In 2000, while we launched Boundary Waters and the internet radio
show, Gag was stagnate. We only did the two New Years shows that
year. Mo was out of the picture now and Millie was on pregnancy leave.
We had picked up Marla and Marie Anne Hogarth. After the first few
months of the 2001, Millie was back in business. 

We now had a full house and we were staring at nothing but the 
radio show. Don't get me wrong, I loved the radio show and would
love to do it again. It is some of the best work we've ever done, but
it was like jacking off. We needed an audience...we needed to start
building our fan base again.

I made a decision. It was a decision that the group went along with. We
needed to tour. We needed to get out there and flaunt our wares to a 
live audience. 

Steve booked the OTB where we normally did our New Year's Eve shows.
There was a lot of discussion about whether or not to do one night
or two. Dale (who said he would come back for the show) said we
ran the risk of splitting the audience. He was right, but it was a risk
we needed to take.

Originally I planned to broadcast the shows live over the radio station,
but I rethought it. It would have been a waste if no one listened, I couldn't
repeat it. So I decided to record the show for future use. (For all you
who care, the eventual VIAGRA album is mixed from the two shows
and the dress rehearsal on thursday.)

Two hours before the first show, I was a wreck. The merch table was out
and I couldn't stop fidgeting with it. I remember the backstage area being
very quiet. Marie Anne was crouched in a corner, centering herself. Steve
and I had the same fears. 

This absolutely had to work...then something magic happened.

The audience arrived. Nearly both nights were packed. The second 
night Dale and I were pulling out more tables to cram people into.
The "hail mary" had worked and Gag Reflex was back in a big way,
at least to us.

It was great doing Spiggitz, Apollo69 and all these sketches again. Of
course it was great having Dale back into the fold, even if only for 2 
nights. Mostly it was great knowing that we weren't beating a dead
horse. That Gag was still viable and relevant.

If you listen to the CD, Guthumping is the recording of the second 
night. At the end, when the song ends and we say goodnight, you
can hear the audience and us and the vibe that the two nights had.

Since then we have focus more and more on performing. The tours
of the following years were all due to these shows. We are a comedy
group and a comedy group is only as good as their audience. VIAGRA
showed us that we could still WOW! an audience.

Sysyphus was given an earth mover.

---Eric