THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
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2006 - Concert DatesThe Presidents Of The United States Of America (PUSA):Lineup: Chris Ballew (Vocals, Basitar), Andrew McKeag (Guitbass, Vocals) and Jason Finn (Drums, Vocals) The Feelings Hijackers:Lineup: Chris Ballew, Outtasite |
| 2006-01-14 | Chop Suey, Seattle, WA |
Electric Spider (Youtube Clip) No info about the other songs that was played. This was the first The Feelings Hijackers (TFH) live show. The Feelings Hijackers (Chris Ballew & Outtasite) |
| 2006-01-21 | The Shire, Chehalis, WA |
Setlist The Feelings Hijackers Review: As it turns out, my friends were so impressed last week at Chop Suey that they were rearing to see TFH again at The Shire, a quaint little bistro and bar in Chehalis, WA. The Feelings Hijackers was the only band playing tonight, so it was pretty laid back. While the setlist was the same, the show was just as much fun, with a few new antics thrown in. Their set features a handful of songs off of their album that was released in June last year, but also a slew of new tracks on albums to come, leaving you thirsty for more. The crowd was very impressed, and many were already marking their calendars for the next TFH show in February at the High Dive in Seattle. What was really great about this show, though, was the fact that everyone insisted on an encore, and got one!! Band members Mike Singleton and Chris Ballew were both ecstatic to go up and play two more songs before coming out and chatting with the crowd afterwards. Overall it was another great experience, and wholly worth the trek down |
| 2006-02-24 | Houston, TX |
Setlist |
| 2006-02-25 | High Dive, Seattle, WA |
Setlist Interface's Annual Mardi Gras Masquerade Ball was held at three clubs on
Saturday Feb 25th. The event packed all three of Fremont's live music
venues: Nectar, High Dive and ToST! |
| 2006-03-01 | Heineken Light Party, Seattle, WA |
Tiki God / Kitty / Highway Forever / Boll Weevil / Some Postman / Mini Tiki God Reprise / Dune Buggy / Naked and Famous / Lump / Froggie / Mobile Home / Mach 5 / Love Everybody / Peaches / Kick Out the Jams / Video Killed the Radio Star / We're Not Gonna Make It |
| 2006-03-09 | CANCELLED AUSTRALIA TOUR! |
(Presidents of the USA poster from the cancelled Australian Tour 2006) Australian Tour was cancelled. Here is a list of cancelled shows: March 09 - Panthers, Newcastle "THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA tour in March has been
cancelled due to Blast Records financial woes. |
| 2006-03-24 | EdgeFest, Westpac Event Centre, Christchurch, New Zealand |
Setlist with P.O.D., Mattafix, Thirsty Merc, The Living End, Goodnight Nurse and Elemeno PPhotos: Flickr |
| 2006-03-25 | Aukland, New Zealand |
Setlist |
| 2006-03-26 | Hamilton, New Zealand |
Setlist |
| 2006-04-08 | Chop Suey, Seattle, WA |
Setlist The Feelings Hijackers Press: The Feelings Hijackers at Chop Suey: Double Billing
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| 2006-04-22 | High Dive, Seattle, WA |
Setlist The Feelings Hijackers |
| 2006-05-05 | University Of Minnesota, Duluth, MN |
Setlist Partial Audience Video |
| 2006-05-06 | Schaeffer Crawfish Boil - Railroad Reservation PK, Birmingham, AL |
Video Killed The Radio Star / Kitty / Boll Weevil / Highway Forever / Back Porch / Lump / Zero Friction / Volcano / Some Postman / Dune Buggy / Love Everybody / Peaches / Kick Out The Jams - Shout - Ace of Spades Audience Tape |
| 2006-05-09 | Seattle, WA |
Setlist |
| 2006-05-11 | Lucerne, Switzerland |
Setlist |
| 2006-05-12 | Winterthur, Switzerland |
Setlist |
| 2006-05-13 | Rainbow, Milan, Italy |
Zero Friction / Some Postman / Dune Buggy / Andrew's Guitar Solo - Mach 5 / Monkey River / Peaches / Kick Out The Jams - Shout - Kick Out The Jams / Love Everybody / Candy / Back Porch / We Are Not Gonna Make It Setlist is incomplete, and might not be in correct order. Most likely Peaches and Lump was played too. Audience Video |
