Mudhoney Tourbook, 2004
1/2/04 The Showbox. Seattle, WA (45 min)
Attendance: 900
Supporting: Bo Diddley
Set: Into the Drink, The Straight Life, Get into Yours, Where the Flavor is, This is the Life, Sweet Young Thing, Flat Out Fucked, Our Time is Now, Inside Job, You Got it, Pushing For War
Notes: When they get on stage, Mark says that they're happy to be opening for Bo Diddley and Steve plays a little of the Bo Diddley beat. This is the Life and its reference to Who Do You Love ("40 million miles of strip malls" vs. "47 miles of barbed-wire") is performed. Mark:
Our set was great. Dan sometimes get a little too amped before we play, and I think sometimes it might be a little bit of a pressure that he feels, like being the headlining band... he'll be a little hyper sometimes. But you could tell at the show he was so completely relaxed. He knew the people weren't there necessarily to see us. And he just played so in the pocket and had such a good groove going through the whole thing. The whole set was, I think, one of the best sets we ever played.3/5/04 Stevens Pass Ski Resort. Stevens Pass, WA (CANCELLED)
Notes: Mudhoney originally signed on to do this gig, and then there were some issues with production (Stevens Pass doesn't have a permanent stage set up), so they pulled out.3/6/04 The Crystal Ballroom. Portland, OR (55 min)
Supporting: The Melvins
Supported By: Fitz of Depression
Set: When Tomorrow Hits/In 'N' Out of Grace, The Straight Life, This is the Life, Where the Flavor is, I Have to Laugh, Sweet Young Thing, Flat out Fucked, Our Time is Now, The Trench You're Digging, Get into Yours, Pushing For War, Sonic Infusion
Notes: After Our Time is Now, Mark tells the crowd, "You know it's been a long time since Buzz Osborne and I were in Portland together. And I'll tell you the reason we're here: On Monday, Buzz and I are going to get married. We've been waiting twenty years." At the end of the show, he leaves the stage with, "Thank you very much, ladies. Hold onto your dicks, because the Melvins are next."3/7/04 The Showbox. Seattle, WA (55 min)
Attendance: 1,100
Supporting: The Melvins
Supported By: Big Business
Set: Mudride, In 'N' Out of Grace, This is the Life, Where the Flavor is, I Have to Laugh, Sweet Young Thing, Flat out Fucked, Our Time is Now, Suck You Dry, Get into Yours, Pushing For War, Sonic Infusion
Notes: Mark takes an opportunity after In 'N' Out of Grace to thank "everyone except for that one asshole" who threw a beer at him. A few times during the night, he mentions a petition at the merchandise table to save the Ballard Bowl skate park.3/9/04 The Capitol Theatre. Olympia, WA (65 min)
Attendance: 800
Supporting: The Melvins
Supported By: Fitz of Depression
Set: Mudride, In 'N' Out of Grace, This is the Life, Where the Flavor is, I Have to Laugh, Sweet Young Thing, Touch Me I'm Sick, Flat out Fucked, Our Time is Now, Suck You Dry, (Jam), Get into Yours, Pushing For War, Sonic Infusion
With The Melvins: Sacrifice
Notes: This show was in celebration of The Melvins' 20th anniversary. The setlist is the same as for Seattle, save for the on-the-fly addition of Touch Me I'm Sick. During the break in In 'N' Out of Grace, Mark prompts Guy to go front and center. While he's up there, Mark and Steve hang back by their respective amps and do call and response Riverdance-esque dance steps. After Sweet Young Thing, Mark mentions the voters registration booth in the front lobby: "I hope that you register, and after you register I hope that you vote in November, and when you vote in November...vote for Bush!" He then calls out for Touch Me I'm Sick and tells the crowd that they will be playing "both Touch Me I'm Sick and Fuck Me I'm Rich." Steve attends to equipment troubles after Suck You Dry, giving Guy a chance to note the bullets and syringes that have been thrown on stage so far and ask who's unbalanced enough that he thinks that that's a good idea. He and Mark then riff on Dope, Guns 