Eastern U.S. Heat Wave Sets In as Platinum Performs on the Grounds of Asheville's Biltmore Estate

View of The Biltmore from the Diana Location.
Photo by David Junius.

Getting near supper time...
Photo by Virginia Rece.

A blistering heat wave has left millions of people without power and consequently impairing any sense of relief in this sudden and tragic turn of events.  In Atlanta, we generally come to expect it;  Hotlanta is our "middle" name.  That's the price we pay for milder winters and such.  It's not the heat, it's the humidity.  It's been relatively dry, but Arizona hot.  A dry heat.  Hey, a dry heat is still HOT!  When I don't tune into the news, I'm ignorant and clueless, like I used to be in my 20's.  I missed the whole story of folks dying from the storms and losing their electricity.  Caught in my own escapade of having to travel for a gig.  Shame on me.  I pray these crews can resolve the outages and bring much needed relief.  The heat is here for a while, I'm afraid.

View of Diana with tent in background.

Been busy getting ready for the trip, coordinating my carpool buddy, learning a Jimmy Buffett ditty, taking care of Jack and Spencer, cleaning the house, ensuring that I have the mortgage covered, etc.  Lots to do in my little world here.  Platinum played in Asheville, North Carolina at the fabulous Biltmore Estate, the dream home/world within a world/vision of George Washington Vanderbilt II.  He's worth a cursory read; what a fellow!  The largest home in the United States?  250 rooms on 8,000 acres.  Too much to envision, and too much to relay here.  I heard that there are 75 bathrooms (roughly), and they are not for public use on the tour of the home - now that's frustration!  We played on a hill in his backyard, 2 1/2 miles up the driveway, at a site entitled Diana (yes, another link).  The stage was in a majestic open air tent so big...  In this heat, we were hoping for some a.c.  Who plans an outdoor reception in late June?  Well, in the higher elevation, the evening was rather nice.  Still, we were all a sopping mess by the time all was said and done.  The green room, a basement in the bathroom structure, provided some welcome dehumidification.  The free wi-fi also made it a better experience.  It's the little things.

On this gig, and along for the ride in my effervescent Explorer, was Tony Staffiero, subbing for Anton.  Tony is a well-versed saxophonist.  He played with us a while back in Athens, so this was his second go-round.  The sax position in Platinum is a tough one.  The charts are few, far between, and generally just plain wrong when they do exist.  Uh, well, that explains that.  To make charts for every song for Bb Tenor Sax could be quite a chore indeed.  Don't ask me, I'm busy keeping track of my charts!  Horn players really need them, since they play "parts", not chords or even riffs.  Tony was most heard on the opening jazz instrumental, in this case, Freddie Hubbard's Little Sunflower.  We did it a bit faster than the usual bossa.  It had a nice energy.  Derek also wisely suggested to keep the form AABB (or AB, if that's how you count the bars).  Some repeat the AA before getting back to the top, a la So What.  That can lead to confusion.  Good to get it straight before the song gets underway.

We played more or less what we wanted to; no direction given regarding the set list.  I used my Fender Jazz for a good chunk of the night.  Switched to my 6-string, which I always think of as my outdoor bass since it's  just an Ibenez.  Sounded nice all around.  Hey, I did play acoustic guitar on I'll Be and this time I brought my JBL Eon 10 for an acoustic amp.  Came out of the Fishman Pro Platinum EQ and into the Eon, then looped out to to the PA.  Nice to do that so that I could hear myself without asking for more monitor.  Also allowed me to check the tone and have peace of mind that whatever I was sending to the PA would be buzz-free.  I've had a few issues with the acoustic, as you may recall.  It all worked great this time: no strap breakage, no jack problem, could plug in all the way, decent tone after boosting the eq as a smiley face, some mild compression.  Too bad all of that work is for 1 song!

The last song was a request - they only asked for the dances - of Jimmy Buffett's One Particular Harbour.  Got it all just right except for that pesky break in the 4th bar - I even had it notated.  My ADD is starting to really bother me on things like this.  Not a fan of spacing out on stage!  I think some of it was the heat.  I was just plum-tuckered before and after this event.  Thinking of working up a super pedalboard to incorporate my Boss unit plus another for guitar (like the acoustic) or the front side of the Stick (NS or Chapman).  Need to make it all more plug 'n play friendly.  Now there's an idea worth pursuing.  I have an older NYC Pedalboard unit (velcro madness) collecting closet dust.  It's behind a ton of stuff so getting it out will be a chore.  I would be happy to resolve this as I think about it quite a bit and my Stick tone would certainly benefit.  Hmmm....

Epilogue:
Took us a long minute to find our way out to the streets once again.  Out on the town of Asheville for a cold beer at the Thirsty Monk down on Patton Avenue.  Lots of nightlife here with the Yacht Club (members only) and the Hookah Hook-Up across the street.  Many exotically crafted brews that I couldn't begin to make sense of.  Went for a recommended IPA - tasted great but bloated my belly as I grazed on a hummus plate.  Made me long for the same setup at Java Monkey - so perfect in every way.  It was a mellow end to a brutally hot day.  Followed Gus & Dawn to our Holiday Inn Express, where a simple bed allowed me to recollect my inner sanctum.