Welcome to the groove..

Bulbous Tour 2000	Minneapolis, Minnesota
August 15, 2000

** So where do I start? It was an absolutely incredible day for a concert. Warm, sunny, nice breeze blowing through downtown Minneapolis. I got to the venue around 3, where I spotted Ty outside waiting for a ride to the laundromat. After talking with him for a couple of mintues, I got the impression that the rigors of the tour were wearing thin on the band. I think it was CC (the tour manager) who said that this was the longest tour since Gretchen. Considering that there were 4 legs to the last (Tapehead) tour, that's alot of miles in the past 2 years. I strolled inside to check the place out. I'd never been to The Quest before, and was actually pretty impressed. For those of you that don't know, the club was formerly known as Glam Slam, which was owned and operated by the Artist Formerly Known and now again currently known As Prince. But I digress.

Being that Ty was off washing clothes, and Splat and crew were still setting up, I figured it would be awhile before soundcheck. I ran into five pretty cool guys from the Great White North. Barry and four of his band mates drove 8 hours from Winnipeg, Manitoba just to see the show. Talked to them for awhile, and in walked Randy and his wife. They only had a 2 hours plus drive, the lightweights! Anyway... as we were talking and waiting for the soundcheck, there were numerous people coming in looking to buy tickets. I got the feeling that there would be a good walk-up crowd for the show. KX played 3 songs during the soundcheck... Higher Than God , Smudge , and Sometime .

The opening band was forgetable, but Podunk seemed to kick start the crowd. I personally wasn't overwhelmed by them, but I won't be happy until the Galactic Cowboys are back as the opening band. I guess I should consider myself fortunate, because I've heard horror stories of three and sometimes four bands opening for King's X on this tour. Finally, Doug, Ty, and Jerry took the stage.. with the crowd chanting for Jerry before the curtain rose. I had a flashback to a year ago during the fourth leg of the Tapehead tour, where the crowd started a Jerry chant before the encore. I staked out a spot in the front row just to the left of Doug, where I've been for 3 of the past 4 shows. The sound was deafening, to say the least. I honestly couldn't tell if the mix was good, bad, or non-existent. The only thing I know for sure is that the bass was overwhelming, and Jason's guitar was way too high in the mix during Over My Head . But after talking to a few people who watched from the middle or rear of the club, the mix cleaned up by the fourth or fifth song.

The setlist had a fairly good balance between all albums, but I'd still like to see Far, Far Away , Visions , and something other than Black Flag or Lost In Germany from their 4th album. My personal highlights were Cigarettes , Marsh Mellow Field , and We Were Born To Be Loved . I know this will sound like blasphemy to hard core KX fans, but I think it might be time to rest Over My Head for awhile. It was a novel idea to bring some new blood (Jason from Podunk) into the song, but after watching the HOB cybercast, it seems like Doug is having a hard time getting passionate for the song. Maybe they could dust off Visions or We Are Finding Who We Are for the closer on the next tour?

I got to chat with Splat while Podunk was setting up, and again after the show. Sounds like his hand is healing fairly well, and hopefully he will regain full use of it soon. For those of you who aren't familiar with the story, check out his hilarious / horrifying version at Kingsxonline.com I also saw Hans Nygaard lurking in the shadows just prior to King's X taking the stage. Until then, I hadn't seen him around since the Medina and St. Joseph shows around 18 months ago. Hey Hans, where are my videos? After the show, Doug was cornered as he was heading down an alley on his way to the tour bus. He was his usual chatty self, signing everything put in front of him, posing for picture after picture. A few minutes later, Ty popped out of the bus and was swarmed by a couple of dozen fans. Just before Ty made his appearance, there was a 'street vendor' making his way up and down the block selling suckers, of all things. Randy offered him 10 bucks for one as long as it was signed by Ty. As soon as this guy saw the crowd surround Ty, he elbowed his way to the front of the line and asked Ty who he was, and if he would sign the lolly pop. Ty told him that his name was Ted Nugent , but signed the sucker anyway. For those of you who think Ty is quiet, shy, aloof (you pick the adjective), you would've changed your mind if you were standing outside the bus with him that night around 1:30 or so. Definitely a memorable experience!

From what I could tell, the guys won't be through town again on this tour. Being that I saw them 4 times during the Tapehead tour, it's a little disappointing. But it sounds like they will be busy with new solo projects, recording the next King's X album, and resting up from a long tour. But I heard a rumor that Doug might head out on a Poundhound tour, with Geek possibly opening up for him? A guy can wish, can't he? Until then... there will be the new PoundHound Live Bootleg video coming out 9/12

Setlist

1	Groove Machine	Tapehead
2	The Train	Ear Candy
3	Dogman	Dogman
4	Lost In Germany	King's X 4
5	She's Gone Away	Please Come Home... Mr. Bulbous
6	Julia	Please Come Home... Mr. Bulbous
7	Smudge	Please Come Home... Mr. Bulbous
8	Higher Than God	Tapehead
9	Little Bit Of Soul	Tapehead
10	Cigarettes	Dogman
11	Marsh Mellow Field	Please Come Home... Mr. Bulbous
12	Bittersweet	Please Come Home... Mr. Bulbous
13	Summerland	Gretchen Goes To Nebraska
14	Everybody Knows A Little..	Gretchen Goes To Nebraska
15	Looking For Love	Ear Candy
16	Goldilox	Out Of The Silent Planet
17	Sometime	Ear Candy
18	We Were Born To Be Loved	Faith, Hope, Love
19	Over My Head (encore)	Gretchen Goes To Nebraska
20	Moanjam (encore)	Faith, Hope, Love