Just a bit of a stretch for the students of UGA lies a premier music venue called The Melting Point. I played there a while back with Greg Hester, Shannon Pengelly, and Reece Harris in Greg's ultra-fine Van Morrison Tribute show. The venue was quite memorable, with its semi-circular stage and multi-tiered seating arrangements. I also vividly recalled the posh "green room" across the parking lot where we rehearsed the multitude of Van tunes. It all came back to me as I loaded in up the steps and through the door behind the stage. It looks like an office park from that little corridor, which it is in some parallel universe. Athens is always a slight mystery to me.
We met at Lefty's, with me being the last to arrive. I was trailed by a cop who was perhaps checking me out, although he hung a left when I turned right onto Lefty's cul-de-sac. I was a bit unnerving, as I wasn't speeding. We rode in Lefty's trusty van, an oversized one that allowed to stretch out and contemplate our destinies. We listened to The Royal Scam on the way up. The stage was smaller than I recall, but then we are a large group so it fills up quickly. I was in the back between Adrian and Tom. This time out (our 2nd gig, btw), we had Ethan Levitt on tenor sax, Mac Isseks on tenor sax, and Jason Collier on trumpet. It was a big step forward, as I had unearthed some decent horn charts of tunes we were playing. Every little bit helps. Ethan has stepped up to the task of rallying the horn troops into tightening up, for which he should be mightily commended. All in all, I think we can agree that this 2nd show was a large improvement over the debut show.
As the bassist, I committed a big boo-boo; I brought a 5-string but inadvertently grabbed my Tobias bass instead of the Stingray. I had to play the gig on a fretless! The soundman gave me a few pointers, as he is quick to offer his opinions and advice. I'll take it. Very few rarely comment in a constructive manner. The fretless can get a little "clicky", as it has Bartolini pickups, the action is rather low, and it has tapewound strings which have a slightly greater gauge without being heavier. I listened and brought the top end down a few hairs.
My role has changed a bit since Jeff wasn't with us on this gig. He covered a lot of vocals, so now I'm attempting to fill in some spots. It was confusing before (it still is a bit) as the soundman took his mic out of the mix, unbeknownst to the rest of us. We received some great feedback and the people seemed to enjoy themselves, even dancing near the stage on many of the tunes. The sons of my buddy David were in attendance but I didn't meet up with them. They raved to DF about my apparent twin, which was me. David had seen the postings on facebook, so he was hip the band. He wants to check us out as well. I believe we are slated to return before winter has ended.
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| View from the FOH station, 1 level above the stage |
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| Ethan Levitt |
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| Jason Collier, Mac Isseks, & Ethan Levitt |
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| Tom Olsen |
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| Lefty Williams & Reese Boyd |
After the show, we made it over to hendershot's, which has relocated to a much nicer space since I last visited. What an amazing place! Seth was there and bought me a brew. Great to see him, as well as Matthew Williams, both from the old Sweetwater Junction at Montana's on Johnson Ferry days. Where was my camera with all of these familiar yet seldom seen faces? Ahh, life...
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