 |
GIGS! |
|
|
GIGS! |
|
Gig # |
Date |
Venue |
Details |
| 194 | 5/2/08 | Cowley's Pub | Steve Tocco played drums with us up a Cowley's. And Cora was styling with her new I Heart Free Beer shirt ... we're not making money on them, but enjoy it just the same. Surprises? Mary Kay can sing, and did I Will Survive. Our favorite server had to do the Gator solo 'cause Talleen hurt her arm. Marty Beem (Bass Player #2) came up to see us, and might fill in for Dewey now and then since Jeff From 2 Hour Limit moved to California. The debut of Jeepster. Went well! |
| 193 | 4/5/08 | Hamlin Pub Lake Orion | No one told us, but when we arrived to set up, 89X was there already ... it was 89X night at the Hamlin Pub. Included in the night was a visit from the Pistons Automotion, Bud Light with their Free Throw competition and giveaways of Pistons stuff ... Scott came in 9th! Most of the other winners were Girls. We celebrated Ashley's birthday with Sweet Caroline. Great night! |
| 192 | 4/4/08 | Cowley's Pub | Jam packed when we hit the stage .. two words .. COUGAR FEST!! Both Kurt and Scott were nursing a cold, with Scott trying to drink his way through it!! Thank goodness the "Unknown Fan" took it upon herself to make sure everyone danced. And another new fan taught us the very simple dance step to Cheeseburger. I guess we've been doing it all wrong! |
| 191 | 3/17/08 |
Cowley's Pub St. Patrick's Day 13 Hour Music Marathon |
What a blast. 13 hours of fun starting at Noon and ending just after midnight. Each hour started with Corktown Brewing Co featuring Ron Jewell on Vocals, Jim Flynn on Fiddle, Mandolin and Keyboards and Scott Spellman on Drums, with Scott on keys and Dewey on Bass. Then after 4 or 5 songs, Free Beer takes the stage. Two sets around dinnertime with Miss Scarlet In The Hall starring Katie Klipfel, then we ended the night with 3 Free Beer Sets. Thoroughly enjoyed the Irish Dancers, the Bagpipe players, the raffle for Catholic Central, our favorite waitresses and dancers Abby, Annie and Ashley who kept us entertained during the final three hours (social workers ... right!!) |
| 190 | 3/8/08 | Hamlin Pub / Lake Orion | Finally, the threat of snow didn't materialize as it had on the previous two gigs at the HPLO this year. We broke out some new songs (which were a little loose, shrug shrug) but we might have a few new winners. Big night out for the Rochester United Hockey Team. Thanks to Albert, who manned the camera all night long. Good pictures of Kimber (who likes having her picture taken) and Dawn (who agreed to have her picture taken if we bought her a Captain and Coke, but then said not to post the picture, but then changed her mind after reassurance from Kimber. I'm still confused. |
| 189 | 2/1/08 | Hamlin Pub / Lake Orion | There was (supposed to be) this big snowstorm that was going to paralyze the entire city. Never happened. Lots of people showed up again and for the first time in a while we had the entire lineup. We had some special guest singers including Michelle from Nevaeh who did Leave Your Hat On and Blondie and KC who did I'm The Only One. We also finally got to meet our Agent from Lorio Ross. |
| 188 | 1/19/08 |
Dearborn
K of C Dearborn Employees Union Party |
One of those private parties where everyone seems to enjoy your music, but doesn't dance until the third set when they are good and drunk. Katie sat in on vocals, Steve Tocco on Drums. |
| 187 | 1/4/08 | Hamlin Pub / Lake Orion | Kurt predicted that this night would suck with everyone being on a New Year Hangover. Jim said that he would bet his shirt that it would be great. Carmen anteed up. Jim won. Jeff Brookmyer provided the bass sounds with Dewey out of town. |
| 186 | 12/15/07 | New Way Bar | Finally ... BeerMas is here. It is also the New Way's Christmas party with decorations, food and a free raffle for Naughty or Nice gifts. Steve Tocco on Drums, our newest sub Les Raebel on Bass, plus guest appearances by Paula from the Candy Band to do her own version of "Favorite Things", Maggie McCabe did "Santa Baby" and a surprise appearance by Drummer #3 Mitch Koziera who played American Band and Jessie's Girl. |
| 185 | 12/14/07 | Hamlin Pub / Lake Orion | Night one of the BeerMas celebration. Tonight's lineup featured Steve Tocco on Drums. For some reason, the chicks dug us, or we were really drunk, or they were, or all three. |
| 184 | 12/13/07 | Team Detroit Holiday Party | Big Holiday Party at the combined advertising agencies that service Ford in Dearborn. Three Bands, then a jam with Team Detroit Employees. Kicked off with 7 Million Jigawatts, then Miss Scarlett followed by Free Beer with Steve Tocco sitting in on Drums, then the jam. Trivia ... all bands featured Team Detroit Employees. |
