Man...it's really hot right now, and outdoor gigs are pretty miserable places to be. This weekend we played three in a row. I tried to think about how cold I was in Iowa a couple of months ago, but that didn't help.
Big thanks, as always, to Kip and Zach for doing all the things that make our show a success!
Friday: Kicking things off, we played a concert at Kennesaw State University after a professional lacrosse game. Atlanta has a professional lacrosse team? I guess so. The stadium looks like it was built yesterday. Very impressive.
Load in, set up, and soundcheck: very hot. I tarped my gear to keep it out of the sun, as we were unfortunately facing west.
Nick showed up sick as a dog, but managed to croak through a couple of songs, including Kenny Loggins' Danger Zone. By the time we began the show, he sounded perfectly normal.
Our green room included showers, demonstrated by Zach.
After eating, we had seats to watch the game. Although I played lacrosse for one season in high school (I got mono and missed the other season), I'd never actually watched a live game. These guys are good!
No pictures from the show, but I assure you that we played pretty well, and the small but fervent crowd was entertained.
We did manage to cram everything into the trailer and get out of there at a decent time. Special bonus for me: home in fifteen minutes flat.
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| a tight Zach pack! |
Saturday: We rode in the van out to Lake Oconee (an hour and a half east of Atlanta) for a summer concert. This one was set up with a large stage and inflatable band shell (woah!) on the driving range.
Once again, it was extremely hot. Pull out, lest ye be 25 cents sharp!
I don't know if it is also heat related, but the left hand thumb rest on my alto is loose, so I had to gaff tape it down so that it doesn't twist when my hand pivots.
I was playing pretty well until I completely messed up (BOTH TIMES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAGGGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHAAHAGHAGHAGHAGHAGHAGHAGHAGHAGHAGH!!!!!!!!@!@!!!!!!@!@!!) the string break in Sara Smile. I even practiced it after soundcheck to make sure that I knew how I wanted to finger it, but in the context of the song, I did a really crappy job moving between the organ part and the string part, and I ate it--I didn't get my hands set in time, and I stabbed at it and missed. The second time I missed it because I was thinking about how badly I'd screwed it up the first time. My head is not my friend.
Monkeyboy nailed the solo at the end of Hotel California. Minutes later, he unfortunately misjudged the height of the last step and severely twisted his knee. I wondered if he'd even be able to play the second set because of the pain, but after a few minutes and an ice pack, he was able to gingerly move it again.
The scene of the crime.
I did steal one picture in between songs in the second set. Our merch guy left our hats and t shirts at the merch table unguarded for almost a half hour, so I wonder how many of the captain's hats in this picture were purchased, and how many were picked up?
The band shell lights up at night. Nifty.
Sunday: One more gig! This was a particularly good show at "The Fred" Amphitheater in Peachtree City. What a great venue and a fantastic crowd who endured some heavy rain during the open band and our set! Added bonus: family in the audience!
This definitely felt like one of those nights where we found another gear. The whole show was pretty awesome. I'm glad I didn't slit my wrists after the whole Sara Smile thing the night before.
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| photo cred: Zach Wetzel |
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| photo cred: Nicole Jerovics |
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| photo cred: Jenny Allen |
We're on the road this weekend, playing shows in New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. Three of the fours shows are air conditioned.
