Thoughts On The 10/31 Dudley Manlove Quartet Gig
Halloween is my favorite day of the year. The crisp air, the smell of fall, and lots of creepy spooky stuff to enjoy. It’s a double bonus for me when I play music with friends on that night, and this year was one of my favorite Halloween gigs ever. The Dudley Manlove Quartet performed at the Sunset Tavern in Ballard. We had a sold out room full of costumed friends, and it was a wild and crazy event all around.
We kicked off the night with “Ghostbusters” and sailed into a bunch of fun hits. The band has a tradition of performing part of the night as another band. This year we were the B52s. Mack and I portrayed the two female members of the band, which meant shopping for wigs and dresses. We spent over a month working on song arrangements for the night, including the “top 10” worst songs as voted by fans. I was especially surprised by the strong positive reactions to “I Was Made For Loving You Baby” and “The Final Countdown”. The balance of our set was composed of favorites from our regular list.
Setting up the wireless rig on such a small stage seems silly, but it did afford me the freedom to run over to Mack’s side of the stage. And it facilitated a dramatic entrance for our B52s intro. I discovered early in our set that something is strange between the gain structure in my Line6 POD XT Live and my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. I just had the amp in the shop for a full checkup, which included new tubes and re-soldering the tube sockets. I don’t know whether the issue is with the amp or the pedal, and I can’t seem to get anyone at Line 6 to respond to my email. I’m generally fairly happy with the POD XT Live, but this is frustrating. I dialed back the gain on my amp and made a few on-the-fly (actually, on-the-floor) adjustments during the set. I’ll set up my rig in the music room at home and work on this over the next few days to see if I can determine what’s going on.
The Sunset is the kind of bar that bands and customers LOVE. It’s owned and run by cool, hip people who love music and are in the business for all the right reasons. They provide the perfect setting for a great party. Many thanks to the awesome staff for such a fun night. Seeing friends at these gigs is a real treat. A big thank you to Teri, Wally, Bill, Edgars, Celeste, Kristi and Alma, for their enthusiastic participation in the night’s festivities.