Me and the ANB are playing Gilley's on the strip in Las Vegas this weekend. I loaded up my instruments and luggage, kissed the dog, scratched Mrs. BassCliff's ears, and headed north on the 15.
I like driving across the desert at night because my trusty Astro van has a lot of miles and it's cooler than during the day. There's not much to see unless you're passing Victorville, Barstow, Baker, and finally Primm (a.k.a. Stateline) when you can see lights in the desert.
For some reason, the sign said "Construction" but I didn't see any, the freeway was narrowed to a single lane through the Barstow area. It took me almost an hour an a half to get through Barstow. What should have been a 3.5 hour drive was almost a 5 hour drive. Yeegads! But I finally pulled into the valet parking at Treasure Island.
After tipping the valet and the bellman I made it to my room and unpacked.
My view is not great from this wing on the 12th floor but I'll be sleeping most of the time anyway.
I went down to Gilley's because a friend of mine was playing there Wednesday and Thursday nights.
You might remember my dear friend Kellye Huff. She and her band finished their show just before I got there. Johnny Fingers was there much earlier than I and caught most of their show. That other guy is Kellye's guitar/bass player/boyfriend, Gregory. We chatted a bit and said good night. I needed to eat and drink a couple beers. Tomorrow will be more fun and frivolity.
After I said goodnight to Kellye and the gang I went to have a late supper since I hadn't eaten all day. I got a plate full of protein with a little salad. Oh, and I couldn't resist a little dessert. Chicken parm, brisket, meat balls, sausages, etc, was all fresh this late. Good stuff.
I thought I showed great restraint by taking only a single donut for dessert.
After sleeping late the next morning I wandered around the facility and took some touristy pictures. This is the siren ship in the cove out front.
This is the pirate ship on the other side of the bridge. In the old days there used to be a show where the pirates would attempt to rescue the sirens, but then the pirates became the prisoners.
At the end of the bridge near the strip is the entrance to Gilley's Saloon.
It was time to set up my gear in the saloon. It took me all of ten minutes. A guitar stand, a DI box, and I was done.
Randy and Arnie go over some nice harmony lines for our Haggard medley.
Bob mic's up Dave's nice Mapex kit.Since Dave is not a pounder, he's gets to work without the shield tonight.
Daniel gets all of John's keyboards wired up.
Hmmm, while the guys are getting their gear in order, I think I'll head to the bar. I need a cup of coffee.
At the bar this poster caught my eye for some reason.
It looks like we are ready to run a couple of songs so we can adjust our IEMs. The club furnishes wireless packs and iPads so we can mix our own monitors. Plus, the board remembers the last time we were here so sound check went pretty quickly once we finished plugging everything in and doing the line checks.
We played a couple of songs to be sure everything was copacetic. Then the big screen came down with the basketball game.
We are all looking forward to enjoying the weekend with Dave. He's really done his homework. I got just the right angle for John's picture. Don't you think?
Amanda wasn't here for sound check. She had to work today but will be here soon. She's all dialed in from last time anyway. John, Randy, and I made our way to the employee cafeteria.
We picked out our favorite entrees and found a place to consume mass quantities.
I usually eat only once a day when I'm here so I tank up like a camel.
I had a couple of different types of chicken and Szechuan beef with my salad and broccoli. Now it's time to relax, listen to a couple of tunes, then get re-caffeinated before we put on the show tonight at 10pm. Then I'll have lunch tomorrow with my friend Charles and his lovely wife.
Whoever said "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" said so before the internet. Here we are getting started on a Friday night.
After getting all gussied up I wandered downstairs to the honky tonk, climbed up on stage, and found Johnny Magic Fingers getting warmed up.
After getting all gussied up I wandered downstairs to the honky tonk, climbed up on stage, and found Johnny Magic Fingers getting warmed up.
You've heard of "beer goggles", right? Dave was wearing his "stick goggles". I guess that makes the bass player look better.
This is truly a "Beauty and the Bass Player" moment.
Randy has 24 strings and he's not afraid to use them.
Arnie has 6 strings and he can't wait to show us how he uses them.
Maybe you can see it on this picture. John is pointing at a drip coming from the ceiling that is hitting his keyboard. It's an oily substance that has us concerned.
I found out it was the smoke machine that was leaking so immediately one of the crew got up in the industrial ceiling to wipe up any leakage. It delayed our start by about five minutes.
