The Mountain Men have a running gag about being the self-proclaimed loudest band in Westchester. We often joke about our ears ringing for days after our shows. Well, as it turns out tinnitus and hearing loss are not actually that funny at all. A few of us actually suffered from noise-induced hearing loss for 24-hours after the show. While we planned on helping to ring in the new year back in December, we instead ended up ringing our own ears for months.

We hope you got your hearing back.

It was a Christmas show, and our gift to you was the long-term remembrance of our last show! Merry Christmas!

Many of you came in full support, wearing your horrendously ugly sweaters. This is normally where we would make a reference to Bill Cosby, but we wouldn’t want to risk triggering anyone at the moment.

Christmas tunes were demanded, and we delivered. You wouldn’t believe how difficult it is to take yourself seriously while wearing Grandma’s bedazzled, over-sized, woolen, holiday vest. As usual, we had a blast playing for you folks at the RGAB, and the next show couldn’t possibly come any sooner!

Cheers,
–The Mountain Men

Ugly Sweater Setlist
Please Come Home for Christmas
Just Like Heaven
Don’t You (Forget About Me)
Circle the Drain
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
Cradle of Love
Sex On Fire
Locked out of Heaven
I Will Survive
Little Saint Nick
Undone (The Sweater Song)
Dim
O Holy Night
American Girl
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
My Best Friend’s Girl
Blue Christmas
Honky Tonk Women
Hurts So Good
Last Night
Interstate Love Song
Run Rudolph Run
Santeria
Take Me Out
Corduroy
She
I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)
Surrender
Love and Memories
Dancing With Myself
I Wanna Be Sedated
867-5309/Jenny
Rock and Roll All Nite
Jesse’s Girl
Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper Heart
Blister in the Sun
Santa Claus is Coming to Town
Laid
It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
Working for the Weekend
Sweet Child O’ Mine (Tease)
Highway to Hell

“The Train Kept A-Rollin'” is what song we should have played, as it was the theme of the evening. The band performed a ‘Jake-A-Thon,’ pushing for over 3 hours without any break– with one minor detour for a round of shots, courtesy of Monith (friend and drummer extraordinaire).

Electric and eclectic describes the extra-long mega-set. The crowd was a tad sparse, but those present made themselves heard. If the band wasn’t loud enough to puncture eardrums, our fans did their best to assist. Some RG&B regulars had some odd requests, we did our best to oblige– although Jimmy Buffett remains off the table at this time. Seriously, people?

This show was in jeopardy of being cancelled as a certain unnamed lead singer neglected to recall the gig that he, himself, booked half a year before double-booking himself on a European vacation (Big Ben, Parliament, etc.). Luckily the wonderfully accommodating staff at the RG&B agreed to shift the date, allowing us to perform with our fabulous frontman. Yes, we’re clearly still giving him a hard time about it– it’s only fair, right? And now let’s wax lyrical about him for a moment because, even while fighting jet-lag, Mussels put on a killer performance– hitting all the right notes and getting right in there to fire up the audience.

The same can not be said about Jake, himself, as he was again absent– this time allegedly suffering from something known as ‘Pink Sock Disease’. We urge you– please do not Google it. We did, and we can’t unsee what we’ve seen. Please, just trust us on this one. Get well, Jake!

The “Jake-A-Thon” Mega-Set
Midnight Rider
Just Like Heaven
I Wanna Be (500 Miles)
Love and Memories
Santeria
Like a Stone
Better Man
Wonderwall
Circle the Drain
Just What I Needed
Hurts So Good
Beds are Burning
Take Me Out
Counting Blue Cars
All Along the Watchtower
Billie Jean
Life on a Chain
American Girl
Radio, Radio
Don’t You (Forget About Me)
Are You Gonna Go My Way?
Sex On Fire
Dancing in the Dark
Everybody Wants to Rule the World
Last Night
It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
Low
She
Working for the Weekend
Brian Wilson
Hey Ya!
Easy Lover
Blister in the Sun
Laid
In the Meantime
New Age Girl
867-5309/Jenny
Panama

“When I come home, cold and tired, it’s good to warm my bones beside the fire…“– ‘Time,’ Pink Floyd

Thank you, all of you, who braved the polar vortex to come rock out with us at the Rye Grill & Bar! Let’s not mix words, it was really fucking cold that night. So cold, in fact, that Jake himself didn’t make it to the show since the door to his cabin in the mountains was frozen shut. Whatever, he always seems to have some excuse.

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^{Photos ©2014 Ashley Covelli}

The crowd response was a bit ‘chilly’ during the first set, but towards the end of the evening everyone seemed to be catching that warm and fuzzy feeling that Jake was churning out. However, by that point the band was out of material and began to take requests. “Rhiannon!” shouted an overzealous fan (who likely just saw Stevie Nicks’ cameo in the most recent episode of American Horror Story: Coven). Jake obliged. Yes, we freakin’ played Rhiannon. (Well, sort of.) But who are we to say no?

While it did eventually take an interpretive dance from Mussels to warm up the crowd, hearing them chant “ONE MORE SONG!” at the end of the night concluded the show on a high note.

We’ll see y’all again when this frost has finally melted! Cheers!

Set 1
Stuck in the Middle
Wonderwall
Night Moves
Take It Easy
Everyone Wants to Rule the World
I’ve Got a Name
No Matter What
Dark Hollow
Solsbury Hill
Beds Are Burning
Midnight Rider
Mary Jane’s Last Dance
Just Like Heaven
Wild Night
Africa

Set 2
Last Night
I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)
Love Shack
It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
Hurts So Good
The Joker
Beverly Hills//Here I Go Again/Pour Some Sugar On Me (Medley)
Life on a Chain
Jesse’s Girl
Hey Ya!
Blister in the Sun

Encores
867-5309/Jenny
Message in a Bottle
Laid
Working for the Weekend
Rhiannon (Tease)
Take Me Out
Everlong
Dancing With Myself
I Wanna Be Sedated