| 183 | 11/30/07 | John Cowley's Pub | Steve Tocco, sitting in for #6 again, was the star of the show with a special Drum Solo during Little Less Conversation. Also had Tom Umanovic join us on stage for Peace Love and Understanding. Broke out the Holiday songs including a loose version of Blue Christmas to a Bo Diddley Beat. |
| 182 | 11/25/07 |
Allen Park High
School 20 Year Class Reunion Ford Yacht Club |
Everyone seemed to like us. Steve Tocco even filled in on the drums! They didn't dance that much (it's a reunion, so you just want to chat anyway, right?) but they didn't leave until it was over and they never told us we were too loud. We're slipping. |
| 181 | 11/21/07 | Library Pub | Year number seven of our traditional pre Thanksgiving show. We were a little worried when the bar wasn't at capacity when we arrived, but things changed quickly with a line out the door at 9:30 and 11:15. These people were here for the long haul. Betsy took the camera and to a lot of great pictures. Also, it was our first gig with Tom (#6) on drums since 9/7 at the Hamlin Pub |
| 180 | 11/14/07 | Norm's Field Of Dreams | Miss Scarlet hits the stage for charity, The Royal Oak High School Athletic Boosters. From 5PM to 9PM part of every drink and food order was a donation, we do two sets with Katie on Vocals and Stefan on Drums. Then, wail on the teardown for the open jam starting at 9PM. |
| 179 | 11/10/07 | Hamlin Pub, Lake Orion | Kurt and Tom were out, so we posed as Free Beer featuring Katie from Miss Scarlet in a Hall with a Revolver with Katie on Vocals and Steve Tocco on Drums. Things went great. It was kinda crazy early as the Lake Orion Middle School Dragons has a rousing victory party featuring their game video on all of the screens prior to our gig. Met some new friends. Have to learn a couple of new songs that they DEMANDED!! |
| 178 | 11/3/07 | Bloomfield Open Hunt Club | A private party where the hosts loved us at the Basement Party at Colleen and Rob's and hired us for this big birthday party. Steve Tocco sat in on drums. |
| 177 | 10/27/07 | Olive Branch Lodge | The Mason's Halloween Party. We brought back Big Bad Bob Espinoza on Drums for this one and he picked up right where he left off. Love the costumes... |
| 176 | 10/26/07 | Hall O Ween Party at the Knights Of Columbus | Two Hour Limit opens up and just enough people there to finish the beer, eat the sub and chow the Pizza. Dieter tried out his new "Pizza Inversions" to everyone's delight. Stephan Rairigh on drums again. |
| 175 | 10/21/07 | SNPJ Hall | Miss Scarlett in the Hall With a Revolver, and Stephan Rairigh for the first time on drums with this band. Made some money to fight MS. Heard Dewey utter "Someone threw away a perfectly good white woman". Something for everyone. |
| 174 | 9/14/07 | Rob and Colleen Nagle's "Basement" | OK, it is below the ground and under their house, but this so called "Basement" had enough room for 200, a big screen TV, a fully operational bar, a karaoke stage and enough room to set up Free Beer in the corner. That's not really a basement. |
| 173 | 9/7/07 | Hamlin Pub, Lake Orion | Our first public gig in months. Glad to have so many guests and so many guest performers. Kurt broke a string in the first set, Katie Kirkpatrick jumped on stage and did "I'm The Only One" from Melissa Etheridge. Set three we had Jay (the guy with the "Vaginas Are Cool" shirt) on drums for Hash Pipe and Jeffery on guitar for Stealin'. Big turn out from the Rochester United Hockey parents. |
| 172 | 8/20/07 | Bayview Yacht Club | Very Posh! We were the entertainment for their two day Women's invitational regatta. All the ladies had just gotten off their boats and were being debreifed when we came in. First set was sparsely populated but once they all took a shower (hot!!) and got back to drinking, things got alot better. |
| 171 | 8/4/07 | Westacres Aquacade | It seems this neighborhood has been around since the 1930's and does a two day picnic / competition with a big party in their lakeside clubhouse on Saturday night. We were the entertainment. After one set of getting their ears adjusted to our volume, we made a bunch of new friends and might use their hall for some other parties like Halloween and New Year. Fun. |
| 170 | 7/21/07 | Concord Dental Summer Party | 3rd year we played this gig. Polar opposite from the night before, but with just enough similarities to make it worthwhile. Set 1, everyone sat outside and watched us rock. Set 2, everyone went inside to the bar and watched us rock from behind. Set 3, Drunky The Clown shows up and made the women crazy. Dancing on the stage, bring us shots. Cops show up and ruin it all at 12:15. |
| 169 | 7/20/07 | John Cowley And Sons Pub | This was the big Farmington Founders Festival night at Cowleys. Talleen said it would be crazy and it didn't disappoint. Sure we parked our cars a half mile away. It all paid off at 11PM when the Beer Tent outside the bar closed and everyone had to find a new place to party. And there we were, in the "Perfect Storm" of Rock & Roll. Good tunes, Good Beer, limited clothing and plenty of alcohol in the ladies. Spells good time for this band. |
