Last night was the big Pleaserock takes over Virginia Highlands night--multiple Pleaserock bands playing around the Dark Horse, Limmerick Junction, and Blind Willie's. Yacht Rock played the 9-11 PM slot in the parking lot. We had GREAT weather. Last year, it rained; there was no cover for the stage, so we never even played. The year before that was pretty good, but it got cold once the sun went down. The year before that was colder still. The high was in the mid-70s (how appropriate!), so we were still really comfortable through our sets.
The toughest/worst part about the gig was the fact that we loaded in at 4, but didn't play until 9. In the mean time, we stood around. The Stooge Brothers played. Then the Main Street Exiles played. Then the Ill-Eagles played. Finally, we got up there--frantically threw our gear on stage and got started. I preset as much stuff offstage as I could, but everybody was still waiting on me to get set (and I heard about it).
I played well. The big song of the night was Moonlight Feels Right, which we haven't attempted in about a year. I was really pleased with myself for figuring out a nifty keyboard split that allowed me to sustain a string sound with I played a two handed synth part (the chorus stuff, if you're checking it out). The string part was the one thing Bencuya and I could never grab before. Yay! I hope that one stays in the setlist; I like having something new to do. Maybe it will bump some of our warhorses off the map for a while.
Once we hit the 11 PM curfew, I dragged all my stuff offstage and packed it up. After locking it in the cab of my truck, I clawed my way into the 10 High and sat in with the Schooner (who was covering our usual gig). They sounded good. It's funny how the two bands play the same stuff, but the sound and feel can be so different. Anyway, I played on a few tunes and then the night ended.
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