So, it’s been a rather strange year thus far in Slackland, and March has been positively bizarre. Our shows keep getting a little stranger, and depending on a variety of circumstances, either better or worse!

It’s been a little hard adapting to the four-piece lineup, without the second guitar, mainly because it requires me to be on my toes at all times. In the five-piece lineup, I could relax a lot more, but being the only guitarist now, I’ve gotta have my act together at all times. And sometimes I don’t :)

The first March show at LBG was frustrating, because we started way late, at almost 1am. We were supposed to play before midnight, but the openers got a late start, and then the PA stopped working and Eric’s bass amp crapped out. Weird luck. By the time we started at 1am, I was gone...way too many shots. Good thing we got it all on film.

Even weirder were the two shows without Sluthy, cause he’s been outta town. We got called at the last second to play a Gezellig show, cause somebody cancelled. So I agreed to play solo, but then Tom and Eric both showed up and we had a blast doing random cover requests and stripped down versions of new and old songs. We wound up doing about half of "The Wall" before the whole thing was said and done, and one of my oldest friends, Craig, showed up and ended up sitting in with us. Surreal, to say the least.

Last night at Sons of Hermann was okay, I suppose. Sluthy is still out of town, so we just did another show with the three of us. It’s cool to play stripped down, but I’m kinda over it. I want my Sluth back. We debuted a few new tunes and showcased a bunch of stuff from the upcoming record, though they were sparse and rough, to say the least. Perhaps I’m the only one criticizing them.

Here are the setlists from the three March shows thus far:

3/21/08 Sons Of Hermann Hall, Dallas, TX
(with Salim Nourallah and Solly)

Breaking Down, Truth And Fiction > You Deserve Better, Infatuations Never Last, Under The Bus, Follow On, Act Together*, On Your Mark**, Punchy, If There’s A Heaven, Pipe Dream > Houses Of The Holy***, The Thief

* - Ron Wood cover, first time played

** - new Slack song, first time played

*** - Led Zeppelin cover, first time played

Steve Luthye was out of town and unable to attend, so this was a rare power trio appearance – the second one in a row.

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3/12/08 Gezellig, Dallas, TX

Act Together^, Loving Cup^, Grey Seal^, A Day In The Life^, Blackout^, Oh! You Pretty Things^, If There’s A Heaven^, Pipe Dream, Clabber Girl, Free Utah, Doolin’ Blue On Grass, Karma Police, Whisper^, Sexy Sadie^ > The Great Gig In The Sky^, For No One^, Blackbird^, I’m So Tired^, No More Country Living, Lady Madonna^, She’s A Rainbow^, Sweet Pea Pie^, Making Plans For Nigel^, Punchy, Blackhearted > Hots On For Nowhere > Blackhearted, Heartbreaker, The Thief, Infatuations Never Last, Good Luck, Choking On Pills, What’s To Come, The Shocker, In The Flesh?, Run Like Hell, Truth And Fiction, The Thin Ice > Another Brick In The Wall (Part One) > The Happiest Days Of Our Lives > Another Brick In The Wall (Part Two), Mother, Comfortably Numb

E: Nobody Home^

^ - performed by Chris alone

Chris played the first seven songs alone at the upright piano. Tom Bridwell and subsequently Eric Neal joined and played most of the show, as an electric trio. This gig was a last minute thing, filling in for a band that cancelled that night at Gezellig. Steve Luthye was out of town and did not play.

Craig Pentecost sat in on piano on "Mother" and acoustic guitar on "Comfortably Numb".
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3/7/08 Lakewood Bar & Grill, Dallas, TX

The Ocean > The Dallas Curse, The Thief, You Deserve Better, The Denial Twist, Infatuations Never Last, Blackout, Pipe Dream, What’s To Come, The Green > Good Luck, The Shocker, I Want You (She’s So Heavy)

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So now then...we’ve gotta play one more show this month, and hopefully it’s gonna be off the hook. It’s for Lion Dog Records and their showcase at Liquid Lounge...Sluthy will be back, we’re gonna practice, good times will be had.

In other news, the album is coming along slowly...we’ve got a lot of work to do, but the songs are there and we’re pretty stoked about it. I’ve got a tentative title that I like, "Truth And Fiction". It helps that there’s a song of the same name, I guess. And we’re filming it too...our new friend Kevin is a filmmaker and he’s decided to make a film about The Slack and all our trials and tribulations in this jacked up industry. I smell a Razzie :)

Oh yes, and for those who listen, I’ll try and update the audio soon, I know it’s way old.

Thanks and all that,

CH
3/22/08