This past Saturday me and the ANCC (a.k.a. ANB) played at a birthday party for a friend of the band's. We've known Elysa for years and she comes to as many of our performances as she can. She treats us like family, so does her family. It was a nice family and friends get-together.
I treated my trusty Astro van to a set of new tires, an oil change, new windshield wipers, and a real store-bought car wash. Between the tires, the oil change, the wipers, and the car wash, I spent over $500 on good ol' Bob van Astro today. The Kelly Blue Book says he's worth only $975 but he has a lot more value than that to me.
Wouldn't you know it? It rained that afternoon for about a minute, just enough to mess up my brand new wash. Oh well. I loaded up my gear in my clean-ish van and took off on my new tires.
I headed into the deep, dark Inland Empire on this cloudy day. This was one of the closer gigs for me, less than a half hour away.
The party was at the American Legion Hall in Rialto CA. Elysa's family has roots here so it seemed the appropriate place for a party. I guess Arnie is glad to see me and gives me a wave.
You can tell we're in the IE. These are our neighbors. There is some screwy zoning around here.
Inside the hall is your typical low key atmosphere decorated for the festivities. Just charming. We're supposed to set up in the corner next to the fireplace.
All of us hairy-legged boys begin our setup dance. It's a tight squeeze. We're trying to leave as much dance floor room as possible because there's also a DJ here.
Randy sets up his gear and calls someone to make sure it's working.
John was running sound for this "little" gig. There was a mountain of cables running to his side of the stage. We used John's little 12" Yamaha sub along with Arnie's EV sticks and monitors.
Here's our beautiful birthday girl with the lovely Amanda Kate.
The guests are arriving and starting to have their supper while we finish up our sound check.
The DJ is set up next to the wall in front of us. We traded sets. DJ Shreck played some good stuff and kept the crowd in the fun zone.
It looks like we've just about finished with our sound check. Here's another shot of the room from the bass player's vantage point.
Yep, we're all done with sound check. Here's a shot of the stage. We're going to put on our cowboy clothes and get something to eat before we start.
Out back of the hall a tent and tables were set up along with the taco chef.
Our chef served up some great carne asada and chicken tacos.
For my first round I had a couple chicken tacos, rice and beans, and a dab of potato salad. I came back later for a couple carne asada tacos. It was all terrific.
Then we headed for the dessert table where we found rice crispy treats, brownies, and chocolate covered pretzels. Later the birthday cake would be here.
Did I mention cookies and turtles? It was hard to stay away from the desserts.
We put on our show to a very appreciative audience. They line danced and two stepped all night long. Amanda kicks us off.
She's goin' out tonight. She's feelin' all right. She's gonna let it all hang out.
The ladies are on the floor having a good time.
No inhibitions, make no conditions, get a little outta line...
Jason brought his small kit but it was still pretty loud. These guys are really good musicians but sometimes it's a struggle to play in a small room. They are used to big stages.
It's another guitar intro so I take another picture.
John's looking a little fuzzy. The band took advantage of our open bar tab. I guess this was the result.
More folks dancing. Everyone enjoyed themselves, even the band.
On a break I took another picture of the room. There were probably 200 friends and family at Elysa's party. Pretty fun.
Just before we start the last set I remember to take a selfie with the talent.
We played four quick sets, up until midnight, then it was time to channel our inner roadie.
Before I close, here's a shot from out front that showed up on a friend's social medias.
We changed clothes and loaded out. Then our host, Elysa's dad, Mark, bought us another round at the bar so we had one for the road. Even though this was a close gig for me I didn't make it home until 2am. We had fun, got a belly full of beer and tacos, and received decent remuneration for our efforts. A good time was had by all.
I've got two gigs this coming week. Wednesday night (10/10/18) John and I will be in Phoenix at the Arizona State Fair to play with True Willie. Then Friday night (10/12/18) the quartet version of the ANB will be at the Old Crow Smokehouse in Huntington Beach. A road trip to a big outdoor stage and a small stage in a loud room should provide quite a bit of variety in my next couple of posts. See you soon!
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