| 168 | 7/7/07 | Andrea Hayduk's Wedding | Yes, we played a wedding, but it was a friend who is friends with our friends and those are the best friends a friend can be friends with, right? It was in their back yard, on a deck, with a lake on a deck on a hill. The bartender did his trick. They got married at 7:07PM. We went on by 9PM. We left to the glare of police cars and an EMS unit. Nuff said? |
| 167 | 06/09/07 | John Cowley And Sons Pub | Steve Tocco sits in again for Free Beer. It seems #6 has a "lower body injury" that is a result of using his kick pedal a little too hard. Options are surgery (in a delicate area) or rest for a month. #2 was chosen. Beautiful day outside, surprised anyone came inside to see Free Beer, but our fans never stop surprising us. Two great sets, lots of dancers and lots of new fans. |
| 166 | 05/04/07 | Hermann's Olde Town Grill |
Tonight, it was Free Beer featuring Steve Tocco, since Drummer #6, no one
knows is a secret agent for the CIA (oops, did I just say that?) was
called out of town on a secret mission. Steve ROCKED! It
was also Quatro De Mayo, with the Flying Sombrero landing in the crowd and
whomever caught it was supposed to get Free Beer for the table.
Unfortunately, due to the craziness of the evening, we forget to pay up
... we'll get yous next time. We also celebrated Jim's Birthday with a Torte, Over The Hill glasses and Tiara. |
| 165 | 4/28/07 | Knights Of Columbus Hall, Berkley | Our 4th annual appearance as The Katie Band, this time named "Miss Scarlett In The Hall With A Revolver", raising thousands of dollars for the National MS Society, with Katie Klipfel Kirkpatrick on vocals. |
| 164 | 4/21/07 | New Way Bar | Our second gig in three months with the Candy Band. Not as crowded this time, but it was the first really nice day of the year. Guests in the second set included Paula from the Candy Band, Maggie McCabe and Adam Acey on Purcussion |
| 163 | 04/20/07 | John Cowley and Sons | Our ode to Marijuana, we didn't actually change the set list all that much, just played Hash Pipe a couple of times. Had great service from "Talleen" but some sucker tried to steal a pitcher of beer from the bar, and she almost had to eat their tab. Free Beer covered. Be on the lookout for this dude. |
| 162 | 03/17/07 | The Bench | Our first time here, and if it is this crowded all the time, we will love it. Great waitstaff waded through the crowd all night to make sure we were never thirsty. |
| 161 | 03/16/07 | John Cowley & Sons | The night before St. Patrick's Day so we played some U2 in our set to celebrate. The entire Brown Family from Tennessee was in town for a wedding and showed up. While loading out, the St. Patrick's Day Band was loading in ... we went to The Bench and loaded in while their band was loading out! |
| 160 | 03/03/07 | Hermann's Olde Town Grille | Fun night. The place was packed well before we hit the stage, many Free Beer Fans hung out in the back ... Scott played his new keyboard for the first time ... we named the Sock Monkey. His name? Spanky! |
| 159 | 02/24/07 | Wyandotte Boat (Rowing) Club | Paul and Susan's Wedding. I should explain. They didn't TELL anyone that they were getting married OR that this was their reception ... they got married that afternoon and disguised the event as a benefit for the Humane Society and the Boat Club ... then announced it to the crowd. Cool! |
| 158 | 02/03/07 | New Way Bar | WOW! It was packed by 9PM and got packeder all night long. Kicked off with The Candy Band and Free Beer, with Jeff Brookmyer subbing on Bass, did the last two sets. Lots of the hot moms who came to see The Candy Band stuck around to see Free Beer and kept the dance floor packed all night. |
| 157 | 01/12/07 | John Cowley & Son's | Kicked off the New Year with our return engagement to Cowley's. Lots of people there early and a great first set, including the debut of One by U2. |
| 156 | 12/09/06 | Deck The Hall Party | It started slow, but kept building up to a roar, kind of like a Free Beer song. We had Drunk Santa, a Holiday Sweater Contest and a Gift Exchange. First set was "The Katie Band" followed by 2 sets from Free Beer with guest appearances by Mark Pasman on guitar for three songs, Maggie McCabe for a version of Santa Baby to kick off set two and Tom Umanovic's vocal stylings on "What's So Funny about Peace Love and Understanding". |
| 155 | 12/02/06 |
Hamlin Pub North Lake Orion |
Our first time ever here and a really good crowd. Drummer #6.5, Stefan Rarigh filled in for #6 who was out of town on business.They liked our music, were really nice to us and gave us things. They weren't really sure about dancing though, and it took them a while to create a dance floor. T.J. (Drummer #4 from the G-Daddies) showed up and stayed for two whole sets. |
