We haven't been to Gilley's for almost two years and I'm hoping for a lot of fun this weekend since there are a lot of big performers in town. There is a big benefit event going on called 'ACM Party For A Cause' all weekend plus the ACM Awards on Sunday night. If we're lucky one or two of them might drop by. But don't hold your breath.
I had a very uneventful drive up here from So. Cal. The trek over the Cajon pass was sticky only in a couple of spots.
Who can tell me what this monstrosity is? It fries birds in mid-flight, no kidding.
It's the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility. Thousands of mirrors reflect the sun's energy to the collectors on the towers to heat steam for turbines that generate electricity.
Here we are driving across the state line at Primm, Nevada.
After less than three and a half hours driving time I'm coming into Las Vegas. I don't have to stop when I'm not travelling with my family so I make good time.
My room is on the 14th floor, which I suspect is really the thirteenth floor that's just been renamed. It must be that common core math.
I'm glad to see the Gideons have been here.
The bellboy brought up all my gear and luggage. It was just one cart full. I brought a small rig just in case I needed it.
I've got a great view from my room. Directly below me is the pool. This is looking south along Las Vegas Blvd.
I can see all the way to Mandalay Bay.
This is looking out to the west. You can see the Palms and the Rio beyond the Mirage.
Here's the entrance to Gilley's and the front of the Treasure Island hotel.
And here's yours truly at the entrance of Gilley's.
Then I met up with Jeff and we headed to the employee cafeteria for some supper. Free meals are part of the deal.
For supper tonight I had the talapia, some hash, a Swiss steak, stir fry vegetables, and salad. The fish was a little dry but it was really delish. For cafeteria food this is great and the price is right.
I think I'm going to find this lady and show her my 2 million dollar bill. Do you think she'll be impressed?
I popped into the club Thursday night to chat with our soundguy, Jason. There was a band there called 'Easy 8's'.
OK. Let me tell you about Friday night. I had a blast today. Where do I start? Let's start with sound check.
I got there first at tossed my gear on stage. The sound guy, Jason, wasn't ready yet so I took my place in the VIP section to wait until the appointed time.
This is Jason, a super nice guy, plugging stuff in and running sound. He has a tech working with him, Daniel, but I didn't get a picture. Daniel was very helpful too.
During the day they've got the country music videos going on the screen in front of the stage. I think Hilary, from The Band Perry, is just too cute.
They've got RH speakers all over the place in this honky tonk. I'm not familiar with Renkus-Heinz but I guess they're OK.
Jack, Kelly's husband, said the sound was pretty good out front. It seems they were tweaking the sound all night and it was starting to sound really nice toward the end of the night. When you're going with no amps and IEMs you're pretty much left to the mercy of the sound guy. In talking with Jason he was really happy with the band and seemed to be trying his best to make us sound great.
This is the FOH board. I'm not familiar with this Midas board. But, you know, I'm just the bass player.
This is Jeff's new KORG Chrome keyboard.
I meant to tell you guys how thankful Jeff and I are for those of you who contributed to his GoFundMe page after all of his gear was stolen. He got a great deal on some new gear and is back in business now. Thank you all for your support. You have helped a fellow musician keep making music. Thank you very, very much!
Here you see the Sennheiser e935 mic and the iPad Air that we get to use to dial in our own monitor mix. It wasn't stereo but it sounded so good that I really didn't miss panning that much.
Mario is ready for sound check.
Here's my rig next to the sound rack with all the wireless IEM stuff.
I used my amp basically as a DI box to get "my sound". Jason loved it. But my stage volume was so low that I could only hear my bass through my IEMs. But that's OK. With new strings on my Carvin and fairly new strings on the other two, it sounded just fine.
Art and Daniel wait their turn to sound check.
We actually had some folks dancing and applauding to our sound check numbers. This is kind of what Gilley's normally looks like on a Friday afternoon.
Kelly got there at the end of our sound check. They left the OC rather late in the morning on Friday. Kelly ran into the club at 4:30, when the rest of us were pretty much done, to do her sound check. She was a bit frazzled but soon settled down.
After sound check I took a couple of pictures of the stage. It's pretty naked with mine being the only amp on stage.
After sound check Jeff and I ran to the EDR (Employee Dining Room) to have a quick bite to eat. On the way back we stopped at the Agora store to let Sue give us some anti-aging eye treatment. I looked several minutes younger after she put on some samples of her product.
Jeff started to look like John Stamos a little.
I guess I started to look a little like Adam Levine.