'N' Fucking in the Streets for a while. When Steve gets back, he gives the other guys a hard time for not jamming in his absence. After a short jam, Mark says that they didn't jam because, unlike Steve, they're not hippies. This prompts Steve's hippies in Olympia story: when he was 15, he and a friend came down to Olympia on a Saturday for a skateboarding event that was melded with a Reneisance fair. Each standing 5'2" they were completely "punked out", with his friend wearing a t-shirt that proclaimed "kill hippies." While there, a hippy looking much like present-day Steve siddled up to the two. Rather than giving them a hard time, as Steve figured, he put an arm around each of them and admitted, "I've killed a few myself." Steve concludes my saying that any hippie that's killed hippies is OK by him. At the start of Sonic Infusion Steve starts clapping his hands over his head, leading the crowd in audience participation. Mark joins in and spends a bit of time getting them to hold the beat and not speed up and finishes by instructing them to clap for the remainder of the song. Mark joins The Melvins during their encore to sing their song Sacrifice.5/5/04 Neumo's. Seattle, WA (85 min)
Attendance: 250
Supported By: The Turn-Ons, The Cripples
Set: Baby Can You Dig the Light?, The Straight Life, The Trench You're Digging, Get into Yours, In Search of, Where the Flavor is, Crooked and Wide, This is the Life, Our Time is Now, Touch Me I'm Sick, Inside Job, Where is the Future, Dyin' For it, Pushing For War, Sonic Infusion
Encore: When Tomorrow Hits/In 'N' Out of Grace
Notes: Where is the Future is premiered. The combination of the show being promoted by a local Clear Channel radio station and it being Cinco de Mayo leads to a decent number of drunk meatheads in the audience. Mark refers to them while leaving the stage after the main set with, "Let's go home to our frats and have a good time!"5/15/04 The Sunset Tavern. Seattle, WA
Attendance: 220
Supported By: The Spits, Tyco Party, The Fakies, The Wild Hairs
Set: Suck You Dry, The Straight Life, The Trench You're Digging, Get into Yours, In Search of, Where the Flavor is, Crooked and Wide, This is the Life, Our Time is Now, (Jam), Touch Me I'm Sick, Where is the Future, Dyin' For it, Hard-on For War, In 'N' Out of Grace
Notes: This show was a benefit for the Puget Sound Skate Park Association. The guys hit the stage with a box of t-shirts, which Steve and Guy toss into the crowd as Steve announces, "Here's some Vision Wear t-shirts for you all." After Our Time is Now, Mark - in his best Sherman from the Rocky and Bullwinkle show impression - says, "Now, here's something you'll really enjoy." Instead of going into Touch Me I'm Sick, Steve leads the guys in a brief jam. With the four opening acts managing to run long, Mudhoney's set time is cut into. Steve checks his watch after Hard-on For War and signals for the guys to scratch the scheduled Sonic Infusion. Then he announces that they will begin their encore, and without leaving the stage they go into In 'N' Out of Grace. Dan takes a particularly long solo, unlike his usual ones, and there's a flange effect on his whole kit.5/28/04 "Primavera Festival". Barcelona, Spain (60 min)
Supporting: The Pixies, Wilco
Set: Suck You Dry, In 'N' Out of Grace, Where the Flavor is, Inside Job, Dyin' For it, Sweet Young Thing, The Straight Life, Our Time is Now, Hard-on For War, Get into Yours, sonic Infusion, Touch Me I'm Sick, (Jam) (set out of order and possibly incomplete, with the exception of the first three)
Notes: Guy's amp malfunctions during Where the Flavor is, causing the band to take a break in the middle of the song. During one break between songs, Guy does some "AC/DC walking." Mark takes a couple of opportunities to poke fun at Steve's beard.5/29/04 "Maanefestivalen". Fredrikstad, Norway (70 min)
Attendance: 1,500
Supported By: Half Japanese, Silver