| 154 | 11/22/06 |
Library Pub Thanksgiving Eve Party |
Everything you would expect from our 5th annual appearance. The huge crowd at 8:30PM. Line out the door until 11:30PM. Lots of eating, drinking and cleavage! And lots of friends hanging out right until the very end. Chalk up another one to the man who makes the schedules and gives everyone the weekend off! |
| 153 | 10/28/06 |
Hall - O - Ween
Party Olive Branch Masonic Lodge Dearborn |
Instead of putting this one on ourselves, we let the Masons do this one for us, and a great job they did. Free Beer does a set, Karaoke, costume contest, 50/50 raffle. More Free Beer, drawing for $4750.00 (mysteriously won by John Smith ... now there's a made up names) then Karaoke. Time changed this night so we ended up staying until 3AM accidentally. |
| 152 | 10/13/06 | John Cowley and Sons Pub |
Our first time there and a rousing success. Thanks to Free Beer Fans
excellent attendance, and habit for drinking more than any two average
people by weight, it looks like we have found a new place to play on a
regular basis. Too bad our stunt with the "World's Largest Lottery Scratch Off" was a dud, with 100 tickets producing only $13.00 in prizes. Nice having guest musicians Jeff Brookmyer (2 Hour Limit), Johnny Allen (Love Junkies), Katie Klipfel (Miss Scarlet in the Hall with a Revolver) and Paul Sevigny (first Free Beer bass player) all hopping on stage during the set. Great Night. |
| 151 | 09/22/06 | Hermann's Olde Town Grille | Special Friday Performance and Free Beer does one of their best sets ever. Place is pack. Tigers win. People drink alot. Debut 4 new songs. They'll be asking us back, if only for our $149 bar tab!!! |
| 150 | 08/18/06 | New Way Bar | Twas the night before Dream Cruise and Free Beer played last (headliner, I think they call it). Sun 209 and The Teenage Alcoholics opened up. We had a few guest singers from the crowd, both better than expected since it seemed the Pabst Blue Ribbon was flowing quite nicely this night! |
| 149 | 07/29/06 | Seaholm 1981 25th Class Reunion | At the sumptuous Birmingham Community House, we were the background music to 25 years of memories (good time, good times) ... that is for the first set and a half. Then the alcohol kicked in and the portion of the senior class that hung out in the woods smoking hit the dance floor hard. |
| 148 | 07/08/06 |
Cordiant Dental Private Summer Party |
A private party where they asked us back for year two. Set up in the back yard of a big house in Milford, this year with 4/5 of Free Beer (Scott, Jim, Kurt and Dewey) and Stefan Rarigh on drums. First set ... good. Pretty sober. Between sets someone found out that Scott has an addiction to Dickle! Second set the alcohol set in and all was right with the world. Less skill, more fun! |
| 147 | 06/17/06 | Hermann's Olde Town Grill | Almost 4 years to the day since our last appearance here. Nice an convenient for a majority of our fan base and their staff was great! We celebrate Breast Awareness Month (isn't every month one?) and gigged with our buddy Jeff Brookmyer on Bass. |
| 146 | 6/10/06 | Dan's 40th Birthday (Private) | First in a long line of gigs that we received from recommendations when we played the Rochester Mills Brewing Company. Took place in the back yard of Dan's house. Kurt was out of the country, so Katie and Scott filled in on vocals. We met and wrote a song about "The Luge Queen". Last time our gig was followed by a Fireworks Display was at Tiger Stadium back on 6/23/95 ... an 11 year span. |
| 145 | 04/29/06 |
The Katie Band Benefit Fifth Avenue Billiards |
Jim, Dewey and Scott from Free Beer, along with Jim Flynn on Fiddle and Mandolin and Steve Tocco on Drums back up vocalist Katie Klipfel Kirkpatrick in a benefit for MS. Two sets of funk, soul and torch songs from Katie for a big and generous crowd. Looking forward to doing it again next year! |
|
144 |
03/18/06 |
Scott and Patty baked a Stratocaster
Cake for Kurt to celebrate his Birthday. Added the Killers to
our set, and the people seemed to like that a lot. Motor Dolls were
in the house, Paula sat in for a version of Sweet Leaf and the shy
and demure Maggie sang some Pat Benetar (first time we've ever played the
song!!) |
|
|
143 |
02/04/06 |
Carbon Copy of the night before, but instead of
loading in during a rainstorm, we load out during a snowstorm. Added
Britney Spears, Can't Explain, Drive My Car, You Really Got Me, Don't You
Wanna Be My Girl, Foo's Times Like These to our Repertoire during the two
shows |
|
|
142 |
02/03/06 |
Our first time here. Nice stage, lots of
friends show up. We get to drink all the beer we want for free,
everything else is at retail. A recipe for disaster!! Took
petitions to make the day after the Super Bowl a national Holiday.
