Thanks to Pattie & Bob I got to catch the first set of Juggling's debut gig at Brownie's 23 East last night. For those who aren't aware - Juggling is playing Splintered Sunlight's summer gigs at Brownie's. For years Splintered has played Thursday nights - but when they decided to take a break Juggling was given the slot. First off - its a great bar - nice size, decent bar food, big stage and great sound. It's also in a nice part of town - lots of cops - but nice. I'd say about 15 or so juggling regulars showed up and mix in about a dozen Splintered regulars and another dozen bar hoppers and we had a small but lively crowd. I was hoping for more people, but the word just needs to spread some how. The first set was Dead cover heavy - probably to draw in the Splintered fans hoping to still get their Dead fix. I think it went something like this:

Set One:
Cats
Positively 4th St(???)
CC Rider
Calling
Scarlet->
Fire Tease->
Franklins'
Twilight->
Samething->
Twilight (Super hot reprise!)
Mr. Charlie->
Viola Lee Blues

So yeah - cover-heavy. But what can you say it was a very good set. The postivie thing was seeing a few newly abducted. One guy came up to Mark and just thanked him. He said he remembered seeing Solar in '86 in the parking lot of a Dead show. But this guy was blown away and very surprised the place wasn't packed with heads. Another cool moment came after Twilight when Mark thanked the bar and Splintered for letting them fill in over the Summer. One guy yelled "you guys should stay!" And in humble Mark fashion - our favorite guitarist responded, "there's room for both of us." A true talent and gentleman! Thanks again Bob & Pattie for letting me just sleep the whole way back to Lancaster. John

Setlist 7-11-02 Brownie's 23 East
Posted on 7/12/2002 at 10:25:57 AM by Ian

Juggling Suns 7-11-02
Brownie’s 23 East, Ardmore, PA

Hello Friends (and dirty-dirts). Well the first gig in a string of Thursday night shows at Brownie's 23 East (filling in for Splintered Sunlight all summer) was a rousing success. The guys really tore it up to the delight of the Juggling Faithful and first-timers alike. It was great to see such a large amount of support from fellow Juggheads giving the band a huge push at the new venue. It was also great to see some first-time abductees in the crowd really getting into it. Taper Tim did a great job hosting the pre-party at the show and Andrea was in full form, running around making sure everyone in the place had at least 3 or 4 of those familiar little green stickers on them.

Musically, the show was air tight with some incredible segues that left me speechless and dance grooves that had every ass in the place a shakin'. The first set had some really good Dead stuff (that I think was intended mostly to hook the Splintered crowd) but the Juggling originals stood out as being very distinct and also went over extremely well with the crowd. The first set was extended by two songs to accommodate for some of the Dankaster crew having to leave early and was packed full of crunchy goodness. The Begonias->Franklin's really impressed some of the Deadheads in the crowd who were just as into the follow-up Twilight as the familiar Dead staples. The Mr. Charlie->Viola Lee Blues to end the extra-long first set was, for me, the show highlight. The second set was a little shorter due to some time constraints (and Kenny G kidnapping half of the band, but that's another story, hehehehe). But what the second set lacked in length, it made up for twice as much in intensity. Actually, the band only stopped playing once in the entire second set, with almost every song segueing into the next. Overall, I think the band really impressed the new crowd and won over some new fans out in the city of Brotherly Love.

Set 1 (extra long, probably around 90 min. or so)

Cats are Martians
Positively 4th St.
C. C. Rider
Calling*
Scarlet Begonias->
Franklin's Tower
Twilight Dance->
Same Thing->
Twilight Dance
Mr. Charlie->
Viola Lee Blues!!!

Set 2 (around 50 min?)

Legalize It->
China Cat Sunflower->
Into Tomorrow
Obsession->
Iko Iko->
Men Smart Women Smarter->
Iko Iko
 

*With Kenny G. singing Iron Man a cappella in the crowd

Peace out friends,
Ian