Here’s what you missed if you missed The Viper & His Famous Orchestra playing at the Underground Wonder Bar this past Friday night, December 13, along with John Peacock and Edward Burch.

And it should give you a taste of what to expect at our upcoming shows: Saturday, Jan. 11 at Martyrs’ in Chicago for the big Sousaphenia event; Saturday, Jan. 25 at Uncommon Ground on Devon in Chicago (with Jack & Ace); and Friday, Jan. 31, at  the Sugar Maple in Milwaukee. Details on our shows page at https://theviper.org/shows.

Viper set #1

1. Hey! Rounders
2. Ukulele Rhythm
3. I Love a Girl in Moscow
4. Save Me a Krampus (for the Holiday)
5. Pound It Out
6. Heartbreak for Beginners
7. Make a World (Brand New)
8. The Viper’s Blue Yodel no. 6.02 x 10 to the 23rd
9. Big Headed Small Minded Man

John Peacock

• IL Central
• Make Believe
• Poor Alice

Edward Burch

• The Neapolitan
• I’m Gonna Lasso Santa Claus
• There’s Always Tomorrow / Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Viper set #2

1. My Seafaring Lassie
2. The Winnebago Bay
3. The Yodeler’s Christmas
4. The Yodeler’s Christmas (encore — honest!)
5. The Monsters Are Coming
6. Transformer Man
7. Are You Now, or Have You Ever Been… Blue
8. Das Kapital
9. Ludlul bel nemeqi (Body and Soul)
10. Good Morning Irene
11. I Left My Liver in Libertyville

As you’ll see from the actual stage set lists below, we cut a bunch due to time and a sense that the audience wasn’t going to go for a whole set of un-mic’ed on-the-floor washtub bass tunes. AND when John and I were putting the list together while sitting in his car on the way down stopped on the interstate for and hour-and-a-half outside of Northbrookfieldparkridgeviewgrovemette, we somehow forgot to transfer some of our biggest crowdpleasers, including “Stopper in My Hand” and a season-appropriate “Mele Kalikimaka.”

C’est l’amour, c’est la guerre.