Best Cellars Dinner at the Ritz in Buckhead

This was a big one!  A gourmet meal, wine, and a silent auction brought out some big names with Platinum serving as the entertainment.   We even had a 3-piece horn section so we were extra spiffy.  I brought my NS as well as my Tobias fretless and Stingray, so I had 3 basses in all.  And I really didn't have any equipment struggles so that was nice.  However, I did forget my book (!) but as karma would have it, Derek had copies of charts that I had sent him and I was able to get them copied by the good man behind the front desk of the Ritz.  That was great since one of the soundcheck tunes was "Haven't Met You Yet" and I needed the chart (I think Glen looked it over too - that bridge and the key change make it a bit of a production).  We got through it and did it again so I think we're are ready for it at any point now.  Had to do some audibles (Grapevine that everybody thought V had said 29).  We were a great band for the situation.  Some famous names too - Kevin Cronin was sitting at the table closest to the stage and he looked like he had a great time!  Also, Big from Big & Rich was the autioneer.  I wandered over to the bar and watched the band there with Dan Lawrence on piano (!), Sean O'Rourke on drums (!), Russ Rodgers on 6-string bass (!), & the thoroughly entertaining Theresa Hightower on vocals and heartbreaking personality (!!!).  She makes me cry on a regular basis, and I'm not really sure why!  I know I did sing backup vocals to "My Guy" on request, and caught her by surprise.  Hey, it's Atlanta, so I'm not sure why that would elicit any consternation.  They are a great band at any regard.  A showstopping version of Michael McDonald's "I Keep Forgettin'" was the hot number on which I had to return to my room.  Also of note is that I met Jennifer from Event Performance, who works with Chip Lunsford.  I've spoken with Jennifer quite a few times so it was nice to meet her and hang a bit over at the bar area.  She really enjoyed our first 2 songs, the first being "Fragile", so I guess she dug the EUB.  I thought it sounded good too.  I still need to get it together on "Easy", the part where the bass does it's little solo before the guitar solo.  Alright, still a great night all around.  Oh yeah, I bumped into Jeff Dauler from Q100 in the bar area.  You never know who will be there.