John Hendow

For working musicians, New Year’s Eve is a great and strange annual event. During my 44 trips around the sun, I have spent more than half of my New Year’s Eves playing gigs. December 31 2007 was spent playing with pals in 80s Invasion playing at the Champagne Ball in Portland Oregon. The event was heavily promoted and well attended, with the crowd decked out in appropriate gowns and suits.

Our soundcheck presented minor frustrations. There were persistent issues with the PA system and the sound operator wasn’t on top of the situation. The subwoofers weren’t working correctly so I spent over an hour trying to diagnose the issue. For some reason the signal strength reaching the power amp was very low and distorted. I eventually discovered that both the crossover AND the sub power amp were malfunctioning, which meant we had at least two variables in play. Eventually I recommended we just bypass the crossover entirely and use another power amp with a built-in low-pass filter. We never did resolve it to my complete satisfaction, but the subs eventually produced enough bass to give us a bearable mix. In addition, the monitor mix was strangely thin and never improved. I am not certain whether this was an issue with the equipment or operators, but it was disappointing in the context of the enormous production effort supporting the event.

Once we got to soundchecking the band, I discovered there was a LOT of traffic on the local wireless channels. So much traffic that I quickly abandoned my wireless guitar system to leave the available frequencies for the wireless mics. Dragging a cable around onstage is a minimal effort, and gives me a handy prop for whip-cracking and lassoing. Indiana Jones look out!

Fortunately, the rest of the event went very smoothly. The lighting system was great. I’m delighted that so many lighting designers are switching from PAR cans to LED panels for stage lighting. LEDs are lighter, produce no heat, and offer much more flexibility. In addition, they set up several intelligent spots/projectors. Our stage was bathed in ever-changing light with gobos and strobes. The room was beautifully set up; each table had noisemakers, hats, tiaras, and beads. Plenty of great stuff was provided to ring in the new year. The DJ hosting the event was the MC for the big midnight countdown, and he invited the audience up onto the stage to join him. At least thirty people stampeded the stage, leaving me scrambling to rescue my guitars and pedalboard from the exuberant horde. With my gear safely offstage, I joined my wife for a midnight champagne toast.

Overall, a great show. We played well and the audience seemed to really enjoy themselves. We had tremendously positive feedback from the crowd and the promoter. I look forward to our next show in Portland. Read the rest of this article for our set list. 

SET 1
Take On Me
Always Something There To Remind Me
Wishing I Had A Photograph Of You
Borderline
What’s Love Got To Do With It
Sweet Dreams
It’s My Life
Don’t You Want Me Baby
Love My Way
Together Forever
Rock The Casbah
Don’t You Forget About Me
I Ran
Hungry Like The Wolf
Rebel Yell

SET 2
Time After Time
I Can’t Wait
Situation
The Metro
Voices Carry
Let’s Dance
Girls On Film
Addicted To Love
Just Can’t Get Enough
Lies Lies Lies
Red Skies At Night
People Are People
A Little Respect
Stop!
Relax
You Spin Me

SET 3
If You Leave
Be Near me
Always On My Mind
Living In Oblivion
Obsession
Walk Like An Egyptian
Open Your Heart
Don’t Stop Believing
Take My Breath Away
What You Need
White Wedding
Say It Isn’t So
Enjoy The Silence
The Promise
Bizarre Love Triangle