| 2006-05-15 | Sala Bikini, Barcelona, Spain |
Setlist |
| 2006-05-16 | Caracol, Madrid, Spain |
Setlist |
| 2006-05-18 | Elysée Montmartre, Paris, France |
Video Killed The Radio Star / Tiki God / Kitty / Boll Weevil / Highway Forever / Feather Pluck'n / Lump / Zero Friction / Froggy / Volcano / Some Postman / Dune Buggy / Mach 5 / Drool At You -"Song Dedicated To That Guy" - Drool At You Part 2 / Back Porch / Peaches / Kick Out The Jams Medley / Love Everybody / Candy / We Are Not Gonna Make It / Ace Of Spades Audience Tape |
| 2006-05-19 | O2 Academy, Birmingham, UK |
Video Killed The Radio Star / Tiki God / Kitty / Boll Weevil / Highway Forever / Feather Pluckin’ / Lump / Zero Friction / Froggy / Volcano / Dune Buggy / Mach 5 / Drool At You / Back Porch / Peaches / Kick Out The Jams / Jennifer’s Jacket / Love Everybody / Candy / We’re Not Gonna Make It Photos |
| 2006-05-20 | Astoria, London, UK |
Video Killed The Radio Star / Tiki God / Kitty / Boll Weevil / Highway Forever / Bug City / Lump / Zero Friction / Froggy / I Want To Destroy You (with Robyn Hitchcock) / Volcano / Some Postman / Dune Buggy / Drool At You / Mach 5 / Back Porch / Peaches / Kick Out The Jams / Body / Love Everybody / Jennifer’s Jacket / We’re Not Gonna Make It with Elf Power and DevotchkaReview: The Presidents of the United States of America. Grin. The epitome of fun-filled rock I do believe. I was wetting myself with excitement at the prospect of seeing them, as not only do I think they're incredible, but I was also aware about the moderate rarity of their shows over here in England. We got to the Astoria for when the tickets said doors would be opening, and, well, nobody was there. A distinct lack of queue. We scoured our tickets to ensure we were in the right place at the right time. Absolutely. Well okay then. Above the door was one of those old fashioned things you'd find at old cinemas, where they display their upcoming shows, but with no digital fanciness. Oh no. (Even though just across the road were sleek fountains, and a MASSIVE statue and screens advertising the musical “We Will Rock You.”) Just good old “someone has to climb up there and attach the relevant letters.” The Presidents had their name in big writing, and beneath it, were some other bands, including Catatonia. Now, did this mean Catatonia were supporting the Presidents? This amused me somewhat. My companions however, were less humoured. So we went into the empty building, via the empty queue line, up the empty stairs to the cloakroom. The interior was generously decorated with black paint. For some unknown reason. But it made the place feel less like a big London venue, and more like a tacky local gig you might find yourself at one evening Anyway, dump stuff in the cloakroom, and head into the main room. Surprise surprise; it's empty as well. We abused this emptiness, and found ourselves a nice spot at the very front, on the railing. Brilliant. Upon the stage was a vast array of unusual instruments, and the odd roadie scuttling by at the rear of the stage. I turned and leaned on the bar and looked around the room. There were seats in an upstairs area above where we had walked in, making the room a lot bigger. The room was an odd shape really, where we were standing, was far wider than it was deep, and the room somehow felt elliptical. But that's not really important. It had the vitals, a stage, an area for a crowd, and a few bars. The first band came on, without us really knowing. I couldn't catch their name, it was Devoshka or something. Needless to say, it wasn't Catatonia. But I wish I HAD remembered the name, because to be fair, they were awesome. It seemed that, it was them who were responsible for the odd instruments. Accordions, huge brass contraptions, and, my particular favourite, a theremin. (It's a box with an antenna, and a sound is achieved by moving your hand closer