A small portion of Clinton Avenue was roped off in front of McGeary's for the
show. A stage was set up at one end. The Luster Kings opened for Blotto. I've
heard them before, but I really didn't care for them then. Since then, they've
gotten much better, and I really enjoyed their performance this time. During
their show, the crowd was less dense and stayed back away from the stage--near
the plentiful supply of beer.
Then, as Blotto was getting set to go on...McGeary's had some (apparently
usual) give-aways to do. But, not being familiar with that ritual, I was
standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. I was very near the stage when it
all started. T-shirts were thrown first, then CD's and some CD's with HORDE tickets on them. The crowd went nuts, and I was slammed from all directions as
the masses dove for the give-aways. Needless to say, I was knocked over, crushed
and wound up wearing a lot of beer and soda!
When that was over, Blotto was announced. They started up with "Too Much Fun"
and the crowd seemed to linger near the front of the stage. As the Blotto guys
did their usual fun stuff, the crowd seemed to be enjoying themselves. Some
people were dancing, some singing, some did both. I had been standing in what
would be about the third row, but then I saw an opening, and some people left,
so I wound up in the front row. I uploaded some photos of the show to this site. I can't remember what songs were played next, but I
remember part of it. They did "Gimme The Girl" their "new" hillbilly way as
"Gimme That Gal". Then, Bowtie and Broadway did "Dueling Banjos". A woman went
up to the stage and gave Bowtie five roses for the guys. Larry T's birthday was
announced, and we all sang happy birthday to him. Then, they did "It's Not You", "We Are The Nowtones",
"When The Second Feature Starts", and they had a
little fun before doing "Go To Your Room". Broadway announced the band
members, and Bowtie handed out the roses to each member. Then Bowtie and
Broadway had a mock duel with the roses, and Broadway laid
down on the stage and played dead. As they started on "The Ballad of The Green
Beret", a fire truck and paramedic unit showed up with their lights
flashing. It was so on-cue that it seemed a part of the show. We never heard
why they were there, perhaps they heard the music and rushed right over to see
the show!! :) They stayed for the rest of show anyway! Then Blotto went on to do
"I Wanna Be A Lifeguard", and the beach balls were flying. Since I wasn't paying
attention to them, I almost got hit with one! The crowd really seemed to be
having fun. The Blotto guys said their thanks and goodbyes, and left the stage.
Then they came back on and did "Metalhead" which ended with Sarge doing his
usual biting the head off Barney part. Then it was over...
(Click on links to hear sound clips)
Blottoween 1998 was held at the OTB Scoreboard in
Albany - 10/30/98.
It was a smashing success as far as I'm concerned. But,
since Bert Blotto and Larry T. wrote such wonderful reviews (unfortunately, Larry took his down - 07/01), I'll let Bert tell you all about it. Please visit his site for his review:
Bert's
review