Northern Wish Posted June 26, 2002 Report Share Posted June 26, 2002 nero June 22: The Cellar Patio- Fredericton, NB June 23: The Waterfront- Saint John, NB June 24: The Waterfront- Saint John, NB Well the boys have come and gone again. It's always sad to see such a quick little run of shows, and then nothing more for months. Ah well, I definitely filled my boots. After beginning their East Coast run of 9 shows in the same number of nights in St. Andrews to a great reception, the tone was set for the week. The sun stayed out, and the crowds (despite their lack of numbers) were ecstatic. My nerofanlog begins with my first nero show since March, and only second ever. I have been listening to their music heavily for quite a while, but circumstances always got in the way. Welcome to Fredericton! After an extremely long day of softball and beer, we headed out to see what The Cellar Patio was all about (apparently this is a new venture for UNB, and it was a sort of trial run). As we rounded the corner to the university, what should appear: the Nero bus! Our first sight of our old friends...... I gladly hopped on for the ride, only to find out it would last until the wee hours of Tuesday. First let me preface this by saying that there is no way on earth, any band could play outside in Saint John. The weather will just not allow for, be it the thick fog, chilly breezes or torrential rains. So when we arrived in Freddy we were thrilled to find a 32 degree day. The evening set outside made for a very friendly, summer vibe. There were quite a few people out for the show, considering that local faves Gummi DeMailo (sp?) were playing their last show and Jimmy Swift band was also in town. The music that nero played floored me. I have heard through the grapevine that they have really been playing well, but to see what 40+ shows could do for myself was magical. I am not overly familiar with the song titles, but the first night highlights were 401 Theme that seemed to go places the New Deal can only dream of, and an extremely satisfying Tonto's Underwater Revenge. The turnout at the event caused management to allow the band to play until 2:00 am (after previously being warned of a 1:00 curfew). So with some extra time we were treated to a FULL two sets of some great nero groove. They wrapped up Peaches en Regalia with not a minute to spare, to a great applause. An interesting side note to the show: there was a stand of trees around 100 yards away from the outdoor patio, and at one point there were several tree groovers. They stayed up the dancing away for most of the show, even after Dave beckoned them down to bar. Having spent a good deal of the day that began in Saint John at 7:00am, drunk and in the scorching sun, we took our tired masses home for rest and passed up on the hotel party with Jimmy Swift and Co. (see nero for the lurid details)........... Arriving home, my body was telling me to skip the show. Ya right..... Late in the afternoon, nero arrived to shower up and head to set up the gear. I stayed as horizontal as possible and saved all of my energy. And I needed. At about 11:00 they took the stage to a few stragglers. Within minutes I had my second wind, and was brought to my feet by an excellent Elvezz. I enjoyed Sunday nights performance much better than the previous evening, as did many others... To quote my girlfriend who looked over at around the 45 minute mark and exclaimed "They haven't stopped yet!!!" Flawless, interesting progressive jamming highlighted this whole show. It seems to me that every time I see nero, even when they play familiar songs they are sooo different at every turn. Constantly keeping my attention, they closed out a great (if short at 62 minutes) set with an absolutely perfect version of First Tube. The second set brought the levels up, and with more kids coming by the crowd seemed to be getting into it. I think this is the first time I have seen nero not play the 401 Theme (which is one of my favs), but with so much new material I didn't miss it one bit. All I can say to you all is LEMONDUST. This is by far my favorite nero song, all the things I love about music are present repeatedly in this song. Love it! After Lemondust, one kind phriend bellowed out "Slayer!!!". In true rockstar fashion, the trio ripped into a minute or so of the hallowed "Seasons of the Abyss". This definitely won over the crowd, as everyone got up and danced for the rest of the show. At some point during the jamming in set 2, Dave pulled into Chameleon territory, and it was sealed- great show! Prior to the second set, the boys were contemplating wrapping this show up early since there weren't many there, but the all came for the second set and stayed till closing time. Tucked nero in, and contemplated that I have never seen a band other than Phish play three consecutive nights- and after two shows I just got giddy at the prospect of the next night. Quote of the day: "Why is that you Upper Canadians seem to roll the fattest joints?" The final show of the short East Coast run was Monday night, and my expectations were high. The show began with another unique jam that reminded me of the way the Phil Lesh Quintet begin their sets. There were many new faces in the room after night one, so the nero word really seems to be spreading. $6 pitchers ensured all were in a festive mood, and nero provided the soundtrack for the night. The first set was great, with some very interesting drumming taking up a great deal of my attention. I can't remember any particular songs, but was thrilled to hear the chunky notes of Scofields Hottentot to close set one. A great song, that many seemed to be familiar with so faces seemed to gape at Tone Master Dave's great guitar work. The first set was played so well in fact, that those I attended with decided against their better judgment to stay for "one more song". They ended up leaving with around 10 minutes left in the second set, warm beds and work commitments were nothing in the face of nero's jamming. My highlight of the second set and possibly the whole run was a one two combination of Tontos Underwater Revenge and Lemondust. I just closed my eyes and let that trio run right through me. As the jam unfolded Dave (after a little gentle prodding the previous day) gave us all the Hockey Night in Canada salute. Even the zoned out bartender, couldn't help but smile and turn around to watch. For the encore the crowd seemed to be showing the band just what they thought of the show, and all made it up to the front and got down to a fine Peaches en Regalia. Quote of the day: "I do tonnes of stupid things everyday, and I'm still here." So it was three shows, in three nights. Less than 15 hours of sleep, loads of Alpine Lager, and a bit of a sunburn to boot. But nero left here this morning, and I would be heading out again tonight if they were going to play. I know we all love our Canadian bands for various reasons and they play their hearts out for us, but I get a very different, much more intense and important feeling from the lads from Ottawa. Constantly evolving, jamming and most importantly smiling.......... I hope nero is here to stay. Sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Wish Posted June 26, 2002 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2002 Oh yeah, that was actually the third time. So now its five in all. And on second thought I think its called Tontos Underwater Paradise........ If anyone gets the setlists from these nights could you please post them. Look out for the first night of Saint John on Direct Connect as soon as I track it. Sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booche Posted June 26, 2002 Report Share Posted June 26, 2002 Thanks for the great read Northern Wish. I try to write reviews from time to time, and I try so damn hard to say away from comparisons or what not, but that Quintet reference to Nero is absolutely perfect. I have seen them start a set soooooo many times with that same philosophy, and i LOVE IT! As far as Lemondust is concerned, I agree with you there as well. Thanks for the update/info. Hehehhehehe, he said "Tone Master" I love it when people post their Nero's............. Hey Yoda, I hope you read that email I sent youse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms.Huxtable Posted June 26, 2002 Report Share Posted June 26, 2002 What a great read. Thanks so much for that. I just love that the nero virus is spreading. I've been ill with it for a couple years now and there's no cure in sight. May all of Canada become infected!!! Can't wait to see our lads at CTMF this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Wish Posted June 27, 2002 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2002 Hey Velvet! Where are those nerologs. It's going to be tough to track those shows without a song list. Thanks. Sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velvet Posted June 28, 2002 Report Share Posted June 28, 2002 Sorry, the Saint John nerolog is coming. The Freddy one was posted already. Here's the setlists though. Fredericton I Tricky Wata Bug 401 Theme Tonto's Underwater Paradise> Miko Mard II El Vezz Lemondust Chocolate Monkey Machine Flurmy Peaches en Regalia Saint John I I Effervescence> Moby's Dream> Lemondust Joseph's B&E Bonanza Holetown Charlie> First Tube II Oregano Mice> Centragnome Seasons In The Abyss Whispy Mountain Wonder Chameleon> Miko Mard e: Pumpkin Song Saint John II I El Vezz> Wata Bug 401 Theme Speed Queen Tonto's Underwater Paradise> Hotentot II Gordon's Revenge> Hockey Night> Condor Lemondust> Basheeba> Lemondust* e: Peaches en Regalia * w/ Hockey Night and Miko Mard teases Wow, that's 27 different songs out of 35 played. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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