and nearer the antenna. It's genius really, and I'd never seen one used live.) They were a four or five piece, I can't remember, consisting of drummer, singer/guitar/banjo/theremin, accordion/trumpet player, and a well built woman who took control of the huge brass instrument that has no name, and the double bass. They were kind of, latin in feel I'd say. With fast-paced songs with stamping galore, and slow whiny songs you'd imagine someone old man singing in an Italian alleyway, after an afternoon on the wine. But their talent was unbelievable, and they really played a good set. To say I was enjoying myself was an understatement. And the front man's accuracy with his playing of the theremin; fantastic. And just when I thought it couldn't get any better, in the final song, he was there strumming away on his electric banjo type thing, and using the neck of it to play the theremin! Oh dear LORD, you my friend, are a genius. The second band, well, hmmm. Another totally irrelevant genre to throw into the Presidents gig, but well, we'll go along with it. They were country, similar to a band like Lonestar or something, but not as good. (You could argue that PUSA are country rock, but no, this was different, trust me.) They were called Elf Power. The kind of band I'd naively class as “yee-hah music.” All the band-members dressed up in checkered shirts stolen from the local Sheriff's office. You know how it is. I didn't really get into their set. They played their instruments reasonably well, but the songs just didn't seem to get anywhere. They went on and on and all sounded very alike. And his irritating “yee-hah voice” annoyed me in between songs; “Gee, thanks folks.” And when they DID attempt a bit of oomph, (just the once I'll add,) it went miserably wrong. I don't know what went on. But everything was out of time and everyone's parts didn't go together. I'm not sure really, but I know I turned round to my friends with one of those “What the f**k mate” expressions. I wasn't sad to see them leave, partly because I wasn't enjoying their set, and partly because I knew who were on next. There was a hardcore Presidents fan to the right of me, who had seen them up in Birmingham the night before. Fair play. And so once all the sound-crew had pissed off, on came the drummer, Jason. A wave to the crowd, followed by guitarist Andrew and vocal/bassist, Chris. Huge cheers. Andrew and Chris jumped into the air in unison, upon landing, played a single note, matched with a crash from Jason. And then silence. They stood on the spot and looked around confused. Then they did it again. And again. And then, on the fourth time, the single note transformed into the intro for Video Killed The Radio Star. Hooray! They played all their best songs. And excuse me for not remembering the order, but I was enjoying myself too much. Expert executions of Zero Friction, Highway Forever, Some Postman, Love Everybody, Drool At You, and Jennifer's Jacket; and off of their earlier albums, Lump, Peaches, Back Porch, Kitty, Dune Buggy, Boll Weevil, Tiki God, Volcano and Froggy. For one song, they invited on stage some “cockney geezer.” One of their Uncles I think? And they played a song called I Want To Destroy You. “In a nice way,” added the older gentleman. For those of you that don't know, Chris plays a two-string bass, and looked like he was enjoying himself. White shirt and tie, and a polished head. The guitarist, Andrew, was just constantly grinning. Good to see them still enjoying themselves. I couldn't really see Jason, hidden up behind his drum kit, but he was there, beaming. During one of their songs, Andrew and Chris wrapped themselves round one another and played each others instruments, while they were still wearing their own one, if that makes sense? At the end of the set, they all strolled off, and Jason smacked Chris's arse. I see. But nowadays, come on, who goes off and doesn't play an encore? Nobody. Exactly. So of