Fought through the Beer Fog and did three pretty killer sets. |
|
|
141 |
12/17/05 |
The other holiday tradition with a couple new twists.
Candy Band opened up for us and were great. A pretty electric crowd
that was ready to party ... including the first performance of our new
Christmas Hit, "It's The Most Wonderful Time To Drink Beer". |
|
|
140 |
11/23/05 |
The tradition continued ... year 5 on the biggest
party night of the year, the Night Before Thanksgiving. It didn't
disappoint either. Line out the door at 8:30. Sneaking people
in as "Roadies" by 9:15. Lots of people on the dance floor
by 10:00. Karl Arthur Swartz sits in on Vocals during Aerosmith Mama
Kin. |
|
|
139 |
10/30/05 |
Our first time here and also our first time to the
extreme north and west suburbs. Boy, didn't know we had so many fans
out here. The bar had some strange rules about the set times, and no
on wore costumes (except Keith, Dewey and Kurt) even though we had a $50
prize for best costume (Keith won). Did shots of vodka with a polish
guy and a girl that wore Moon Boots danced with us all night long.
See the pictures!! |
|
|
138 |
10/15/05 |
Our annual gig ... and again a stellar showing by 2
Hour Limit followed by the annual Halloween Set from Free Beer.
Keith wore a Free Beer can as his costume, must be seen to be appreciated.
Moment of the night was when guest vocalist Kris Thomas fell into the
drums taking out the end of Dancin' Days. Thus ending her days as
guest vocalist. Sorry Kris... |
|
|
137 |
10/3/05 |
The Chili Cookoff |
First set with The Katie Band (Dewey on Bass).
Closing set with Free Beer (Brookmyer On Bass). Fun for all and
Scott's Chili somehow won the whole thing. No regarding for taste at
the Chili Cookoff |
|
136 |
9/17/05 |
Oktoberfest |
Well year two at the Big Buck Brewery was not as
well organized as year one. Stage was half the size. There was
no Die Rhinelander band, but there was also no advertising and no crowd
except what we brought ... which was still a pretty sizable crowd so all
is good and right with America. Keep fighting terrorism! |
|
135 |
8/21/05 |
Walled Lake Western Class Reunion |
Who knew that 37-year-old chicks could be so
hot! We learned 5 songs from 1985 just for this gig. They
sucked, but the people loved us and made us play until the bitter end. |
|
134 |
8/5/05 |
Wedding |
We played a wedding by a lake in Fenton. It was
fun and they paid us money. Are we sellouts? |
|
133 |
7/23/05 |
Cordiant Dental Private Summer Party |
Set up in the back yard of a big house in Milford,
with 3/5 of Free Beer (Scott, Jim and Kurt) and 2/5 of Two Hour Limit
(Jeff Brookmyer and Stefan Rarigh ... we called ourselves "The Second
Greatest Cover Band On Earth". First set ... good.
Between sets we ate and discovered "the plumber". There
was simply no way she had underwear on! Second set the alcohol set
in and all was right with the world. No break, right into the third
set. When we ran out of songs, they paid a few more hunny just to
have us attempt the songs they wanted to hear. Lotsa fun!! Did
I mention the plumber? Yes, I did. |
|
132 |
5/21/05 |
Ah ... the unofficial first day of summer. And
with that a lot of our fans were out enjoying the weather instead of being
inside with us at the Library. AND our favorite waitress (Sandy)
wasn't there to make sure we were correctly lubricated. Oh well,
still played three great sets and had the most member of Free Beer in one
place at one time. The five current members, plus Marty Beem (Bass
Player #2) Jeff Brookmyer (Bass Player #4) and Stefan Rarigh (Drummer #5
1/2). All sat in! |
|
|
131 |
4/28/05 |
The Hamlin Pub |
With the Pistons in the first round of the playoffs
and the big screen TVs playing the game, the place was packed when we got
there to set up and stayed that way all night long. It also made for
a late start. For some reason, the convention of "tall young
swimsuit models celebrating their 21st birthday" (TYSMCTTB) also
decided to attend (why was the camera not working on this one night?)
which made for some interesting situations. One birthday girl lost her
balance, fell over the monitor, knocking Kurt's mic into his teeth (one
fat lip) and was splayed legs up on the stage (one lost dignity and one
nice pair of lace panties). Another confiscated Scott's tambourine
and simply wouldn't give it back. That's OK because when she was
smacking people on the butt with it, it took some pretty heavy damage (one
new tambourine from the band fund) We'll be back again! |
|
130 |
4/16/05 |
Started slow on one of the first really nice days of
the year, but it picked up fast as the Free Beer Fans came out in force.
