Waking up in the passenger seat of the Tahoe rental car somewhere past Arizona with Ron at the wheel. I’ve got my eye mask on and my head slouched over a pillow attempting to get as comfortable as I can but to no avail.
“Possibility of no visibility” (a sign on the interstate warning of dust storms)
We keep making progress shaving off our ETA. The drive is not boring at all, sights we don’t usually get to see. At some point we get off I-10 and take a scenic route through Las Cruces. We feast our eyes on a beautiful and awesome mountain range called the Organ Mountains. It’s straight out of a Western.
Passing through Las Cruces we spot a hole in the wall diner called Yum-Yum’s Donuts and Burrito House. It’s run by a literal mom and pop that live on site in a trailer. It’s small and homely. Grabbing some fresh donuts and Coffee to go.
We arrive in Alto, New Mexico deep in the mountains but it’s not the same kind of mountains back east. The air is dry, not humid. It has a small mountain town feel here where everyone probably knows everyone. Checking into the hotel. All of us are exhausted from the 10+ hour drive here. I take a nap and chill out for a minute.
Driving up the mountain about 15 minutes to set up for our second show this weekend at The Spencer Theater, an odd geometrically shaped convention center. The hospitality is on point here feeding our bellies with amazing top chef quality food: Pork Loins, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli, Bread, and Apple Pie.
We probably have one of the most stressful sound checks I’ve ever had on tour. We set everything up in a timely manner but the lady they have running the monitors is having all kinds of trouble keeping track of whose mixes are what and it makes it for a confusing and frustrating situation. But we pull through it and try to be patient with each other.
The theater is a packed house once again. I don’t think I saw one empty seat. People really love their ELO over here on the west coast. The sets go smoothly but not without occasional slip-ups here and there, only things us musicians notice and not the general audience. The pit becomes an open dance floor at some point.
After the performance, a few of us do a meet and greet in the lobby – signing show posters and snapping photos with fans. A lot of people were really inspired by the show.
After getting back to the hotel we congregate in Nigel and Kevin’s room with food and watch some of the professional video work from the casino show. It’s really amazing how good it sounds/looks.
Settling down in my hotel room. Sleep in a comfortable and fluffy bed.
No comments:
Post a Comment