Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, friends and neighbors, in-laws and outlaws,
It was a rare gig (aren't they all?) on a Sunday afternoon for us, Arnie
Newman's Country Club Band, a.k.a The Hairy Legged Pickers. Amanda
wasn't on this gig. Bummer. She really pretties up the band. We played
an event at the Stones Throw Winery in San Juan Capistrano.
Iva Lees is a New Orleans style eatery here in the OC. I must say, their "Fred Chicken" was excellent. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
It was a pretty gloomy day when I left my humble abode to begin the trek into the OC. The clouds were threatening. In fact, it did rain on me a little bit during my commute.
The winery was on a frontage road next to the freeway right where Google maps said it would be.
It was a charming, welcoming place.
It looks like the old farmer's house who used to run the citrus farm that used to be here. This property is supposedly the oldest citrus grove in Orange County.
Of course, being the hired help I had to pull around back. We opened the corner of the tent to make load-in easier.
This was the sign next to my parking spot. I guess I had better watch out. But since the day started off a bit cool I don't think the snakes will be too active.
Arnie and Jed were already here, almost done with the PA. I just had to help with the sub. I suggested putting it right in the middle. That's the way Alabama does it.
After I got set up I said "Hi" to an ex-girlfriend. She's lost a little weight lately.
It's a lovely venue. The tent was nice. I just wish the weather was a little better. It never rained on us and the sun eventually came out for a bit and warmed us up.
I don't know why but my mask makes me look like I've got two black eyes.
Even the pumpkins were "socially distanced" in front of the stage.
Look at that! This was the amp that Arnie used today. It wasn't any bigger than a distortion pedal but packed 44 watts. This little rig sounded great.
I think it really helped that Arnie got rid of that monster of a pedal board he was using in favor of this Kemper unit. It has all the sounds, and remembers them.
This was my IEM mixer today. It's not wireless but it sounded great and will remember my mix for next time. Cool!
And you've all seem my rig hundreds of times. Today I brought the Jazz Special with flats because we were playing pretty traditional country.
Here's a view of the venue from the stage. Looking pretty good.
I think we're done with sound check, hence the empty stage while we all change into our cowboy clothes.
I don't think we did too good on tips today. The weather scared a lot of folks away. Or maybe it was that tiny person stuck in the tip jar.
As we start our show this nice young lady brings up refreshments for the band.
She was nice enough to bring up a Sam Adams. Good stuff. I had another with supper too.
And away we go! John wasn't here today either. Just Arnie, Jed, Paul, Dave, and this old country bass player. We played pretty straight country all afternoon. It's what they wanted to hear.
We're on a break now. Unfortunately this event was lightly attended. Everyone had fun, there just weren't very many "everyones".
There are quite a few orange trees left on the property but it seems nobody maintains them.
We are back for the second (of three) sets while folks dine and drink.
I told the crowd, "I've just released a new fragrance! But nobody on stage likes it." Ba-dum-pum-tish!
On our second break the band makes its way to the feeding trough.
Oh boy! I've been waiting to try this "Fred" chicken.
Wow! This was really good fried chicken. It was a very institutional piece of chicken but was prepared excellently. We enjoyed a nice meal.
The dessert table was happening too!
And we are back for one more set.
We found out that there is a band following us, we had no clue. No biggie. That just meant that we could quit a little earlier than we had planned so we could clear the stage for the next group.
We cleared the stage quickly and the other musicians started putting their gear up. All in all, a pretty cushy gig. I was home by 6pm, even after stopping by the store to pick up some suds. They were out of my fav Stone FML but they had my favorite hazy IPA. This one is just tart enough, just wheat-y enough, and at 6.2% you don't have to drink a lot to get relaxed after a gig.
And that was my Sunday afternoon gig. We haven't played on a Sunday afternoon since the last time we were at Swallows Inn, December of last year IIRC. (Oops, I think I may have forgotten to blog that one.) Dang, I miss that place. I guess I miss'em all. Anyway, thanks for putting up with me. I don't think we have a gig next weekend so Paul and I were talking about going out to the range. That'll be fun. Until next time, Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly.
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
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