halfmoonjugband.com

The HMJB at Portland’s venerable Geno’s Rock Club.

The doors were open at Geno’s Rock Club on Congress Street. The doorman was collecting the cover. The stage was set. All three bands were present and accounted for. Folks were milling around at the bar. They were hanging out in the corner by the Indiana Jones pinball machine, right next to what may be the last cigarette machine in Portland.

There was just one problem: there was no sound man.

Due to some crossed wires, he wasn’t there and he wasn’t coming.

Luckily, Squid Jigger and sound man extraordinaire, Dave Rowe, was nearby. A quick cell phone call later, he was on the scene and ready to save the day. He’d never been in Geno’s before and had about 15 minutes to figure out the system. A bit of squealing feedback ensued. Some rumbling and buzzing occurred. But, given the circumstances, everything turned out just fine and the crowd was treated to some mighty fine music.

Thanks Dave!

Well, the fair gigs are over and we just want to say we had a wicked decent time at Maine’s Blue Ribbon Classic, the Fryeburg Fair, and the 134th Deerfield Fair in lovely New Hampshire. The audiences were fantastic, as usual, and the food was to die for. Big thanks go out to Fanny’s doughnuts and coffee palace at Fryeburg and Dudley’s Fried Dough at Deerfield. Both booths brimmed with tasty num-nums and were staffed by wonderful folks. We also want to thank Darlene in Deerfield and Jon and Tony at Fryeburg for having us back and putting us in touch with the audiences we truly love to play for. Enjoy some pictures.

- TROY.

First things first

We had a wicked decent time playing two fabulous shows at The Harmony Free Fair over Labor Day weekend. The folks were so cool and it was a part of the state we hadn’t actually seen before. Sound dude Dave Phillips deserve special props. The kids in the toddler mosh pit were also very entertaining. Our thanks go out to everyone who sang along and bought a CD and t-shirt after the show. We really hope we can come back next year and do it all again. Please keep in touch here or over at Facebook.

In other band news

Our resident resophonic guitar whiz and luthier, Carter Ruff, has a new website (designed by Troy) all about his guitar-building exploits. Clicky, clicky on the picture and the magic of the internet will take you there.

Carter

Troy’s other band, The Squid Jiggers, just released their first CD “Greatest Hits.” They play a mix of sea shanties, Irish/Scots drinking songs and music from Atlantic Canada. Clicky, clicky on the picture to buy a copy or get some MP3s.

Squids

It even rained at the motel.

Well, Burlington was wet and there were some bothersome characters about, but we managed to have a swell time anyway. Some folks drove hours from places like Saratoga Springs to come and see us — so we did our best to put on a high-energy, if moist, show for the, umm, masses. We ate at a Japanese steakhouse and had a hibachi dude flip food into our mouths. Back at the motel, Troy won most of the chips with his baffling poker face. The morning came early.

Surfin' the U-Haul

The weather was nice on the way home. Well, maybe not nice, but it didn’t rain the whole time, and that was a massive improvement.

Beverly's Lynch Park was a beautiful spot.

Lynch Park in Beverly was a gorgeous spot to play. They had a huge bandshell that dwarfed our tiny, sidewalk show. Then we watched the moon rise over the Atlantic.

We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the fabulous (as always) welcome we got at Hidden Valley summer camp on July 2nd. It’s a private show we’ve been doing for a few years now and we really look forward to it. The kids, the councillors and the whole camp are first rate. Thanks again guys.

Love that sign!

Carter played his first official HMJB gig December 20th at the Center Theatre in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine — the town that just one name couldn’t contain. They had to give it two names. We finished up the theatre’s “Saturday Night” concert series. We were billed as, “a most unusual Holiday finale.” Fair enough.

Carter came through with flying colors and with barely a scratch. The crowd really took to him and we took to the beautiful theatre and ultra-swell folks who run it and the local chamber of commerce. Thanks Ed! Thanks Russ! We should also thank (one more time) the show’s sponsor A E. Robinson Oil Company. 

A pretty little package.

That's the ticket.