Jul
08

The Show Must Go On

By

It started over a year ago like most bad ideas do, a pint of Guinness in one hand, and a long-lost Triton scrap book in the other.

Looking at those twenty year old pictures of those skinny, furry kids in a band, the little hamster wheel in my head started squeaking: “What if Triton got together one more time for one last hurrah?”  The Police did it, The Eagles did it, why not Triton? But first, I’d have to track down the boys. When the band ended, we pretty much went our separate ways, cut our hair, got semi-respectable jobs, and moved on from the dream of dominating the world through original 80’s music.

Fortunately, tracking people down in the information age is simple. A few Facebook searches later the band was electronically reunited, and the idea for FatFest was born.

Late in July of last year, after a few Facebook messages, I invited the boys over to my house for an informal jam session. One of the benefits of being the drummer is drums are such a pain in the ass to move that all the other musicians will generally come to your house to jam. The boys in the band all accepted the offer, and for the first time in nineteen years, the band was back together.

Not sure if it was just a trip down memory lane or a mid-life crisis, but our little jam session wasn’t enough for me. The hamster wheel continued to squeak in my tiny skull. “What if we put on one more show in front of an audience?” The idea for FatFest 2010 – Bigger, Louder, Fatter was born.

Fast forward ten months, the Facebook invitations go out once again. Alex, our singer, lives about six hours away in Rochester. He wisely tried to decline my invitation, saying it was too much travel, blah blahblah. Booking him a frequent flier award ticket solved that small dilemma, and the reunion was officially on. July 4th, in my backyard, for all the world to ignore.

Due mostly to my ridiculous traveling lifestyle, we had two rehearsals before the big show. Alex joined us via Skype for one (ain’t technology grand?) and, with a little practice, the music was about as good as it was going to get. Rick, the bass player and Josh, the guitarist got together once to go over vocals and tighten some songs up. With almost no practice, we were ready as we ever would be to perform a set of our classic songs.

The Facebook invitation for the show was posted, and before I knew it, the big day had arrived. Alex had some flight trouble (shocking, I know). Josh borrowed the biggest PA system he could find, and Rick contributed by showing up to FatFest 2010 with a refrigerator full of Jello shots.

Some things never change.

I put the drum roadies to work early. The official Triton Art Department (also known as Fiona) had prepared a special front bass drum head to commemorate this historic occasion.

As the roadies worked, the PA was set up, and the loudest soundcheck in Echo Lake history commenced.

The thunderous pounding from my mighty kick drum killed the PA system during soundcheck. Scrambling to find out the issue, we soon learned it was much worse than a simple blown fuse. The awesomeness eminating from my back yard had managed to knock a tree into a power line, killing power to my whole side of the lake! Glum faces looked defeated, it seemed the show would not go on. I never lost hope though. Instead, as fire trucks and the power company arrived, I walked up to a friend’s house to see if I could borrow some generators.

The show must go on! Legions of die hard Triton fans had changed their Fourth of July plans, there was no way we could let these people down.

Coming to the rescue, Pascoag Power and Light had power restored in under an hour, and the show started almost on time – close enough for Rock and Roll, anyway!

The show was a huge success! The merchandise tent was sold out in less than ten minutes, and he fans nearly tore down the stage in a frenzy of musical appreciation, as the band ripped through favorites like Meltdown, Dancing Dreamer, Enemy and Yesterday’s Gone.

It was, by far, the Best Day Ever.

The hamster wheel is already spinning for FatFest 2011 – Older, Slower and Dumber!

Share
Categories : Random Blather

Comments

  1. Paul DelBonis says:

    Again gentlemen just want to say thanks and looking forward to another show after you’ve all had a nice long nap and a shot of Geritol!

    • Joshua says:

      Marc and gang, thanks so much for opening your home to all of us to share the most horrifying hour of my life. It was well worth it, thank you, thank you, thank you. Peace, your brother- Joshua

Leave a Reply