I'm in the middle of an argument with myself.  "Self," I says, "Could it ever be any better than playing outdoors as part of Innsbrook Resorts Summer Breeze series?  I mean, we must have played to somewhere between 600 to 800 people (could have been more but difficult to see in the dark).  The crowd sang along with almost all of our songs, they came up between the sets and wanted to talk to the band; they jumped out of their chairs to dance and sometimes ran up in front of the stage to strut their stuff....So much ENERGY at that place!   And just really great people that were very appreciative of our efforts and let us know it over and over again...."


"Ah" says my other self.  "No doubt that the Innsbrook crowd is a complete blast and every performer should want that gig....but what about the Boathouse in Forest Park?   We played there just two Saturdays ago and not only were people packed into the restaurant but there was a large crowd outside of the Boathouse fence, sitting in lawn chairs, having a picnic and also very appreciative of our performance."

"Your point being?" says the self that is a bit thick headed.  

"My point is that The Boathouse has incredible consistency....large turnouts....people that also love to sing along and dance...and just a very comfortable experience as the performance starts early (7pm)."

"But the huge crowds at Innsbrook...."

"The consistently large crowds at The Boathouse."

"The surroundings at Innsbrook."

"The surroundings in Forest Park...."

(This ridiculous argument went on and on until both selves fell asleep.....We love playing at The Boathouse and we love playing at Innsbrook.  Great people and Great Times....)

This was our second performance benefit for Webster Groves High School at Llywelyn's Pub in Webster Groves. A great crowd showed up to help support the sophmore class. A special shout out to Nick "Beef" Baker for coming by with a large table of friends. We started out a little bit rough...well, that might not be the right word....are sound system had a momentary wiring issue which took just a couple of minutes to fix. That was fixed in a few and then we went right into Get Back (the Love album version) followed by Come Together. We played a couple of Who songs (My Generation and Won't Get Fooled Again) in honor of their Superbowl appearance the next day. Man, we have fun on Won't Get Fooled...Crowd favorites included Hush, She's Not There, Just Like Heaven, Birthday, Vertigo and Are You Gonna Be My Girl. Many thanks to all that attended. We appreciate your support.

Similar to last year we matched our appearance fee dollar for dollar against a Webster Groves Contribution Jar.   The crowd was very generous in its support for the school and similar to last year, we somehow owed them money at the end of the night.  I know, it's all that new math that we never quite mastered.  Nonetheless, a great night and we had a blast...hope you did too!

What a PARTY!   Stanley and Arlene had many of their supporters and friends join with them in turning up the heat in celebration of Robust Wine Bar's second anniversary....and the Pie was there to fan the flames higher.   The Band started the night with an Abbey Road medley (in celebration of 40th anniversary of that album's release) and kept the standing room only crowd swaying and singing along.  Then, with little fanfare, we launched into David Bowie's "Space Oddity," which was the winner of our "Pick Flaming Pie's Next Song" poll.   Paul sounded like Bowie....actually, he even looked like Bowie ...and we had a blast playing the song. 

The longer we played, the wilder everyone became....the dancing was nonstop and once again we played much longer than we planned.   It is so hard to stop when the crowd sticks around to the end and continues to ask for "one more."

Highlights of the night were the above mentioned "Space Oddity," "Hush," (when Tim started slapping the keys at the beginning of the song, people were going crazy); "Come Together" was tight and people trucked around the dance floor; "Day in the Life" sounded incredible and the crowd was very appreciative; "Vertigo," "My Generation," "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" and "Crazy Little Thing (Called Love)" were huge hits.

A great time was had by all and many, many Congrats to Arlene and Stanley and their wonderful staff on their success.  Robust is a great place to be.

Flaming Pie descended upon Portabella Restaurant in Clayton Friday, August 21 and played for many old and new friends.   A special shout out to Flaming Pie rookiesTodd & Elizabeth M.  Gary S. was there and he began lining up people early for the Hey Jude sing-a-long.   A few months ago, Tim left his post at his keyboards during the "Na-Na-Na--Hey Jude" part and held a microphone out for audiance members to take their shot at singing the chorus to Hey Jude.   It was a big hit with the crowd and we have continued it since.   And, as usual, Gina M. continues to drag all wallflowers out onto the dance floor.

