Spider Bags go all out for in-store 'Frozen Letter' release

Photo by Justin Weber

Spider Bags doesn’t do anything halfway even in-store performances. The small crowd at Schoolkids Records in Raleigh would’ve been happy with a couple of songs, some thanks yous and a new record, but the band treated them to a full show.

The 17-song set covered a majority of the new record, Frozen Letter, and fan favorites, but Spider Bags went deep into their discography by playing “The Bottle” off of their 2007 self-titled debut. The band sipped liquor from a brown bag and what was a record store quickly became a rock venue.

Throughout the set, Dan McGee added a lot of color with stories about how his daughter has taken to calling drummer Rock Forbes “Rocko” and how Rock had to overdub his kissing noise before “Chem Trails” on Frozen Letter because they couldn’t get it in one take.

The night came to a humorous and sloppy close as McGee couldn’t remember the lyrics to “Simona La Ramona.” He claimed to have forgotten because he “writes a lot of songs about walking around” so he proved his point by playing his “walking around trilogy” that included “Quetzalcoatl Love Song” and “Standing On A Curb” before attempting to sing “Simona La Ramona” again.

McGee still couldn’t remember the lyrics so Spider Bags invited up a fan who had been singing along all night to help them get through the song before closing out the night with “Friday Night.”

Set List
Back With You Again in the World
Cop Dream
Summer of 79
Into a Tree (Limes Cover)
Japanese Vacation
The Bottle
Shape I Was In
Chem Trails
My Old Lady
We Got Problems
Eyes of Death
Que Viva El Rocanrol
Simona La Ramona (take 1)
Quetzalcoatl Love Song
Standing on a Curb
Simona La Ramona (take 2)
Friday Night