I'm falling behind a few gigs so I'm trying to get caught up today (12/13/18). I need to post up five gigs to get current. Bear with me. First we'll talk about Thanksgiving weekend 2018.
The TWB and I had a quick but fun trip up to Lake Tahoe over the Thanksgiving weekend playing at the MontBleu Resort, Casino, and Spa. While recovering from the turkey overdose we flew up to Sacramento and drove from there. My dear Mrs. BassCliff dropped John and I off at ONT where we found the biggest travel crowd I have ever seen at that airport. Even at this small airport there were tons of folks traveling on Saturday morning. The line wrapped all the way around the terminal just to go upstairs to get checked by the TSA.
With the big crowds I was a little worried about making our plane on time but we had a chance to grab a cup of coffee before we boarded. There wasn't much to see as most of the central valley was covered with clouds.
After meeting up with the rest of the rhythm section at Sacramento International Airport, TW traveled separately with Mrs. TW, we rented a big car and drove the 2.5 hours to Lake Tahoe. It was much cheaper than trying to fly into Reno or Tahoe. We arrived a couple days after a big storm passed through so the roads were clear, as was the weather, but there was lots of snow at altitude.
It was a beautiful drive along Highway 50 from Sacramento to Lake Tahoe, especially after the freeway gave way to a two lane road through the mountains.
We passed the summit at 7384 feet (or so) then dropped down into the Lake Tahoe basin. You can see the lake off in the distance.
This is the California side of the town of Lake Tahoe. On the other side of that traffic light is Nevada.
Two or three blocks past the stateline is our destination. Hey! What do I see on that marquee?
We pull into the valet and, sure enough, TW has is face right out front.
We all disembark, unload, and head to the front desk. Drummer Dave is glad to stretch his legs.
Guitar Mike and Dave wait in line to check in. None of us have eaten all day so all we can talk about is how we're going to spend our per diem attached to our rooms.
We found TW's face all over the place in the hotel and casino, even in the elevators.
We dropped off our luggage in our rooms. They were nice. Mine was on the 10th floor.
I don't usually show this room but the bathroom was fabulous. That shower was bigger than a few stages I've played on.
I had a stunning view of the lake and surrounding mountains from my window. Wow!
After we dropped our luggage in our rooms we made our way to the showroom. It was nice, laid out in the classic Las Vagas showroom arrangement with tables and booths, no dance floor.
It looks like the back line is all set up for us. We just have to plug in and make some noise. Here's the view from FOH.
We made our way backstage. It's a huge stage.
This is my rig for this evening, a nice GK 1001RB atop a fridge cab.
That's Michael helping John to get his keys wired up. To Michael's left is Adam, the FOH guy. Behind John is Josh on the monitor board with Gerald, one of the stage crew. This stage had a large crew, another four or five guys that I did not get pictures of.
This was Mike's rig for the evening. It's the biggest rig he's ever used, a couple of Deluxe amps.
Here's the view from the monitor console. This stage was impressive, as was the crew.
Here's the view from the drum riser. You can tell it's a classic Vegas showroom, right down to the disco ball. With this configuration it holds 1400. We sold just shy of 1000 tickets. It will be a good crowd.
This is the stage right side of the PA. That's a huge side fill speaker. Plus four double subs and the hanging arrays.
Dave gets his backline kit in order. He liked that Yamaha maple kit.
As you all know, the bass player is done setting up in about 10 minutes. I wandered out front to get some more pictures of the room. Here I was standing in front of the bar on the right side of the room.
They've closed the curtains and it looks better. But we have no stage decorations. It's just us. I guess we'd better be really entertaining because there's not much to look at. Here's a look across the room. When they expect a big crowd and remove the tables to place more chairs this room will seat about 2500
It looks like we are about ready to run a few tunes. Mike and TW seem happy about that.
John was happy that all of his gear worked. He told Michael and Josh that this is the quickest he's been able to set up in a long time, because all the rental gear worked like it was supposed to.
Dave reconfigured his kit. He likes a single rack tom and two floor toms, plus his metronome.
