Platinum Visits the Deep South Up North in Braselton's Chateau Elan

GAS update (I know you know, but just in case, that's Gear Acquisition Syndrome).  I was looking forward to this one.  My new RocknRoller Multi-Cart arrived today (Saturday July 14).  Ordered from Sweetwater and they got it to me in 2 days with free shipping.  Nice.  This time I opted for the largest one, the R12RT.  It's larger, of course, than my relatively puny R6 (didn't realize at the time how low it was on the totem pole), plus it has 4 pneumatic tires.  In fact, since last year, they started issuing "R-Trac no-flat" wheels that do not inflate like a typical tire.  This has been a concern, as I believe I may have over-inflated in the past.  My tires on my R6 have cracked and although they do not leak yet, they will need replacement at some point soon.  I'd like to sell the old cart.  We'll see how that goes.  Love the smoother transit and wider cargo bed.  Bigger is better in the case of the gigging bassist who carts around a 115, a 410, or sometimes both!  It still folds up to a relatively small size, compared to a standard hand truck.

My new R12RT, assembled and ready for its maiden voyage up to Chateau Elan.

The new and the old, side by side.

I do bring more than the average bassist, to say the least.  For one song only, I play acoustic guitar.  I've gotten to bring my JBL EON 10" as an acoustic guitar amp, as I need to hear it.  Plus, I like having my Fishman Pro Platinum EQ a guitar preamp, boosting the lows and adding some compression as well.  The pickup on the Fender acoustic is weak, with only a passive tone control.  I need a preamp to give it some fidelity.  Plus, tonight I brought a bass rig worthy of large venues: Eden WT1000 amp;  SWR Goliath 410;  SWR Golight 115;  Large bag with Boss effects unit, cables, stands, book, etc.;  Ernie Ball Stingray 5-string bass (with freshly boiled strings and a wax 'n shine as of today);  NS WAV EUB;  I'm certain I'm forgetting something...

Make You Feel My Love

The start of our official set, after the jazz.  My phone's micro SD card failed me after this.

The gig was a wonderful event.  The ballroom at Chateau Elan was beautiful.  We were the normal 8-piece save for Gus, who switched out a gig with Che Marshall for another.  It all works out in the end.  I'm so hyper-used to playing with Gus.  I think that explains some of my groove choices last night at Pastis.  Che has a different approach as well.  I'll tell you what, the first tune we played this night, Freddie Hubbard's Little Sunflower, was magical.  What Che brought was a keen sense of wicked bossa-esque groove discrepencies.  We started taking it out with some different feels.  I was tripping a bit on what we were doing as people were walking into the room and checking us out for the first time.  It must have been deep for them, as the first dances were all country based.  That tune alone was worth the price of admission.

Che Marshall
Photo by Virginia Rece

We rehearsed Call Me Maybe during soundcheck, that number-one-with-a-bullet tune that just doesn't repeat the hooky chorus enough - gee, maybe there's an extended remix available!  It's interesting how much mileage can be obtained from 2 chords (ok, maybe it's 4 chords, but 2 of them are the same).  We shared the billing with a DJ who had some gain-staging issues with his mixer.  His mp3's were of varying quality, and not always the original versions!  Shame on you.  If I can hear the lossy quality from my place on stage, that's bad.  All in all, there was some drama with some of our bosses.  Too many cooks and no schedule to adhere to makes for a rough flow to the evening.