Last night was another adventure with the Arnie Newman Band into deepest, darkest Orange County at another little restaurant/bar on PCH. We played the Old Crow Smokehouse in Huntington Beach, an upscale casual eatery and bar in a high-end shopping center called Pacific City. If I had arrived in the daytime it would look something like this (taken from Google street view).
And right across the street is the Pacific ocean.
I arrived after dark. This place is not easy to load in. We had to park as close as we could, talk the valet in to letting me unload, then park in the underground garage. There was an elevator. Yay!
The elevator brought you up near the side entrance of the venue.
But it's actually easier to roll around to the front door past the patio dining to get to the stage area.
Looking across the street, I know the ocean is there somewhere.
We begin the setup dance on the small stage. That's the house mixing board. They provide a very competent soundman, Andre. We'll meet him in a minute.
Behind the mixer is an ADA elevator for stage use. Since it is so rarely used the bands use it to store their cases. Employees use it to store coats and equipment.
Hey Arnie! Smile for the camera!
This is Brandi, the manager. She took great care of us.
John arrived last. He's a blur getting all four of his keyboards set up. It's a tight fit but he's got all the sounds.
Here's the soundman, Andre, getting his iPad mixer ready to go.
The mains and subs are hung on either side of the stage. There were also a few other speakers scattered around the room.
We had QSC monitors. I like them, they sound good.
With all the concrete and glass this place was loud! While Andre was wiring the stage the band had some supper. I had the BBQ wrap, pulled pork, bacon, cheese, etc, with slaw. It was tasty!
Jason and John had the sampler plate with a choice of three meats, sausage, ribs, tri tip, chicken, pulled pork, etc.
It looks like Andre is ready to soundcheck us.
Jason is ready to rock the sound check.
I think it's cool that this venue lets Arnie put up his logo on the screens around the place.
It makes the stage look kind of professional and stuff.
Here's my stage selfie. We're about ready to start.
Francelle takes a selfie with me. Jason photobombs.
Arnie is ready to do some serious picking.
Brandi jumped up on stage for a selfie with Francelle. I think I interrupted them.
At least I didn't photobomb them like Jason did.
I met a new friend, Leah. She probably didn't know I was only the bass player.
We had the crowd jumping. They loved everything we played, Merle Haggard, Bruno Mars, Pat Benetar, and Miranda Lambert.
We started at 9:30pm, played three sets finishing at 12:30am. I was loaded out and on the road at 1:05am and home a little after 2am. That's a bit of a late night for an old man like me but it was a ton of fun. I think Arnie plays this room about once a month. It's a fun crowd.
Sunday we play another room called Skyloft in Laguna Beach. Then Tuesday we're at La Quinta Resort playing a private event. Arnie seems to like to work at least 10-12 dates a month these days. That's plenty for me. Thanks for looking!
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
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