A gig with Gwen Hughes on Sept. 25th

I had played up at Waterfall Country Club at Lake Burton with Dave MacDougall, Mike Little & Chad Driskill a while back.  We were the perfect band for the moment - it was a force of cover band-dom that could not be matched.  Once in a while the right line up shows up and makes music that is just the right element.  It was a job that Gwen gave to Dave to lead, since she was on her honeymoon.  I learned this night that they liked us more than Brad Large's Living Large.  Nice to hear.  So we were asked back for a Chastain Night, meaning outdoor dining and dancing by the lake.  Fortunately, the rain held off - a cloudy and rainy day after so many hot sunny ones, and we were outside!  So we were with Gwen and her big band: Gwen on keyboards and vocals, Mike Hinton (her husband) on drums and audio mixing, Dave MacDougall on guitar and vocals, Don Erdman on saxophone, Jason Covey on trumpet, and somebody whose name I forgot on trombone.  With a big band we read Gwen's charts, which are very good and not too confusing.  I have to say that everything went very well.  I also have to say that the sets we had played as a quartet a few months back were possibly more entertaining and better received.  A number of factors made that true.  For one thing, we were farther away from the people this time.  Also, the songs were just a bit more esoteric.  Hard to put my finger on it, but the comraderie was a bit lacking as well, with such a diverse group that hadn't really met before.  Well, Gwen was great and it was a real treat to have performed with her.  Very professional and fun too!  Hopefully we can do it again!