Then we all went to see a smaller, but terrific, show at the Jaxe Theater next to Planet Hollywood. Mario's ex-girlfriend Lauren is one of the dancers in this show and she got us a deal on tickets.
It was truly a fabulous show! And the band was really killer. It was an old fashioned Las Vegas variety show that showcased the glory days of Las Vegas, the Rat Pack days, Tina Turner, Elvis, etc, the historical Las Vegas. I was totally impressed. And the band was killer!
OH YEAH! I have a gig tonight! Here I am in my amp-selfie while the Gilley Girls do their dance routine before we start our first set.
Daniel is helping Kelly with her IEMs. She did really good tonight. This is the first time I've ever seen Kelly use IEMs. She did great.
It looks like Jeff is ready to have his fun!
I see we had a photobomber too. That was Trisha. She and her friends were celebrating Lori's birthday tonight. They had fun.
Mario took this one. Jeff, Kelly, and I are ready to have a great time.
Mario says "Two thumbs up!" and is ready to roar!
Art and Daniel always have a good time.
The dance floor stayed pretty busy all night long, some times were busier than others.
Daniel WOWS! them with 'Devil Went Down To Georgia'.
Kelly moves all around the stage as she endeavors to keep everyone in the place entertained. Please pardon the smoke. It really wasn't that smokey in the place. But the flash on my camera tends to accentuate the smoke in the air.
Here's the little offender. I didn't realize that the smoke machine was right there by the drum riser behind Daniel.
Jack took my camera to take a few pictures of the band out front.
I really wish Art would cheer up.
Daniel and his Tele with Kelly.
Kelly and a Mario photobomb.
I just don't take a good picture most of the time.
Jeff is in the zone. This guy is so talented and so nice, as are all of my bandmates, I just love working with these folks.
We had a ton of fun tonight. Several folks from all over, Las Vegas, Colorado, California, just walked up to me, shook my hand, and thanked me for playing here, said we were fabulous, and they were having a great time. I bet they say that to all the bands. It was a really fun Friday night, much better than the last time we were here.
Anyway, then I went back to my room to edit and upload some pictures to share with you while I enjoy a cold IPA.
Tomorrow I'm going to the Heart Attack Grill for lunch. I'm hoping to meet a friend there just in case I need assistance leaving the establishment, or getting to the emergency room. You never can tell after I enjoy a Quadruple Bypass Burger with bacon (20 slices?). Wow!
Since I was up late I didn't roll out of bed the next morning until almost 11am. We planned to meet for lunch at The Heart Attack Grill [MENU]about 2:30. It's on the Strip at Freemont right downtown.
A "nurse" fitted us with a hospital gown. You pretty much need a bib that big in this place.
My buddy Charles gets fitted. He's also a bass player and lives in Vegas.
We are led to our operation table. Mr. wintremute had a single bypass and I went for the quadruple bypass.
In this establishment, if you don't finish your meal the nurses will whack you with a big paddle. It reminds me of visiting the Principal's office and meeting the board of education.
Our nurse asked us if we wanted any sides with our burgers. I declined the sides.
That is four half-pound patties, four slices each of cheese, tomato, onion, and 20 slices of bacon on a hearty bun. I feel a little guilty because this is more food than a small African village eats in a week. I was confident that I could eat it all and avoid the paddle.
Well, I did eat it all. The nurses seemed impressed and disappointed at the same time. I asked if I could get paddled anyway. They said "Sure!"
I tell you what, these girls would wind up and let it rip! There were several paddlings while we were there and every SMACK! would bring shouts of sympathy from the patrons. It was great fun and stung only a little.
After we left the Grill I drove by the festival grounds where the ACM Party For A Cause is being held this weekend. Please don't mind the peeling clearcoat on the roof of my van.
I wanted to see the Atomic Museum while I was in town but by the time I got there today it was closed. Maybe next time.
Now I think I'll have a little nap before we go on tonight.
After my nap I headed down to the club. Here's Jeff, Kelly, and Art waiting to take the stage.
Our Saturday night amp-selfie.
One of the lovely Gilley girls poses for a picture with the bass player. Can you say "Beauty and the Beast"?
Before we knew it the weekend was over and we were striking the stage.
We all really had fun this weekend. I'm hoping to talk Kelly into coming out here a little more often, and maybe for all three nights rather than just the weekend. There's live music here Thu-Sat.
Now I've got to take a nap before I load out and fight all the traffic heading back to So. Cal. on Sunday. Until next time!
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
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