The Ranch 3/18-19/16

Hi!

We had a fabulous Friday night at The Ranch. If you happened to listen in on the live web stream, I must apologize for stinking the place up a bit. I was working out the kinks last night. We added about a half dozen new tunes and I should have done more homework. Saturday night will be better because I'll be drinking more.

Here's our load-in picture. Do you notice anything different?

That's right. There are no monitors on stage. Actually, Kelly wasn't able to get there early enough to get her IEMs dialed in so she did use a couple of wedges but the rest of the band is using IEMs and no amps on stage. It's a little different but pretty dang cool.

Yes, there's a pretty awesome backline at The Ranch but we don't use it, except for the drums. Here are my babies.

Mario says, "Hey! What am I supposed to do up here?"

After our sound check we retire to the green room and wait for supper.

Here is the wireless in-ear pack that we use, Shure P9R. I'm mix 5. This is all Ranch gear too.

Here's our first set tonight. The first song is an original written for Kelly by a friend.

It's been a while so I thought I'd share a picture of the coolest mirror ball I've ever seen.

At last supper arrived. A lot of us had the sesame crusted Ahi tuna. I also had the organic spinach salad with grilled chicken.

Just before the entertainment manager announces us, Heather takes an amp-selfie with me.

Here's Heather announcing the band. We're all chomping at the bit.

Jeff says, "You better not take my picture. Oh no, you di'int!!"

At the end of the 2nd set Kelly starts belting out "Don't Stop Believing".

Jeff wails on the intro. He's in the zone.

Art and Daniel wait their turn to come in with their screaming guitars.

Mario was clapping along. I caught him in mid-clap.

If you have a chance, feel free to watch the live web feed at http://www.theranch.com/live/

Here are a few from the weekend by the staff photographer. I think it was Heather's turn.

 

For supper on Saturday night I had an organic green salad and the buffalo chicken sandwich. It's got a bit of a kick to it.

Then our entertainment manager, Heather, took a picture of me with my new Scully shirt.

Heather takes great care of us, making sure we have everything we need. She even prints our set lists if we need it.

Art and Daniel had plenty of rest last night and are ready to put on the show.

Jeff bangs out the intro to "Don't Stop Believing". It's always a crowd-pleaser.

 We had a great crowd tonight, and they love singing along with Kelly to the old Journey song.

On a break we relaxed in the green room and watched reruns of Hee Haw. Man! What a great show.

Then we were back on stage, throwing down!

I think the crowd is doing the electric slide as I sing the Thompson Square song, "Everything I Shouldn't Be Thinking About". It's a fun tune.

Here's a picture of me taking a picture of Heather taking a picture of Kelly.

 This is what it looked like from my side of the stage.

 The band is roaring!

I'm not sure what's going on here, but we're all having fun.

A shot across the stage. Heather was taking photos tonight.

Hmmm, I look angry at something. I should never sing angry.

This is one of the managers, Vince, doing the DJ duties from the sound booth. Mark does NOT like his picture taken.

This is the dance floor still full during the last break when I ran to the bar to get a beer. It was crazy busy tonight.

Here's a picture Jeff took of Kelly and I. It's a little over exposed. I'm trying to teach Jeff how to properly use my cheap camera. (Is my nose a little red? I wonder why.)

Then the night came to a close. Our four sets went by pretty quickly, we were having so much fun. Even when I don't bring an amp I tend to bring a lot of gear.

I still have to get my garment bag and backpack and carry them out to my van. But I guess that's better than hauling that 4x12 cab around.

I'll be back at The Ranch next time with my friends Kellye Huff, Arnie Newman, and his band. Then the weekend after that the KRB will be at Gilley's in Las Vegas. It's fun to get out of town once in a while. I'll try to remember to take a picture or two. Until then, thanks for looking.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff 

Morningside Country Club

Hello friends,

I just realized that I haven't updated my gig blog in a while. I'm behind almost a dozen gigs. I'll try to get caught up over the next few days. But this report is about our small party at a very nice golf/tennis club, "The Club At Morningside".

It was a pleasant day for a drive out to the desert. The storm that passed through yesterday left some lingering clouds and some green on the landscape.

I managed to get Mt. San Jacinto and the Morongo Casino tower in the same shot this time.

And by now you are used to seeing the windmill farms on the way through Palm Springs.

Here we are at "The Club At Morningside" as the locals call it. I guess "Morningside Country Club" is just too common.

This is a beautiful facility. Lakes, flowers, trees, lush fairways and greens, plus the mountains in the background make for some nice scenery.

Here's the clubhouse. I pulled up to the valet and said "I'm with the band." He said, "You gotta go around back." It figures. I'm just the hired help.

To be fair, that's where the party was being held anyway. It was a smaller party than I expected but it was decked out very nicely.

After unloading our gear we pulled back around front to the parking lot. Guess which vehicles belong to the band. I'll give you a hint. It's not the Jaguar or the Mercedes.

It was a fine day for a round of golf. These golfers had just chipped onto the green as I walked back to the clubhouse.

This is the back of the clubhouse. The room on the first floor to the left was our private dining room/green room.

There were at least a half dozen tennis courts on the property too.

The bar was well stocked.

It looks like they are setting up a pretty nice spread for the guests.

Here's my rig and Jack setting up the PA. We used a small PA today, just four of his powered Mackie speakers and the A&H mixer.

It looks like we are almost ready to sound check. It's a really small stage but we manage to fit ourselves on it.

Art and Kelly hang out on the grass and talk about the great weather.

I guess we kind of made a mess behind the stage. Before we started we straighten it up and cover our gear with black sheets so it looks neater. Daniel warms up and tunes up.

Here are Art and Daniel's rigs. Art brought a really small amp and Daniel brought only his fiddle, no guitar, no mandolin. There wouldn't have been room anyway.

Mario couldn't make the gig today so my dear old friend Rick subbed for him. This is Rick's small kit.

After we soundcheck I take a picture from the dance floor.

It was so pretty there. Here's another view stepping outside the tent.

Then we retired to the dining room for supper.

We had some really nice cheeseburgers and fries. They weren't quite as good as the steakburgers at The Ranch, but pretty darn good.

We freshened up in restrooms with real cloth towels, and combs in blue liquid.

Just before we hit the stage we took a picture in our uniforms.

Then we shoehorned ourselves onto the stage and put on the show.

This was the club's annual country hoedown, just an excuse for a party. They came, they ate, they drank, they danced, and everyone had a good time.

This was the main course for the guests.

I found a nice looking golf cart on the break.

The dessert table looked great, chocolate moose cake, assorted tarts, brownies, pecan pie, etc.

I didn't get any pictures of our guests on the dance floor but the tent was packed with folks having a good time.

We played all their favorites, Wagon Wheel, Mustang Sally, Proud Mary, and they loved it. After a dinner set, a break, a long dance set, I was done and packed up by 10pm.

There was a lot of wind on the way home but I made it way before midnight. Thank for looking! In the next post we'll be at The Ranch.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff