It was another fun evening here on the left coast, near the beach, making noise and taking names. Me and the ANB played at the Old Crow Smokehouse in Huntington Beach on a Friday evening and a good time was had by all.
There was a HUGE wreck on the freeway east of me but since I was heading west and south there was not much trouble with my commute down to the OC. Not much.
The sunset made for a pretty drive, even through this traffic. It's usually tough getting down to the beach area, especially on a Friday night.
It was sticky only in a couple of spots. I made it to load-in time just as planned. I parked my trusty Astro van near the elevator on parking level one. (It's where all the cools kids hang out.)
I rolled my gear up and into the club to find everyone there ahead of me and almost set up. l'd better get a move on.
Actually, we don't start for a couple of hours. We still have time to eat and sound check. Here's a selfie in front of my rig. What a cool looking t-shirt. Don't you think, Jordy? This is a band in British Columbia, Whiskey Karma, of which I'm a fan. Jordy, the bass player, of course, sent me a t-shirt and I'm spreading the love.
Also, here's Arnies "Little Walter" next to my rig.
Jason brought his little Ludwig Questlove Breakbeats kit.
Johnny Fingers gets all of his keyboards plugged in. It's pretty tight on this stage even when we bring small gear.
Francelle is not here yet so we decide to have our supper while we have a few minutes before sound check. The food in this place is great.
I had a half pound of pulled pork, slaw, and baked beans. It really hit the spot.
Arnie had a burger. Jason and John has the combo platter with sausage, ribs, and brisket. Then Francelle arrived. After I helped get her gear upstairs she let me take a picture with my cool new t-shirt.
Here's a view of the bar as we prepare to sound check. This place gets good looking crowds.
This is John, our sound guy for the evening. It's tough to mix this room. I don't envy his job.
It looks like we're about to make some noise for sound check. Everybody is making sure they are functional and in tune.
Arnie and I are ready to bring in da funk and bring in da noise. It's a little awkward soundchecking in front of a full house, but we try to entertain while we do it.
We run about half of a couple of songs, the good half, and decide we are ready. It's time to put on my cowboy clothes and strike up the band.
I ran down to my trusty old Astro van to get my shirt and boots. I also picked up my fan for Johnny. He forgot to bring his so I let him use mine. Johnny gets warm on stage surrounded by all those keyboards, I guess. On the way back upstairs I snap a couple photos of the surroundings. Here's the front of the Old Crow taken from the big patio out front.
Across the street, Pacific Coast Highway, is the Pacific Ocean. You see Huntington Beach Pier jutting out from the shore.
Since I didn't get to wear it for Valentine's Day, I wore my very red Scully shirt on the gig tonight.
We played three sets for a very lively crowd. Francelle just brought the house down. We're going to miss her.
Just in case you were curious, here's a picture of Arnie's pedal board.
And here's a picture of my pedal board.
Here's a couple of crowd shots. They're having their fun, oh boy!
On a break I wander out to the front patio and take this from the back of the room toward the stage. It's just one big room, not fancy, but efficient, upscale casual.
The bar manager, Brandi, treats us very well. She bought me beer, Stone IPA (one of my favs), all night long.
Francelle lets me take a glam shot just before we start the last set.
We're done by 12:30. It doesn't take me long to pack up my gear. Arnie says, "Hey! Are you still here?"
I helped Johnny load out all of his gear and then I made my way home to have a nice relaxing Lagunitas Maximus, another of my favs.
Coming up ahead is the Valley View Casino with the KRB this Sunday. Then next week is a Ranch run with the ANB, paid rehearsal on Tuesday, classic country Wednesday, then the regular Saturday night. Somebody bought out the Ranch on a Friday night for a private party. Must be some party!
Thanks for looking in on my gig.
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
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