Concert: Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers at the Tractor Tavern, August 26 2005

I got back at 1:30 this morning. In typical Jason fashion, it's 8 and I'm wide awake. My ears are still ringing a little and I think I'm a tad hung over, my eyes are burning and my throat still feels like it's bleeding a little, but goddamn it was worth it.

What a great show.

I've been waiting since 1996 (since I missed them at Edgefest in Tulsa that year) to see The Refreshments or Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers live.

The venue was pretty much standing room only, so getting there when we did was a good idea. I got our shirtshopping out of the way and ran the goods back to the car. The opening act was decent but nothing special. The band took the stage about 10:30, and went until about 12:45 - two hours and fifteen minutes of music, and they usually played nonstop, moving right from one song into the next.

They started working the crowd, picking up on the mood, and getting people to sing almost right away. They mixed Peacemakers and Refreshements songs in fairly even quantity, and I surprised myself by knowing the lyrics to most of the Peacemakers songs they played (except for the ones off Sonoran Hope and Madness, their one album I don't particularly care for). They did a two-song encore with Jack vs. Jose and Nada, so I got to hear every song I wanted to hear excecpt for one, and I'll just have to go to another show to hear it I suppose.

It was hot, sweaty, crowded, and generally a great time. Roger is surprisingly interactive with the crowd, and the crowd surprised me by very much being fans - people all around us were singing along, knew exactly when to belt out the good bits, and were having a great a time as I did. Angela, John, Travis, and Liz all came along and agreed that it was an excellent show (Liz got her first concert t-shirt!) I did manage to get some pictures:

The crowd sported appropriate hats.



"So just how far down do you want to go?"



"The good guys, and they bad guys, well they never work past noon around here."



"I tip the bottle and bite the lime!"

Thanks again, guys: I'll catch you the next time you're in town!