Last night me and the ANB joined the lovely Ms. Amanda Kate for one of her Carrie Underwood tribute shows, Blown Away, at the Hesperia Hot August Nights event featuring a selection of tribute acts over the season.
I love the way my gear fits in my new truck, under the tonneau, right at the back to make for easy load and unload. The rubber bed mat makes for no slippage. (Yes, I carry a foot stool just in case 'cause I'm getting old.)
Being Friday afternoon I joined a few tens of thousands making their way out of the LA area headed to Las Vegas and beyond going up the Cajon Pass. Thankfully I was going just over the summit.
I was very pleased to see such a nice civic park between the library and a big theater house. I parked on the street and rolled down to the stage area. When I can park close enough I just roll in rather than parking, unloading, and reparking.
Look at this place. It was quite impressive, a little oasis in the high desert.
There were fountains in the center of this well-maintained park. You can tell it's pretty new and will be really nice once all the trees mature. Here's a look at the stage area. The truss was provided by the excellent sound company.
Here's the view from the FOH board. Arnie pulled backstage to unload in his really nice Ram pickup.
I looked over these arrays and subs but didn't see a name. They sure put out a lot of good sound.
You know the sound guys are working hard when they take your DI out of your am and mic your cab too. Very cool.
This is David, our monitor guy and stage crew. He is a hard-working, musician-pleasing, pleasant fellow who was a treat to work with. I don't think I got a picture of Tony, the FOH guy and sound company owner. I'll have to ask Kevin, the organizer who booked us, about the sound company when I talk to him again. Kevin is a good friend, drummer, radio DJ, etc, whom I've worked with in the past.
David helps Amanda get her IEMs dailed in.
Here's a stage selfie showing Crystal and Amanda trying out their mix. Arnie and Jed look on.
Kevin gave us some meal cards good for some grub at Big Daddy's food truck. Nothin' but health food here, you betcha.
Arnie and I had a Buffalo Chicken Burrito and onion rings and washed it down with some suds he had left over from the gig last night.
We had a local artist, Kelly, play an acoustic set for the opening act. She's got a sultry voice and is a pretty good songwriter. Her covers were fun too.
The crowd is starting to fill in as the sun sets and the temps cool.
I think Kelly is about to sing her last song. Her trio consisted of her on guitar, another acoustic guitarist that played lead, and a fellow on a cocktail drum set. I enjoyed their set.
This is Kevin O'Neil, a good friend of the band, fellow musician, radio personality, karaoke entrepreneur, and all around good egg. He takes a picture with the band just before we take the stage.
The lovely Crystal and I take a selfie in front of the crowd while we plug in and tune. Kevin makes some announcements.
Johnny Magic Fingers gets his music pulled up on his iPad.
Jed and Crystal, Arnie and Jason, Amanda and Amy (Kevin's daughter) talk about important last-second stuff just before we start.
Kevin says, "Hey! Are you guys ready? Here is 'Blown Away'!"
Amanda was charming, genuine, and entertaining. I think the crowd really enjoyed her.
This Carrie Underwood music is fun and a bit challenging. The show gets better every time we play it. We even added a couple of new songs for this show that came off really well.
Crystal was featured on a couple of songs, "Something Bad" duet with Amanda and we sang "Shallow" for a mini-tribute to Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper.
We played a straight ninety minute set. It went by quickly.
Kevin sent out a live Facebook video during a few songs. I grabbed the video so I can share it later.
There were quite a few folks dancing and enjoying themselves.
This was our set list with my notes on it. I still don't have this show completely under my fingers but this is the best it's ever been performed. A few more times and we'll be ready for Bob's Country Bunker.
After the show the lovely Ms. Amanda Kate and the beautiful Crystal Cooper pose for this old country bass player.
Then, guess what? The band turns into roadies! Yay band!
I packed up and rolled my gear up to the street. It was a lovely, fun evening. Arnie is loading his loaner truck. Jason and Johnny have to pull down there too. Not me, I'm outta here.
Here's a cell phone video from the evening, part of the live stream that Kevin put on the social medias. It's got a couple of warts but shows some of the fun we had.
While typing up this blog page I've been listening to a new tune that we're adding to the True Willie show. We're going to add it to the set tonight at the Santa Rosa Plateau gig. Then tomorrow, Sunday, I'll be playing on the worship team in church. It's been a busy week. Idle hands are the devils playground.
Thanks for checking out my little gig. I'll tell you about my True Willie gig as soon as I have a chance. You guys are great. Thanks for putting up with me.
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
No comments:
Post a Comment