Naked Beggars in Clear Lake, IA

Way more than I expected! This was an $8 show and worth so much more. There is not reason this band shouldn't be headlining much bigger venues.

J-Dub and I hit the road and got to the venue at 8pm. We were told the show started at 8:30pm, but it turns out that Naked Beggars didn't go on until about 10pm. Thankfully, there was a nearby sports bar to grab some barbecue. The opening band sounded like some 70's band with older guys and they weren't very good. Some songs too fast, others too slow, bad vocals, and no stage presence at all. Fortunately, some of the members of Naked Beggars were wandering around before the show so I got both CD's signed and had time to slip on a Get Naked shirt.

I was able to meet Kris, Kristine, Inga, Eric, and Shawn. Kris was soft spoken, but kind and told me he played a Les Paul mostly, which is my favorite. Since all I had previously heard was the three song sampler from Spit It Out, I wasn't sure what to expect for a stage show and how the musicianship would translate. Kris helped allay my fears when mentioning a Les Paul through a Marshall stack. Inga is just a ball of energy and very excited about the band and the music. She was moving and singing along to the opening band when they started doing Buckcherry's Lit Up. She mentioned doing an acoustic tour this summer while Cinderella are on the road, so I'm hoping they hit Des Moines. Shawn played drums for Bret Michael's single Driven. After the show he signed a broken drumstick for me. Eric was soft spoken and polite. He didn't stick around very long, but was gracious and signed the CD's for me.

Kristine was my favorite! It turns out she used to live in Ft. Scott, KS, and my lil bro married a girl from there. My lil bro has a brother-in-law I'll call PW and Kristine and I both know him. That was kind of a "small world" experience as we were both shocked that we had a common friend. She actually remembered mine and J-Dub's names after the show, too. She has such a great personality and I hope she goes very far with this band. Oh, and she's also a nurse! So awesome and I hope I see her again this summer with the band in Des Moines. (She's hot, too!)

The show was great. So much stage presence, great songs, total confidence in what they are doing, and Inga can really work a stage with the best of them. I'm sure I have a set list around here somewhere, but have misplaced it in the move temporarily. They did 10 cuts from the new CD and paced them perfectly throughout the show. There were some cuts from the original and even a few Cinderella tunes! Jeff puts on quite the show as he always does, but his personality seems to come out more here. Eric held down the bottom end with a quiet confidence and truly looked like the music moves him. He and Inga had some fun playfulness on stage, too. Kris also had a quiet confidence on stage and just ripped those rhythms and riffs as tight as could be. Shawn played a left handed setup and was phenominal. He has such a heavy sound that I could feel in my chest. His drum solo was full of rhythms that kept us all watching, while showing off his skills. Kristine proved her versatility by playing keys, singing some great harmonies, and then came out with the violin! She just really added a great dimension to the music with some honky tonk keys, great synth tones, and the violin worked perfectly in these songs. This band works together well and truly puts on a performance greater than the sum of their parts.

After the show, the band came out to meet everyone there. Unfortunately there wasn't a big crowd, but they certainly had fun with those of us that did show up to support them. They took lots of pictures, signed everything anyone asked them to (including some drunk guy's back side - Kristine had the perfect comment that she was used to seeing old people's butts and it wasn't bad for his age - the things they have to be nice about...), and generally had a good time promoting the band.

I will be e-mailing Inga some information on places to play in Des Moines and doing my best to spread the word about this awesome band. Jeff and Eric will be on tour with Cinderella as they trek with Poison this summer so I will catch them a few times this year. Shawn is taking the summer to work on some other projects he has brewing. Inga, Kris, and Kristine will be doing the acoustic shows. Get Naked...Beggars on CD and go see their shows. They rock and really connect live.