A Chilly Southern Club: Last Call Presents a Tale of Sadness, Bitter Winds, and Triumphant Noises

UGA's loss to Florida set the tone for the evening.  Nothing like assembling at Fado in Buckhead to feel the wrath amongst a legion of faithful Gators fans to swell the pit in your gut.  The men of Last Call hung their heads and knew they were in for a solemn evening.  Still, the burgers were quite tasty and we summoned the strength to unload and install our travelling show.  With the latest additions to the gear arsenal, we are able to fine tune this rock show.  Essential gear in this case has to include the bodacious audio snake.  It really makes the various connections easier.  I am proud to assume the role of snake installer.

Before we jump in, I wanted to share a pic that Karl took in Singapore.  It is of a hotel (in the distance) that features a "ship" atop three towers that comprise the high-occupancy establishment.

I have since learned that it is the Marina Bay Sands, at least that is what "we" call it.  It is reported to be the most expensive hotel constructed in the world.  Yep.  I obviously don't get around much, but when a fellow band buddy deems it worthy of a shared pic, I'll try to broaden my short-sighted horizon.  I found Karl's pic to be most excellent, and he even proclaimed that the Last Call fan favorite of "Heroes" by David Bowie was heard in the hotel sound system.  Nice.  For perspective, here are a few more shots from the web and a link if you want to make reservations.

Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

As for the show, we plowed through so many tunes my head hurts thinking about it.  I'm missing a few of the big ones that have been ignored after we learned new ones.  Need to work up some more slide via the carabiner and the NS/Stick.  I lost my old carabiner and never replaced it.  The large ones cost 8 or 9 bucks at the HD and I balked when I saw that.  Perhaps I will pick one up when I go there to fetch a tape gun in the next day or so.  I really love the sound I was getting on the slide and it is a flavor that Last Call could use from time to time.  It is worth noting that this was our first-ever Saturday performance.  I was thankful that it wasn't outside as we had initially plotted.

Perhaps the real story here was that we were the core quartet, without Farrel.  She was with her family in New York taking care of important business.  We wished them well and reconfigured, ignoring her girl-power tunes and the upper-range power pop that she has made her own.  Needless to say, we concentrated on our strengths of The Who, Beatles, Stones, and more classic rock than you can shake a Chapman Stick at.  If I'm not mistaken, at this late point on Thanksgiving weekend, I even sang Freebird at the end of the night, with Davey playing the piano in a fitting tribute to Southern rock at the Southern Club.  I know there were some surprises, and still many that we didn't get around to.  Those who stuck it out were rewarded with another of our nearly 4-hour patented non-stop shows.  Of course, without Chuck's keen eye and lens, what you see is what you get.  We are spoiled by his camera work and his charming demeanor.  Fortunately for us, we had the wonderful Ruth, Julie, and Rebecca, among many others, cheering us on.  Their smiles helped us on this cold, dark night.

"A smile is the prettiest thing you can wear." 

A true fan and friend, staying with us until the bitter end.
Freebird was for you, sir.

The Atlanta Opera Ball: The Debut of the Singing Drummer

It's a surreal feeling on the 4th floor of the Ritz

It has been a while since I played at the Ritz Carlton in Buckhead.  I made my way through some heavy traffic to arrive in time for the necessary unloading, carting, tweaking, and representing.  The loading dock is where I always go at this particular venue, and this dock is only available from the one-way partitioned Lenox Road, or is the Buckhead Loop?  I can typically stay there near the dock, although I've been asked to move to one of the few "lower" spaces just down the hill from the dock.  At least they are cool to contractors on Saturday nights.  They don't have to be.

The big news on this gig was Gus wielding a vocal mic.  He has been working on some background vocals.  There must be something in the air because I see it happening in other bands.  I see it as a positive.  Strong vocals are typically a band's weak point.  Better to err on the side of excess harmonies, rather than too few.  Not certain that I could hear him, but then I'm the only band member who doesn't get a monitor.  What's up with that?