Then we played the first few tunes in quick succession. After that Amanda decided to "Feel Like A Woman" so I could take a few pictures while we performed.
Drummer Dave (from True Willie) keeps time during the intro.
Amanda belts out her sassy girl song.
Another picture of Amanda, just because.
Tonight we had a great group of gals out partying with us. It was a special "Mom's Night Out" and they really had a fun time.
By now you should be able to guess what Johnny Magic Fingers is playing. That's right. It's called "Mamma Screw Your Wig On Tight", his big boogie woogie number.
Amanda loves to dance on stage while the hairy legged boys are playing.
Dave is keeping time during the intro again.
Here's Amanda with the "Mom's Night Out Club". They really had a great time and brought some spice and energy to the room.
Of course there was lots of line dancing going on.
I think Amanda is singing one of her "sassy girl songs" again.
And the "Moms Night Out Club" just eats it up. They were just having a blast.
After we finished I said good night to all of our friends who came out to see us, we had a couple. Then I went back to my room so I could tell you about all the fun we had. And drink a beer. And eat some Chex Mix.
The next morning I met my friend Charles for a late lunch/early breakfast. On the way down I noticed we've got a new picture poster in front of the honky tonk, with the current lineup. How about that?
I actually got out of the hotel today. My friend Charles was kind enough to pick me up and take me to lunch. Here we are cruising up the strip like a couple of rock stars.
Here's a view of the Strip facing north as we take a left and head for the freeway.
As we headed south on the freeway we pass the construction site of the new Raiders football stadium.
We went to the Hash House a Go Go off the strip in Henderson. Here they serve "Twisted Farm Food". (Stock photo)
They stick sage in everything around here. I wanted an omelette but the closest they had was a scramble. I thought that red sauce was a ranchero sauce so I put it on my eggs. It turned out to be strawberry jam for the biscuit. I had sweet eggs for lunch.
I was going to arm wrestle Charles for the check but he was faster than lightening and treated me to breakfast. Next time it's on me, OK?
Here's a view of the city as we drive back to the hotel. Metropolitan Las Vegas is huge. You can barely see the tall buildings along the Strip off in the distance.
We pass back by the stadium, still under construction. Why haven't they finished?
Traffic was heavy this afternoon. Once the Raiders start playing in the new stadium it will get worse, at least on Sundays.
From the freeway you can see my home for this weekend, Treasure Island. I'm on the 12th floor under the word "Island" on the far side.
After a nap and some more caffeine I'll be ready to put on the show down in the honky tonk. Thanks for coming along this weekend and letting me waste your electrons.
We had a blast Saturday night at Gilley's here on the Strip in Las Vegas. Me and the ANB Country Club blew the roof off the dump.
Our friend DJ Shaddix had the crowd up and about and line dancing before we took the stage.
Amanda looked really cute in her jacket with the fringe.
My friend Drummer Dave is ready to put on the show.
So is Randy! We're about five minutes from downbeat.
Johnny Magic Fingers still has towels on his keyboards because the smoke machine in the ceiling is still leaking oil. I kid you not.
Arnie and Amanda are kind enough to pose for me. We're just about ready to start.
Amanda sings, you guessed it, one of her "sassy girl songs".
Arnie sings one of his "hairy legged boys" songs.
Dave, Randy, and I all wore our Scully Gunslinger shirts tonight, but in a different color.
This is just a shot of the stage while we are on a break. It's a good sized stage with a great sound crew. We have fun here.
The two-steppers are having their fun tonight. We played mostly traditional country music.
Johnny is playing his show-stopping boogie-woogie number. This crowd likes to do an east coast swing to this number.
Drummer Dave (from the True Willie Band) is having fun playing with Arnie Newman's Country Club Band.
I guess it got a little warm in the honky tonk tonight. Ms. Amanda Kate tossed off her fringe jacket.
On the break one of the Gilley Girls was nice enough to take a picture with this old country bass player.
Then she got up on the bull and showed us how it was done.
The bull was busy all night. But we just kept on playing the country music.
We are still playing the country music. Sometimes it's nice to be the bass player and step back while it's others' turn to shine.
The crowd was still going strong. I had to pack up my two basses and get back to my room so I could tell you all about tonight.
I've got one more beer to drink and then I'll call it a night. I have to drive home in the morning. Thanks for hanging around. It's been a fun weekend.
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