I had to get a closer look at the sub array. Four dual 18" bins are pretty impressive.
The stage seems a bit stark with no background, props, or accessories. It's just us hairy legged boys and our toys.
"If you had not have fallen, I would not have found you...." TW gets his monitor mix set.
Mike seemed way far away on the other side of the stage. He says he likes being out away from all the noise.
I wait patiently while TW says "More me!"
After I sound check I try my choreography to get warmed up.
We complete our soundcheck and as we walk out of the room I take one more picture of the stage from the FOH.
This is the box office and the stairs leading up to the showroom.
Right at the end of the stairs is a Japanese restaurant called "Fortune" where they are having an all-you-can-eat sushi special. Drummer Dave and I decide that's what we're having for supper. Here is the Rainbow Roll and Spicy Tuna Roll, a couple of my favorites.
After Dave and I had ordered a couple of our favorites we told our sushi chef Jeffrey that our meal was in his hands, surprise us, we trust you. "Omakase" is the term. Every dish just got better and better. Jeffrey shows off a creation he calls the Mt. Tallac, named after a local mountain peak.
This is called the Volcano because it was a little bit spicy with wasabi mayo, surachi mustard, spicy tuna, masago, tuna, etc, plus a couple of pieces of white tail.
Oh my! What a meal! After a meal like that, although I wasn't over-full, Dave and I decided to go for a nice brisk walk before the show. Here's the marquee out front.
We walked all the way back to California (all three blocks) and took in the sights. This is more of a ski resort town and less like Las Vegas. We had about a thirty minute walk then headed back to our rooms to get ready for the show. On the way to the green rooms backstage and upstairs the hallway was covered with pictures of really big performers who have appeared here.
I found TW in green room "A" just relaxing and getting in the zone.
Dave was in green room "B" pretty much doing the same.
We all got together in "B" for vocal warmup and talked about the show. Then I popped in to Spencer's office to say "Hi". Spencer was our guide and hospitality technician. She made sure we had everything we needed. Great job Spencer!
From the stairs leading down from the green rooms the stage looked like this after the doors opened.
We waited about five minutes after 8pm to start the show because folks were taking their time getting to their seats.
Then we played the intro music and started the show. It was a very lively crowd. We couldn't see them very well because the room was so dark and the stage lights were so bright in our faces. But they let us know they were there. I didn't take too many pictures on stage because the show went so quickly but there is a long piano intro to "Always On My Mind" when I can snap a few.
Mike and Dave get ready to come in on the first verse.
I snagged a picture of John while TW was telling a joke. "If I had a dollar for every woman who thought I was unattractive, pretty soon I'd be quite attractive."
After the show we did our usual meet-n-greet. This young lady didn't mind taking a picture with the bass player.
We shook a lot of hands, heard a lot of compliments, thanked everyone profusely for coming to the show. They were really a fun and appreciative crowd. I hope we get to come back. When I got back on stage the crew had just about packed everything away. They wasted no time and were well organized.
Then we had a little afterparty in the green room. TW had friends and family come out tonight. This pretty young lady is TW's daughter. She looks just like her Mom, Mrs. TW.
After the party the boys and I went downstairs and enjoyed one more adult beverage. We didn't party too hardy because we were "wheels up" at 7am the next morning. John, Mike, and I are loading up the Excursion right now while Dave visits the little drummer's room.
As we drove out of town, down the mountain, on our way back to Sacramento we were greeted with a nice vista in the early morning sun.
We beat the traffic heading down the mountain. I was a little worried because the exodus from a Las Vegas weekend can get pretty crowded but there is an eight lane freeway heading out of town. Leaving Lake Tahoe we have only a two lane mountain road. It seems most of the visitors to Lake Tahoe wait until checkout time at 11am to actually start leaving so we were well ahead of the curve. We arrived at the airport in plenty of time and had a pleasant flight back home. The next time the TWB will be out is on Jan. 6th and Jan. 9th, two different fly dates in the same week, both to the Sacramento area. We like that airport. Until then, thanks for supporting live music and be kind to one another.
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
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