The Retort

A Night at the Tunies

October 23rd, 2009 by Lou Donaldson Of The Retort Staff

The Billings Tunie Awards are this town’s version of The Grammy’s for local artists. Yellowstone Valley Brewing Company, located at 2123 1st Avenue North, hosted the event lasting from 4pm to 10pm and charged a two dollar admission fee. The fenced-off area featured a gate watcher, ample seating and tables, two very clean porta-potties and an area for dancing in front of the flat bed trailer that had been converted into a stage. Parking was available on the street or a neighboring lot. Yellowstone Valley Brewing Company provided root beer and water while the MSU Billings branch of Chi Alpha Theta supplied burgers and brats.

The timing as well as the enclosed location rendered this event both child- and pet-friendly; and both kids and dogs took advantage of the opportunity to run and play. As a whole, the event had the feeling of a barbeque at an extended family reunion and was very enjoyable to children, couples, groups and individuals.

Most danced ‘til they dropped, including a couple who made a very good attempt at jitterbugging, a man doing the classic “white boy dance,” a mother dancing with her two small children and the head bangers in the pseudo-mosh pit, which was safely contained and out of the way.

The Beach Pickers, a local band, played what can only be described as good ol’ down home music. Following the bands a eulogy was sung for Jim Freego, a local musician who recently passed away. The presentation of the awards went smoothly and without any hang-ups - no problems resembling the Kanye West incident at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards. Best Drummer went to Marco Castro; Best Metal Band went to End Ever; Best Percussionist went to Matt Devett; Best Live Venue for All Ages went to Yellowstone Valley Brewing Company; Best Live Venue for 21 and Over went to the F.O.E. (Fraternal Order of Eagles, located at 526 Laurie Lane in the Billings heights); Best Instrument Store went to Hansen Music (located at 1819 Grand Avenue); and Best CD Store went to Ernie November (located at 919 Grand Avenue).

After the awards presentation End Ever retook the stage for the rest of the evening. Very much in the look and fashion of 80’s hair metal bands with a touch of screamo thrown in for spice, End Ever can easily be called head-banger metal in all its glory. The music was energizing and invigorating, and the lead singer left the stage and came out into the crowd.

The table at the entry held a little piggy bank labeled “Moody’s Medical Fund” started for a member of local band Funk in the Trunk, Gy Moody. Moody suffered a heart attack on August 6th in one of the local health food stores. As a veteran he is able to get his medication through the VA (Veterans Health Administration, part of the US Department of Veterans Affairs) but as a small business owner he has no health insurance and currently owes about $60,000 in medical bills. His fellow local musicians started this fund to help reduce some of the stress due to these medical bills.