ZO2 - Showz 37-39

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5/31/07 - Baxter's, Bridgeport, CT
By: Paulie Z

I know everyone’s heard me say that one of the reasons I love doing small, almost out of the way clubs is because we get to try out new stuff – whether it’s music or solos… whatever. Well, this show was no different. This was the first time ZO2 ever played a two-hour set!!! And the response to the idea was great!

In truth, though, we were a little more skeptical than our friends and fans. As the set began we worried about the possibility of overkill. We were thrilled to see that everyone there was with us the whole way. The audience’s energy level didn’t wavered even for a moment – and that certainly kept us going and we tried to give them their money’s worth by pulling out all the stops. And, much as our “regulars” enjoyed hearing some of the material we don’t always play anymore, we enjoyed it just as much. It felt great to play songs like "Wait," "On The Verge Of War," and "Dirty Water." However, we’re following this up tomorrow night with another two hour show… let’s see what David has to say about that one. LOL.

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06/01/07 - Chubby's, Red Bank, NJ
By: David Z

This was our first time playing this club and second time playing a two-hour set. Did I mention the first time was the night before? So we had two nights in a row where we played for two hours. It was great for the fans but not so great on our bodies. We all had blisters on our fingers. It wasn’t pretty. To prevent further injury and discomfort, I stopped off at a local gas station and bought me a nice bottle of super glue and proceeded to apply a healthy coat of it to my fingers. Here’s a great tip for you musicians out there: Crazy Glue on blistered fingers really works to keep the pain down. And now that I’ve done my plug, I’ll wait by my mailbox for the endorsement check from Crazy Glue. LOL.

But seriously folks... We had an amazing time. It’s great playing shorter sets but we really hit our stride doing these sets. Could be that we’re still so excited about them – and about the fact that we actually have enough material to get us through – or it might just be that we’re just happiest when we’re playing and being able to do it with friends and family – new and old – makes it even more exciting for us. We got to do songs that we hardly ever do like “Verge Of War” and “Get The Led Out”. One of these days we’ll break out “Coming Home”, I promise. The crowd was into it and stayed till the very end. It was also a pretty special show for me because I had some close friends show up to support us.

What might be the coolest thing about these shows was that some of our friends and fans showed up for both 2 hour shows! That’s a whole lot of ZO2. We hope you enjoyed it as much we enjoyed being there with you!

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06/02/07 - Sherlock's, Erie, PA
By: Joey C

Let me start by saying that this was one of the best surprises I’ve had. I knew we were playing PA and, in my mind, PA’s close. It’s like a local show. I clearly never checked the map. PA is HUGE!!! What an endless drive. But it was well worth the trip.

The club was great! All the staff at this show were amazing. I can't begin to explain what it means to us to have the staff at a club be friendly and welcoming. It makes all the difference in the world! I would rather play a place like this with a great crew than play Madison Square Garden if the staff were assholes. Thanks again, Sherlock's! We hope to come back often if only to hang out with all of you.

As if that wasn’t enough, the crowd floored us. There was no way we expected this kind of reception. A new club in an unfamiliar place. We usually just hope that some of our regulars will show up if they can and that the club regulars will enjoy the show. To say we were surprised by the turn-out is an understatement. Familiar faces mixed with brand new ones and everyone seemed happy to see us. The crowd was loud and enthusiastic and the energy was contagious. We were happy to be there and can’t wait to come back. Erie definitely rocks and Sherlock’s knows how to throw a party!

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Stayed tuned for next week’s journal.

SAME Z TIME…SAME Z CHANNEL…OR LINK FOR THAT MATTER!!!