Overall, another great gig with lots of fun and games. Jim sings in
front of people for the second straight show with a rousing rendition of
Long Live Rock. |
|
|
129 |
4/2/05 |
Michigan State makes it to the Final Four and
Boulders has the big screen pulled down for the big game. We were
supposed to play a quick four song set at Halftime, but that got scuttled
when the Spartys lead by 5 at the half. Then it went downhill, MSU
lost to North Carolina by 15 and we went on at 11:30. Great crowd, 2
long sets, lots of dancing and the debut of Jim Edelman on vocals during
Long Live Rock. Also, an appearance by the "Guns and
Roses" guy. He'll stand in front of the band and yell
"Guns and Roses" like Mason yells "Detroit Basketball"
at Pistons games ... you know that taunting Nah Nah Na-Nah Nah voice that
you just want to punch the guy? |
|
|
128 |
3/12/05 |
We were requested to play at the bar by David Ashburn
from the Metro Times who was having a birthday. It was a good time,
three sets all by ourselves debuting 5 new songs. Also featured a
guest, Adam Acey on Congas and percussion during sets two and three.
Adam should have some calluses built up on his hands now, noting from the
blood pouring from his left hand during set three. Most amazing was
that the New Way had installed a new stage and sound system just prior to
our arrival. |
|
|
127 |
2/7/05 |
The night before the Super Bowl. Of course, we
made no mention of it at all. |
|
|
126 |
12/18/04 |
New Way Bar |
Free Beermas, number 10!! Hindsight opened up
for us during the New Way's Christmas Party. Another packed up house
... but again a missing band member to make it all that much more fun.
#6 got called out on another last minute secret mission. This time,
with no practice and just a set list in hand, Steve Tocco sat in on drums
and totally kicked ass. It goes to show you what a great drummer he
is, or how easy our set list is to learn. |
|
125 |
11/24/04 |
It was our eighth annual Night Before Thanksgiving
gig. Since Dewey was on vacation, "Brookmyer" sat in on
Bass. We played as good we ever have, the crowd was large (still a
line outside at 11:30!) and Jeff's mom came and saw the band. The
first blizzard of the year didn't help load in or load out too much, but
everyone seems to have made it home alive!! |
|
|
124 |
10/22/04 |
Hamlin Pub |
Our first gig ever here! Lotsa lotsa people,
and a whole new group of fans who can't believe that we don't play every
weekend!! Teeny Weeny stage for a band full of big guys. #6 booked this
gig for us, but then was called away on double secret business in the
Mohave Desert! So, Stefan from 2 Hour Limit filled in for us on
drums and was his amazing self again! We'll be back here! |
|
123 |
9/18/04 |
Everything the Big Buck wasn't, the Library was.
Warm, stable power supply, no stage to fall off of. About 15 people
made it to both nights. It could have been one of our best sets
ever. Crowd was totally into it and we didn't miss to many notes.
Maybe because no one could drink any more due to high beer content from
the previous night. |
|
|
122 |
9/17/04 |
This was a long night for Jim and Scott, because they
came and set up the PA system at 4PM on Friday. Our warm up band was
non other than the legendary Rhinelander Band. And a warm up was
needed because of the unseasonable North Wind, coming in the open north
end of the tent. It didn't seem to bother the Rhinelanders, they
started at 6 and didn't finish until EXACTLY 10PM. And the tripping
of the circuit breaker every 10 minutes didn't bother them either.
Free Beer hit the stage at 10:30P, but no one was cold then. The
great beer had taken effect. Some power issues knocked out the
keyboards repeatedly during the first set and no one noticed when Jim fell
off the stage. But Free Beer kept rockin' (hard) until they
literally told us to get off the stage. We loved it, we can't wait
to do it again!! |
|
|
121 |
8/20/04 |
New Way Bar |
Dream Cruise Thursday |
|
120 |
5/21/04 |
This gig was a lot of fun. It was a gathering
of all the bands we have met through our kids in the Royal Oak Schools.
You meet other parents and they ask you about what you do and you say
"I'm in a Band" ... and they say "I'm in a Band"!
