Sunday

02009-07-12 | Uncategorized | 9 comments

Check out this timelapse on Flickr: Sailing on the Nile.

This morning I walked to Caffe Italia for my morning coffee. Nice!

The first show at Anthology in San Diego yesterday was great. We had a lot of fun and everyone played well. I really enjoyed playing my solos. (((I wrote soli, but spellchecker didn’t like it… cactus-cacti and solo-soli, isn’t it?)))

By the way, I did like the food at Anthology, especially a plate of rectangular columns of yellow and red water melon next to an arugula salad. Wonderful combination. The gnocchi were excellent as well.

I still don’t know what happened during the second show. About a third into our set the stage became a heat inferno. Either the air conditioning broke down, and I did hear that the whole club became quite hot, or the lighting director went home and left the lights up at 100%, or they compromised the live performance to record some video for the club. (((or maybe it was a Genie?!))) Option 1 – that’s life, things break down. Option 2 – the LD should get fired. Option 3 – it is unacceptable to compromise a performance because your cameras need more light – unless you tell the audience (((and the band))) that they are part of a video-shoot. The stage looks horrible with that much light and the heat makes the musicians extremely uncomfortable. We played well, considering the circumstance, but it was rough…

Speaking of rough, I went to the merch-stand after the concert in Newport Beach to sign CDs or tickets, but instead almost everyone wanted a photo with me. Mostly cellphone photos!! And several inebriated folks were holding cellphones upside down or were looking at the lens instead of the screen!! I was being pulled this way and that way, and I mean pulled by the arm or even by my shirt. People were quite aggressive about it. NTS (((note to self))): no more signing in Newport Beach! Enough is enough. The price of admission entitles a person to a seat from which to experience the concert, not to pushing me around.

PS: It’s Sunday night. I signed after the concert and people were very nice. Not a single request for a photograph, by the way. Go figure. There has to be an interesting social study in this… I think there are two separate issues. There is location-specific behavior: people in one place are mellower than in the next place. And also, any group takes on a specific group-character. A few aggressive people can turn a gaggle into a pack. Anyway, it was a nice experience for me, tonight. Oh, and tonight the stage was a nice temperature again – like the first show last night. Good playing, smiles all around. No, we didn’t figure out what happened during the second show yesterday.

9 Comments

  1. Vic

    WOW! Sorry to hear about the unnecessary roughness @ the Newport Hyatt. It really upsets me when a few morons ruin it for all of us who appreciate the time and gesture in meeting and taking pix with the fans. I hope you will continue to meet your fans after the shows as it is always a special moment.

    Reply
  2. Ottmar

    No, Vic, that goes for Newport Beach only.

    Reply
  3. Vic

    That’s too bad. It’s always great to meet an artist after his performance if only for an autograph and/or a picture.

    BTW… saw you @ El Camino College earlier this year, I had front row seat. Great show… you and the boys never disappoint.

    Reply
  4. Kaz

    Sunday;
    I think you need a body guard… I got a couple of my Italian cousins looking for work! Trust me, no one will push you around……lol !! ;)

    Reply
  5. Brenda

    Possibility, that the crowd was being “orginal” and had not been educated the “tradition” of manners. :) I think Kaz’s Italian cousins could educate Newport. Happy your ok.

    Reply
  6. James

    May all the audience be respectful and appreciative at SOhO tomorrow!

    Reply
  7. Carolynn

    OL, I always worry about a few of the audience members being rude in a situation like that. That’s too bad that Newport will always have a bad rep now. Take Kaz up on his cousins bouncing for you. Maybe you need an entourage! ; )

    Reply
  8. ottmar

    Word!
    I need a posse of big guys with guitar tattoos on their cheeks.

    Or maybe not. :-)

    Reply
  9. yumi

    …how about Shaolin monks?

    Reply

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