Suck You Dry, In 'N' Out of Grace, Inside Job, Dyin' For it, Crooked and Wide, Where the Flavor is, This is the Life, Sweet Young Thing, Our Time is Now, Touch Me I'm Sick, Where is the Future, The Straight Life, Get into Yours, Hard-on For War, Sonic Infusion
Encore: You Got it, Here Comes Sickness5/30/04 The Astoria. London, England
Supported By Holly Golightly, The Country Teasers
Set: Suck You Dry, In 'N' Out of Grace, The Straight Life, Inside Job, Get into Yours, Dyin' For it, Crooked and Wide, This is the Life, Where the Flavor is, Our Time is Now, Sweet Young Thing, Where is the Future, Touch Me I'm Sick, Hard-On For War, Sonic Infusion (set out of order)
Encore: Mudride, You Got it, Here Comes Sickness
Notes: Mark dedicates Suck You Dry to Dan (and later dedicates Sweet Young Thing to "Kurt...Kurt Russell"). The whole crowd sings along, eliciting big grins from Mark. At one point, Mark and Steve get a chant going, where Mark goes, "All right!" and Steve points at him and responds, "Yeah!" At another point, Steve is noodling on his guitar while facing his amplifier and Mark comments, "No wonder you've got your back turned. These sneaker fuckers might take your licks." Someone threw a t-shirt on stage during the opening to You Got it, knocking Mark's mic stand over, so Mark sings the song from his knees. At the end of the show, Steve bids the crowd goodbye as they're off to "fight crime."
picture 1 | picture 2 | picture 3 | picture 49/25/04 "No Vote Left Behind Festival". The Showbox. Seattle, WA (60 min)
Attendance: 650
Supported By: David Cross, The Avengers, Kinski, Pansy Division
Set: Suck You Dry, In 'N' Out of Grace, Inside Job, Where the Flavor is, This is the Life, Sweet Young Thing, Our Time is Now, Touch Me I'm Sick, Where is the Future, Dyin' For it, Get into Yours, Pushing For War
Encore: You Got it
Notes: This show was a part of four days of shows around Seattle to raise money for left-leaning parties and candidates in the upcoming election. Before The Avengers performed, Mark got onstage with festival organizers Chris Olson and Natasha George. He then got up to introduce David Cross ("Mudhoney's new best friend"), who returned the favor for Mudhoney. Because of the size of the bill, Mudhoney didn't hit the stage until 12:45am, and were forced to end their set prematurely due to the 2am closing time of clubs in Seattle. Where is the Future is introduced with, "Here's a song you might remember from our forthcoming album."11/6/04 Neumo's. Seattle, WA (65 min)
Attendance: 225
Supported By: The Thermals, Kinski
Set: It is Us/Get into Yours, In Search of, Inside Job, The Trench You're Digging, Where the Flavor is, This is the Life, Sweet Young Thing, Our Time is Now, Touch Me I'm Sick, Where is the Future, Dyin' For it, Pushing for War, Sonic Infusion
Notes: It is Us is performed live for the first time. For the most part, the new songs have slightly different arrangements than before. Steve is getting lots of melodic feedback throughout the night, particularly on Inside Job. In the middle of Sweet Young Thing security escorts out a gentleman who gets a little rambunctious. Mark sees this and stops singing to say that he should stay: "He's just moving a little." Eventually, he puts his guitar down and follows the guy out while the other guys let the song fall apart. When they regroup Steve says it's just because everyone else in the crowd is so old. Mark changes the middle of Touch Me I'm Sick to make reference to how the show was supposedly all-ages, but wasn't: "Four years old / I coulnd't get in / I went on home / And drank my daddy's gin." After Where is the Future, Mark comments that the bright side of the recent election is that all their new material hasn't immediately become dated. Steve takes a long break before starting Sonic Infusion to finish his beer and talk about a variety of things, including being from Texas and Kinski playing another show this evening. The show butted up against the late show at Neumo's, preventing an encore.