Morningside Country Club

Hello friends,

I just realized that I haven't updated my gig blog in a while. I'm behind almost a dozen gigs. I'll try to get caught up over the next few days. But this report is about our small party at a very nice golf/tennis club, "The Club At Morningside".

It was a pleasant day for a drive out to the desert. The storm that passed through yesterday left some lingering clouds and some green on the landscape.

I managed to get Mt. San Jacinto and the Morongo Casino tower in the same shot this time.

And by now you are used to seeing the windmill farms on the way through Palm Springs.

Here we are at "The Club At Morningside" as the locals call it. I guess "Morningside Country Club" is just too common.

This is a beautiful facility. Lakes, flowers, trees, lush fairways and greens, plus the mountains in the background make for some nice scenery.

Here's the clubhouse. I pulled up to the valet and said "I'm with the band." He said, "You gotta go around back." It figures. I'm just the hired help.

To be fair, that's where the party was being held anyway. It was a smaller party than I expected but it was decked out very nicely.

After unloading our gear we pulled back around front to the parking lot. Guess which vehicles belong to the band. I'll give you a hint. It's not the Jaguar or the Mercedes.

It was a fine day for a round of golf. These golfers had just chipped onto the green as I walked back to the clubhouse.

This is the back of the clubhouse. The room on the first floor to the left was our private dining room/green room.

There were at least a half dozen tennis courts on the property too.

The bar was well stocked.

It looks like they are setting up a pretty nice spread for the guests.

Here's my rig and Jack setting up the PA. We used a small PA today, just four of his powered Mackie speakers and the A&H mixer.

It looks like we are almost ready to sound check. It's a really small stage but we manage to fit ourselves on it.

Art and Kelly hang out on the grass and talk about the great weather.

I guess we kind of made a mess behind the stage. Before we started we straighten it up and cover our gear with black sheets so it looks neater. Daniel warms up and tunes up.

Here are Art and Daniel's rigs. Art brought a really small amp and Daniel brought only his fiddle, no guitar, no mandolin. There wouldn't have been room anyway.

Mario couldn't make the gig today so my dear old friend Rick subbed for him. This is Rick's small kit.

After we soundcheck I take a picture from the dance floor.

It was so pretty there. Here's another view stepping outside the tent.

Then we retired to the dining room for supper.

We had some really nice cheeseburgers and fries. They weren't quite as good as the steakburgers at The Ranch, but pretty darn good.

We freshened up in restrooms with real cloth towels, and combs in blue liquid.

Just before we hit the stage we took a picture in our uniforms.

Then we shoehorned ourselves onto the stage and put on the show.

This was the club's annual country hoedown, just an excuse for a party. They came, they ate, they drank, they danced, and everyone had a good time.

This was the main course for the guests.

I found a nice looking golf cart on the break.

The dessert table looked great, chocolate moose cake, assorted tarts, brownies, pecan pie, etc.

I didn't get any pictures of our guests on the dance floor but the tent was packed with folks having a good time.

We played all their favorites, Wagon Wheel, Mustang Sally, Proud Mary, and they loved it. After a dinner set, a break, a long dance set, I was done and packed up by 10pm.

There was a lot of wind on the way home but I made it way before midnight. Thank for looking! In the next post we'll be at The Ranch.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff