The benefit concert for Val Folkema is set for SATURDAY, 24 APRIL, 7 P.M. at The Landing in Bay City. Two bands, roughly 1-1/2 to 2 hours apiece; we’ll be first. I’d like to tap both “Doc” Wagner and Mike Simpson to play lead again (and may not know for a while if we can get them).

I presume since this is in a tavern, we’ll be wanting to do a lot of dance music. I don’t want to introduce a lot of new material (the more new material, the more practices we need—and everybody except me is busy), but I’d like us to have some new stuff, so we don’t sound the same every time we play. We have done five concerts now, and have a fair amount of material to pick from.

Some tunes from the Failed Economy Show that had people up and dancing:

Things Are Getting Better Now that Things Are Getting Worse (Gene Burnett)—fast two-step

For Their Own Ends (Southern Pigfish)—folk-rock

Un-Easy Street (Stan Good)—mod. two-step

Hey, Little Chicken—mod. slow quasi-blues

Our Own Little Stimulus Plan (Betty Holt)—Buddy Holly-style rockabilly

Final Payment (Gem Watson)—mod. two-step, with Gospel beat

Eatin’ Cornflakes from a Hubcap Blues—slow & sleazy quasi-blues

Dance a Little Longer (Woody Guthrie)—country-rock

We can add:

Tillamook Railroad Blues—deliberate blues (and local color)

Duct Tape—mod. fast country

Test Tube Baby—Elvis-style rock ‘n’ roll

Dead Things in the Shower—fast two-step (our usual opening song)

Bluebird on My Windshield—fast bluegrass

Ain’t Got No Home in This World Any More (Woody Guthrie)—mod. two-step

The Frog Next Door—deliberate blues

Valvoline—slow & sleazy [NEW]

Love Trails of the Zombie Snails (Southern Pigfish)—folk-rock [NEW]

A couple of waltzes that we’ve done before:

Welcome to Hebo Waltz—fast waltz (local color, again)

The Day the Earth Stood Still (Jeff Tanzer)—not-quite-as-fast, with Gospel beat

One more would make 20 songs—a solid 1-3/4 hours. Concentrating on danceability, I’d say it’s a choice between “Crosses By the Roadside,” “Armadillo on the Interstate” and “I’m Giving Mom a Dead Dog for Christmas.” Another possibility (though the band’s never played it) is the blues “She Ain’t Starvin’ Herself.” That gives us some two-steps of varying tempos, a couple waltzes, some blues, and some tunes the band is going to play as rock ‘n’ roll. It ought to be a fun show.

Next steps: make sure we’ve got lead players (I’d really like to tap Doc and Mike again), figure out an order for the list (and make CDs for everybody), and see if our local pastor with the mobile recording equipment would be interested in recording a show that’s going to be in a tavern (if not, we’ll wait on the live recording till the Food Pantry benefit in June).

Joe