHS!!! FUCKING EPIC!!!!!!

Stay tuned for the 2/11 Special Report...

Thank you to Ominous Seapods, for rocking the fuck out (and for rehearsing?!). Can't wait for the next go round!

Thank you to Brandon DeVito, for not only feeding me alcohol all weekend, but also throwing one hell of a (bender) party. MAD SKILLZ.

SLIDESHOW & HI-RES GALLERY!



^ It's worth noting that I most definitely have not drank that much in one weekend since college and am still patting myself on the back for a job well done... HUZZAH, LIVER!! HUZZAAAAH!
^^ * LIBERTY BELL * LIBERTY BELL * LIBERTY BELL *