The gig was for the Atlanta Opera.  We have played for their constituents before.  It is typically a long wait until they are finished with the silent auctions and related business.  This time it seemed as though the wait wasn't quite as long.  We gave a good if not predictable show.  It felt different as we were at the Ritz.  We dined in the lounge upstairs from the main bar where Theresa Hightower often performs.  It was a fixed menu of chicken sandwiches, fries, and salad too.  Nice to dine at the Ritz, even if it was casual.  So now you know the rest of the story...

I Will Survive

The real rest of the story - hanging with Capt. Piggy after the gig and watching the DVR'd SNL.

A Monday Night 2 Remember: Platinum V at the Omni

I had just been here, so it seemed.  Back at the Omni Hotel in downtown Atlanta for a rather rare Monday night corporate gig.  The vibe is great on a Monday gig.  Only a truly jaded working musician is not giving oneself a virtual-pinch with regard to making some decent money on what is thought of as possibly the slowest night of the week.  This was one in which we were just a 5-piece band: Glen, Gus, Ben, Virginia, and myself.  We were in the Grand Ballroom and it was a big production.  Three massive video screens at one end behind a fantastically deep stage.  A control table at the back that rivals much of what I typically see on these kind of events.  It was a long push for the gear.  I knew where to park to unload at least, from my experience here last time.  Poor Gus was running late and it took a long minute for him to get his gear in place.

We played an instrumental jazz set, perhaps a bit more upbeat than they had wished.  It's always a careful line to observe.  It was such a long room that those near the front heard us louder than those at the back.  Not much can be done about that.  It was all running behind, so we started late but ended at the time we were asked to end.  Did we cut it short?  Perhaps.  Dinner was still being served.  Nobody argued.  We were served a nice hot meal of chicken, potatoes, and veggies up one level in the Hickory Room.  Cool dessert and strong coffee too.  We returned to rock the house, but not until the all-star marching band played an extended number, dancing around throughout the audience.  It was a surreal view from where I stood.  Those who wanted to dance were up at the front of the stage and waving their hands like they don't care.  With the high stage and the lights, it was a sea of working people ready to party.  We did no wrong.  There were special guests from the crowd joining us, as often happens with these things.  One was actually semi-provocative with the female president.  She put on a good show and kept us guessing as to what might happen next.

I had fun, and I think even Ben enjoyed himself, more than any other time so far.  Virginia was in full-on "Rock Goddess" mode.  My pics I took don't do much to relay all of that.  It was a non-stop 2 hour performance.  I had a microphone, and you know how dangerous that can be!  Jason was also singing from behind the board.  We had 4 part harmonies on a few things!

Scary photo and the 2 above courtesy of our terrific audio & lighting tech
Jason Chapman

I'm Back at Ansley Golf Club

The steps on the left lead to the ballroom

Ansley Golf Club holds many memories for me.  I played there in the dining room back when I was at Georgia State University in the early '90's.  We were a drummer-less quartet with Sam Skelton on sax, Daniel Pardon on piano, Tom McGill on bass, and myself on guitar.  Yep.  Those were the days.  We played every Friday and Saturday for a couple of years.  It was a great experience that I will always carry with me.  Funny, but I haven't really played there much since then.  Perhaps once or twice.  Nothing stands out.  This running blog helps me recall dates a little better, but it only started 4 years ago.  Has it been going for 4 years now?  Hmmm.  Time keeps flowing like a river...

So I was back at this fine establishment.  It's been remodeled a bit since I've been here.  Load in was at the front valet area, but up some steps.  No worries.  I don't mind steps, but it was a few trips as I wasn't travelling light today.  Brought my acoustic guitar, which I actually didn't play as we came up with a new arrangement for Landslide.  This was one where we had an early soundcheck and then a long time to wait until we played.  The good news was that we had a huge green room and a fine hot meal with salad.  They took good care of us.

The Green Room

I played my NS/Stick on the Paul Simon tune Father and Daughter.  It's the third time we've done it and it sounded good.  I do my best to cop the acoustic chords with my right hand, while grooving on the bass with the left hand.  It worked fairly well, although the song was cut short and we didn't play the bridge this time.  The father of the bride just decided he had had enough and walked off the dance floor.  Okay.

