It was a hectic, fun weekend for me and True Willie and The Boys. We had a quick flydate to the Feather Falls Casino near Oroville. It seems they were having their own country music festival that weekend and wanted us in their main showroom on Saturday night.
We got started early Saturday morning. Mrs. BassCliff drove John and I to the ONT airport because it's so much closer. The rest of the band flew out of the OC airport. Drummer Dave and Mrs. Drummer drove up the day before so they could stay and have some vacation time in the area. Here we are getting John and his gear loaded up in my trusty Astro van.
We don't have to bring much gear since this gig is backlined. I brought one bass. John brought one keyboard and a sound module. That and a couple of overnight bags and we were ready to go.
It's a good thing we arrived at the airport with a little wiggle room in our schedule. I was selected for a "random" screening as I walked through the metal detector, even though I was a TSA Pre-check passenger. When the agent swabbed my shoes it set off another alarm. I must've stepped in some fertilizer or something. So the TSA agent snapped on his rubber gloves and proceeded to give me the full body pat down. He asked if I'd like to go to a private room for the frisking but I wanted him to do it right there in public. I guess I thought he seemed a little too eager. John videoed the whole thing, the cad. The agent got a little personal with his pat down but maintained an air of professionalism to make me feel like he wasn't enjoying it all that much. I was good-natured about it and just let him do his job. It was no big deal. I hope I didn't have too big of a smile on my face when he was done.
We got to the plane in plenty of time and went through the "cattle call" boarding process that is Southwest Airlines. As we were on final into Sacramento you could see all the haze and smoke in the air from the Redding fire. That fire has been bad, several fatalities and about 725 homes lost at last count. Our thoughts, prayers, and condolences go out to all who are affected.
After we landed they opened doors front and back. I like deplaning from the rear of the aircraft and walking on the tarmac.
TW and Guitar Mike were waiting at the baggage claim area. They had arrived about 15 minutes before us. We proceeded to the car rental and loaded our gear into this Ford SUV thing, Explorer?
We drove an hour from the airport to the venue on real two-lane country roads most of the way. I don't get to do that very often.
We pulled into the venue and saw TW on the marquis. There's something about the frequency of the sign and my phone that makes it look funny.
Here's the main casino entrance with the brewery/showroom entrance on the right.
We drove right by the brewery entrance and made our way around back, where the hired help enters the building.
There's a little alley where we can load in the back door near the stage. Guitar Mike begins the process.
We are here earlier than we anticipated so the stage is not really ready for us yet. We just dropped our gear on stage and got out of the way.
I took a picture of Guitar Mike taking a picture of the room.
As long as we're here, how about a load-in selfie?
John and TW talk to Joe, our excellent FOH guy, about our needs, his needs, timing for sound check, etc. Joe has been here every time I have been (this is my third time here now) and he is a real prince to work with, easy going, and very helpful.
These are some of the toys backstage that Joe gets to play with, amps, and mics, and stands, and patch bays, and cables, oh my!
After dropping our gear we make our way up to the lodge to check into our rooms.
Since we were a bit early our rooms aren't quite ready yet but they will be soon. Johnny Fingers and Guitar Mike go ahead and start the check-in process.
Hey look! There's TW again on the monitor in the lobby.
After taking that picture the clerk says, "Here, it's the flyer we've been passing out all week."
(This is getting to be a bit much.) It's a nice lodge with a handsome lobby.
I was last to check in. I got a room on the top floor, i.e. the third floor. It's a pretty nice room, comfortable with everything I need.
This was the view from my little balcony. The smoke was quite noticeable. You could really smell it.
Hey! What's this on my TV? I can't get away from this guy.
After settling into my room I made my way back down to the casino to set up and sound check. This is the main entrance to the brewery/showroom.
Oh look. Here's your sign.
Here's one of our two green rooms. They are pretty nice. The green room next door also had a restroom and a frige full of water and soft drinks.
Here's the monitor console with our stage plot. Alex will have monitor and stage duty tonight.
I see the backline gear has arrived. Johnny Fingers is setting up his rig.
Here's a familiar beast. This is four times the rig I usually use.
Wouldn't you know it? TW is on the screens in here too.
Here we are getting ourselves situated on stage. We'll be ready to make some noise soon.
Joe is ready to work his magic out front.
This was our set list for the evening.
Drummer Dave found this set list on his drum riser. So I playfully set this list on top of TW's set list. We couldn't wait until True Willie counted off "Hot Stuff" at sound check.
TW thought it was pretty funny but I guess Guitar Mike was just a little confused.
Drummer Dave reminds us, "This is the proper set list."
I am ready to rock with my SVT4-Pro and 810 cab. It's a good feeling knowing that I could smoke anybody on stage with this rig. But I played it at my usual 210 cab volume.
Johnny Fingers is having a good time sound checking.
Drummer Dave is feeling the beat. Dave brought his own cymbals and snare to use with this kit.
Here's Alex at the monitor console. He gave us all just what we needed in our mix and quickly fixed a cable problem when my mic went out.
After our sound check we made our way to the buffet for our supper. What!?!? Look at this! I can't get away from this guy.
It was a pretty nice buffet. The first thing I saw was all the desserts.
There were loads of entrees and sides, chicken, mahi mani, even prime rib. But then I saw the Mongolian BBQ and thought, "THAT'S what's for supper!"
I helped myself to a huge plate of salad and a huge plate of Mongolian BBQ.
I hadn't eaten much all day so I was still hungry. I decided to go back and have a nice steak to top it off.
After some apple pie and ice cream for dessert I went across the street to the outdoor stage and festival. There was a local band playing, Josh Budro.
After hanging out for a few tunes I made my way back to my room to freshen up and I happened to run into this guy again.
After a refreshing nap and a shower I made my way back to the stage and found a nice crowd waiting for us.
Drummer Dave is ready to hit the skins under the blue lights.
Guitar Mike is ready to play the blues.
Johnny Fingers is feeling a little blue too.
Here's my selfie in front of the crowd just before we start.
Then we play TW's walk-on music and start the show!
Mike burns up his guitar tonight.
Dave lays it down.
John looks distinguished as he plays three keyboards. He usually plays four.
The audience shows their appreciation at the end of the night. We played a couple of encores.
After the show we schmoozed, took pictures, had a couple brews, then called it a night. We had an early start the next morning. Here we are loading up the rental.
It was almost bucolic driving back to the airport early in the morning.
We said our goodbyes to TW and Guitar Mike as they caught their flight a few gates away. Then Johnny Fingers and I waited for our cattle call.
It was an uneventful flight back to Ontario. Here we are making our descent. I can almost see my house from here. Below us you see Historic Route 66 as it parallels the 215 Interstate south of the Cajon Pass.
It was a quick, fun trip. We get up to Feather Falls a couple of times a year it seems. They always treat us well. This Saturday TW and The Boys are playing the Laguna Festival of Arts again at 5:30pm. If you're in the area, feel free to stop by and say "Hi!" Also, me and the ANB will be playing in Garden Grove at Eastgate Park on Thursday evening at 6pm. Maybe you can stop by there. Thanks for coming along with me.
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
