->did you know it's a 2 & a HALF hour drive to ridgecrest from frazier park? neither did i, til i got online that a.m. to get directions to the gig. crap! i hurriedly packed some bags & squealed off in my truck... it was a road race to the show, on dry desert & along the stunning formations of red rock canyon, & in a first, i got there ahead of everyone else! randy, mike, mark, everyone we met was really nice, but sound check was confusing. then it was time for... hurry up & wait. wait... wait... in ridgecrest!! temperatures soared & soared... bakersfield's temperate, by comparison! we planted ourselves in the shade & watched the other bands a little; rick & patty met a straw-hatted, suspendered, & bow-tied old fellow who'd been a dj in the '40s; i had a rootbeer snowcone; the paxtons kept urging me to eat "real food"... finally it was time to prep, & while using blowdryer & elmer's to plaster back bsp's hard rock mane (he claims he's gonna get a cut), we blew the circuits in the green room... as well as to the chinese food vendor's booth next door! oops!! "johnny cash" came in from his set, a bit traumatized by the sun-blazed stage, sweat-soaked in his black tailorcoat & ruffled shirt... stage manager randy later said, "i thought johnny cash was gonna die out there in that heat. i'm glad we didn't kill johnny cash!" we didn't feel the full punishment til we got out there ourselves. brutal! couldn't someone have built a stage overhang? oh well; it happens... upon starting our first song, i hit the keys & realized brian & scott were a half-step off me... they'd just tuned! their boiling strings went south that quickly!! the monitor mix was all keyboard... i couldn't hear rick at all - he'd set up far back... in the shade, the turkey! occasionally i'd look over at bsp in his black pants & gabardine cowboy shirt & hope he wasn't gonna croak onstage, himself. i bore down w/grim determination; everyone was wilting! the show must go on! anyways, we got some dancers, the audience, sitting out there w/no shade, responded happily enough for people melting like candlewax in an oven, & in the end, it was another show under our belts.-> afterward, we rested & drank water & ate pizza & watched cadillac angels from the green room window. by the time they hit stage, the sun had set, the evening seeping into coolness... lucky angels!! they sounded \solid, w/mickey rae's steady & pumping doghouse bass & tony's link wray-style shreddings. "he sounds like phil alvin," commented lisa, & sure enough, i realized, tony's voice had a similar warm, keening quality, tho not PA's eccentric energy... phil alvin, laid back, in the body of a tall, relaxed, gentlemanly drink of water... here are a few pix from the day. you can see in one how tired & sweaty we were afterward! tho the dime-store child's dress i bought looked nice in some pix, from the stage, i looked ridiculous! - so if you want to see those pix, you'll have to look elsewhere. :)
-> all in all, good job, dusk devils! & thank you again to desert empire fair people for being so nice to us. :
-> well, everyone, what's up for halloween?? next wkend for me is show w/cattie ness & revenge down south, then i hope to hop over to halloween show w/whiteboy james & the blues express. still, it'd be nice to find some friday night deal in bako, since we'll be celebrating my ex-hubby b's "special" birthday that night! i'll keep my eyes open for local fun, & you do, too! :)
-> friends... gooooood.......... :) :)