Anton and Ben

The band watches Glen

All Of Me

The big news was that we had Kevin Harry back with us on the front line.  Kevin sets the standard for a personable front man who brings a touch of theater to the stage.  We have missed him and have learned that his position is a tough one to fill.  He sounded great and slipped back into his old role of keeping it fun and relaxed.  Since he was back for one night, the pressure was off of me to sing Friends In Low Places, which I had worked on a bit.  That song may never go away, especially now that Garth is back with music and a world tour.  The song is challenging in many ways, more than I first expected.  The low A is something to embrace, as it is hard to make it as loud as the other notes in the chorus.  At any rate, we never got around to it...  We did get around to the other song I was penciled in for, Take It Easy.  I've sang it before.  I just need to practice more.  It's something I can do, but it's a stamina thing.  Playing bass and singing takes a lot out of me, so it seems.  A song like like just keeps on going, with little breaks in the melody, and the notes are all up somewhat near the top of my comfortable range.  I thought it came off well, but I think the crowd was wondering why we were playing it at that point in the night.  It was requested, but maybe it should be earlier.  The song really needs at least 2 guitars, doncha think?

Here are a couple of great pics from the lens of the wedding photographers.  They were posted on the Platinum Facebook page, so I hope I can show them here as well.  Everybody had a great time, although my photos didn't convey that so well.

Live On the Big Stage: Last Call Performs at Hedges in Athens

Ira sitting in front of his latest creation

View from near the top of Spaghetti Junction

Traffic on a Friday afternoon in Atlanta .  We all know it well.  Depends on where you're going.  I have to say that my commute to Athens from Marietta can fall under the most arduous routes.  I had a lot to deal with and had to be back on Saturday for another job, so I drove myself.  It took about 3 hours...  I try to block that drive it from my memory.  Starbucks took forever, but I was glad I had it about an hour into this commute.

DePalma's Italian Cafe

Once in Athens, it was easy breezy.  David did all of the leg work and checked us in.  He met me and gave me the parking pass and my room key.  Nice.  My blood pressure dropped back to normal within minutes!  I parked in the deck and we walked to the restaurant.  The weather was perfect for the early fall evening, much better than the muggy summer temps when we were here last time.  We had a marvelous dinner at DePalma's Italian Cafe.  What a fine place, and it's all right there on the strip.  I am finally beginning to get a sense of the layout there in downtown Athens. and then an easy load in.  Hedges on Broad is a massive (for us, certainly) club that boasts a large elevated stage, upper level seating, a huge sound system (that we didn't mess with), and a great staff.  Thanks to Leo and everybody for helping to getting a decent crowd to fill this place up.  We actually performed better than we ever had.  Inspiration and perspiration came together on this night.  It takes a lot of adrenaline to get this band completely set and then perform for nearly 4 hours straight.  We just did it.

Our front of house audio tech Davey (that's a nice snake you have fella)

International Jet Setting Electric Violinist Karl

Young Farrel in her element

Who let this guy in here?

The rest of these pics are from Chuck's camera - nice detail of the near-empty room

Setting up and tweeking

Ira had a new "Last Call" backdrop sign constructed that really came out nice.  It makes a great impact and features the band name so that nobody can miss it.  Really well done Ira!  It was great to see Chuck and Lisa with Farrel.  Chuck took some artistic pictures that gave a great perspective on the night that my camera just couldn't do.  Karl made it, played the whole night, and then sped back to Atlanta to catch a flight to Singapore the following morning.  What a trooper!  David made it all very easy for us and played guitar and piano better than ever.  Let It Be and Hey Jude are the new highlights in a long list of memorable tunes.  Once in a while, the stars align and we are blessed to make some music happen.  These pics below are from Chuck's lens.  Great shots that convey the sense of space we were dealing with.  Even some good ones at the bottom that show the crowd having a great time.  We had a great time too!

The hotel was perfect and morning Starbucks was worth the wait to help me get back for another gig.