Taste of MN: Met and HUNG OUT with the band after the show!
I just got back from the Taste of Minnesota and immediately had to post this. The show was awesome! The P.A. cut out a few times but I was front and center and didn't even notice. Here's the setlist in no particular order since I don't remember the order due to what I got to be a part of after the show, but more on that later:
YGGFK
Bad Habit
Come Out and Play
Gotta Get Away
Staring at The Sun
Why Don't You Get a Job
TKAA
Self Esteem
CGMHAY
Hammerhead
Kristy
Gone Away (with the piano)
All I Want
Pretty Fly
Want You Bad
The new song (You Will Find a Way I think is the name)
A cover by The Clash that I don't remember the name of
In regards to the new song, I think it may not be a bad idea to actually see it performed live before you make any comparison to Times Like These. The videos on youtube don't really do it justice. Overall I was pretty happy about the overall length of the setlist despite the fact that 311 was headlining.
Here's where things get real awesome, real fast. The guy who books and more or less manages my band works with someone who is friend's with Pepper's tour manager/booking agent. They were both at the show, and while I was front and center during The Offspring's set, I got a text from my friend asking if I was at the show. I said yes, he says he saw from backstage. After the show, we meet up, walked around, get some food, run into other people we know and so forth. After that, we meet up with his friend (the one who knows Pepper's booking agent), and we all go backstage and hang out with everyone, who were grilling, drinking beer, etc.
After we hung out with the guys and crew from Pepper, I see Dexter and a few others walking towards where we were. I had just bought my shirt not even 30 minutes ago, so as they walked in, I walked up to him, said hi, shook his hand, and then we just talked for a few minutes. I had to make sure I wasn't the typical "fan who gets to meet the band," but I was at a loss for words for what to even say. I started by saying how I enjoyed the show, that it was my 4th time seeing them, being a fan since Conspiracy of One, and so forth. Then I asked him a few things about the upcoming album, the re-recording of Dirty Magic that they did a few summers ago, and as many other things I could think of that get discussed on this forum. On the Dirty Magic re-recording, I asked if it would ever be released, and his response was, "Maybe." In regards to the new album, they have about half of it done. Originally their plan was to release at by the end of this year, but now they're going to be finishing it by the end of this year, and hopefully releasing it sometime in the winter/early spring. Also, Dexter is one of the most laid back, relaxed, and overall genuinely awesome individuals that I've met in quite a long time. Definitely no rockstar attitude whatsoever.
After I talked with Dexter briefly, I talked with a few others around. Someone was grilling, and I got to to meet some other people that just walked over to the area we were at. Noodles showed up shortly after, talked with him for a while. Noodles is all around hilarious. He had a ton of great stories and I talked to him mostly about guitars and gear and whatnot. I also asked him if they've ever thrown around the idea of playing I Choose ever again. He said he would pick that song over a few of the other songs off Ixnay, so hopefully they'll do it again.
Overall, the whole night was perfect. I ended up going to the show by myself because my friend who was supposed to go ended up bailing on me last minute, but being able to meet the band and hang out with them after their set COMPLETELY made up for that. This was definitely one incredible experience, because I know I won't get this opportunity again. Here's some pictures that I took from my phone.
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Originally Posted by Tom Gabel
