![MARCH 27 – PHOENIX LOUNGE, HARRISBURG, SD [SHOW #181]
[JT] Day 220. Our first ever Sioux Falls show turned out to actually be in a tiny nearby town called Harrisburg. We rolled in and saw our bands’ names on the trailer marquee sitting out in front of the abandoned Food & Fuel station. The Phoenix Lounge stood adjacent to it. We came inside the bar and it was spacious, cabin-like, and definitely rural. We met the soundman, Tom, a veteran audio engineer. The stage inside was a sight to behold. The stage was of typical size for a country bar, but the expansive PA system included a dozen or more speakers and subwoofers on either size, and multiple racks of lighting circled above, with countless cans, leds, and strobes. Even the fog machines were wired in. Patrick recognized portions of the PA that were used in Borderfest – the benefit concert he helped organize to benefit tornado victims in northwest Iowa back in 1999. It was there that he met Aaron Hefley of Pookey Bleum, and he credits the event for bringing him to Ames later in the year where they started a studio in their basement, started bands, and the rest is history.
We met Turk behind the bar, the owner of the Phoenix. “Let’s get the night started off right,” he said, “how about some shots of Tequila?” He was a very hospitable bartender. He gave us some complimentary beers and cooked up a number of frozen pizzas. “I feel like a kid again,” I mused, “I used to eat Jack’s pizzas all the time growing up.” We dressed up our slices with salt & pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Turk was quite a character. He’s been around for a long time and has seen a lot of music. We noticed that Jim Dandy of the classic rock band Black Oak Arkansas listed on an upcoming show poster. “Oh he plays here all the time,” Turk told us, and described how he still wears skin-tight jeans that emphasizes his bulging cock. There was no local act on the night’s bill, so we set up our equipment and played first. A few young fans from came down from Sioux Falls to watch us play and we had a nice time visiting them. We got wind that an older couple was celebrating their 24th anniversary so we called them up to the dance floor and dedicated ‘Pacific Sunrise’ to them. They and their friends stuck around for a few more tunes so we gave them some dancy one including ‘Being Gone’ and Thin Lizzy’s ‘Running Back.’ Brass Bed played second and they put on a great show to the dozen or so of us in attendance. After the music wrapped up we sat around the bar some more swapping more stories with Turk, who was apologetic about the poor turnout but we weren’t bothered. He was serving us all some more beers, bought some T-shirts, poured some more shots, and posed for some pics with us. At the end of the night, having nowhere to stay, Turk called the Sioux Falls Econo Lodge where he knew the night clerk and got us a “band rate” on a room. We packed up and headed to the hotel, stopping at a Hy-Vee for some late snacks. The hotel clerk, Matt, was a very nice guy, who chatted with Patrick and I about the music scene for a bit while he checked us in. Inside the room we Tetrissed ourselves on and around the beds.
The next morning we set our alarms so as not to miss the rare continental breakfast. Devin and David took advantage of soaking in the hot tub while the rest of us went back to the room for a few more hours of zzz’s. After we checked out Patrick took us on a little tour of Sioux Falls (the “pawn capitol of the world”), where he spent a lot of time in high school since it was the nearest bigger city to Sibley. He took us to his favorite pawn shop – Sunset Pawn – that had an amazing collection of vintage guitars. He also pointed out other sites that he had memories of: his first buffet, his first hippie coffee, the place where he bought his first guitar. We stopped at a music shop for some supplies, and a used record store before leaving town. “I sort of feel like my travels are complete now that I’ve been to Sioux Falls,” I told the guys, “there’s a lot of places I still have not been too, but Sioux Falls has always been a city that I felt that I needed to see.”
The jam in the van: Brass Bed plays Feufollet / Television Adventure / The New Pornographers Twin Cinema
The word we heard: “Gail down!” -Devin
Dinner was a winner: Jack’s frozen pizza courtesy of Phoenix Lounge
The pad was rad: Econo Lodge
Sound Tech we respect: Tom
Our friend the Bartend: Turk
The fill of the bill: Brass Bed (Johnny pictured)
Born On Date / Camille Claudel / Collage of Impressions / Some Ordinary Vision / Pacific Sunrise / Being Gone / Running Back / Monument / Church on Mars / Torpedoes on Tuesday / Start the Revolution / Underground Bed / When the World Sleeps](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ljaq1vKk3U1qahyhxo1_1280.jpg)
MARCH 27 – PHOENIX LOUNGE, HARRISBURG, SD [SHOW #181]
[JT] Day 220. Our first ever Sioux Falls show turned out to actually be in a tiny nearby town called Harrisburg. We rolled in and saw our bands’ names on the trailer marquee sitting out in front of the abandoned Food & Fuel station. The Phoenix Lounge stood adjacent to it. We came inside the bar and it was spacious, cabin-like, and definitely rural. We met the soundman, Tom, a veteran audio engineer. The stage inside was a sight to behold. The stage was of typical size for a country bar, but the expansive PA system included a dozen or more speakers and subwoofers on either size, and multiple racks of lighting circled above, with countless cans, leds, and strobes. Even the fog machines were wired in. Patrick recognized portions of the PA that were used in Borderfest – the benefit concert he helped organize to benefit tornado victims in northwest Iowa back in 1999. It was there that he met Aaron Hefley of Pookey Bleum, and he credits the event for bringing him to Ames later in the year where they started a studio in their basement, started bands, and the rest is history.
We met Turk behind the bar, the owner of the Phoenix. “Let’s get the night started off right,” he said, “how about some shots of Tequila?” He was a very hospitable bartender. He gave us some complimentary beers and cooked up a number of frozen pizzas. “I feel like a kid again,” I mused, “I used to eat Jack’s pizzas all the time growing up.” We dressed up our slices with salt & pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Turk was quite a character. He’s been around for a long time and has seen a lot of music. We noticed that Jim Dandy of the classic rock band Black Oak Arkansas listed on an upcoming show poster. “Oh he plays here all the time,” Turk told us, and described how he still wears skin-tight jeans that emphasizes his bulging cock. There was no local act on the night’s bill, so we set up our equipment and played first. A few young fans from came down from Sioux Falls to watch us play and we had a nice time visiting them. We got wind that an older couple was celebrating their 24th anniversary so we called them up to the dance floor and dedicated ‘Pacific Sunrise’ to them. They and their friends stuck around for a few more tunes so we gave them some dancy one including ‘Being Gone’ and Thin Lizzy’s ‘Running Back.’ Brass Bed played second and they put on a great show to the dozen or so of us in attendance. After the music wrapped up we sat around the bar some more swapping more stories with Turk, who was apologetic about the poor turnout but we weren’t bothered. He was serving us all some more beers, bought some T-shirts, poured some more shots, and posed for some pics with us. At the end of the night, having nowhere to stay, Turk called the Sioux Falls Econo Lodge where he knew the night clerk and got us a “band rate” on a room. We packed up and headed to the hotel, stopping at a Hy-Vee for some late snacks. The hotel clerk, Matt, was a very nice guy, who chatted with Patrick and I about the music scene for a bit while he checked us in. Inside the room we Tetrissed ourselves on and around the beds.
The next morning we set our alarms so as not to miss the rare continental breakfast. Devin and David took advantage of soaking in the hot tub while the rest of us went back to the room for a few more hours of zzz’s. After we checked out Patrick took us on a little tour of Sioux Falls (the “pawn capitol of the world”), where he spent a lot of time in high school since it was the nearest bigger city to Sibley. He took us to his favorite pawn shop – Sunset Pawn – that had an amazing collection of vintage guitars. He also pointed out other sites that he had memories of: his first buffet, his first hippie coffee, the place where he bought his first guitar. We stopped at a music shop for some supplies, and a used record store before leaving town. “I sort of feel like my travels are complete now that I’ve been to Sioux Falls,” I told the guys, “there’s a lot of places I still have not been too, but Sioux Falls has always been a city that I felt that I needed to see.”
The jam in the van: Brass Bed plays Feufollet / Television Adventure / The New Pornographers Twin Cinema
The word we heard: “Gail down!” -Devin
Dinner was a winner: Jack’s frozen pizza courtesy of Phoenix Lounge
The pad was rad: Econo Lodge
Sound Tech we respect: Tom
Our friend the Bartend: Turk
The fill of the bill: Brass Bed (Johnny pictured)
Born On Date / Camille Claudel / Collage of Impressions / Some Ordinary Vision / Pacific Sunrise / Being Gone / Running Back / Monument / Church on Mars / Torpedoes on Tuesday / Start the Revolution / Underground Bed / When the World Sleeps
