Friday: We were once again on an early flight out of Atlanta, this time bound for Houston. Why so early? We played a fundraiser at an elementary school before our load into the House of Blues.
I had a window seat on the flight over.
The school thing was tied to our evening gig--it sounded like they bought a big block of tickets for the show, and in exchange we agreed to make an appearance--our usual three song, stripped down show for the kiddos. We also recorded some sort of music for an auction, but all of that went by so fast that I wasn't really following what was going on.
Anyway, on to the main event--the House of Blues in Houston! Yes! What a cool place to play!
This was a great first gig of the run--the room was cool, the crowd was tremendous (over 700 for our first time in Houston), and we played well. Shows like this make the other stuff worth it.
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| post show photo with a fan |
Saturday: We got up and headed to the Dallas/Ft Worth area for an outdoor show in Mansfield, Texas.
A waffle and coffee before we hit the road.
It may be mid-September, but it was still really hot in Texas. What a relief that the stage faced east, blocking us from the blazing afternoon sun. It also meant that we got a great view of the harvest moon rising throughout our show.
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| I don't know why this showed up in the parking lot next to our show |
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| Zach got a little crazy from the heat, so we left him on ice for a while |
Nice gig! This was another revival show, so Ambrosia opened for us, and then we backed Robbie Dupree, Matthew Wilder, and Player. Word was that this was Mansfield's first time going beyond small local bands for entertainment. I think most everybody liked it, but they were very polite about it. For us, it was a good warm up for Sunday's main event.
Sunday: Austin City Limits! We played in the theatre where the show is currently filmed. Wow!
This one was extra special for me--I grew up watching Austin City Limits at my grandparents' house every summer, back when it seemed that it was always Crystal Gayle, Porter Wagoner, and Guy Clark in a rotation. I don't think my grandparents ever understood how my career was progressing, and if I could have showed them that I was playing here (even though it wasn't a television performance), it'd finally be something they could relate to.
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| photo cred: Matthew Wilder |
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| Willie Nelson has a smoking balcony |
Doug Jackson, guitarist for Ambrosia, never brings a pedalboard to the gig--always just loose guitar pedals, which he lays out on whatever's available at the venue. Tonight was a strip of carpet.
We listened to Ambrosia's set piped into our dressing room, and it sounded amazing! Kudos to Kip for dialing up such a perfect mix. It sounded just like their records.
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| photo cred: Kip Conner |
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| photo cred: Scott Moore |
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| photo cred: Scott Moore |
Our set was excellent, and I had especially good night on saxophone--my solos were more cohesive than the previous two nights. The room sounded great, and the crowd (around 800 on a Sunday night!) was loving it. I think we'll be back!
We're in Atlanta this coming weekend, with shows at Park Tavern Friday night, East Lake Golf Club for the Tour Championship Saturday afternoon, and then off to California next week for a show at Club Bahia in Los Angeles.
