Hi folks. Bill here. Here's another update from the road with Those Darn Accordions!


Monday, June 27th - Madison Wisconsin

TDA put on another great show on Monday night at Madison's fabulous High Noon Saloon. A full house greeted the gang including a group from a local accordion marching band (no kidding). I tried to score one of their "world tour" shirts, but to no avail.

A couple of fans dropped off a homemade statue of the "Venus de Squeeze" for Paul and the band. It looks strangely like a cross between the Virgin Mary and Suzanne playing an accordion. Also, for some strange reason, it's eyes seemed to follow you across the room... :-)

The High Noon's house PA system is one of the best so far on the tour and it delivered a great mix for the band. Too bad every show couldn't sound this good. Rousing renditions of "Baba O Rielly" and "We're An Accordion Band" left the crowd cheering for more.

Following the final set, I had a chance to do some shots of Jameson Whiskey (the band's tour sponsor) with Paul and Lewis. At this point, my notes and memory became a bit blurry until...


Wednesday June 29th - Steven's Point Wisconsin

TDA returned to Clark's Place for a Wednesday night show. Clark's Place is a renovated former VFW building in downtown Steven's Point. This is another great live music venue run by great people. Best feature of the club is the split bar, which permits smokers to do thier thing on one side, while the rest of us can enjoy and beveage and watch the band in smoke-free comfort. Why didn't someone think of this sooner?

The show's encore was another hyper-speed version of the "Chicken Dance." It ended in a blur of flapping arms and clapping hands - led by Suzy and Carrie in thier fabulous Austin Powers go-go outfits.

Rumor was that earlier in the day the band shot a video in a local park for thier song "My Friend Jim." Park maintenence and the local gentry became concerned when the band showed up with accordions in tow. There just might be an ordinance against accordion playing in a city park - I don't know. :-) Anyway, watch for it in the future on the TDA website.

Up next.... Milwaukee shows at Shank Hall and Summerfest. I can't wait!

*Bill In Milwaukee

You know, there is a great mystery surrounding the song "My Friend Jim," a mystery of Shakespearean proportions: after limning all the faults of Jim throughout the song--all his quirks and oddities, his foibles, his angularities--why does the narrator still refer to him as "my friend"? I think this is the real intriguing focal point to the whole song. Upon these sorts of things great literature is written (or at least used to be).

In other words, although the song is ostensibly about Jim, the fact that he's still "my friend" paints an even more intriguing portrait of the narrator.

-sam