Me and the TW Band had another successful fly date up to the Feather Falls Casino and Lodge outside of Oroville. Johnny Magic Fingers picked me up at 4:45am so we could fight the traffic down to the Orange County Airport. We had an early flight.
To my surprise, the skycap that met us at the curb was none other than my old friend Preston. I didn't even know he was working at the airport. I think this is his side hustle because he's always done commercial acting for a mutual friend who is a local producer type. Preston's wife has a local LA reality show.
John and I were the first to arrive at our gate but the rest of the lads showed up in the nick of time. Since they live closer to SNA they didn't have to worry much about traffic.
We take our place in the Southwest cattle call to board the plane. It wasn't a full flight so we were able to have some elbow room and didn't have to crawl over anyone to get to a middle seat. That's always a little awkward. On final into SMF I could see that it's been raining pretty steadily since we were here a couple of days ago. It didn't rain on us this trip but it was mostly cloudy.
This is always a "planes, trains, and automobiles" kind of trip. We take a tram from the terminal gate to the baggage claim. John sat in the back.
I managed to avoid the rabbit on my head this trip.
After getting our bags we hop a shuttle bus to the rental car terminal. We enjoy each other company while TW picks up the car. We talk about movies, baseball, dark matter, etc, anything but music.
Then we enjoy caffeinated beverages as we drive down two lane country highways.
We must be getting close. I think it's about to get fun all up in here.
Our destination is on the left. It's a nice facility, part smoking, part non-smoking, part alien.
We were a bit ahead of schedule but loaded our gear backstage. We'd have some lunch and then come back for setup and sound check. We get a full backline here.
After unloading we pulled around to the Lodge to see if our rooms were ready. I like this little hotel. They may have to build a bigger one soon.
It has a charming lobby with a nice fireplace. We huddled against the warmth to thaw our hands and feet.
The blackboard says the show is sold out. Pretty cool. These folks like the show and are always so nice to us.
It turns out our rooms were ready. But wait, there must be some mistake.
Oh, OK. My room was actually on the top floor of the lodge, otherwise known as the third floor.
This is the view from my little balcony. It's so pretty here.
Since we had plenty of time the band decided to use our meal vouchers and hit the buffet. There was Mongolian BBQ and a large selection of hot entrees.
I decided to have the brisket and ham.
This band knows how to eat.
I figured this was the only time I'd get to eat today so I loaded up on brisket, ham, beef stroganoff, broccoli and cheese, sauteed vegetables, a big salad, etc. The band was amazed at my consumption prowess.
I had a piece of blackberry pie and a couple of small pecan tarts for dessert.
Then it was off to soundcheck. The poster out front of the room reminded us that the event was sold out. Pretty cool. I think I'd like to see Shania Twin some time. I really enjoy Shania's music.
There's not much going on in the showroom at the moment.
Soon the stage lights come on and Joe and Alex are Johnny-on-the-spot getting the backline set up. Both of these guys are top notch people.
Alex gets the keyboard height just right taking into account, of course, Johnny will be wearing boots for the show.
Joe does the heavy lifting and places Johnny's speakers. Joe recently lost his house and all the gear he owns in the Paradise fire. But he's upbeat and not too concerned. He's says it's just stuff and besides, the insurance company is treating him really well. You also see my backline rig. This one sounds pretty dang good but it's actually four times the amp I need for this stage.
Here's a view of the brewery from my mic. They make a few really good beers here.
This is Drummer Dave's monitor and sub. John is contemplating ebony and ivory, together in perfect harmony.
Dave is pleased that the backline kit has all new heads.
John is pleased that all of his gear is working too.
Dave sits triumphantly upon his throne surveying the stage and getting ready to rule and reign.
Guitar Mike brought his blue Tele. He alternates between this one and his Strat. He uses his old 335 only on local gigs.
Mike got to use a nice tweed Deluxe for this show.
That guy behind me sort of reminds me of someone.
I got a sound I liked and took a picture just in case anything changed between soundcheck and downbeat.
We are just about done with soundcheck and the staff is just about done setting up the room for our dinner show.
The lads put on the finishing touches as I take a picture from out front.
They are still putting on finishing touches so I take a picture from the FOH booth.
I retired to my room for a nap and to freshen up. When I returned all these people were in my room.
If you did not want to buy a dinner ticket you could buy a ticket for the show only and then sit up in the balcony. I'd never been up to the balcony so I wanted to visit. All these seats were sold too.
From the balcony, here's a view of the stage and the dinner guests. I wonder if we're allowed to have snacks in the balcony? It doesn't seem fair to watch everyone else eating.
I walked around to the back of the stage and snuck out to take a picture of the room.
In the green room True Willie and the boys are warming up.
We've taken the stage right on time. I don't feel nearly as blue as I look. In fact, I'm feeling quite happy.
Oh my! It was a little too dark on stage. My auto-flash went off. How unprofessional of me. I made Dave squint.
John is ready to put on the show.
Mike is also happy to be here.
That's the last picture before the show starts. During a long piano intro I sneak a picture of TW just before he sings "Always On My Mind".
The show went well and the crowd loved us. At one point in the show TW and I sing "To All The Girls I've Loved Before" with me singing the Julio part. I sang the lyric, "To all the girls who cared for me,....And filled my nights with....." and I take a dramatic pause to sing the next word behind the beat. Before I could do that a lady out in the audience squealed, "Ecstasy!" I almost lost it. The band cracked up.
After the show we enjoyed some meet-and-greet to take pictures and chat with these lovely people.
I was asked a few times, "Is that the real Willie?" I had to confess that he was not. They were amazed at how well TW captures the essence of Willie.
And there's a special guest in the house tonight! This is Jack Lemley, a fellow bass player, who adds bass and vocals to the regular Wednesday Night Blues Jam in the band The Southside Growlers right here in the showroom at Feather Falls.
Jack and I had a great chat. I wish we'd had more time. Maybe next time. I put my LB76 in the case and left the rest of the gear to the professionals.
As we were leaving the room the manager invited us to eat dinner in the restaurant on his dime. Oh boy! That restaurant is great. Even though we'd had a big lunch, we made a beeline to the Brewing Company dining room to partake of their fabulous menu.
Our hostess, Jennifer, was kind enough to find us a table. She had enjoyed the show too.
First things first. Beer! Dave tried their barley wine, the Crouching Cougar, and I tried their new stout, Bet On Black.
I think this is the forth time I've played here and each time I've tried something different. I've had the schnitzel, the sushi, the Porterhouse, so tonight I ordered the Prime Rib. It was melt-in-your-mouth excellent.
After two hearty meals in one day I didn't feel like doing much partying after supper. John, Dave, and I went to the bar for one nightcap, played a little video poker, and called it a night. We were wheels up at 7:30 the next morning to get to the airport on time. I said "See you next time" to my friend, also from out of town.
We loaded up the big Ford SUV right on time.
We enjoyed the sunrise over the bucolic landscape on the way back to SMF. It was a smooth and quiet trip home.
TW has no gigs on the books for the next few months. Maybe something will come up. Other circumstances have gotten in the way of booking more shows but we're all hoping the schedule will pick up. In the meantime, I'll be playing with the ANB on Saturday night at the Old Crow Smokehouse in Huntington Beach. I love the food there too. Thanks for looking and tell a friend!
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
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