Fresno Famous

This was an unofficial Rogue Festival show/party, a one-off for storyteller Tommy Nugent, who was in town for just one weekend this year. The idea was to host a show and grab a couple of quick bucks to cover some costs while in town (plus, have a good time with his Rogue buddies). Pretty sure it worked on both accounts. 

Scurvy: The Prophet 4 Profit himself recited "Love Stinks," a funny little poem about how love is pretty much the worst thing ever and it makes you feel terrible and who needs its? with the kicker being that all bets are off when you're desperate and a pretty girl's around. Ha!

Scurvy has presense there is no denying.

Barry Smith: Barry is a Rogue-festival regular if ever there was one. He is a known commodity amongs festival goers. Here he did an exerpt from "Jesus in Montana." I haven't seen the show to offer side-by-side comparision, but people were enaged. They were laughing. The pacing seemed a little more manic that the story may have called for, but that could just be my interpretation of things. 

Songs 4 Pints: Irish drinking songs. At a bar where the beer was flowing late into the evening. There was no Guiness and no whisky. Other than that, rock solid stuff.

Rev. Nuge: This was touted as a behind-the-Rogue monologue, which Nugent was writing probably up until the minute he started talking. Actually writing is probaby not the right word. More like arranging in his head. Essentially he told the story of last year's Rogue experience. I had heard snippets of the story before, but Nugent brought it all together and highlighted and augmented segements based on who was in the room and he pretty much killed it. The dude has a talent for telling stories that is inspiring.

Our set: Let's say there was a crowd of 30 when we started. Three songs in, the number was 20.  Six songs in, it had dropped to 15 or so. By the end of the set we had three people up front and the bartender. Nugent was hanging around back somewhere. This is not a knock. The band just wasn't anything they were ready for, though I had warned them. "This is the put-in-your-ear-plugs segment of the evening."