“TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE …”

Temecula, CA – “Twas the night before leaving for Burning Man (BMP) and all through the house, the creature stirring was me, as quick as a mouse.”

A flyer I saw earlier in the week when I swept the scene for the latest 411 and got around the newest ‘smokeshop’ in town, The Glass Warehouse, billed as going to be Southern California’s largest, caught my eye . The flyer touted a new band, Peter Puffington & The Rocketship Explosion, and the attention-grabbing artwork beckoned my curiosity. Getting dropped off early helped me to get a closer look at this month’s Neighbors’ mag cover-story artist Paul Jay Price, who had his work on exhibit there inside The Merc.

To my surprise, Bill, owner of Full Value Entertainment and sponsor of the show, was off at an Anaheim Angel’s game, and the Capt. was in charge. Since it was the same Capt. Tuesday as is going to be one of my teammates on the BMP adventure, I thought this was a good sign since he is a ‘burner’. I wasn’t proven wrong as the night wore on.

First up were The Kunder Thunts (can u spot the word play here?), who were local and pretty hardcore. A small crowd of close fans cheered their friends on, except one little girl who had her hands clapped over her ears. Her daddy led her out and they reappeared once Mouthful of Snow took the stage.

MOS, though not old enough for their voices to drop yet, showed amazing maturity and skill beyond their years as they thrilled the increased crowd who applauded each song. Though some major tech difficulties happened (corrected by the use of an ‘Original’ Universal Finger Light’s steady bright blue beam), MOS showed quick adaptability when they turned to rocking out instrumentally, bringing a standing ovation from the impressed crowd.

I thought of Bill and remembered how we sometimes spoke of seeing a remarkable show with maybe 10 people in attendance on occasion. This time a remarkable show was seen by a much larger crowd, but Bill wasn’t there. It was also the bass player Andy’s birthday which maybe added that extra endorphin to the evening as they followed an old Madlins tradition and did a brand new song for the first time live.

It can be said a band’s name says a lot, and the band that MOS replaced at the last minute was named 40 Years Too Late. Guess we’ll see them sometime in 2048. Then the night revealed its biggest surprise, the debut show of Peter Puffington & The Rocketship Explosion.

Peter and crew, an amiable trio when I talked to them before the set, took the stage, entertaining the now SRO crowd with a very original sound and some very original songs. Peter’s throaty vocals coupled with a funky rock sound delivered the songs perfectly and lent well to the one Neal Young cover about the Kent State shooting of yesteryear.

Then after congratulating the boys on their first performance, it was off to meet Pete’s family who live atop one of Murrieta’s ‘hogbacks’. The view from there is a magnificent 360, and the dad tells me he has to go to all the city council meetings to make sure the city doesn’t ‘develop’ his land from under his feet. What a world we live in. Then it was off to the ‘after party’ and there I remembered the more ‘down-home’ partying style of Murr-ville, as a beer pong tourney started up and I saw the girls play a brand new drinking game with more quirky rules than a squash match. I love Murrieta, 2.

So now, as I climb into the vehicle and get ready to blast off to BMP with the Capt. saying, “give her medium power, aim for the second star to the right, and then straight on to the Clovis Quadrant, Queen Francie is waiting,” it’s time to say ‘stay tuned Sports Fans… get ready for The Burning Man Project!’