Greetings and salutations!
Not too many gigs during this lockdown madness so I'm falling behind a little bit. I've got just a few gigs to get caught up on. Here we go...
It was another rare gig for me and the hairy legged pickers (a.k.a. Arnie Newman's Country Club).
Unfortunately Amanda could not make it today as planned. She and her
daughter were feeling under the weather. We were able to carry on,
entertain the crowds, eat ravenously, and drink mass quantities of beer
like any self-respecting country band should.
The downbeat on this Sunday afternoon was 1pm with a load-in of 11:30am.
It was a very light commute down the 57 freeway. It's not very often
one can actually enjoy a drive on the 57. Even the 91 was pleasant.
It took less than an hour to arrive at the venue. Santiago Canyon road has lovely scenery. Lots of folks enjoy this drive, in their car or on their motorcycle.
When I pulled into the venue I was told we were setting up in front of the barn. That's OK, I guess, except for the dirt. But I've played in the dirt before. We were originally slated to play inside the barn but Giracci had to move the event outdoors due to the latest lock down mandates.
Jed, Arnie, John, and I are here to Begin The (Setup) Beguine. Johnny Magic Fingers was slumming it today with only two keyboards. Jed was running the PA, playing acoustic, and singing.
Jed steps out front to begin dialing in the sound system. We had no subwoofer today but the FOH speakers are full range. It also meant that I could play out a bit more. Cool! We were also using IEMs today.
I think I showed you Arnie's new compact rig on my last gig report. There's a 12" custom Celestion speaker in that cab, a 44 watt amp in that pedal-looking device, along with a Kemper pedal board. It sounds crazy good, plus Arnie doesn't have to keep messing with it all the time.
And you all know and love my standard rig, Carvin RL210 cab, GK MB500 amp, no effects, straight in, like all self-respecting country bass players should play. (That's just a TU-3 tuner pedal.)
We didn't plan the acoustic show for today so I brought my Carvin/Kiesel 6 and 5 string basses, my old friend and my new fling.
We would've been playing inside the barn today. You've seen previous reports from here. It's a nice venue that can be decorated any way you like but you have to play very quietly in here. I don't mind.
Hey! Drummer Dave and Paul Steel join us for their part of the setup dance. Daniel Fiddle will be here soon too. It's a full band today, less Amanda. Giracci was kind enough to let us use some of their mats. The bass player didn't get one.
The staff is doing a great job getting the outdoor festivity area in order. It's going to be a nice Friendsgiving celebration.
On the far side of the grounds you see a few arts and crafts vendors. They gave away a few raffle prizes during the event.
We had an opening act today. This is Kim Olsen, a talented entertainer with a pretty good schtick. He's running his sound check. He sat in with us for a few tunes later in the gig.
The band is all set up and sound checked. The crowd is lined up at the ticket table. It's a very pleasant day here in Southern California. Let's put on the show!
When we weren't on stage we practiced common sense. Believe it or not, this was the first beer I've had in over two weeks. You all know how much I enjoy the Lagunitas products.
We had a physical tip jar too. These nice folks are pretty generous.
Hopefully nobody noticed the mess we had behind the dirt stage, cases and gig bags. We try to be neat. Sort of.
Kim starts his set. This guy is also a champion whistler. He played the Andy Griffith theme song and got cheers.
Jed wanders around out front making sure everything sounds OK. Later he would join us on stage to play acoustic and sing.
As I walk on stage to tun up I snapped a picture of the crowd over the keyboards. There were two wine bars today doing a brisk business.
We are all taking our places, getting ready to play some Merle Haggard. We usually start with a Merle song.
Drummer Dave sounded good today. He brought one of his better kits, not realizing that we'd be playing in the dirt. Oh well.
Johnny Magic Fingers is ready to tickle the ivory, or plastic. I don't think ivory is used on piano keys any more.
Here's the view from my mic just before we start. Of all the crowds we've ever played for, this crowd was by far the most....recent.
Drat! There's not a cute chick singer around to take a selfie with before we start. I guess this will have to do.
The buffet line is open. The band will have a chance to partake on our break. Iva Lee's is catering again. They serve great food. Remember the "Fred Chicken" from our last winery gig?
It's break time so the band gets in line for some turkey dinner. This bread sculpture was fabulous.
I skipped the mashed potatoes and candied yams, but this sausage stuffing was terrific!
You don't have to ask this band twice. We had a table way in the back where we could sit alone.
Real cranberry sauce on top of that sausage stuffing, roasted turkey, green beans, salad, yes! It was an excellent meal.
Plus the desserts! I exercised a little restraint and had only one pecan tart and two macarons.
Then we were back for our second and final set of the evening. Here's Johnny getting down on his big boogie woogie piano tune.
Jed likes the intro. Daniel and Paul seem a little blase. It's a long intro. They're saving it for the shout chorus.
There he is, right there, that's Johnny Magic Fingers. I'd better put my camera down so I can come in on time.
Here's a glam shot of the whole show.
Here's an action shot, taken by Kim before we got him up.
It was a really fun gig, good food, good crowd, good company, good beer. Then we had to leave it all behind as we pick up our toys and go home.
Unfortunately, the event that was planned here on December 6th looks like it might not happen. That was going to be a really big deal. I picked up a little jazz combo gig at church on Dec. 5. That will be fun, reading fake books and playing Christmas songs. (EDIT: The event at my church go cancelled. Drat.) We still have Gilley's Las Vegas on the books Dec. 18th and 19th. That will be a fun weekend. I doubt there will be much going on for New Year's Eve. This may be the first time in about twenty years that I haven't had a NYE gig. I pray this madness ends soon. I wish all of you the best this Holiday Season. Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
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