Judd Hoos

We started the three show weekend off with a hometown gig in Rapid City at the first Autumn nights concert series. It got very warm in the afternoon when we were finishing set up and sound checked. It is always fun to perform so close to our families so they can come out to the show. As soon as that sun went down during our set it got very chilly. You could tell by looking out in the crowd everyone was huddling together and getting coats and blankets. Judd Hoos stayed warm by rocking out. We played a quick first set which seemed to get everyones attention. On our break we visited with friends, fans, and family until it was time to rock the long second set. It wasn’t very long into the set that the sun finally went down and our light show was in full swing along with our performing. We played well and the fantastic people of Rapid City flocked to the front of the band stand and were dancing and digging the music. It was so fun! It was also weird getting done so early. We only played til about 9. After load out it wasn’t even 11! I remember after the set there were lots of people buying some shirts and wanting pictures with us. This particular group of asian girls came up to me and asked if I could come back to China with them! I told them Judd Hoos World Tour is not that far away in our future and not to worry. Even though we did get done pretty early, we had a super long drive the next day to Nebraska, so most of us went back to our homes or the hotel to get some rest before traveling.

In the morning we all met up at our designated meeting spot, The Flying J! Our cars were lined up in the dirt parking lot and we loaded up the ice man. Shane was going to try to drive a not so terrific car to our destination for a friend. We pulled out of the parking lot and got a call from Shane saying he hadn’t even left the parking lot yet and had broke down! So long story short, we made room for Shane Dawg in the van and left the car at the gas station. We kept each other entertained with Fantasy Football trash talk, college football radio, a little coast to coast, and switching out drivers so nobody was driving too long. As usual with a long drive across the state you could tell we had all been in the van a little too long by the time we pulled into York, NE. The crew had kicked some ass and set up everything without a sound guy. Well, almost everything. Judd Hoos was set up on some trailer stages in between two big buildings and facing down the street. It made me happy that these Street Dances are not over yet! Set up went smooth and our temporary sound guy for the night, Pat, showed up and helped us with a fairly quick sound check as well. We hurried back to the hotel to get ready for the show but not before we got our Runza on! mmmmmm Runza. I think the person most excited about it was Andy. I remember him singing Thunderstruck but replaced the words Thunder with Runza. We might have joined in with him. After stuffing ourselves with fast food, and getting cleaned up at the hotel we headed back to downtown York to rock!

It was another chilly night. Colder than Rapid. We all started the first set with some jackets on. Well besides Shane, because he is a man and doesn’t need no jacket! As usual people were hesitant to come outside of the bar and see where the fantastic music they heard was coming from. We hit them hard with a good first set and kept warm by jumping around with high energy. It was good to see some old Judd Hoos fans as well as make some new Judd Hoos converts as well. We rocked hard through the night. Every one of us played well and worked hard to entertain the people of York. By the third set the crowd was bunched up in front of the stage and going crazy. York turned out to be an awesome night. Tear down went pretty quickly. We had a big curb that we had to lift things up and over to get to the trailer. I keep saying that if you want to be in good shape, become a roadie, they have a hard job! Well for the most part! After the gig we all went back to the hotel to share some of the beers that were left. We really didn’t even finish them because we were so tired from the long day in the van and the show on top of it.

Well the weekend wasn’t over just yet. We still had a big show to look forward to on this particular Saturday night. Judd Hoos was playing a wedding! Yes that is right. Not a typical gig for us, but when the circumstances are right and if we really really like you, then maybe we will play your wedding. So we got up as late as we could (like rockstars do) and left the hotel. Grabbed some coffee and breakfast before hitting the road to the Pippett wedding in Le Mars, IA. It wasn’t too bad of a drive to the “Ice cream capital of the world.” As we pulled in I didn’t know that it had that nick name and thought it was weird there were little ice cream statues on all the street corners. We checked in at the hotel and hurried over to the Pippett compound to help our crew finish setting up and get in a sound check. It really was like a compound. Like if there was a zombie apocalypse, this was a good place to be. We were set up on a couple trailers in the back on some grass. The crew had done a good job again at getting most everything set up. This wedding had everything. A big tent with tables and chairs, a bar with gorgeous bartenders, a bouncy house, and a live band named Judd Hoos! I could tell that these people knew how to party. (And might have started partying already!) We got sound checked as fast as we could once our sound guy A-Ron showed up. We didn’t have much time between then and when we needed to start so we cruised back into town and got ready as fast as we could.

Back at the compound we took the stage. As the sun went down it was getting a little chilly again. In fact this was going to be the coldest night of our three day run. But a little cold was not going to stop the Hoos! We played a strong first set to get peoples attention and attracted them to the front of the stage. After our first break the sun had gone down all the way and there was craziness all around us. The wedding party was in full swing and those who wanted to party had stayed to party hard. The bartenders were staying very busy and we played really well and had people dancing and singing along. Somehow a bottle of Crown had ended up right in front of me onstage and people were just pulling out of it and putting it back. We got the bride and groom up to dance on a song. It was a crowded stage of awesomeness. There was another time during the night where we got Sara the bride up again and auctioned off her garter. By that time it was a first class shit show! So much fun. I don’t even remember how much it was auctioned off for, but I remember hearing numbers like 400 dollars! We kept playing into the night and had the crowd up in front enjoying the night. It was such a fun experience to be a part of. Judd Hoos was taken very good care of during and after the show and we were all in party mode by the end of the night. Thanks again to Mike and Sara for letting us be a part of your big day. We wish you guys the best.

So another Judd Hoos weekend in the books! It was a long three day run. I think it was one of our last of the summer actually. Which is sad and a good thing at the same time. You can tell we have all just played the busiest time in a band we have ever had. So going back to just two night weekends will be a welcome new pace of things. A little more time to spend at home with our families. Fall is here and summer is saying goodbye very quickly. We are hanging on to it as much as we can. I know Judd Hoos has a few more outdoor shows before the bar season starts so make sure if we are playing outside in a town near you to come check us out! A big thanks to all the fans that make this possible for us. If you didn’t come out to support us then we wouldn’t be able to put on these big shows to entertain and party with you guys. Keep on the lookout for new videos, originals, blogs and Facebook status’. And keep checking that Judd Hoos schedule to know when we are playing close to you again!

TBills