Valley View Casino, 2/18/18

Hello friends and neighbors,

I guess you could call them my "old band". The KRB and I played a regular haunt, the Valley View Casino, on a Sunday night. I was glad Kelly gave me a call when Alex was feeling under the weather. I still love all these guys and it's fun working with them. After church I loaded up two of my basses and my cowboy shirts.

For those of you in the mid-west and northeast, all that green stuff you see is grass. We don't have any of that white stuff around here. Sorry.

It's about an hour and a half drive to the gig. But it was a nice day for a drive and the traffic was pretty light.

Here's your sign. It just takes a while to get here.

The Valley View Casino is rather a prominent landmark up there on the hill.

I pulled into the entrance, wondering what kind of madness awaits me in the lounge.

I've unloaded my gear and I'm about to take it into the loading dock. But the security team has to check my bags first. They've very nice about it.

This is way they call it "Valley View" Casino.

I was first to arrive on stage and I found our friend, Bill, tuning up the V-drums. He usually does the soundman duties.

Here's some of Bill's PA stuff, with our iPhones plugged in and charging. We'll use those for our individual IEM mixes.

I don't think I have ever shared a picture of the stage monitors. They're used basically for a line check. There are no amps on stage and everyone is using IEMs (In-Ear-Monitors).

After I unloaded, got checked in, and put my stuff on stage I had to park my trusty Astro van. I've never had to park so far up the hill in the employee lot. They must have extra staff working the holiday weekend.

That's Gavin setting up Kelly's mic. Gavin is a hard working, more than affable fellow who does a great job.

Kelly and I take a "before" picture, before she puts on her lipstick and before I put on my cowboy shirt.

Hmmm, what shall we soundcheck with?

This is Art's new Line6 Helix pedal board. It's the first time he's ever used it on a gig. But it sounded great. He said he's had it for months but it took him a while to get through the manual well enough to program it and get proficient with using it in a live situation. Daniel also uses a Line6 pedal board but I don't know the model. I probably took a picture of it at some time.

Here's my iPhone with a mixer app, and my cheat sheet holder.

It looks like the gang's all here and we're about to open the curtain.

Kelly and I take a selfie. "We're getting the band back together!" Sort of.

 

Then it's time to open this curtain and throw some music at these people.

We had a pretty steady crowd all night. They decided to take a break from losing money and come see us. Whatta ya got to lose?

And we continue with the show. Here's Kelly singing "My Church".

Kelly notices I've got a camera pointed at her.

Yes, we repeat Daniel's song because it's so popular.

Then on a break we all visit the employee cafeteria.

Here was my supper tonight. I'm sorry if it's too healthy for my friend Bill. Broiled fish, salad, vegetables and beef, is some good eating!

Oh my! Just when I give up all deserts for Lent. These were 6 inches in diameter and looked wonderful.

There was a chocolate cake for us too. But I didn't touch it.

I think it's a simulated fossilized tree. We make our way back to the stage.

Just remember, when you walk these halls you are treading on the same linoleum as many has-beens and classic touring bands with only one original member. Here's our last set. Can you tell we're a country band?

Yeah, I guess so. But this band has a variety. Daniel sings his big hit one more time.

Mario manages to keep his cool, even on that set of V-drums.

Here's a couple of pictures from out front. Gavin was using Kelly's phone.

At 9pm we were done and it was time to load out.

This is one of the last sights you see as you leave the backstage load-in area.

And then I stop at the security station to get my CDL back in exchange for my guest pass badge.

There's a large fountain out front with an army of valet drivers.

After a short, 90 mile, drive home I am now able to bring this little report to your attention. It's only been a month since I played with the KRB but it seemed longer. We had fun. Except for during the last set.

Instead of plowing through our set list as planned, she decided to ask the audience what they wanted to hear. This one drunk guy at the bar had been screaming "Alabama!" Of course what he meant was "Sweet Home Alabama". So Kelly agreed to play it for him. Because I like that song sooo much, I forgot the second verse, I played it like an 8th grader, and I did it all with a smile. Not on purpose. It was just a "burned out, not feeling the vibe" kind of thing. (Note: If you just keep going through the set list, you don't have to give the audience a chance to request songs you don't know or don't want to do. You can entertain them without playing silly songs.) (My apologies to those of you who actually like playing SHA. I usually do a good job but just wasn't in the mood. So sue me.)

Thanks for looking! I'll be at The Ranch next week with the ANB. I'll be rehearsing with True Willie too. It'll be a busy week. Hopefully I can fit in my day job too.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff