Last Friday's gig was a marathon, almost two separate gigs in one with two stages, two PA systems, in two venues but at least on the same property. The venue was the Giracci Vineyards in Orange County. We've played a couple of events here in the past. This event was a 50th birthday party for Martha. As most of these weekday gigs begin for me, I have to schedule some time off so that I can leave work early. As I hit the freeway I did a double-take at this strange vehicle traveling next to me.
I made my way into the hill country of eastern Orange County. You can really feel like you're out in the country here.
The venue is on Santiago Canyon Road, a very bucolic drive especially after all the rain we've had this season.
Sometime you must play your country music in a barn. Keepin' it down home.
We parked just outside the barn door to load in.
As we were performing our setup dance there were at least four or five other parties touring the venue looking for a place to have their wedding reception or corporate event. I think it's ideal for a country-themed event.
Our dear friend Chris is on the gig today helping to set up, run sound, and generally be helpful. Chris also works a lot of the True Willie shows.
My old friend Ian is on keyboards for our gigs this weekend because Johnny is a bit under the weather.
Our hostess and birthday girl, Martha, really knows how to put on a party, very gracious and hospitable. It was quite the celebration.
There is a small grove of trees between the wine tasting room and the horse arena. This is where we will perform our acoustic sets during the cocktail and appetizer portion of the party.
I brought most of my PA for this portion of our program. Since it was a small acoustic situation I did not bring my mains and instead used a couple of monitors for mains and a couple of monitors for monitors. Everything went direct. Arnie had set up the stage the day before. In fact, Arnie did most of the production for this event. There was a lot going on, as you will see.
Right on time the party bus arrives.
People gather to chat, join in the activities, have a drink, and begin the celebration. This is the view from the stage.
Arnie had forgotten a cable and had to run to the barn to get it. The three of us did the first couple of numbers with just bass, percussion, and vocals. It was actually pretty cool.
Here's Chris making us sound good and running the house music on our break.
Lots of folks had fun on the hay ride. The band was so busy we didn't get a chance.
In addition to the hay ride, Arnie also arranged for the mechanical bull.
It was a lovely day for a party in the shade.
This party had just about everything. Even an equestrian showing off her moves on one of her new mustangs in the arena behind the stage. There were lots of horse people in attendance.
Our equestrian demonstration included two mustangs, the white one and the brown one. It was pretty cool to see the horses go through their paces.
The appetizers were pretty fancy. This was a dainty chicken and waffle. It came with a tiny squirt bottle of syrup and was quite delicious. There were also mini brats on buns but I didn't get a picture. The beer selection was all light beers.
These beef sliders were very tasty too. But we must save room for supper later.
Another activity at the party, the bean bag toss.
Here's the lovely Ms. Amanda Kate and her old country bass player.
In addition to the open bar there were a selection of soft drinks by the fountain.
At the end of the equestrian demonstration everyone wanted to pet the horses.
Joining Arnie you might remember Coral, she was the dance instructor for our Malibu gig last week. Nicole, wearing the wreath, works for the winery as their event coordinator. She was walking around complaining that she had nothing to do, everything was going along so smoothly.
We played a couple of sets outdoors, had some drinks and appetizers, then it was time to move into the barn for the dinner/dance. Ian has been here for four hours now and hasn't played a single note.
We had cordoned off the stage area with hay bales, what else? We would be showing a birthday presentation on the big screens a little later.
Here's the happy crew ready to make some noise, eat some barbecue, teach some dancing, and whatever else we can get away with.
Nicole was so happy she even took a selfie with the old country bass player.
The supper was buffet style. But the band was able to go directly to the caterers out back and get our plates.
We had great BBQ chicken and ribs, mashed potatoes, mac'n-cheese, but no beans. Hmmm. What's a barbecue without beans?
We had to eat quickly because it was almost time to play. We made our way past the photo booth to take our places.
We played a dinner set for about forty minutes until it was speech time. This is Martha's husband saying a few words.
His daughters joined him on stage to celebrate their Mom.
And we all raise a glass to the birthday girl!
Then it was time for the presentation, only we ran into some technical difficulties.
Thankfully Brad, the photobooth guy (who was also Amanda's cousin) had his laptop with him so Jason quickly copied the presentation file to Brad's laptop and it played flawlessly. Everyone enjoyed it. Whew!
This is Martha, the birthday girl, with her husband enjoying the presentation. Jason and Arnie had put it together after getting pictures and interviews from the family.
After the presentation Martha got up to say a few words. She's had quite a life so far.
This is Jennifer and Glen. They took real good care of the band.
To start the rowdy festivities, Martha and her friends put on a flash mob to "Old Town Road". Everyone got a kick out of their demonstration.
Then Coral taught a couple of line dances. We followed up by playing those songs for the crowd to dance to.
Ha! I got a picture of the photographer, Carmen, taking a picture of the line dancers.
Arnie is probably singing some Merle song. He usually does.
We used a few tracks tonight. I couldn't hear them. I couldn't hear myself because a couple of folks in the band were pretty loud inside that barn. It's easy to get too loud in an enclosed space with hard surfaces. I'm surprised we had no complaints. Maybe I'm just getting old.
Ian did a great job. He'd done his homework and almost nailed everything except for those little things we do a little different, ya know?
Arnie and Amanda entertain while Chris checks the levels at the mixer.
Amanda makes a very cute cowgirl. She also rides and owns a few horses with her Mom.
We play "Old Town Road" as an encore so the crowd can do their line dance. Everybody had fun.
Then it came time for the tear down dance. I was up on the ladder taking down lighting, wrapping cables, packing up my gear, etc, then I had to go pack up my PA on the other stage.
It was a long day. I had arrived shortly after 1pm and didn't head home until 12:30am. But I was fed and watered real good and paid very well. So I'm not going to complain. In my next poast you'll see us back at Knott's Berry Farm. Thanks for hanging out. It was a very nice party.
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
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