Last Saturday Arnie Newman's Country Club Band played again at a place we like for its good food, good beer, and long drive. The Buckle and Boots Watering Hole is in the desert a bit north of LA in the city of Lancaster. It's a good ninety minute drive on a good day so John and I truck-pooled again. John carries so much gear that it filled up the bed and we had to put a couple of his keyboards in the back seat. If this gets to be a habit I'll have to see if I can pack tighter.
We had a pleasant drive up the Cajon pass a bit and then over on the Pearblossom Highway.
We've arrived at lovely downtown Lancaster.
My hard folding tonneau cover kept all our gear secure and protected. We arrived a bit early and had to call someone inside the club to open the back door for us. Carly didn't mind. We'll meet Carly in a minute.
John and I hauled our gear to the stage. Yes, all that's just for the keyboard player and the bass player.
Then it was beer:30! John and I made our way to the bar to get some refreshment while we were setting up. The lovely and beautiful Roshelle and Carly are happy to pour me an Old 38, a fine stout on tap. Everyone here is friendly and a real pleasure to work with.
Benjamin is already hard at work getting the stage set up and wired for us. This guy is always happy and has a very positive outlook.
John and I are all set up now so we just wait for the rest of the hairy-legged boys to arrive and do their setup dance. That's right, just us hairy-legged boys tonight. Amanda is in Nashville recording.
We are ready to soundcheck now. Here's the view from the stage. Hmmm, my job sheet said soundcheck was at 6pm. Dave, our soundman, let me know that soundcheck was supposed to be finished by 6pm. There was some kind of communication breakdown.
John and I were here on time to soundcheck earlier. The rest of the band rode with Arnie so they are all as late as he was.
It wasn't a huge deal. There were a few folks in the place while we soundchecked. Doors open at 6pm. That's why they want soundcheck completed by then. We'll have some time to kill now since we don't start our performance until 9:30pm. We'll play for an hour, take a half hour break, then play another hour up until quitting time at midnight. It's not a bad night's work at all. There's just a lot of downtime. But we get to go downstairs and have supper. They give us a pretty generous band tab here that's good for a nice meal and a few beers. I can't complain.
While we enjoy mealtime we also get to watch a very exciting softball game. At the university level these ladies are monster players.
I feasted on the bacon-wrapped chicken tenders and a big side of cole slaw. Arnie had the sliders.
After supper we put on our stage clothes and made our way upstairs. I stopped by the bar again and said "Hi" to Katie, who poured me another Old 38. Katie is looking fantastic these days. She's lost forty pounds since last we saw her.
John is at the ready behind his castle of keyboards.
Oops, there's a bass player in the way.
Arnie points his Tele right at me. I'm glad he doesn't point it at me when he pulls the trigger.
Good ol' Randy, geeking the camera again.
Jason is ready to pound some skins. He brought his small kit today. I think he has to in order for all three of them to fit all their gear in Arnie's truck.
Yes! We have achieved line dancing! It was a good crowd tonight. They put up with us real good.
On the break I went to the sound booth to say "Hi" to Dave, a.k.a. Mighty Mouse, and to watch the room have fun to the DJ.
I wandered out the front door to get some fresh air. Arnie's got his name on the marquis.
I thought this was a very inviting sign at the ticket booth.
Arnie and Jason talk about the next set. We're just going to go down the list.
I caught John at a relatively still moment during his big boogie-woogie number. He didn't blur much.
We had a really good crowd all night.
Midnight was the bewitching hour. The band turned into roadies. The DJ keeps folks dancing while we load out.
I always feel a little silly taking down my gear while people are watching. But then, I'm a silly guy and I don't care.
Now I get to drive home, catch three or four hours sleep, then get up and get going to my next gig in Malibu. I'll be back with that one in the next post. See you soon.
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
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