BoDeans in Orlando?!

I (shamefully) discovered that the BoDeans released a new record in early March of 2008. I should have noticed it earlier. I suppose that one excuse is that WXRT doesn't reach central Florida. Although, that defense evaporates upon inspection as XRT offers a live stream of their broadcast.

I used up some bandwidth and was soon basking in what a friend's son calls "Wisconsin Music". Indeed.

The next logical step was to see if I could catch a show. This lead to the discovery of the Orlando House of Blues show on 28 March.

The show was quite good. Sammy sported a full, grey beard and missed some high notes and a lyric or two. Kurt's lead guitar was as effective as I've ever heard him. They did a full set after two local bands, finishing well after midnight. They included four or five from the new record as well as a smattering from each record in the discography.

The crowd was smaller than I expected but I neglected to one thing into account: the show was in Orlando not Chicago. This was the first time that I had seen "the guys" outside of the midwest. I was able to be stand at the very front, right up against the barrier. There were many vacationing cheeseheads in the crowd who, at the beginning of the show, were more worried about the basketball game than the openers.

BoDeans still have a crisp sound, tight harmonies and know how to work the crowd. The played some favorites but opened up with the first song from the new record. I missed my prediction of the opener. My pick "Idaho" was number two on the set list. Too bad Ed wasn't there--being off by one earns at least a domestic.

'Twas a very good night. I chatted with a couple of "long-time-fans" and we noted the crowd was full of people our age. There were some 20-somethings there for the three-chord opener Megaphone. They dispersed afterwards and made room for those of us who remember that vinyl is for something other than bad lawn furniture.