Is there anything better than a gathering of sweet, clean P1s? Corby’s drop says it best…”Neeeooooo!” That is, unless the P1s are neither sweet nor clean which was definitely the case at the 2008 Ticket Summer Bash. With great weather as its backdrop, this edition of the Dallas sports talk radio station’s annual invasion of Sneaky Pete’s offered the perfect opportunity for fans to kick off their summer in style.

After weeks of promos to the tune of Tay Zonday’s “Chocolate Rain“, summer bash goers were completely whipped by a live performance from the YouTube celebrity. A three song set beginning with a duet featuring The Ticket’s Gordon Keith and followed by two solo numbers were enough to spare even the most forgiving fan to death.

Now, to quote Junior Miller (who must have had some lyrics left over from his ‘08 Ticketstock parody of U2’s “Vertigo” entitled “I Gotta Go”), “without further a-Doo Doo” here’s the set list for the Ticket Timewasters’ performance:

1. BaD Radio - Rewritten lyrics to the tune of “Walking on the Sun” by Smash Mouth

The Timewasters have found the three part recipe for starting their shows with a bang:

1. 1. Fill rewritten lyrics full of Ticket shtick
2. Have Bob, Donovan, Gribble, and Grubes as backup singers
3. Give Dan a mic and let the magic unfold

After his untouchable opening act at this year’s Ticketstock, Dan had high expectations to live up to and even though the song was a retread from several years ago, the bar was set pretty high after the first number of the evening.

2. Jub Jub Dunham - “This Time Around” by Randy Rogers Band

As a man of many voices and a proud member of Acoustic D, on this evening, Georgio set out to prove that his abilities are limitless as he debuted a new musical talent…the fiddle. One couldn’t help but be impressed.

3. Deep Dish Danny Balis - “Okie from Muskogee” by Merle Haggard

Sporting a western shirt and cowboy hat, Danny thought it necessary to put the P1s through another country song. After a couple verses, the Danny/Corby drop “Boooorrrrring” would’ve been appropriate until the Snake joined his buddy on stage to sing the final verse in an OU jersey and hat.

4. Gen-X Davy - “What’s on your Mind (Pure Energy)” by Information Society

While I am a big fan of the Orphanage, I don’t know if there’s much appeal in hearing Davy Lane sing this tune from the 80s.

5. Corby & SPORTS Sturm - A Song about Norm

In his debut performance on guitar, Bob showed tremendous poise by fighting through a couple miscues. By this point of the show, the noise level in the crowd was such that lyrics were hard to understand, so the greatness of Corby’s song went under appreciated by many in attendance.

6. Rhynes & the Pettytheft crew - ???

A very forgettable performance. Decent, I guess, but not being well versed in Tom Petty tunes, I still don’t know what song was sung by the old, grey wolf.

7. Gordon and Norm - “Me and Bobby McGee” by Kris Kristofferson and Dolly Parton

Easily the biggest moment of the night as Gordo introduces the song and out walks Norm dressed up as Dolly Parton. Unfortunately, our camera man was gone at this point, but let me assure you that the visual was magical.

8. Dan & Acoustic Grubes - Rewritten lyrics to the tune of “Yesterday” by The Beatles

Dan’s gift of rewriting lyrics was on display again but as I mentioned earlier, it was hard to really understand what was being said. I have to say that it was impressive to see Dan perform both his songs without the rest of the crew’s usual lyric sheet crutch.

9. Donovan w/ BaD radio - “Super Freak” by Rick James

If Donovan’s addition to the radio station has done anything, it’s provide a Timewasters all-star. Easily the most comfortable on stage, this yuck monkey performed the Rick James tune flawlessly. With the entire BaD radio crew backing him up and a dance break featuring Grubes, “Super Freak” may’ve been the Great Donovan’s coming out party.

10. The Hardline Band - “Danny’s Forty” and “Rockin’ with the Hardline”

With the final scheduled performance of the evening, the Timewasters brought back their hit machine from Ticketstock with another offering from the Hardline band. Nothing brings the P1s to their feet quite like Rhynes on drums. For those who haven’t seen the Petty Theft frontman behind the kit, it looks like a perfect blend of Uncle Jesse and Arthur Spooner. Danny on bass is obviously solid, Grubes on guitar seems comfortable as well, and Corby was good with the mic and even seemed more natural with a guitar in his hands on “Rockin’ with the Hardline” which is becoming a staple entry after its debut at Ticketstock 2008.

11. Georgio - “Sweet Hardline” to the tune of “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond

As is the case with all good Timewasters shows, the crowd was uncontrollable until Jub Jub finished things off with this timeless classic.  The crowd participation was definitely a site to behold prompting Dunham to work the catwalk in Bono-esque fashion with fans desperately reaching to graze his fingertips.

In summary, it seems necessary that a radio station with a following as devoted as The Ticket’s be able to find a way to bridge “the great gap” between the hosts and fans. The Timewasters’ performance at the 2008 Ticket Summer Bash did just that. It did seem, however, that Norm (blue shirt) misunderstood the “bridging ‘the great gap’” objective.

View All Photos of the 2008 Ticket Summer Bash