The First Full Gig as BPB 3.0, the oddly small hat, the disappearing bass parts, and the quest to answer a burning question: how many BPB alumni and friends can you fit on one stage?

3/15/2025

In their sixth show at Pub 78, BiPolar Bear had the terrific opportunity to play a St. Patrick’s Day gig before dozens of enthusiastic, slightly inebriated, and largely green fans. In just the second gig for BPB 3.0, only Dr. Keith Taddai was not in attendance – a fact that Rob made known to the crowd in several clever ways (“he’s in the Amazon finding a cure for baldness…”). No one bought it.

What made this gig special was how the band overcame the absence of one of its newest members: by having a rotating panel of two BPB alums (Jimmy and David) fill in and play Keith’s vital guitar parts. Mike took full advantage of having two guitarists with him by “taking a few songs off” during the evening – a rest he felt he totally deserved. In addition to the slew of guitarists, the band also welcomed back drummer Paul Wilhelm on a few songs – and also had guest lead vocalists (Jerry and Dennis) for “No Matter What” and “Secret Agent Man”, respectively. Finally, after the opening song, Rob took a break (“well-deserved”, he said) and let Kevin’s wife Marie-Eve play her adorable pink bass and provide backing vocals. She absolutely rocked! Needless to say, some parts of the evening were not for the claustrophobic on that stage.

One of the highlights for Rob was commenting on Mike’s undersized green, sparkly fedora. Mike swears that when he bought it, “it fit just fine.” Perhaps Mike was getting bloated from eating too much pre-gig pizza and wings (thank you, Kevin and Marie-Eve), or his massive head became even bigger due to water retention. Nevertheless, that hat was destined to fall off.

At one point in the festivities, when the band noticed an absence of bass lines, Rob sprinted back to the stage to investigate (yes, BPB fans – our shoeless Boober was wandering the bar once again, perhaps looking for a bigger hat for Mike?). Why his wireless system chose to fart out was a mystery, but it was really just part of a typical BPB show (no offense to Rob…but no one really noticed, anyway!). One conspiracy theory that circulated around Pub 78 was that Marie-Eve wanted to get back on stage and leave Boober to his own devices mingling with the green crowd. The jury is still out on that one.

Kevin, Lisa, and Ellen were the real stars of the show: Kevin, for cramming lots of songs in like an undergrad pulling an all-nighter before finals – and absolutely nailing each one; Lisa, for belting out song after song with her usual energy, precision, and grace. The balance of her dynamics (really sweet or really gritty) was mesmerizing; and Ellen, for being an incredible support on backing vocals, playing solid keys and percussion, and bass guitar on “Beverly Hills” – as she sat on the stage dangling her feet.

The evening concluded on a unique note – namely, B-Major. After completing an amazing rendition of “Purple Rain” to close out the night, the crowd invariably asked for “one more song”. Mike turned to the band and invoked Traffic’s “Feelin’ Alright” – a song that he has been pestering the band about for about a month. At first reluctant, the band forged ahead – and about six minutes later, the crowd erupted once again! Not knowing each verse completely, Mike sang the first verse twice. The band improvised the song expertly and with a ton of energy.
In spite of a few flubs here and there throughout the evening – both technical and human – a splendid time was had by all…and BPB eagerly awaits its next show in early June. In the interim, your intrepid heroes with be tightening up their sets, adding some new material, and keeping their collective fingers crossed that Mike’s carpal tunnel surgery doesn’t render him merely available to sing back-up with his hands in his pockets…but that’s a blog for another time!
 
Mike "The Hat" Morsovillo