Flamenco in Wilmington, Delaware. August 8, 2006
Drivin' to the theatre in the woods. August 8, 2006 5:06pm
Did a summer concert series gig last night in Wilmington, Delaware at Bellevue State Park. Here's a brief peek into the preparation process for the show:
It was a little more than 100 miles drive outside of DC. With the lil' bit o' traffic it took us about two hours to get there. But the majority of the trip was fun: windows rolled down, radio cranked up, arms hanging out the window and surfin' in the wind..the joys of a mid afternoon drive on a pleasant summer day! The speed limit was 65 so naturally everyone sped along at 75 or more. :-)
We factored in some extra time for dealing with traffic, getting lost and making rest stops to stretch out our legs. But we still ended up getting there with about 90 minutes to chill out before showtime. Nice!
Carlton found himself a comfortable spot on the grass underneath a shady tree. Meanwhile, I headed towards the stage to checkout the sound situation...
August 8, 2006 5:09pm
August 8, 2006 5:10pm
Although we were half an hour early, the sound engineer had no objections to getting started right away. Our technical needs were simple: one microphone each for the guitar and vocals plus another microphone on the floor for the footwork.
View from my seat. August 8, 2006 5:37pm
I played a little bit of quiet and loud material to give the sound guy, Joe, an idea of my dynamic range. Carlton sang a little. Then we both performed together so Joe can set the balance between vocals and guitar. I told him to just crank up the sound in the monitor so we can hear ourselves clearly---sound has a tendency to dissipate in outdoor gigs like this one.
The monitor speaker...very very important! August 8, 2006 5:37pm
Our dancer Micaela was on her way separately and was arriving in a few minutes, but the sound system was working great so we went backstage to change and discuss the evening's program.
Beautiful skies above. :-) August 8, 2006 5:37pm
Soon this lawn will be filled with people. August 8, 2006 5:50pm
Soundcheck done. Stage is set. August 8, 2006 5:51pm
Warmin' up backstage. August 8, 2006 6:09pm
Touched base briefly with the tech crew and at 6:30pm on the dot, Joe read the scripted intro, audience applauded and it was showtime!
I opened up with a guitar solo and with the first few notes, I noticed that Joe added a slight touch of echo ambience to the mix in the monitor speaker. Nice! The sun was still out, but by now the long shadows of the nearby trees were covering the stage. The side lights were just strong enough to direct the attention of the audience to me. I closed my eyes and savored the sparkling full sound of my guitar coming through loud and clear through the system (thanks Joe!) and the rest of the show went smoothly from there.
Afterwards. August 8, 2006 7:24pm
We're pros in that we can take whatever unexpected technical problems come at us, deal with it and still perform as if everything is perfect. Of course it helps when you have fellow performers like Micaela Moreno and Carlton Ashton and you have a sound guy like Joe Sheehan. Thanks guys!
The client was very pleased with our performance and expressed appreciation for my onstage commentary about flamenco. You see, this performance is partially funded by an arts and culture grant that stipulates the performance must include some educational content.
It was a good night but we had homes to return to. Mica went back to Lincoln, Delaware (near Rehoboth) and Carlton and I went back to the DC area and made it back a little after 10pm. It was still early, so I stayed out a little longer stopping by Dupont Circle and made it home a little after midnight. hehe.
As for tonight, I'll be performing at Cafe Bonaparte with Carlton and Behzad. See you there!
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