Thoughts On The 80s Invasion Gig 2/24/09
Last night’s show at the Triple Door was a good one. We always enjoy playing there and the house support crew is top notch. During out soundcheck we played “Red Skies at Night” by the Fixx, which has a great texture and always helps us dial in our stage balance. The sound man commented that he happens to be the front of house audio engineer for the Fixx (!) which was an interesting bit of information. He seemed to approve of our rendition of that song. I spent a little extra time after soundcheck reprogramming my tones and it made a positive difference during the show. Once we were underway I made a mental note to correct the balance of the distorted part in “The Metro” versus the rhythm section. It’s a little louder than it needs to be. Easily corrected with a twist of a knob.
The band’s energy onstage was very even last night. We were all dialed in and focused throughout the night, but it also felt slightly subdued. Maybe that’s just my perspective. I was pleased that we kept the overall stage volume somewhat low; this keeps feedback under control and allows me to hear my guitar more clearly. My vocals seemed a little lower in the monitor than I usually like, but it wasn’t any trouble. I made the decision to leave my in-ear monitor system at home for this gig since the club has such a great sound system. Zach did some on-the-fly vocal arranging with me by indicating he wanted me to switch to another vocal part in “Situation” (where he wanted me on the low part) and “Lies” (where he wanted me on the high part). Guess I did need those in-ear monitors after all! For last night’s gig I just asked for a bit more in the floor monitors. At the Triple Door, the stage monitors are hidden beneath a grate at the front of the stage. It keeps them out of the way and improves the audience sight lines. Generally speaking this is a good thing. My only concern is that the grate is a bit of hazard. I wore my Fluevogs onstage last night and the spacing of the grill seemed perfectly suited to grabbing the pattern on the soles. So for those of you who thought I was performing some kind of spasmic 80s dance, it was (mostly) caused by my shoes.
After the gig I had some time to visit with friends in the audience before heading backstage to change and load out. Because we had an early start, I was able to get loaded out, drive home, pack my gear into the house, and make it to bed before 11:00. Hooray for a decent night of sleep! Thanks to everyone who came to the show last night. I’ll look forward to seeing you all again soon.