Sorry it's been so long since I updated my gigs. There have been a few gigs since my last entry. I'll try to get all caught up in the next few posts.
Our park concert in Irvine, 7/18/15, got totally rained out. We played that gig last year at the Mike Ward Park Woodbridge last summer. We had several good friends planning to come see us. I'm sorry the weather didn't cooperate.
We did get to play the following day at Dana Point's Sea Terrace Park. This has been the wettest July we've had since I-don't-know-when. There was still rain in the area but Sunday afternoon was looking good. I drove down the coast a ways. The park was right on Pacific Coast Highway.
It looked like a nice day to hit the beach, but I had to work.
There was very little traffic today so I arrived at Sea Terrace Park in plenty of time.
The event coordinators had this set up really nicely. "Here's your sign!"
I drove around to the stage area and got to park right by the stage. I was the first to arrive. The crew was still setting up.
I found our "green room", one for us and one for my buddy Tony's band, a tribute to The Highwaymen. We shared the bill with them that day.
The client treated us to a cooler full of water and sodas plus some hospitality inside the tents.
The sound company was erecting a pretty good system.
While I waited to load in, I met a celebrity among the event security staff. This is Jimmy Campanis, who played for the Dodgers, Royals, and Pirates. He let me wear his World Series ring for this picture.
It looks like the crew is getting somewhere close to being ready for us. They were working hard.
Since there was a band after us, they were sound checking first. We got our sound check just before we went on. It was a lot of the normal "hurry up and wait". While I waited I took more pictures.
This generator was really quiet and put out ample current. I was impressed, no voltage lag on stage.
How about some power distribution?
Here's the FOH/monitor booth, lots of QSC stuff here today.
Most of the other band has arrived and are taking their sound check. They were missing their drummer and a guitarist. Most of them were driving up from San Diego and were caught in traffic.
We started our sound check about a half hour before we went on. So I guess it's more of a line check. Which was good because the stereo DI for Jeff's keyboard wasn't working. The crew had to swap it out.
That wasn't Jeff's only headache today. But Art and Daniel were ready to have some fun.
Chris was running the FOH and monitors. That's Tony with the photobomb.
I think Mario is liking his monitor setup.
We quickly sound check then I make a dash to the tent to put on my new cowboy shirt.
But before the fun can begin, our announcer has a few words to say to the crowd about umbrellas and fundraisers and such.
While the announcements are happening I take a snapshot of Mario to make sure he's ready.
Art, Daniel, and Kelly are ready.
Kelly and I are ready.
Kelly and Jeff are ready.
The announcements are still going on so I grab a picture of "Tony as The Highwaymen" while they lounge by the tents.
And we're off! I snap a picture of Kelly while we sing a duet. You might've noticed that the clouds are moving in.
One of my Facebook friends shared a picture from their phone.
You may notice that the stage is starting to get wet. And then the sky opens up and drenches us and the crowd, but they don't seem to mind.
We cut our set short just by a couple of songs but not before Jeff's keyboard zapped and lost power halfway through our last tune. I hope it works after it dries out. The crew was great and started covering everything right away but I guess the keyboard got a drop or two where it hurts. We all hurried to get our stuff loaded in our vehicles. The second band's gear was still on the stage. At least it was covered. The drums were backlined.
I got my stuff loaded without it getting too wet.
I can't say the same about myself.
It was quite an adventure. At least there was no lightning. The event was kind enough to give us a $20 voucher for food at one of the local eateries in town so both bands ended up sharing a meal and a couple of drinks at The Pointe. It was a nice sports bar kind of place that had live music, a quartet with acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, electronic drums, but no bass player!
Next week we'll be a little busier since the rain will be gone. I need to get caught up with gigs from Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (7/23-25/15) , a couple of park concerts and a chili cook-off. Thanks for looking.All the best to you and yours!
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
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