Last night me and the ANB played a gig at the National Orange Show Citrus Fair that had everything. There was a big stage, large sound system, good stage crew, nice lighting, it was a pleasant evening for an outdoor concert, we had food, there was just a small crowd. We had our fun anyway. Let's get started.
I had to leave work a little early to make the trek across the IE, fighting the afternoon rush hour, to make it to my call time. Here's a view of lovely San Bernardino as I drive the transition overpass toward the north.
We were originally told to go to Gate 1 but were then redirected to the other side of the grounds to Gate 8. That's OK. It made for a much easier load-in.
Look who our handler was! It's our dear friend Chris. You might remember Chris running sound for me and the True Willie Band on a few of our gigs. Chris is also a bass player so you know he's a very cool dude.
Chris leads us right up to the closest spot to load in. It was a piece of cake, especially since we were backlined. All I had to bring was a couple of basses. But I helped Jason and John with their gear just to keep in practice.
This is Edwin, the monitor guy. He was a helpful and friendly sort.
Here's a view from near the FOH. Michael is at the helm. I was impressed with this sound company. Sorry, I didn't get any contact info.
While we waited for the current artist to finish their show I found an interesting school bus. It looks like a fun ride.
In between acts we start setting up our gear. This is Jason's backline kit, a decent DW. Jason used his own cymbals and snare drum.
To stage right were the fountains and the bar. Later we would enjoy an adult beverage.
The guitar backline consisted of two Twin Reverb amps. Arnie also brought his Little Walter combo and decided to use all three. He said it kind of reminded him of his touring rig back in the day. He would use two Twin Reverbs and two DeVilles. Wow.
Amanda is exempt from all this nonsense. I guess no one ever taught her how to do the setup dance.
Here's the part where the soundman says, "Gimmie some kick drum!"
Yes, here I am at the Orange Show. You can see our stage just on the other side of the fence.
The side fills were killer and the monitors sounded great. I could hear everything and nothing was too loud even though we were all quite "energetic".
Arnie places his pedal board and checks his mic.
John is ready to get his gear up the steps. There's also a ramp. It's a nice stage.
Here's the view from the main stage as we are setting the stage. It was such a nice day.
John plugs in all of his keyboards. It's quite a process for him, especially since he started setting up on the other side of the stage and Arnie asked him to move.
Here's my backline. I phoned ahead to see if they had a big amp for me but this was all they had. I guess it will do.
Amanda and I check our microphones and take selfies.
After our sound check we left the stage so "Twinkle Time" could do their last show and made our way to our green room. It was a pretty nice room with its own work of art. I know this is impressionistic but something looked a little off.
My OCD kicked in and I had to fix it. There! What do you think?
This is Twinkle Time finishing up their show. "Twinkle" is a very energetic and bubbly personality that is perfect for a kiddie pop artist. She was very good.
When Twinkle finished her show she and her crew graced us with a couple of pictures.
Then Arnie Newman's Country Club took the stage to entertain the masses.
Jason was happy that he didn't have to hold back. I didn't have to wear ear plugs.
Did I say "masses"? It was a very appreciative crowd. We had fun playing for them.
Amanda puts on the show. She's really starting to get comfortable with the band and her performances show it.
Jason is banging his head. That's why he's a little fuzzy.
Johnny Fingers plays his big hit. That's Chuck, stage crew, checking his phone. He was taking pictures and video. I'll try to find it.
On the break Sam, the event coordinator, and Chris took us over to get some fair food. We had some pretty good cheeseburgers and curly fries.
Here's your sign, just in case you wanted to see where everything was happening.
We grab a couple of tables in the bar and enjoy our burgers.
After a quick bite we are back on stage entertaining the minuscule masses.
Let's hear it for Amanda! (Arnie made a joke off mic. "And the crowd goes.....home.)
We played two sets and then called it a night. I rolled my gear down the ramp out to my trusty Astro van.
After loading my gear I took one more shot of the grounds, pretty in lights.
Like I said, there was a lot to like about this gig. I just wish there would've been a bigger crowd. At least I was home before 11pm, not bad for a school night. Tomorrow is a private birthday party for Cinco de Mayo. It should be pretty fun. Until then!...
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
No comments:
Post a Comment