We opened the night with the second side of "Abbey Road" and then moved into some faster paced numbers. The crowd became larger as the night wore on and it didn't take too long until the dancing started.

We played a couple of new numbers:  "Strawberry Fields" and the Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"   Both songs were well received and the band gets a rush playing them.   In the Beatle's original recording, "Strawberry Fields" has a cello, some cymbals and drums played backwards as well as many other special effects that were cutting edge when the song was originally recorded in the 60s.   One of the reasons given for the halt in The Beatles' live performances was that many of their sounds could not be reproduced in a live performance.  Technology has made it possible to play live what was once deemed impossible.  Flaming Pie is able to reproduce those special effects as well as add the cello part with relative ease.  Of course, the band members are playing several different instruments at once to reproduce these sounds and we often drain most of the electric power off of Ameren's grid but the result is a great one. 

"Should I Stay or Should I Go" is a great rocker by the Clash.  Mark sings and belts out the chords on his guitar while the rest of us butchered the background Spanish lyrics.   The song is, though, LOTS OF FUN! 

Here's to Angela and the rest of the Portabella crew!  Another great night with great friends.  Thanks for the support!

We made it back to Brandt's this past Saturday on the second leg of our "Three City Tour."  The Loop was hoppin' on this great spring night and, as usual, the staff at Brandt's bends over backwards to assist us.   Interesting thing about the Brandt's staff...several of them have good singing voices and they like to sing the Beatle's tunes.  Next time we are there (in July), maybe we can have a few of them join us for a couple of songs.

We had another good crowd that was very vocal regarding the songs they wished to hear (Gary S. yelling his choices in between every song of the third set.)  And, of course, we started the night out with "Hard Days Night."  It was tight and got things off to a good start...unfortunately, we then had a year's worth of technical malfunctions all occuring in the first set.   One of Mark's pickups on his guitar went bad....Don's patch cord to his guitar was inadvertently pulled out during the middle of his guitar duet with Mark....the sensor on my snare drum went on the fritz....and miscellaneous other misadventures.   The crowd, however, was very patient and supportive ....the crowd also has bad aim as most of the spoiled fruit only struck our "Flaming Pie"  banner.  Yet, we still had some bright moments in the first set, including Mark's solo on "While My Guitar."

We put those glitches behind us and roared through a hot second set...starting off with "Vertigo."   "I am the Walrus" was electrifying and the crowd was very appreciative.  Tim had everyone bopping to "Just Like Heaven" and "Hold Me Tight,"  and Paul was on with his vocals on "Lovely Rita" and a Pie original, "It's a Shame."

The third set was one of the most enjoyable we ever played.   We were on and the crowd was really in to it.  Rita, guest vocalist from the "Now & Then Band" stuck around to the third set and joined us for "Gimme Shelter" a second time.   "My Generation,"  "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" and "Birthday" were huge hits.  At the end of the set, some individuals that had just entered Brandt's to grab one last drink and hear us play convinced us to play a few extra songs.   Well, "convinced" is probably too strong a term...we love playing and were glad to that others wanted to listen.

So, off to St. Genevieve for next Sunday's gig at the Stone Valley Winery.   Thanks to all that came to Brandt's and we look forward to playing for you again.

Branko

Robust Cafe and Wine Bar is a very popular place and the crowd it attracts is always ready to party.   We were eager to return (our last visit was NYE) and owners Stanley and Arlene Browne treat us like royalty.  Also, the Robust staff are always generous and kind. 

We kicked it off with "Hard Days' Night," which is my favorite for starting the show.  We got into a groove pretty quick and threw in some originals, "She's Sweet" and "Starlight Lounge."  Rita from the Now & Then Band joined us by first providing back up vocals on "Bang a Gong."  She then wailed away on "Gimmee Shelter" and then belted out the lead to "Rock & Roll."  She was full of energy and her vocals were hot...and she had the crowd jumping and moving.   So much fun when she joins us....we need to find a couple of other songs for her when she can join us.   Any suggestions?

Mark really kicked out "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and had the place singing along with his lead vocal on the Oasis hit "Wonderwall."  Tim had an instant legion of fans with his vocal on The Cure's "Just Like Heaven" and Paul's crooning on his rendition of "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" had the place going wild. 

Towards the end of the show a group of devoted Beatles and British Invasion fans refused to let us close out the last set.  Gigi M.S. joined us by grabbing a tamborine on "Birthday."  The crowd then started dancing to our last two numbers...."Bitch" and "Twist & Shout."   We turned out the lights but the crowd yelled for one more and we plugged back in for the Kink's "You Really Got Me."  

Three of us walked off the stage even though the crowd kept asking for more....Amanda G., Emily S. and Patrick P., attending their first Pie concert, got as close to the stage as they could (only three feet away), and yelled for more... Tim stayed behind his keyboard and started playing "Maybe I'm Amazed," while the whole crowd sang a long.   Amanda G.  sweet talked Tim to convince Paul and the rest of us to come back up and sing "I've Just Seen a Face."  Then Paul, unable to put down his guitar, starting strumming to Paul Simon's "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard."  The crowd sang along and we finished with an original, "It's a Shame."   Great crowd, great place and we had a fantastic time. 

Thanks to all that came out; you made it memorble for us!

Branko

We played at Brandt's Cafe in the Loop Friday night. What a great place for music, drink and superb people watching. The staff at Brandt's is top notch and very cool. They treated us very well and we had a great time.   We opened up with Hard Day's Night, You're Gonna Lose That Girl and Lovely Rita.  Fun songs for the crowd and especially fun for us.   There is something about Hard Day's' Night's groove that makes you want to shake your head from side to side....which is different from You're Gonna Lose That Girl, which makes you move your head forward and back (much like a pidgeon)...or maybe that's just me. 

Lot's of cool Beatles tunes but we mixed in an ample amount of other British Invasion songs.  We did Peter Frampton's "Show Me The Way" for the first time and Mark does the voice box sound through his guitar (people were asking me later as to where the voice box was).   In the first set we also did a Flaming Pie original (i.e. Boatman/Puricelli composition), which was the rocker "She's Sweet."  (Yes, there is a cowbell in the song...and Yes, we all NEED MORE  COWBELL!).

The night was also a bit of a mini reunion for my high school class (Hazelwood East).   Cindy D.  linked up with several classmates, Ron S., Ken M. and Vera W. and convinced them to meet down at Brandt's for our gig.   Brett D. (a.k.a.  "Big Dil'") also showed up.   It was fun sharing some stories with them and we will have to do it again.  Since Mark and I also went to Jr. High together, he knew Cindy and shared some memories with her.  It was great to see everyone and I am glad they are doing so well.

We also blasted out U2's "Vertigo," The Who's "My Generation" (on which Paul was especially great at stuttering his way through), the Oasis tune "Wonderwall" (Mark sounding more and more Cockney every day) and I sang...I mean screamed....Jet's "Are You Gonna Be My Girl."    Tim did his usual great vocal on two crowd favorites, Queen's "Crazy Little Thing (called Love)" and the Zombie's classic "She's Not There" (which always receives a great reaction from the crowd).

All in all, a really great time and thanks to everyone that showed up and danced, sang or applauded.   It is appreciated.

By the way....what songs would you like us to play?   Keep in mind that we are a "British Invasion" band, which rules out many of your favorite American artists.  We have expanded the British Invasion concept to include the entire UK and even Australia but for now, that's where the line is drawn.   Suggestions?   Leave a comment.

Branko

Our harmonies continue to become stronger, especially with Don now adding his golden tonsils to our mix.  Don's guitar playing also gives our band a much fuller, richer sound.