Longhorn in Paradise

OK. I can't take it anymore...the requests for a review of the Natty Five9s last gig have been filling up my inbox, my voice mail and my dreams. It took me an hour to get into work today as I was stopped every 5 steps by a fan asking when I was going to share the love. Well, here ya go. Now give me my space!

So, as most of you are already aware, we had numerous requests from promoters across America, nee, the world, asking us to perform our last gig in their fair cities. Firs off, we really appreciate it. But, as I hope they all understand, we could only pick one. In the end, it came down to the financial incentive as well as the proximity to our home base. So, a belated congratulations to the fine folks at the Doerr Amphitheater in Valencia, CA. We couldn't disappoint our hometown fans...imagine Bob Seger singing his last song anywhere but Detroit. It just wouldn't be right...so, Chicago, Tokyo, Paris, Dallas...sorry. Maybe we will include you on our reunion tour.

Because this gig was as important to us as it was to our fans, we put in extra practice...late night sessions at my home studio/family room. Full on jams at the Browns. We put our heart and soul into this performance...which, honestly, led to some heated exchanges between bandmates. I think the stress of wanting to put on a good performance coupled with so many years working together, this was to be expected. When you work that closely with a group for so long, you become like family and, damnit, families fight. So be it. We worked through it and we came out better for it.

So, the practice paid off! The band ROCKED! Here are the players:

Greg Brown on lead guitar and vocals -- of all the Browns I know, he is the one named Greg. I mean that from the bottom of my heart.

Denise Brown on bass and lead vocals -- best looking Brown

Hong Kong Kitty Knight, lead vocals -- hottest chick in the band

Charlie Gertner, guitar, sound, vocals -- Mr. Diversity

Renee Zambrano, guitar -- more fans know him by the back of his head then by the front. (don't read too much into that)

John Crocker, guitar -- birthday boy

Mark Gorman, guitar -- showing us the importance of safety goggles to a band's stage presence

Jason Knight, drums -- nuff said

Sheila Monger, lead vocals -- the epitome of rock chick

So, we got off with a bang with about 45 minutes of warm-up. We decided to change our policy of locking the fans out until after our first song (we like to get them worked up into a frenzy) and we did a 180 and let them in to listen to warm-ups/sound checks. It was pandemonium. I've never seen such excitement over the tuning of guitars and the plucking of the bass. Of course, after years of dealing with such nonsense over the years, we came prepared and ended up playing behind a few lines of razor wire for our protection.

After warm-ups, we busted into the following set list:

Nasty Habits, Rolling Stones

Fortunate Son, CCR

Knocking on Heaven's Door, Bob Dylan

Me and Bobby McGee, Janis Joplin

Bad Moon Rising, CCR

Drive me to Vegas, Blazing Haley

We had planned on playing a 10 song set, but the cops showed up in the middle of the last song and we finished it while Charlie pinned the cop down and held him at bay with his own gun. Quite dramatic. I've never seen a cop cry before, but it will be an image imprinted in my mind forever.

So, much thanks to all of our fans for their support over the years. As of about 2 hours after the last song, we decided that the Natty Five9s would be no more. The band has disbanded as we all look to make our own mark on the world.

Much love to all!

jak