Last night was quite an experience, as you will soon see. Me and the ANB played one of our regular rooms, Stillwater in Dana Point. It was a rougher commute than normal for me this afternoon. The holiday traffic was heavy. I should've left work earlier.
It took almost an extra half hour to get to Dana Point. It was dark by the time I arrived. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
Arnie had arrived just before I did and we start loading in the back door. That's right, I am my own roadie.
We begin our setup dance on the small stage. Soundman Paul is recovering from another eye surgery but he is really on the ball getting us set up.
The lovely Ms. Amanda Kate will be joining us for the first set tonight, a special one hour set with new material.
Pirate Paul the soundman is making the best of things. He was playing hurt tonight but you'd never know it from his attitude.
Jason does not look happy having to be in the cage tonight. There are residences close so we have to adhere to "noise" restrictions and keep it less than 100db.
Randy gives me the thumb's up while Arnie gets strapped in.
I'm feeling festive this evening. My Carvin LB76 wore some jingle bells tonight.
Amanda kicks off the show. This is the first time she's been in this room and the crowd just ate her up. They really loved our sassy girl.
It was a really great crowd. This was early in the evening and it got really packed later. These good folks love their two-steps.
Johnny Magic Fingers brings down the house with his boogie-woogie number. This crowd likes to swing dance to this tune.
OK, Jason is having fun now.
Here's a dynamic duo for you, Randy and Arnie. The have some nice twin leads worked out.
Did somebody say, "Play some more Merle!"? I think they did!
At the end of the evening Gladys jumped up on stage to wish us a Merry Christmas. She and a bunch of her friends were at Gilley's last week to see us. These are some loyal fans and good friends.
We are just about outta here. That crate has my amp and lyric bag.
On the way home, just as I was getting in the freeway I heard "Blam! Flap, flap, flap!" I pulled off on the side of the freeway to find that my trusty Astro van had stubbed his foot.
Yeeeow! What a catastrophic failure. I did not see what I hit. It might have been a huge pothole or some dangerous debris. It's been a while since I've changed a tire. These tires were only a couple months old, 4000 miles. I put on the spare and went to the tire store this morning.
Poor Bob van Astro. But he's got a brand new shoe now. Then I noticed new damage to the right rear quarter panel. Yikes!
I don't know if someone hit me in the parking lot or if what took out the front tire bounced up and nailed the fender too. Oh well. It's just another battle scar for my trusty old Astro van, the best gear hauler I've ever owned.
Now I'm going over a couple of tunes for the show tonight. I'll be leaving in less than an hour. I've got to get a move on. Thanks for dropping by and taking a look at my little gig. And Merry Christmas! God bless us, every one.
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
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