It's been a while since me and the ANB have worked at this honky tonk in Long Beach, the Cowboy Country Saloon. This is a more traditional country bar with the band starting at 9pm and playing five sets until 1:30am. The good thing about this long gig is that the sets are only a half hour with the DJ playing a half hour on our breaks. Still, it seems like a long night but the crowd is pretty fun so I don't mind at all. The evening began when I left work after dark. The construction is going on full bore across the street from my office. There was fifteen cement trucks pouring over there all day today.
The commute wasn't bad considering I was traveling during rush hour. Thankfully I was going in the opposite direction of most of the traffic. I arrived at Cowboy Country a little ahead of schedule.
I wonder why this place is called a "big red barn"? The strange thing is, like the T.A.R.D.I.S., it seems even bigger on the inside.
I pull my handy dandy Rock-n-Roller cart up to the stage to see Arnie in the midst of a solo setup dance.
This is our green room, just enough to give us a place to change, run tunes, sit down out of most of the noise, etc. Just outside the door is the DJ booth and on the other side of that is the stage. All three are on the same wall.
You know it's a real honky tonk when there's a mechanical bull. The bull wasn't really busy on Friday night but there were a few riders.
If you go up the left staircase you find the pool tables, a few high tops, and the kitchen.
Behind the chicken wire on the other side of the pool tables are a few celebrities.
Also upstairs is the FOH booth. Kenny is a good guy to work with. I'll try to get a picture of him tonight.
I ordered supper from the kitchen, which has pretty decent bar food, good portions for a good price. I enjoyed a bacon cheeseburger and a small salad. I was also in the mood to try a Shiner Bock, a good Texas beer. Several of you recommended it after my last trip to Houston when I didn't like the beer I found at the HEB. Thanks! It's really good.
After my supper I wandered back downstairs to find Jason and Johnny doing the setup tango.
Jason brought his small kit but still managed to play it too loudly. I had to use earplugs.
Looking stage right you see the main dance floor. There is also a smaller dance floor on that side upstairs.
Looking off stage left you see that there is seating right in front of the band with another smaller dance area next to the mechanical bull. You also see a photo booth and more seating underneath the balcony. There's a gift shop back there too. I'll get a picture of that tonight.
Johnny brought his small rig since it's a small-ish stage. Plus he's here only one night this weekend. He has a family engagement on Saturday so my friend Ian will be playing the keys tomorrow.
Amanda will be with us most of the night. We're working up her new Carrie Underwood tunes so it'll be a good paid rehearsal.
John is ready to throw down.
The beauty and the beast are ready to put on the show.
I brought my usual rig. This is all I need when we have full FOH support. I had fun playing on my new strings.
On the break I walked up the stairs to stage right where there is a smaller dance floor and another bar.
This is the scene as you look down on the main dance floor while the DJ has the crowd line dancing.
The band gets ready for another set while Amanda and I take a selfie. She is so kind to this old man.
Arnie surveys the dance floor reading the room. He called a lot of audibles tonight rather than sticking to the set list. We'll probably do the same thing Saturday night. We might even have a totally different set list. I'd better check my email.
Johnny Magic Fingers did not get a chance to play his big boogie woogie number this evening. I was a little disappointed.
The good folks here were warm and welcoming to Amanda. At one point the owner walked right up to the front of the stage and just stared in amazement while Amanda slayed "Don't Stop Believing".
Jason is really getting into it. His kick drum in the subs under the stage really rattled your teeth.
Just another shot of the main dance floor from the pool table side of upstairs.
A view of the stage from the upstairs bar.
Amanda sang her last song with us for the evening. She went home a little early because she's got a baby at home and didn't do the last set with us.
Now let me show you a bit of Saturday night. It was raining pretty good Saturday evening when I left for the honky tonk. Since "it never rains in Southern California" the folks here don't know how to drive in it. There was an accident at "the merge" where the 57 and the 60 share about fourteen lanes for a few miles. Since I work around here I knew the quick detour on the surface streets so that my commute was not delayed too much.
I allowed extra time for weather and traffic so I arrived a bit earlier than I needed to. That's OK. I can give you a little bit more of the fifty cent tour. Looking across the stage you see the DJ booth. On the other side of the DJ booth is our green room. I showed you a picture inside the green room earlier in the this post.
I set up my basses and then went upstairs to the kitchen. Here you see Cindy fixing supper for me. Cindy is a sweetheart and I enjoy visiting with her.
While supper was cooking I surveyed the bottom floor of the honky tonk. Looks like it's going to be a good night. I see my friend, Ian, setting up his keyboards. Ian and I used to play together all the time in the 90s. Then he got a job here in my department at work but we haven't been playing together as much lately. It was good to share the stage with Ian again.
Ahhh, supper's ready! Tonight I enjoyed the chicken tenders and fries, a salad, and some mozzarella sticks. Hey, I hadn't eaten all day.
The lovely Ms. Amanda Kate makes her entrance and joins me for a selfie.
Ian sets up the sounds he needs on his keyboard. Ian had really done his homework and sounded great tonight.
Looking right from the stage. There are a lot of people here tonight.
Looking left from the stage, there are a lot of people over here too. The mechanical bull is not here on Saturday night so there is more room for dancing on the stage left dance floor.
On a break I perused the gift shop, everything a cowgirl needs. There's also a sign in the store that states: The Cowgirl Motto, "Party 'til He's Cute!" Hmmmm.
Amanda and Arnie put on the show.
Jason plays too loudly and has a good time doing it.
On our third break Cindy baked us up a fresh batch of cookies. I told you she was a sweetheart.
The sound booth is up there above the Jack sign. Kenny has no 87db limits like at that other place.
For grins and giggles, Tammi came in tonight and took a couple pictures of her favorite bass player.
Well, maybe her favorite bass player at Cowboy Country that night.
We came, we played, we loaded out. It was a fun night. Now it's time to get to work.
Oh look at that. When I loaded up my gear into my trusty old Astro van I discovered that somebody left me a little present. Isn't that nice?
I took the Red Solo Cups and placed them in the trash receptacle that was right in front of my trusty Astro van by the front door. Then I had a safe commute home. Thanks for looking!
I got a little less than three hours sleep then I was up again to fly to Sacramento for a True Willie gig. That will be in the next report.
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
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