course they came back on. “Presidents! Presidents! Presidents!” They broke into We're Not Gonna Make It, however, had a little break down where Chris explained the history of the band. You know, them getting together and splitting up and all that. The twist? He said it all at an unbelievable pace, and fitted it all into about ten seconds, and ending the song with “Looks Like We Made It!” Yes guys. You have. For their next song Body, (with the main line being “I can't get your body out of my mind,”) they dragged two long pieces of red fabric onto the stage, hanging from the ceiling, and brought a girl on stage. She was one of those dancers, you know, who climb up the fabric and hang themselves into weird positions. You know? They have some on BBC in between programs, when they're explaining what's on next. You MUST know? Ah well, that's the best I can do. So while they were playing away, she was twenty-five foot above them tying herself up. Interesting. For a final song, Kick Out The Jams. However, half way through, they broke into Lulu's “Shout!” and then it was audience-participation time. We all had to take a step back, and then squat down. Everyone did it, it was quite funny to watch and be part of. Then Chris would say some words and we had to shout them back. However it soon turned to novelty noises, and just weird sounds. Ha. But then, back on our feet, a final chorus of Kick Out The Jams, and that was it. They left. This time with no arse-smack, and no reappearance. What a fantasmic gig. And thanks to it, I have the chorus of Volcano stuck in my head for weeks to come, which annoyed just about everyone. Mwa-ha-ha. :) Review by Thom |
| 2006-05-21 | Vicar Street, Dublin, Ireland |
Video Killed The Radio Star / Tiki God / Kitty / Boll Weevil / Highway Forever / Bug City / Lump / Zero Friction / Froggy / Munky River / Volcano / Some Postman / Dune Buggy / Mach 5 / Back Porch / Peaches / Kick Out The Jams / Jennifer’s Jacket / Love Everybody / Candy / We’re Not Gonna Make It with Giveamanakick |
| 2006-05-23 | Spring & Airbrake, Belfast, Ireland |
Setlist |
| 2006-05-24 | Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherland |
Video Killed the Radio Star / Tiki Lounge God / Kitty / Highway Forever / Boll Weevil / Improvisation (Working On My Drumset) Feather Pluckn / Lump / Zero Friction / Froggy / Munky River / Volcano / Some Postman / Dune Buggy / Mach 5 / Back Porch / Peaches / Kick Out the Jams / Jennifer's Jacket / Love Everybody / Candy / We Are Not Going to Make It WebcastWith Elf Power |
| 2006-06-01 | Upfest, Bakerview Auditorium, Bellingham, WA |
Festival was cancelled! with Late Tuesday, Idiot Pilot, Racetrack & more |
| 2006-06-02 | Crystal Ballroom, Portland, OR |
Setlist |
| 2006-06-03 | 97 Days of Summer, Secret House Vineyard, Veneta, OR |
Setlist with Everclear, Rock 'n' Roll Soldiers, the Supersuckers, That One Guy, Magic Pipe, Vaux |
| 2006-07-22 | Gateway Golf Center, Clarkson, WA |
Setlist with The Free Martins, Civilized Animal, Nate Schierman |
| 2006-08-11 | Club 013, Tilburg, Netherlands |
Setlist |
| 2006-08-12 | Huntenpop 2006, Berghseweg, Varsselder, Netherlands |
Setlist |
| 2006-08-12 | Lokerse Feesten, Grote Kaai, Lokeren, Belgium |
Setlist That's right. Boys have been busy. Two concerts in two countries in a same day.with Fun Lovin' Criminals, The Furious 5, Praga Khan, Armand Van Helden |
| 2006-08-13 | Dyrehaven, Skanderborg, Denmark |
Danmarks Smukkeste Festival at Dyrehaven. Video Killed The Radio Star / Kitty / Highway Forever / Love Everybody / Lump / Dune Buggy / Peaches / Mach 5 / Kick Out The Jams / Shout / Ace Of Spaces (Motorhead) Presidents played 45min set. Above setlist is taken from a Danish review. Setlist might be incomplete, and not in 100% correct order. |
| 2006-08-18 | Na Bojišti, Trutnow, Czech Republic |
Setlist |
| 2006-08-19 | Hodokvas 2006, Letisko, Piešt'any, Slovakia |
Setlist view photos (page 3 & 4) Hodokvas Festival |
| 2006-08-20 | Rock City, Nottingham, UK |
Setlist |
| 2006-08-22 | Carling Academy, Glasgow, UK |
Setlist |
| 2006-08-23 | Carling Academy, Newcastle, UK |
Setlist |
| 2006-08-24 | Carling Academy, Bristol, UK |
Setlist |
| 2006-09-01 | Atlantic City, NJ |
Setlist |
| 2006-09-02 | Bud Light Downtown Live, Moore Square Park, Raleigh, NC |
Video Killed the Radio Star / Kitty / Tiki God / Highway Forever / Boll Weevil / Some Postman / Naked and Famous / Lump / Froggie / Zero Friction / Munky River / Back Porch / Love Everybody / Dune Buggy / Mach 5 / Peaches / Encore: Kick Out the Jams - Shout / Mobile Home / We Are Not Going To Make It "Local radio station 96 Rock sponsored (maybe still does) a series of summer concerts in park in downtown Raleigh. PUSA headlined this daylong show that included a lot of local talent. They were immediately preceded by Denny Diamond (the World's Greatest Neil Diamond Tribute), which was actually much better than I would have guessed." Dan H. with Lit, Arrested Development, Big Head Todd and The Monsters, Spin Doctors, Blue October, Butch Walker, Candlebox, Gin Blossom |
| 2006-09-29 | Birmingham, AL |
Setlist |
| 2006-09-30 | Omaha, NE |
Setlist |
| 2006-10-22 | Century Theatre (formerly the Metro Theatre), Sydney, Australia |
Video Killed The Radio Star / Kitty / Tiki God / Highway Forever / Boll Weevil / Some Postman / Naked And Famous / Sock It To Me / Lump / Froggie / Zero Friction / Munky River / Back Porch / Love Everybody / Dune Buggy / Guitar Solo / Mach 5 / Peaches / Kick Out The Jams - Shout - Ace of Spades / Candy / Lunatic To Love / We're Not Gonna Make It Audience Tape
Press: |
| 2006-10-25 | HI-FI Bar, Melbourne, Australia |
Setlist with Digger and the PussycatsReview: It’s a diverse crowd which has gathered at the Hi-Fi Bar. There are awkward nerds, indie and emo kids who spent their early high school years listening to Kitty and Peaches yet now listen to infinity cooler bands and are here for a nostalgia trip, and kids who look like they needed a fake ID just to get into the venue. Local two-piece garage rockers Digger and the Pussycats warm up the crowd. They’re an odd support for the almost child-like charm of the Presidents – which is evident to the crowd as singer/guitarist Sam Agostino and drummer Andy Moore spit on each other and the crowd while dedicating the thrashy Fashion Victim to “all those c***s in Sydney.” Still, their 45-minute set – which comprises a lot of tracks from current album Watch Yr Back plus a couple of older tracks – doesn’t fail to entertain. Half an hour after Digger and the Pussycats have departed the stage, The Presidents bounce on stage to a big reception, all dressed in their now-regulation black pants, white shirts, ties and sneakers. Singer Chris Ballew and drummer Jason Finn (who is now sporting an excellent set of mutton chops) seemingly haven’t aged since the band’s heyday, and touring guitarist Andrew McKeag (original guitarist Dave Dederer still records with the band, but doesn’t tour because he has a young family) more than adequately fills in the big shoes. Ballew steps up to the microphone and announces “I heard you on my wireless back in ‘52…,” the crowd recognises Video Killed the Radio Star, goes completely ape-shit and we’re off. The song is backed up with Kitty – complete with synchronised pogo-ing from Ballew and McKeag – and Ballew holds the microphone up to us to sing the “f**k you kitty, you’re going to spend the night…” bit. It’s like it’s 1996 at Festival Hall over again (incidentally, that was the first show this reviewer ever attended, at the age of 12). The next hour is largely a greatest hits set – from the first album we get the obligatory Peaches and Lump (during which a girl evades the security guards to dance on stage), Dune Buggy, Boll Weevil, Back Porch and Naked and Famous while from the unfairly maligned second album II we’re treated to singles Tiki God, Mach 5 and