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| photo courtesy of Pete's magic phone |
Yacht Rock returned earlier this week from a very successful January tour. What's not to love about having a gig in January, when most musicians are trying to live off holiday gig pay until the world goes back to spending money on entertainment!
The toughest part of this trip was the fierce cold that we all traded (and incubated daily in the van). Greg had it at the show Tuesday night at the Tabernacle. Nick picked it up a day or two later, Mark Cobb a day or so after that, and I could feel it by the end of the ride. Pete, Monkey, and Bencuya were sniffling along with us. This tour is sponsored by DayQuil!
Wednesday: travel day. We left in the afternoon and drove to Greensboro, NC to spend the night. Dinner at Hooters.
Thursday: our first gig was the beautiful Jefferson Theater in Charlottesville, VA. Wow--nice room! I also dig it when the load out goes off the stage and straight into the trailer. You can't beat that (well, maybe you can at The Orange Peel). The crew was really cool and helpful.
Anyway, it's a beautiful place. We had a hundred and something people turn up for our first try at Charlottesville. Success!
Friday: we boogied over to Washington, DC for a private party. Last year they had a solo cellist…this year, they got Yacht Rock! Quite an upgrade. Our buddy Ronnie who ran sound for us in Baltimore on a previous trip manned the PA. In spite of the acoustics (glass wall, glass ceiling, hard floor), we had a good show and good sound. The crowd was thin. Maybe they were intimidated by us?
Saturday: our next show was nearby, so the band was afforded a little sightseeing. First, we ate brunch at some hipster restaurant. Next, we swung by Chocolate City Beer for a free tasting (good stuff).
Bencuya poses:
We still had some time, so we found a couple of parking spaces in front of the Department of Education and walked over to the National Air and Space Museum. So cool!
Our evening gig was at the Maryland Live! Casino. It's not sad enough to see a bunch of people wasting money on gambling…let's put the casino in a suburban shopping center! The stage was in the middle of the casino, so we had to drag all of our gear through slot machines--no back hallway or underground passage. Talk about a pain in the ass!
We set up, but soundcheck was delayed until the end of the Ravens/Broncos game.
This gig was the toughest one of the week for us. The drums were behind one of those plexiglass shields, and though it kept the drums out of the vocal microphones, we weren't used to not being able to hear them directly.
Other than that (and the load in/out and the casino food), it was a pretty easy gig--one set. We had a pretty good crowd, too--it filled up the concert area, so probably a couple of hundred.
Nice lights!
This room is super cool. The sound is kind of boomy and loud, but it has a great vibe. We had a good show for around two hundred people--better than last time, and not bad for a Sunday night! If we could figure out a way to get here more often, I'd love it.
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| photo by moovyphreak |
After the show, I had a chance to hang out for a minute with Ben Lovett. I played on his record a couple of years ago (Highway Collection). He's been busy scoring movies. So cool! Here's one of his best (Karl Liberatore, Wes Funderburk, and myself are the horn section on the record):
Monday: before we headed back to Atlanta, we made a pilgrimage to the Moog factory in Asheville. I wish I had a need for one. Super neat.
Upcoming dates!
January 19, Variety Playhouse (Atlanta, GA)
January 24, Lincoln Theatre (Raleigh, NC)
January 25, Visualite Theatre (Charlotte, NC)
January 27, Hidinger Benefit at King Plow (Atlanta, GA)
February 1, 40 Watt (Athens, GA)
February 15, Taste of Dunwoody (Dunwoody, GA)
February 16, Cannery Ballroom (Nashville, TN)
February 24-March 1, Rock Boat XIII (the ocean)
March 2, Park Tavern (Atlanta, GA)
March 14, Wonder Bar (Asbury Park, NJ)
March 15, Theatre of the Living Arts (Philadelphia, PA)
March 16, Gramercy Theatre (New York, NY)
March 17, The Hamilton (Washington, DC)
July 11, Mohegan Sun (Montville, CT)
July 20 (Atlanta, GA)
October 19 (Atlanta, GA)
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