Only in Detroit is everyone's hobby having a Rock Band. So we got
all three of them together for on night at the New Way. First was
the Candy Band. They ripped
through a set of their new songs and nasty nursery rhymes. Next was
some Sonic Sensory Soaking from The
Basements, doing all and all original set of featuring songs from
their latest CD. Free Beer finished the night with fill in Drummer
Stefan Rarigh from 2 Hour Limit (Jeff's
OTHER Band). He did great, earning the label Drummer 6.1.
Coincidentally, Drummer #4 T.J. was in the crowd, ran the sound board and
sang Old Apartment with us. Paula from the Candy Band chimed in with
an improvised version of Paranoid from Black Sabbath. We all vowed
to do it again soon. |
|
|
119 |
4/24/04 |
A rare night Saturday Night in April with no Detroit
Sports on TV ... everything happened that afternoon. Red Wings beat
Calgary in Game Two of the second round, Pistons beat Milwaukee in Game 3
of the first round and the Tigers beat Cleveland on a walk off home run.
As for the music, plenty of fun, although the Library Pub seemed a bit
darker. Special guest appearances on stage by Tom "Udaman"
Umanovic ... It was his birthday and he sang "Dream All Day".
Also had bass player Dwayne Larkin sit in for 5 songs. He had read
the Neil Rubin article about us looking for a bass player and brought his
left handed axe to the gig. |
|
|
118 |
3/20/04 |
This was supposed to be the "First Gig of Spring
2004", but spring happened at 1:47AM that morning and we didn't go on
until 10PM. Unfortunately, it seems that Spring ended before the gig
did, temperature at 2AM was 32 degrees. With the NCAA tournament and
a Red Wings game, this was easily the most crowded stage Free Beer has
played on it a while. Talk about front row, we incorporated dinner
tables into the stage. |
|
|
117 |
2/14/04 |
Library Pub |
Because nothing says "I Love You" like Free
Beer at the Library Pub. Amazingly enough, there were twice as many
people here on Valentines Day as there were on Friday the Thirteenth.
Which goes to show you that Free Beer is the single man's band. Come
and get'em gals!! |
|
116 |
2/13/04 |
We learned six new songs and debut them all.
(Folsom Prison Blues, Little Less Conversation, Clocks, Riders On The
Storm, Bright Future in Sales and Kid Charlemagne. Not the luckiest
night to do it, by why not, we could try again tomorrow night. |
|
|
115 |
12/12/03 |
Karl's Country Cabin |
BeerMas, 2003. A big benefit for Toys For Tots,
with two bands, Free Beer and Two Hour Limit. Free Beer goes on
first, while some patrons are still enjoying a nice dinner. They
still like us! The place is jam packed as Two Hour Limit hits the
stage! Boy are the kids going to be happy with all then new toys
they got for the holid ... what?!? No one collected money at the
door? No one got in for half price by bringing a toy? Oh
well. Looks like our present to the kids was music this year. |
|
114 |
11/26/03 |
The seventh annual "Night Before
Thanksgiving" gig was a rip roaring success. The Library was
packed again and since there were both Red Wings and Pistons games on, we
didn't go on until 11P. There was still a line out the door until
well past midnight. It was our first try with a real live SOUND GUY,
Jim Flynn, who made us sound great. After we finished three sets,
Dan "The Mortgage Man" stepped up from the audience and played a
little blues as walkout music. Look for his picture
at the end of the gallery for the night. |
|
|
113 |
10/18/03 |
Our annual Hall party to celebrate Hall o Ween.
First, Jeff's new band "Two Hour Limit" plays ... they're great
and they bring a bunch of friends ... then another hundred people showed
up before we went on ... new records for Kegs of Beer (5) and Pizza (20)
and boxes of wine (2). Great time, packed, lots of fun!! |
|
|
112 |
10/03/03 |
What a lot of fun this was!! Lots of old
friends and lots of new fans. We warmed up for the Hall O Ween Party
by loading the second set up with Halloween tunes, including closing the
set with our Rocky Horror Picture Show medley. |
|
|
111 |
8/15/03 |
Was supposed to be the big night before the Dream
Cruise, but when power went out to 50 million from Detroit to the Eastern
Seaboard, things changed. Original plan was for Free Beer, The Motor Dolls
and Rash Exuberance to play to the pre Dream Cruise crowd.
Instead of half a million pedestrians enjoying some cruising, the crowd
was sparse since the emergency had enacted a curfew. Only the brave
came out. Unfortunately, only Free Beer came out. Motor Dolls
and Rash Exuberance didn't make it. |
|
|
110 |
7/18/03 |
Drummer #6, Cool Mo Tommy D gave us a scare when work
called him out of town just before the gig. He makes it back just in
time to jam with special guest from our past, Bass Player #1, Paul Sevigny
who sits in for two songs in the second set, Pump It Up and Girlfriend.
Debut of Mama Kin! |
|
|
109 |
5/30/03 |
New Way Bar |
Back in the Saddle again after a 4 month performance
break, debuting drummer #6 Cool Mo Tommy D at the New Way Bar. Great
big crowd including members of the Motor Dolls, Basements, Mydols and Mud
Puppy among others. |
|
108 |
2/10/03 |
Hellenic Center |
We warmed up a band from Ohio called Oval Opus at
Wendy and Mario's 10th Anniversary party. Lots of fun. Tried
not to look. Bob Espinoza was back on drums, but with NO HAIR!
It kind of freaked us out a little. |
|
107 |
1/11/03 |
New Way Bar |
Due to a booking problem, this gig replaced our
Holiday gig. The drumming situation did not stabilize after all and
Bob Espinoza called it quits after the great success at the Library.
Thank goodness TJ Collica offered to fill in. Free Beer went on
first, and Jeff's band Four Years Gone closed the show. It was their
last gig too ... |
|
106 |
11/27/02 |
Library Pub |
Our annual "Night Before Thanksgiving" gig
and our first gig with drummer #5 Big Bad Bob Espinoza. Great crowd,
line out the door, Bob Rocked! |
|
105 |
10/12/02 |
Salem Chili Cook Off |
This was TJ's Final Gig. Pretty loose jam in
the barn to a crowd of 100. Plenty of special guests. |
|
104 |
9/14/02 |
Boulders |
Our last gig there was March
27, 1999 ... it took them 1,267 days to invite us back. They
also forgot to mention that although they provide the PA system, the band
is responsible for mics, monitors and cord, necessitating a roadtrip back
to the practice barn and an 11:15 start. TJ's last club gig. |
|
103 |
7/12/02 |
Library Pub |
Return to the scene of the Trailer Park incident |
|
102 |
6/15/02 |
First time there! Things go well. Bar
runs out of Rolling Rock and Labatt's before the end of the first set.
Hmmm, we'll need to fix that. 4 Years Gone (Jeff's originals band)
call him via cell phone on stage from the back of the club. |
|
|
101 |
5/17/02 |
Library Pub |
They pushed the tables out of the way to created a
dance floor. Also, Free Beer gets invited to a "Trailer
Party" after the gig! |
|
100 |
4/20/02 |
New Way Bar |
The 100th gig with Cold Shot at the New Way. A
little sound trouble to start, but thing finished strong with set two
ending at 2:30AM |
|
99 |
3/5/02 |
Library Pub |
We are back from
Hiatus after TJ and Dawn have their baby girl Caleigh for Tigers Opening
Day at the Library |
|
98 |
11/21/01 |
Library Pub |
The Annual
Wednesday before Thanksgiving party at the The Library Pub |
|
97 |
11/16/01 |
New Way Bar |
The Annual
Saturday before Thanksgiving party at the New Way Bar |
|
96 |
10/20/01 |
Knights Of
Columbus Berkley |
Hall O Ween Party |
|
95 |
9/15/01 |
Salem Chili
Cookoff |
Crowbar Hotel shows and jams with the band into the
night! |
|
94 |
8/23/01 |
New Way Bar |
Marty Beem on Bass |
|
93 |
7/27/01 |
New Way Bar |
|
|
92 |
7/26/01 |
Marriott Eagle
Crest |
Camp Domino's |
|
91 |
6/23/01 |
Library Pub |
|
|
90 |
6/22/01 |
Library Pub |
This was the night of
the first XFL Game. WRIF was there too! |
|
89 |
5/26/01 |
Kevin Yonker's
Wedding |
In Norfolk, VA.
Our First out of state gig. 7 Free Beer members attend with Kevin and Paul
Sevigny sitting in for a set! |
|
88 |
5/12/01 |
Newsroom |
Night two of Bikers and Beer. They dance with
our women! We play! |
|
87 |
5/11/01 |
Newsroom |
Night one of Bikers and Beer. They watch we
play. |
|
86 |
3/23/01 |
New Way Bar |
St. Labatt's Day |
|
85 |
2/3/01 |
Library Pub |
Ground Hog Day
Party |
|
84 |
12/20/00 |
J. Walter Thompson |
Christmas Party |
|
83 |
12/16/00 |
New Way Bar |
|
|
82 |
11/22/00 |
New Way Bar |
Thanksgiving Party
Wednesday |
|
81 |
10/20/00 |
Knights Of
Columbus Berkley |
Hall
O Ween Party, Jeff Brookmyer's first gig with Free Beer. Sourmash and
Camel Tofu open |
|
80 |
9/16/00 |
Berkley Front |
Mexican
Independence Day, Tom Conway's last gig |
|
79 |
9/9/00 |
Pontiac Silverdome |
