In a message dated 2/18/99 10:52:42 PM Eastern Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

> Plus, they're
>  Connells fans--I saw them in the audience at the NC Museum show.

Since Dede mentioned the Art Museum show of last July, I thought I might take
the liberty to post a review of same that I recently found on-line; apologies
for the dated nature of the content.  (For anyone who is interested reading
some reviews and articles that appeared last year, please get in touch with
me.  I have the urls for a number of them, which an archive search tells me
have never been posted here, but I hesitate to "clutter up the list" with old
news if there is no interest in it.)

From (the always rockin') Technician Online
(http://www.technicianonline.com/issues/1998/jul_16_1998/xtra1.html) :

A new "Still Life"

The N.C.Museum of Art opened its stage to local rock band the Connells.

Matt Lequick
Asst. Editor

It was a perfect evening - the skies were clear, the breeze was fresh and
cool, and the mercury remained in check at a surprisingly mild level for mid
July. The sun set a brilliant red and the many who gathered at the Joseph M.
Bryan theater at the North Carolina Museum of Art basked in an atmosphere of
spirit as pleasant as the atmosphere overhead.

The reason for this festive congregation at the museum's splendid outdoor
venue was to hear and see a band, which proudly calls the Capital City their
home. A band who has established themselves as strong, solid musicians and
songcrafters to fans and critics alike in a musical genre in which bands
arrive like fresh diapers and depart like dirty ones.

The Connells, whose ancestry can be traced back 15 years (making them
dinosaurs of the modern music scene) were born when brothers Mike (guitar) and
David (bass) teamed up with schoolmates George Huntley (guitar), Peele
Wimberly (drums), and Doug MacMillan (vocals). After seven years passed, the
band had already found itself among the forefront in the college music scene,
and fellow schoolmate Steve Potak (keyboards) was ordained the last Connell.
That was the one and only change the line-up has seen.

Now, shortly after the release of their seventh album, "Still Life," the band
continues to expand the already sizable ledge it occupies on the mountain of
modern rock. Here, in their hometown, their home state, and their home region,
the band's popularity is high. It is their intention that this, their latest
album, will appeal to their fellow countrymen's ears as much as that of their
overseas brothers. The band's name and fame are even bigger in western Europe,
due to the belated release of the "74-75" single from their "Ring" album.

The Connells took the stage following local acts Hobex and Six String Drag.
Both these bands warmed the crowd fairly well, and some of Hobex's material
off their "Payback" EP saw substantial response from the sold-out group. A bit
of dancing ensued during a particular new number from their recent release
"Back in the 90's."

The group itself was an interesting mix of college students, couples, small
groups of friends, families, old, young, and middle-aged. And there were lots
of them on hand. In fact, many people coming prepared for some partying,
equipped with coolers and blankets for the grassy lawn, were reduced to
hanging around outside the perimeter of the fence to listen to the show upon
finding that it was sold-out. Parking for the event poured over to fill the
museum's lots, and then sequentially the lots of the nearby businesses in such
a way that some spaces were conveniently located at the southeast edge of
Umstead park. Even so, noone complained - everything else was just right.

Not surprisingly, most of the Connells set was comprised of the new material.
The crowd seemed to enjoy the new songs, and rightly so. The opener, "Soul
Reactor," and its immediate follow-up, "Bruised" both off "Still Life,"
sounded great live, and though they were new, they possessed that classic-
Connellian gleam.

Such was the case for most the new material. "Curly's Train" may have been a
bet of an exception with its playful blues, almost honky-tonk flavor, but the
rest of the material was surely penned by and for the Connells. New numbers
"Leper" and "Gauntlet" sounded excellent, and everyone moved to Doug's gentle
croons of "If you stick around this time/ you might get a chance to be
somebody."

Of course, some of the staple Connell pieces were played, noticeably a
collection off "Ring," their best- selling CD to date. Their overseas number
one hit, "74-75," saw a swarm of more fans walk right up to the area in front
of the stage, where people gathered to see the band perform their magic close-
up. Other staples included "New Boy," "Get a Gun," and "Stone Cold Yesterday."
By the time the got to this material, the stage was surrounded by a standing
crowd wanting to see just how close they could get to the band's cozy "living
room."

Nay, there was wary a dull moment, especially toward the end of the show when
the band made two encore performances. Before leaving (for good), the
enthusiastic crowd was the group had drawn were told that they were the best
crowd the band had ever encountered. "And we don't say that often," Doug
quirked with a discounting smile.