Volcano. Unfortunately, material from the band’s final studio offering before their five-year hiatus - Pure Frosting – is overlooked. All this is coupled with Ballew’s natural charm. There’s plenty of rock star piss-take his instance that McKean and Finn join him to “soc it to me” – they have one big flourish to finish a song but Ballew asks them to repeat the action 7 times, then 17 times, followed by “how about you soc it to me 207 times?” His band happily obliges and we’re treated to a noisy, minute-long thrash which Finn seems to end a second prematurely (“at least someone’s keeping count,” notes Ballew). Oddly enough, most tracks from latest album Love Everybody - the album the band is still on the road to promote – are overlooked. The title track, Some Postman and Highway Forever go down well and before teaching the crowd the chorus to current single Zero Friction, Ballew decided to conduct a pop quiz. “How many of you own our new album?” he asks. A smattering of hands is raised. “How many of you don’t own our new album?” More hands are raised. “How many of you are planning on stealing our new album?” Almost everybody in the room raised a hand. “Good.. good… just don’t tell them I told you to do it.” The set closed with an enthusiastic Kick Out The Jams, which segues into Johnny O’Keefe’s Shout and just when we think it’s all over, Motorhead’s Ace of Spades. Of course, no perfect pop gig is complete without an encore, and the band bound back on stage to tear through first album highlight Candy. Two fan-boys in the crowd who are wearing home made ‘Bug City’ t-shirts in the hope that the band will play the second-album track are thrilled when Ballew not only dedicates the song to them, but also invites them up on stage for a bit of a dance (and a camera phone photograph). The set proper is completed by an electrifying We’re Not Going to Make It which is given a unique twist – Ballew ends by rapping the story of the band’s career thus far (“we got signed by a major label.. we toured and toured.. we tried so hard.. we took a break for five years but came back to the band”) before ending up with “and we’re playing for you here in Melbourne, Australia – it looks like we made it!” Afterwards, Ballew and McKeag come and shake the hands of front row punters, hand out plectrums and have cameras shoved in their faces. The most pleasing aspect of the night was that the Presidents were much, much more than a slightly daggy nostalgia act. Maybe it’s the fact that they performed with such genuine enthusiasm and energy, maybe it’s the fact that the band’s simple pop-rock tunes never went out of fashion in the first place or maybe it’s the fact that tracks from the bands latest album – which, remember, they’re here to flow – fit into the band’s back catalogue like they were written in 1995. Regardless, it didn’t matter – everybody went home happy. And on a cold Wednesday night in Melbourne, can you ask for more than that? www.fastlouder.com.au |
| 2006-10-26 | Metropolis Fremantle, Perth, Australia |
Setlist |
| 2006-10-28 | The Zoo, Brisbane, Australia |
Setlist Posted by Andrew McKeag on October 29, 2006We're sitting at the LA airport right now waiting for our connecting flight to Seattle, super tired but satisfied. That's right folks... another PUSA trip down under is in the record books and as usual, we had a real fun
time & fell in love w/Australia all over again. People of Sydney, Melbourne, Perth/Fremantle & Brisbane... you've have an amazing country down there- thanks for sharing it with us & showing us such a good time. |
| 2006-12-21 | McClouds Restaurant & Bar, Bremerton, WA |
Letter From 3AM (watch youtube) |
| 2006-12-28 | McClouds Restaurant & Bar, Bremerton, WA |
Setlist The Feelings Hijackers, Half Halo, Rocky Point All-Stars |
| 2006-12-31 | Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands |
Setlist New Year's Eve Bashwith Ameezing Clash, Misty's Big Adventure, Robotrock & Dans le Rock DJ's |