This weekend me and Arnie Newman's Country Club are at the Buckle and Boots Watering Hole in Lancaster CA. It's a good-sized metropolis in the high desert north of LA, a little weird, but that's OK.
I left work a little early because even though we don't play until 10pm we have an early load-in so as to be sound checked before doors open. I'm just going to share a bunch of pictures from my commute because I think the drive up to the desert is so scenic. This is the transition from the Eastbound 10 to the Northbound 15.
I actually hit the traffic just before the real rush but it was still sticky heading north with the "get out of town to Las Vegas for the weekend" crowd.
I got a little break in traffic just before I hit the Cajon pass.
Once in the Cajon pass it was sticky again. It got worse later. Arnie and Jason arrived a little later than planned because they couldn't leave work as early.
Here's where we got off the interstate and take Hwy 138 toward Lancaster/Palmdale. You see Mormon Rocks again there on the other side of the freeway.
It's quite scenic, if you like desert, going over the pass in this direction.
Once though the pass we head down into the desert floor.
Then we pick up the two lane highway with Joshua trees on either side.
The Pear Blossom Highway, as it's called, is about half four-lane and half two-lane. Here we are approaching Palmdale from the south.
I didn't take a picture of the roundabout this time because there was a lot of rookie traffic going through. But I did manage to get a good shot of this mural as I entered the downtown district of Lancaster. Let's keep Lancaster weird. (Think "Portlandia".)
I arrived early and knocked on the door but got no response. I ended up calling the club and asking someone to come open the door. One of the owners, Kayla, opened the door for me. She's a nice lady.
And here's all my gear ready to be put on stage. It's been a long drive. I think I'll have a beer first.
The honky tonk is empty. Doors haven't opened yet.
I made a pit stop and noticed another one of their clever signs. This is a good one after you've had a few beers. Not only is it a vision test, it's good advice too.
Here's another sign out in the hallway that I can appreciate.
This is Adam, just your friendly neighborhood combat veteran who was most helpful in schlepping our gear onto the stage. Thank you for your service Adam!
Johnny Magic Fingers is setting up while Ben and Rob get the stage wired.
Benjamin plugs stuff into the snake.
Austin arrives, then Arnie and Jason arrive soon after. The setup dance begins in earnest. I've already done my setup dance so I just cut in when I'm needed.
The setup dance continues. We didn't get a real soundcheck tonight because Arnie and Jason were running so late. We made it work.
Ben and Rob get Jason's kit wired up.
Austin and Arnie are just about ready to go.
John give me a smile even though he's a little under the weather. He thinks he caught a bug on the plane to/from New Orleans last week.
Misty is kind enough to come up on stage and take our order for supper. We like Misty.
Jason obliges when Rob says, "Gimme some kick drum."
After our very quick sound check, more of a line check, we go downstairs to the bowling alley to have our supper.
We get to hang out in the VIP room. It's not private but it's pretty comfortable.
Tonight I tried the bacon-wrapped chicken tenders with some sides. The food here is terrific.
This is Lorena. She brought us our food and took great care of us. That's John's steak salad.
We head back upstairs after supper to find Katie giving the dance lessons.
Since I've got a little time before downbeat I let Melissa draw me another pint of brown ale.
Then Katie comes up on stage to announce the band just before we start.
Arnie says "Hi" to Katie.
And we have achieved line dancing!
Arnie and Austin put on the show. We play one big two hour set here. It goes by pretty quickly.
Jason does great with his left foot on the kick drum.
This is quite the line dancing room but there were quite a few two-steppers also.
We had a total blast on Friday night. Then we were back for more fun and excitement on Saturday night. During my long commute, here I am driving over the California Aquaduct which carries water from Northern California to Southern California.
Here I am entering that roundabout in the middle of the desert. It's got two lanes with different destinations.
The inside lane is supposed to end up turning left (West) or completing the U-turn while the right lane, the outside lane, has its choice of turning right, going straight, or turning left, but no U-turn. Of course, the driver in the car next to me, on the inside lane, decided he had to go straight and cut in front of me as I was turning left. Oops. But I arrived safely at the venue, the first to arrive.
The rest of the band was running late again but finally arrived, got set up, and we headed downstairs to the VIP room for our supper. I'm glad they still wanted to feed us. I hadn't eaten all day. I got the monster bacon cheese burger with a couple of sides.
That burger is bigger than it looks, bigger than The Ranch burger. Here's Arnie, who also had the burger, and Austin talking about girls, trucks, music, beer, and other such important topics.
Yes, I also enjoyed a couple of the brown ales on tap since they were out of the Old 38. Arnie's into lite beers, Bud Lite and Michelob Ultra. Ugh. After supper I got dressed in my stage clothes, no shorts, and headed upstairs to find another bass player in the house! This is my buddy Keith. We chatted and had a good time talking about gear and stuff. Then I introduced Keith to Channelle. You guys remember Channelle, right?
It's funny. When Keith said he had some fresh produce that he wanted to share with the band, I thought it was a metaphor for something else. But he actually had lettuce and tomatoes for us. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to pick up some. I love fresh produce.
The DJ is playing the last line dance before we start our set. It's a pretty good crowd tonight.
Arnie stops at the short bar to pick up a bucket of suds from Katie and her friend.
I've got my big glass of beer ready for our "a holler and a swaller" moment in the middle of the set.
Jason is ready to do some thumping.
Even though Johnny Magic Fingers was really feeling under the weather, he played like magic.
Austin and Arnie are ready to put on the show.
Jason points his stick at the bass player.
Here's my selfie just before Katie announces the band and we get started.
Arnie kicks us off with one of our favorite George Jones songs, "Love Bug".
We played a few two steps and slow couples dances but tonight we were heavy on the line dances, rock-n-roll, and pop. Jason even did his 80s-90s rap medley. The crowd was into it and it was pretty fun.
"You got to fight....for your right....to PAAAAAAAAAARRRRRTY!!!!"
After our single two hour set it was time to pack up while the DJ kept the tunes emanating from the speakers.
This is one of the owners, Kayla, who came up on stage to take care of some paperwork with Arnie. I took the opportunity to take a picture with her. We love and admire Kayla. She is a beautiful and formidable woman. This picture does not do her justice.
Since Jason is still recovering from knee surgery and Johnny is feeling under the weather, the rest of us pitched in to help load out all of our gear.
Then I drove home on a dark desert highway, warm wind in my hair. Next time we are busy at The Ranch, rehearsal on Monday then back for Friday and Saturday nights. The following weekend we'll be at Gilley's in Las Vegas. September is going to be really busy with flydates too, for both the ANB and TW. I'll try to keep up with my gig reports. I want to thank you for coming out to the desert with me and sharing my fun. You guys are the best.
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
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