9/5: Clintonsfest 2009 in Bozeman

Once in a great while, we put on a little show that we like to call Clintonsfest.

It happens approximately once every 365 days and comes at a time when great bands and great people come together to form an evening that is nothing but great fun.  Saturday, September 5th, 2009, was such a time.

Dustin Tucker and his killer backing band kicked the night off with a great set that boasted Dustin’s impressive aptitude for writing unique, crowd-pleasing pop-rock and his equally impressive ability to take a popular song and make it his own.  Though the crowd was somewhat sparse for his set, those who were there were very positively receptive to his music.  My personal favorite was his cover of Radiohead’s “Lucky” off of their classic Ok Computer.  If you live in Bozeman, do make sure you go and check him out either with his original group or with the Pink Floyd tribute band, Pinky and the Floyd.  Both projects are extremely awesome and deserve your undivided attention.

Fresh off of a national tour, Goodnight Sunrise took the stage shortly thereafter, and I can’t say anything about these guys that I haven’t said before.  They’re an awesome band and have been since they were kids.  We’ve been watching them perform for the past several years and it’s great to see how much their musicianship and performances have improved with each show.  They followed up their set with a brief appearance by their hip-hop alter egos, Danny Donutz and Sammy Swiss.  Titties were mashed.

And then we took the stage (explosions).  I think we played a pretty solid set that focused on every album equally, except for maybe Kinky.  I don’t think I did that on purpose when writing the setlist; it probably just came out that way.  One of the improvements of this year’s Clintonsfest over last year’s was the venue.  Last year, our outdoor set was cut in half by a freakin’ rain storm, which only affirmed that you can never trust Montana weather.  This year was indoors, and guess what?  Our set didn’t get cut short!  Horray!  As you could probably guess, it didn’t rain outside at all, which is typical.  But I’d like to think that it probably would have if it were outdoors.  Anyway, we had a fairly high-energy set that kept the folks dancing from beginning to end, which is always what we aim to do.  I can only hope and pray that Clintonsfest continues to grow and expand in the years to come.

Highlights:

–Former bassist Kevin Okragly was there, and he got a BIG promotion.  Give him a round of applause.

–The Goodnight Sunrise boys played the riff to “Free Ride” during their set and played it on stage with us during our set.  It was bad ass.

–Would anyone be up for an all-star jam next year?

Setlist:

Free Ride
LMP
Alright Tonight
Bender
Birthday Suit
Friends with Benefits
SDIM
Save the World
Undercover World
Outta Mind
Baltimore
Potion
College
Abercrombie
Jesus
Leave Me Alone