We had another fun concert in the park last night, Hart Park in the city of Orange CA. It's a nice facility that seems well taken care of. It had a nice band shell, pool, tennis courts, playground, etc. We were scheduled to arrive and load in at 4:30 but we were all early. As it turns out, we had to drive through the park itself to unload at the band shell but the city permit wouldn't let the organizers open the park to us until the scheduled time. So we hung out in the cul-de-sac.
Actually, they let us in 10 minutes early, which was cool. We drove through the park, between the pool and tennis courts to the band shell.
I thought it was most generous that we could park so close and unload our gear.
This is Kaleb, Robert, and Brian, our sound crew. I like the way they set us up using the different levels. I thought it was visually appealing, almost like the band was in 3D. These guys did a great job dialing in everything for us. I also want to thank Ashley and Larry for all their help too.
What I thought was even more generous was that, after we were done unloading, we got to park right behind the band shell with the sound company truck under the big oak tree. It was very convenient, much better than parking in the public lot and hiking a half mile back to the stage.
OK, now that we're all set up we thought we'd take a little breather before we sound check.
Now we're starting to look bored. Art gets out his phone. I think he's researching tuners.
I'm sure Mario and Jeff are ready to sound check now. Kelly is running a little late, stuck in traffic. There was a baseball game at Angel Stadium which tends to snarl the freeways in the area.
It looks like Art has finished his research. He and Daniel are discussing which is better, a Snark clip-on or a Boss Tu-3 pedal tuner.
The sound crew had some nice JBL mains and QSC monitors. You also see my Zoom Q2HD video camera. (Later I'll try to pull out a few good bits of the show.)
The FOH (and monitor) board, Berhringer X32. It's a nice piece of gear.
We're done with our sound check, sans Kelly.
The local Kiwanis Club was cooking up grub for the crowd tonight, burgers and dogs.
I had myself a Polish sausage, fixed up with jalapenos, onions, sauerkraut, and mustard. And I washed it down with an ego boost,....um, energy drink.
The crowd is starting to show up! But I'm not nervous. Not much. Only a little. Maybe. Or is it just jitters from the caffeine?
Kelly arrives with her friend Laura to set up the "merch" table. Kelly's daughters are selling their CD, Songs About Dogs. They'll get up and sing a song from the CD during the show. Perhaps you saw the video from Carlsbad last week. It's very cute.
Time is getting close. I make my way to the backstage area so that I can put on my country bass player shirt.
We must be very, very careful not to trip over the big cables or hit the big switches!
This is the mayor of Orange, Teresa Smith, to introduce the band.
While the mayor is taking care of business, I snap a few pictures of the band while we wait. Here's Art and Daniel, ready to put on the show.
Jeff is in good spirits, even though his hat is starting to look a little "distressed". (Inside joke.)
Mario takes aim!
The mayor is still speaking so I have time to take a panorama of the audience.
I also have time for an "amp-selfie".
Here's a picture of our lovely Kelly before we start.
I was impressed, proud, and happy to see that the mayor led us in the Pledge of Allegiance before we got started. I'm a patriotic type, yes sir. Then it's on with the show!
The crowd starts to have fun on the circular brick dance floor.
Kelly's daughters get up to sing a big hit from their CD. They have a lot of poise and presence for their age and always go over well. Be sure to check out the video in the Carlsbad blog entry to hear them sing "Rescue Me".
EDIT: A couple of friends put up pictures on Facebook and I thought I'd share them here since I didn't get any pictures of the band from out front.
Then we pull out the pop. The "Uptown Funk", the "Footloose", and the "I Want You Back" kind of tunes are always big hits with the crowd.
Tonight for our closer we leave them with Daniel's big hit, "Devil Went Down To Georgia".
After the show we turn back into roadies and start disassembling the mystical, magical, musical castle that we had built.
I made a fairly quick getaway, home by 10:30, which is great for a school night. This band won't play again until next weekend (7/10-11/15) when we are at The Ranch, our favorite night club. But I do have a couple of gigs on the 4th of July, with two different bands. It'll be a long day with a lot of driving so I'd better rest up. Thanks for looking!
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
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