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• The Vertebrats 30-year anniversary at Cowboy Monkey

Concerts in Champaign rarely sell out in advance, but rarely are they reunions for more than one band on the bill. To celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of The Vertebrats, not only The Vertebrats themselves, but also The Outnumbered and Milktoast reunited Oct. 2 for a dance party at Cowboy Monkey. Milktoast (Ernie Blackwelder, Pat Dailey, and David Conroyd) kicked things off with four covers

from 1979-1980.

The Outnumbered had a head start on the others, as after twenty-two years of inactivity, they previously reunited May 24 at The Highdive for the Josh Gottheil Memorial Concert. Jon Ginoli and Jonno Peltz again flew in from the West Coast, and the quartet barreled through three originals: “I Feel So Sorry Now,” “Boy on a Roof,” and “Cover Me with Flowers,” at the end of which they pelted the audience with amaryllis.

The Dream Fakers were a one-night-only supergroup with Adam Schmitt, Paul Chastain of Velvet Crush, and Darren Cooper of Three Hour Tour. Each took a turn on lead vocals as John Richardson took over on drums for the rest of the night.

The Vertebrats opened to wild cheers, and all Hell broke loose on the dance floor by the second song, “Don’t Think About It.” This lasted through the end of the second set, when Jimmy Wald seized the reins for “Big Yellow Bus.” Regularly 2:37 in length, it stretched to over ten minutes as the audience took seriously a suggestion to form a train and circle the room several times as the band played on.

On a note of miscellany, Mark Rubel filled in on bass for Roy Axford, who was sidelined last minute by a death in the family, Matt Brandabur neglected to play his pink Hello Kitty guitar, and surprise merchandise included albums of 1981 and 1992 radio concerts, as well as a deluxe The Vertebrats T-shirt.